Fast food doesn't have to mean Mcdonalds

My all time favorite sandwich (a sandwich of which i've probably eaten at least 2 dozen times) in Denver has to be the smoked turkey sandwich from Masterpiece deli.  The shaved turkey is pressed between two slices of toasted (and buttered) wheat bread with pears, arugula, cranberry honey and soft brie.  Amazingly, i've not met a single person who did not love it.

I recently tried a banh mi from Ba le bakery on south federal.  I ordered the special combination which came with ham, meatloaf (which was more like bologna) and pork pate spread.  The meat lay on a fresh french baguette which was crusty on the outside and soft on the inside.  The pickled carrots and daikon, along with the cucumber, handful of cilantro and deseeded jalepeno were crunchy and flavorful which came together beautifully to create this spicy handheld and very cheap ($3) vietnamese sandwich!

Ba Le Bakery Plate Score: 8



The breakfast burrito from Santiago's (yes it is a colorado chain) is so good but probably not the healthiest breakfast option on most coloradan's list.  I biked to the one on Federal to earn this delicious meal. Steaming hot and stuffed with scrambled eggs, potatoes, medium pork green chile and cheese (meat optional), this burrito at just $2 needs more than just a few napkins.

After contemporary american cusine and all things asian (except indian), I am drawn to both authentic and contemporary interpretations of mexican street tacos.  I rarely go up to boulder, but after a Pure Barre workout, my friend and I went in search of the Comida food truck.  I know Denver and Boulder are getting overrun by fancy food trucks, however i was drawn to this one because the executive chef of Frasca (colorado's only James Beard nominated restaurant) mentioned it has his favorite in a recent edition of Travel and Leisure Magazine.    We both had the fish tacos ($3) with red cabbage and jicama slaw and the braised sirloin ($3) over a sweet potato mash (strange but nevertheless good).  Both were excellent but the fish which i think was mahi mahi was flakey, flavorful and my favorite.

Comida Plate Score: 9



I stopped by La Villa Real truck on Alameda and Raritan to compare their lengua tacos to the versions put forth by both el taco de mexico and pinche taco truck.  The entire menu is still in spanish only but i made it through and ordered a set of four.  I kind of wish i could have had one of each of the other types, but i guess i'll have to return. The slices of beef tongue were tender and sauteed on the flat top and sprinkled with diced onions, cilantro and a few wedges of lime.  I definitely appreciate how La Villa Real and El Taco de Mexico let the meat shine in their tacos, but Pinche's version is just an explosion of delicious flavors.

La Villa Real Plate Score: 7.5

At the base of the clock tower on the 16th street mall, you'll find a Brava Pizza, a brick oven on wheels serving up the lunch and happy hour crowd of the apparently Southwest Airlines sponsored space.  All pizzas are under $8 and on mondays the 10" Margherita pizza is just $5! Everything about it was absolutely delicious with the large leaves of fresh basil,the crushed san marzano tomatoes, creamy fresh mozzarella and charred crust.  Can't beat it!

Brava Pizza Plate Score: 10

Some of you might be wondering how this is a 10, go try it and let me know what you think!  The turkey sandwich from masterpiece might be close to 10 as well.

First bite boulder

First bite boulder is November 12-20. 3 courses for $26 at some of the best restaurants in boulder.  Check it out and I can certainly consult on suggestions!

Burgers and Salt? yes please

I constantly read about the amazing restaurants in boulder so i was super excited to dine at Salt this weekend.  Voted as one of the top 10 best new restaurants in 2009 by 5280, i had high expectations for this place.  Located on the popular Pearl st mall, it does not take reservations so we decided to go at 6 to avoid a wait.  Too bad, the place was packed already and the projected wait time was quoted as 30-45 minutes.  Instead of one of those buzzers that constrained you to a 200 foot radius of the restaurant, they took down my number and would call us when our table was ready.  We decided to walk down the mall, but to our surprise 15 minutes in, we got the call!  We hurried back and were seated right by the bar where they dropped up water and a dish of pink himalyan sea salt and cypress sea salt which apparently forms as pyramid shapes.  There were at least 3 different menus placed our table including a make your own drink chart.  This sounds like a disaster because you pick the alcohol, the mixers and garnishes....isn't that the bartender's job?

We decided to share the roasted beet carpacio salad, housemade gnocchi and the late summer vegetable tasting.  The strawberry vinaigrette dressing on the salad really gave it an extra kick, cold and refreshing over the thin circles of roasted beets, local greens, walnuts and haystack goat cheese and was a nice complement to the gnocchi with roasted mushrooms, local corn and tomatos, cream and truffle oil.  The gnocchi was slightly larger than most that I've seen but soft with notes of sweet onion and garlic.  It was the star of the mealdelicious!  The vegetable tasting came with 6 things:  ratatouille, curry pinto bean cake, sweet corn cake, crisy wild rice risotto cake, green been salad and panfried eggplant rollatini with housemade mozzarella.  The ratatouille was classic and the corn cake was the best, resembling in flavor to the gnocchi we had a few minutes ago.  The green bean salad was refreshing, a nice complement in texture and temperature to the other warm items but the creme fraiche tasted like creme fraiche, could have used some spices or herbs.  The curry pinto bean cake was a little dry like it really needed some type of sauce.  The wild rice risotto cake was texturely pleasing but boring in flavor.  Nevertheless we still ate everything on the place.

For dessert, we quickly honed in on the ice cream sandwich (something i've craved since missing our opportunity from Ian Kleinman during the food truck event last week).  Whiskey butterscotch ice cream was sandwiched between 2 thin bittersweet oatmeal chocolate cookies, drizzled with creme anglaise and fresh berries to garnish.  WOW.

Plate score: 8
Pros: excellent appetizers (though prices for apps $9-15) and dessert even though we never tried the different salts.
Cons: Does not take reservations

This summer, Atzec sol on 32nd right by North High school in the highlands shut down and converted was converted into Highland Tap and Burger.  It opened last month and is definitely a sports bar with at least a dozen 40 inch HD TVs mounted to the sparse walls playing college football and post season baseball.  Highland tap carries many local beers but the burgers are also damn good.  There are salads, sandwiches, make your own burgers (choice of meat and bread with at least a dozen topping options) and 6 designer burgers.  For $9 i ordered the "chimi" burger which was cooked a perfect medium with white cheddar, shredded lettuce and a chimichurri sauce on a soft roll that soaked up all the meaty juices (reminds me of a brioche).  Burgers are with served pickled cucumbers and skin on fries that tasted fresh out of the fryer.  I inhaled the entire thing and i'm not ashamed.....

Plate score: 9
Pros:  delicious burgers and at least 25-30 beers most of them local, outdoor patio with a fire pit for the cooler nights
Cons:  Our waitress initially forgot my order and they don't have happy hour specials for those of you who like $1 PBRs.  The mac cheese that my friend had was sub par, too watery and needed salt.