Nomadic Foodie » Boulder

Centro Latin Kitchen and Refreshment Palace

doniree — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 17:00:00 +0000

Centro Latin Kitchen was always one of my favorite places for small plates and happy hours when I lived in Boulder in 2010. Naturally, I went back for drinks and dinner (and was joined by Grace Boyle of Grace(full) Plate and Small Hands, Big Ideas) when I was there last month and dare I say… Centro Latin Kitchen and Refreshment Palace is even better than ever.

Sip

The drink menu offers a spicy twist on some old favorites like sangrias, margaritas, and caipirinhas – with a separate menu for rum and tequila. Most interesting, they also offer a Passport Cocktail Menu, featuring traditional and flavorful drinks from different Latin countries.

I typically prefer wine over cocktails, and opted for a white wine sangria. Grace tried the Mojito and we also got to sample The Muse, a tasty imbibe of basil hayden bourbon, tart cherry liqueur, maple balsamic reduction, and angostura bitters. If you like bourbon (hell, maybe even if you don’t), this is a treat.

Sample

To start, we opted for an old favorite — Avocado Salsa and Tortilla Chips — as well as one of the nightly special — Masa-fried Okra. I’ve yet to meet an okra I didn’t like, and this spicy, cornmeal twist on an old Southern favorite was incredible.

The avocado salsa is amazing also. I know what you’re thinking: Isn’t that just a funny way of saying guacamole? No. No, actually it’s not. Guacamole would be all smashed and creamy and more of a dip. This beautifully chopped up, chunky salsa just happens to have giant pieces of fresh avocado mixed in with fresh tomatoes — perfect for scooping up on to a tortilla chip and shoving the whole thing in your mouth.

Not that I did that.

Ok, so I probably did that.

Savor

Moving on! Though dirtily tempted by the nightly special that featured a seared ahi tuna, I opted instead for the highly recommended Goat Cheese Masa Cakes.

These not-so-little corn cakes were topped with black beans, more avocado, crunchy watercress, and fresh tomato. Oh, and of course — goat cheese. Party. In. My. Mouth.

Sweet Tooth

If you have room for dessert (we did!), make the coconut-fried bananas a priority. Served alongside rum and coke ice cream, this is a fresh, fruity and sweet indulgence that’s the perfect way to end a meal.

And hey, it’s fruit so that’s good right?

Details

Centro Latin Kitchen and Refreshment Palace is located on the west end of Pearl Street, at 9th Street, just beyond the Daily Camera.

All-day Happy Hour on Mondays.

950 West Pearl
Boulder, Colorado 80302
303.442.7771

doniree

Doniree Walker is the Nomadic Foodie. She loves the exploration and community of food, and currently lives in Portland, Oregon, and loves the region's focus on local and seasonal food, daily farmers' markets and food carts at seemingly every turn. She's on twitter as @doniree and @nomadicfoodie, and blogs her adventures and life in general at doniree.com.

Taste & Travel Tuesday: Hotel Boulderado | Boulder, Colorado

doniree — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 11:00:00 +0000

Opening on New Year’s Eve in 1909, the Hotel Boulderado is one of the oldest business in Boulder, Colorado and was the first luxury hotel in the area.

Today, it boasts 160 rooms, each creatively adorned with a different wallpaper from the next, meaning every time you come here your room can be a completely different experience.

The hotel is almost a living, breathing collection of antiques and Victorian-era and decor, right down to the decor in each room. It’s gorgeous.

The hallways are full of pieces of a time past, and my favorite part of the hotel was the third floor, which basically doubles as an antique museum. We saw antique fire extinguishers, an old piano, armoires, photos of an older Boulder, an ice box, trunks (because back in the day, families traveled for weeks or months at a time!), and fans.

Technology in the hotel has grown and changed just like the hotel itself. Entertainment back in the early days was an orchestra in the lobby. No, not a full orchestra, but think back to the movie Titanic with that string trio (or quartet) that played right up until the last minute? That kind of orchestra. The orchestra was eventually replaced by a Victor Victrola, then a television, until eventually there were TVs in every room. Today, each room has a flat screen TV and a wi-fi connection.

The fans were my favorite:

Some History

Spruce Street downtown was the first street in Boulder to be paved because it was the street that led to the Hotel Boulderado. The hotel’s famous guests include (but are sooooo not limited to): Duke Ellington, Robert Frost, Louis Armstrong, Helen Keller (and Anne Sullivan), Goldie Hawn, and BB King.

Additionally, the Boulderado has three adjacent bars, restaurants, and eateries: The Corner Bar, Catacombs and Q’s (you can read more about the menu at Q’s and see gorgeous photos of tasty food here).

I had the pleasure of touring the historic Hotel Boulderado in downtown Boulder last month, and it was easily one of the highlights of my trip. And yes, I’m determined to make the Hotel Boulderado a part of my next Boulder visit.

doniree

Q’s Restaurant | Hotel Boulderado | Boulder, Colorado

doniree — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 20:45:28 +0000

While in Boulder last week, I had the lovely experience of a private tour of the Hotel Boulderado (more on that soon!) that culminated in the most delicious lunch I’ve had in a long time. Q’s Restaurant in Boulder offers a lunch time Tasting Menu that’s comprised of fresh, seasonal ingredients and a half-glass of wine that were not only perfectly pairing but the perfect lunch-sized portions — both the dishes and the wine.

Q’s Restaurant | Boulder, Colorado

The Boulderado dining room is the oldest continually opened restaurant in Boulder, having only closed for a brief time during WW2. As it’s known It was named for Dave Query, though it’s seen a number of incarnations in its history between opening day and today including a coffee shop, Chinese restaurant, steakhouse, French restaurant, and seafood grille.

Today it’s owned by John Platt (after Dave Query moved over to the Big Red F group in 1998), and tasting menus are offered for both lunch and dinner, year-round.

As I mentioned, lunch is $15 for a 3-course tasting, and dinner is $55 for five courses. The best part about the five-course dinner tasting is that if a table for two each orders a dinner tasting menu, the chef will actually create two menus so that each guest can sample ten dishes. Add this to my list of next-time-I’m-in-Boulder dinner places!

Lunch at Q’s | The Tasting Menu

It should first be noted that for breakfast-lovers like myself, breakfast is available — even on weekdays! — until 2PM, and you can get your Benedict on, enjoy bagels and smoked salmon, or just have a good ol’ traditional breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast.

Tempting as Eggs Benedict can be, I opted for the summer Tasting Menu for the day, because I knew it would allow me the best chance to taste as much as I could in one meal. The tasting menu included a soup, entree, a dessert, and a suggested wine pairing. In this case, Louis Jadot’s Macon Village, a white burgundy I’ve sipped and loved before.

With the wine choice, you’re offered either a full or a half glass. I chose the half glass, which was perfect, light, and just the right amount for lunch. The best part about this lunch (ok aside from how delicious it is) is the price tag: this whole meal was $15 (about the same as other lunch entrées offered). The half-glass of wine was $5.

As for the food? Let’s just say that I ate every single bite of every single course, and we’ll let these pictures do the rest of the talking.

First Course (Appetizer) | Grilled Chicken Soup

Seared summer veggies, sun-dried tomato pesto, Parmigiano Reggiano. All I know is? This little bowl wasn’t enough. I didn’t want it to end!

Second Course (Entrée) | Pan-Seared Sea Scallops

Seared green beans, grape tomatoes, orzo, salsa verde. The pan-searing of the sea scallops could not have been more perfect. They were just slightly crusted on the outside, but tender and juicy on the inside. Amazing with the flavors that jumped right out of the veggies and did a little salsa verde on my taste buds (see what I did there?).

Third Course (Dessert) | Carrot Cake

Oh, no. This wasn’t just any carrot cake. This was carrot cake with a sour cream frosting, carrot ginger coulis, Noosa frozen yogurt (a loved Colorado company), on a plate adorned with beautiful golden raisins. This was carrot cake on a whole new level. Carrot cake that lacked the super-sugary bites of a traditional cake, with traditional cream cheese frosting (not that I dislike those, not even a little). But this was a fresher carrot cake with a certain lightness from the coulis and the yogurt. It was delicious.

Whether you’re a guest at the Hotel Boulderado, a Boulder resident, or a visitor to that fine little almost-mountain town, get thee to Q’s!

Disclaimer: Huge thanks to Q’s at the Hotel Boulderado for treating us to lunch!

doniree

SALT the Bistro | Boulder, Colorado

doniree — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 11:00:39 +0000

While it’s fun to vary your food choices each time you visit a restaurant, there are some places you just can’t help but have a favorite dish you always go back to. For me, that place is SALT the Bistro, in Boulder, Colorado. The catch with this dish, though? Every time I order it, it’s completely different.

I’m talking about SALT’s Seasonal Vegetable Tasting. It’s an entree-sized portion of Colorado’s peak seasonal vegetables, prepared in creative, savory, and lick-your-plate-clean kind of ways.

Chelsea and I spent three hours at SALT earlier this week in Boulder, leisurely sipping and chatting our way through a bottle of red wine, catching up, dissecting life, and sharing food.

We split the Local Summer Vegetable Tasting ($14), which at the moment consists of, “local shiitake mushroom & fava bean gratin, local black quinoa & chickpea fritter, broccoli, green & yellow bean salad, roasted cauliflower bread crumbs & golden raisins.”

Are you drooling yet? We also shared the Housemade Fettuccine ($14):

local basil pesto, organic green beans, cherry tomato, corn, parmigiano

I love the vegetable tasting the most, because it’s different every single time (and I think it’s safe to say that I’ve tried it during every season).

Who says eating vegetarian has to be boring? Not this girl!

doniree

Friday Food and Travel Round-Up

doniree — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 11:00:16 +0000

See our great selection of food & wine magazines at MagsDirect.com today.

There’s been a lot of tasty and wanderlusty goodness on the web lately! I thought I’d take a moment and pause from my gratuitous food photo-posting to share some things I’ve found around the web lately.

My friend and fellow freelance writer, Jayme Lamm wrote an awesome review of her experience at Travaasa Austin. I want to go to there.
I’m getting really, really into iced coffee. I’ve stalked recipes from both The Pioneer Woman and Smitten Kitchen, as well as recipe sites like Food.com and AllRecipes.com. I think I’ve finally landed on my mix and technique. More on that next week. But Ree’s and Deb’s sites are a killer place to start.
Erin and her hubby recently launched a new food blog called The Speckled Palate. Check out this recipe for Fig Tart that just makes me want to find a fig tree and do this rightnow.
Grace has been covering new restaurants in the Denver/Boulder area left and right, and I can not wait to get there next month and try some (especially The Kitchen [NEXT DOOR]).

ICYMI : I’m trying to post more recipes here than ever before. This week, I covered Drunken Mushrooms and Baked Eggs with Kale and Cream. Next week? Grilled chicken and some really tasty champagne cocktails.

What tasty morsels have you found around the Internet lately?

doniree

Thanksgiving in Colorado

doniree — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 16:00:00 +0000

I had a lovely Thanksgiving here in Colorado. Chris and I shared the Thanksgiving meal with his mom and a small gathering of family members up in the mountains. After a couple of hours there, we ventured back down to Boulder where we spent time with friends here, sharing wine and conversation. It was a lovely — and delicious! — Thanksgiving Day.

I made smashed butternut squash, very loosely adapted from this recipe on Epicurious.com. It turned out pretty well, though I’d like a do-over sometime with a bigger squash, the right kind of cream, and actual parmesan cheese (I used a small squash, 2% milk, and a cheddar blend). No pictures of that side dish, but I do have some pictures of the rest of the meal!

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, filled with family and friends and that your return to the real world today was a seamless and easy one!

doniree

Culture Clash

doniree — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 13:00:00 +0000

My Japanese-German friend, Akira recently told me about the schnitzel he grew up making in his family. Except this traditional German food was made anything but traditionally in his blended culture house.

Rather than veal – as I learned is customary – Akira’s family used turkey cutlets, thinly sliced, for their schnitzel. Then, rather than using regular bread crumbs, they used Panko bread crumbs – a much more traditionally Japanese food. Once battered, the turkey cutlets were then deep fried – in a wok. And then served with BullDog Tonkatsu Sauce – Japan’s “ketchup” as we learned.

Akira shared this with Chris and I one night last week, and then taught us about Feurzangenbowle – a German mulled wine, kicked up a notch by soaking a sugar cone on top of it, pouring Bacardi 151 on top of that sugar cone, and then lighting the sugar cone on fire.

The idea for Culture Clash was then born: Round up your friends, have everyone bring a drink/dish from their respective cultures, share food, drink rum-spiked wine – fun ensues.

That’s exactly what we did on Saturday night. We all played nice – the Japanese, the German, the Bulgarian, the Irish, the Irish-Sicilian, the Norwegian, and me, the Southern Girl. The food included, of course, the Feurzangenbowle and the Panko-crusted Schnitzel, Rakia (Bulgrian), Jameson (Irish), Lefse (Norske), Salmon (Norske), a German Gewurstraminer, an Italian red wine, and my Southern girl contribution – cornbread and fried okra.

Food is more fun in pictures, so here’s what all that looked like:

That’s the jist of it, but if you’ve just gotta see more, the rest of the photos are here.

doniree

Friday Find: Foodie Links and an Invitation to Share

doniree — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 13:00:40 +0000

A quick note to share some things I’ve seen this week that are worth sharing!

My friend Grace recently launched a food blog! On Grace(full) Plate, She’s covered some great local Boulder stuff so far, as well as our Potluck Sunday tradition and other recipes. Gorgeous, tasty food site!
My roommate, Ashley, has been baking up a storm! Check out her fall baking fun here.
I can’t get enough of How Sweet It Is. She’s gorgeous, funny, and her recipes are amazing.
Oh, and I recently shared a tasty fall recipe – a modified version of Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Bread. I added a fruit filling that was to die for. Check that out over on my personal blog: doniree.com.

Try any new foods this week? Got any recipes you’d like to share on here? Let me know! I’d love to share your recipes or food thoughts here.

doniree

The Art of a Cheese Plate

gracekboyle — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 19:35:53 +0000

Grace is a friend and fellow blogger, and a kindred spirit in the manner of all things food and travel. She’s scouted many of the cheese plates here in Boulder and offers up what she considers cheese plate musts, great information about cheeses and some delicious photos of the local fromage. You can find our Gracie Boyle on Twitter @gracekboyle, and peep her own personal blog, Small Hands Big Ideas.

________________________________________________

I adore cheese – stinky, soft, sharp, aged, goat, crumbly, yes please.

Last week, in my regular outings of some favorite Boulder restaurants, I had three cheese plates total (in a week!) This is how serious I am about cheese. I know how much I adore the taste, but know less about the process, how it’s made and regions with spectacular cheese. I’m going to meld my love for cheese, with some basic information and of course, sample some of the delicious local restaurants with my favorite cheese plates here on Doni’s beautiful, Nomadic Foodie.

What Makes a Delicious Cheese Plate?

Cheese expert, Laura Werlin of Food & Wine states that the perfect cheese plate should include: “a mix of fresh, aged, soft and hard cheeses, arranged in the order in which they should be tasted: from the lightest and freshest to the ripest and most intense.”

My scrupulous research and foodie taste buds declare (American Cheese Society backs me up too) that for cheese boards/plates, limit your selection to no more than 5 cheeses.

A variety of sizes, shapes, flavor and texture are desirable especially to create diversity to the palate. For example, if there’s a strong and pungent cheese it shouldn’t be next to a lighter, more delicate cheese. Furthermore, I can tell when the cheese board arrives and there are a few different knives for each cheese, the restaurant knows their cheese plates.

We shouldn’t forget that delicious cheese must not only be coupled by cheese itself, but with pairings such as fruit, jams or nuts. I prefer and have delighted in: apples, grapes, strawberries and pears in terms of fruit. Additional items I suggest are: nuts, honey, jelly or jam or even a type of mustard. Finally, bread, crostini, or crackers for eating your cheese with. I prefer grilled or toasted that is still soft enough to lap up the cheese, versus crostini, but both will do. It is important that whatever cracker, bread or crostini you use, they are not flavored as to not take away the taste of the cheese.

Before serving the cheese, experts suggest that setting the cheese out about a half hour before eating brings them to room temperature (but this isn’t necessary).

I will finalize this by saying, the display is very important for mouth watering quality. Pay attention to how the cheese is served – is it on a board, a large enough platter or plate so the cheese do not touch and how is it plated (by which cheese is next to each other)? It is also suggested (if applicable) to leave the rind on.

Some Favorite Cheese Plates:

Mateo a favorite local Boulder restaurant has a delicious cheese plate (that Doni has covered before in a restaurant review). Most recently, you can find: cypress grove humboldt fog (from California), petit basque (from France), petit frére [wi, usa], bleu d’auvergne [france], confiture, spiced nuts, fruit (local and in season) and country toast.

Another local favorite of mine is The Kitchen. Their cheese board is delightful, served on a long, wooden board and includes my favorite pairing, honey! Their cheese board consists of: Fourme D’Ambert & local honey, Chevrot & olive tapenade, Roncal & candied almonds with udi’s bread.

For final tips on cheese plates, entertaining and how to create your own, check out the following links:

Fork and Bottle outlines how to make an interesting cheese platter for a dinner or holiday party.

American Cheese Society has a great link on tips for cheese consumers.

Madame Fromage (http://madamefromage.blogspot.com/) talks all thing cheese. It’s a beautiful blog.

A Cup Of Joe features United States Cheese Boards, they’re so fun and beautifully plated.

Cheese plates can be enjoyed many different ways, whether you’re sampling a cheese plate at your favorite restaurant (great to order as an appetizer with a group, preferably paired with a wine) or preparing a cheese plate for a potluck, party or entertaining (great idea, finger food and who doesn’t like cheese?) e-mail me, if you’re disatsified. Seriously. I believe in the cheese!

So what cheese plates have you loved the most? Pictures, stories, restaurants? Share with us!

gracekboyle

Grace is the Director of Marketing and Sales for the online startup, Kapost. She runs her food blog that celebrates traveling, dining out, cooking and how food fuels us at (http://gracefullplate.com/) and her own personal blog uncovering the 20-something journey and inspirations (http://smallhandsbigideas.com). She loves traveling, red wine, new media, reading, artisan cheese, laughter and her current home in Boulder, Colorado. Her favorite quote? "Buy the ticket, take the ride," from Hunter S. Thompson. You can find her tweeting as @gracekboyle and talking about food @gracefullplate

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Travel Updates

doniree — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 00:55:49 +0000

Stay tuned for some wanderlusty, nomadic, delicious updates and up-and-comings. Stick with me, and here’s where we’ll go:

Coming soon:

I was just in NYC and tried some tasty places including the Central Park Boathouse and an all mac-and-cheese place. Yes, I have pictures.
Travel tips – info on some of the things I’m learning about eating and traveling, particularly around eating healthy on the move
Cheese plate guest reviews! (Perhaps most excited for this)

Up and coming trips:

Weekend trip to PDX, August 27
Secret September road trip that I’ll announce soon (!!!)
Minneapolis in October to see friends and attend the wedding of two of my dear friends

Busy fall? Just you wait.