I lose count of how many times Chris and I say, “Oh! We’ll have to try this, eat there, do that,” so one afternoon while walking around the East End of Pearl when those very words were uttered as we passed Kasa, we took the time to commit to a day and time that week to try this sushi place here in town.

Date Night, Wednesday, June 9, 2010 – Kasa Sushi

1468 Pearl Street
Boulder, CO 80302
(303) 938-8888

Appetizer: Shrimp Shumai (Shrimp Dumplings)
These were beyond heavenly, warm, shrimpy little dumplings – hand-crafted and served with mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, and a spicy sriracha mayonnaise.  Amazing.

Shame on us for not taking more photos! We had delicious sushi rolls, and spent some time talking with Mimi, the owner. She explained their style, how they’re the only yakatori grill out of Japan, and how every single thing they serve is made from scratch. Well, everything but the spicy mayo which features already-made Sriracha sauce (one of my favorite flavorers).

They even make their frozen yogurt from scratch, and Mimi was kind enough to bring us a scoop to share. It came topped with the most fresh tasting, intense citrus marmalade that tasted like lemon zest bathed in a sweet sauce. It was the perfect complement to the vanilla treat.

I plan to go back and get the full-length story from Mimi on how they got started and how they do business. Stay tuned!

Photo credit: @christopherdan

{not bad for an iPhone photo, eh?}

When I first moved to Boulder, I caught a cab to downtown with my roommate, and as we tend to with the friendly cab drivers here, we got to chatting with ours.  He revealed that this night was actually his last night driving, as he was leaving the taxi biz to start an organic pizza restaurant in downtown Boulder, scheduled to open in April.  Our buses here are cute names like the Hop, Skip, Jump, and Bound, so I thought it was fitting and clever when he told us the shop would be called The Bop (Boulder Organic Pizza).

Needless to say, I was thrilled when it opened and have found myself at one of their tables at least four times since.  I’ve had the pizza, the pasta, the cheese plate, and the mista salad, and can say that they’re definitely onto something delicious.

I adore that the ingredients used in the dishes are organic and that so many are from local sources.  The freshness really comes through, and I think sets The Bop apart (and a step above) other pizza places.  I’m still new to Boulder though – you tell me: what are the other places for amazing pizza around here.  The boyfriend loves Abo’s, and the roommate and friends of ours have called Cosmos more than once for some late-night (read: not totally sober) noshing.

As for the food, to be honest, I’ve heard mixed reviews about the pizza from various folks surveyed, but I’ve enjoyed what I’ve had so far – thin-crusted, light, deliciously fresh cheeses.

I’m always a fan of a cheese plate, and this one was no exception – doesn’t hurt that the mozz is freshly made right there!

The Mista Salad (mixed salad) is light and perfect, drizzled in olive oil and I believe, lemon juice.  We (Grace, Cali, Will, and myself) were in for lunch one day last week and requested Balsamic Vinegar, only to learn that they don’t carry it – at all.  This conversation with the server caught the attention of the chef, himself from South Italy, and he took some time to explain the different culinary traditions and inclusions of different parts of the country.  As it turns out, balsamic is more of a Northern Italy thing, and since he doesn’t and hasn’t really incorporated it into his cooking, it’s not reflected in the menus.  Kudos to a chef who stays true to his art!  And who takes some time to chat with the patrons about his style and menu.

The pasta is what has really blown me away – I’ve had two different seafood bow-tie pasta dishes, both served in a really light but amazingly flavorful tomato sauce.  I think this (and the cheese!) is what will continue to bring me back – well, that and the great service (bartenders and wait-staff alike) that I keep finding myself enjoying.

So, Mr. Cab-Driver-Turned-Pizza-Shop-Owner?  Nicely done – and I can’t wait to see where this place goes   Also, I’d love to know your real name and chat with you sometime to learn more about what you’re doing at The Bop.

An extension of my love affair with Mateo Restaurant, I’ve finally made it into their sister shop – Radda Trattoria – for more than just a drink.

Radda is:

A neighborhood restaurant inspired by the cuisine and culture of Tuscany, Italy.

YUM, right?  RIGHT.

I met “the crew” – some of Boulder’s finest networkers, foodies, smart folks, and partiers – for happy hour this past Thursday.

On my menu?  The Piccolo Frittos, Insalada Radda, and Mushroom Risotto (Risotto con Funghi).  I’ve said before that I want to travel to Europe with my first priority being to eat my way through Italy and Spain.  Since I haven’t made it across the pond yet, perhaps I’ll just start at Radda and eat my way through their amazing Tuscan menu.

For instance…

Insalada Radda

Piccolo Fritto

Risotto con Funghi

I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves – My only question is, when are we going back?

After my last post about Mateo Restaurant and that time I raved about how Mateo even got me in the doors in the first place, I was invited to join Megan Jansen (one of the restaurant’s owners) for the happy hour she hosts with a most amazingly eclectic group of folks on Friday nights.  I showed up just shortly after five, met Megan and her friends, and got to pick her brain a little about Mateo and her background here in Boulder, but she also shared some great information with me about hers and husband Matthew’s other restaurant, Radda Trattoria, which is:

A neighborhood restaurant inspired by the cuisine and culture of Tuscany, Italy.  (according to their website)

Also from their restaurant, another tasty little morsel about who they are and what Radda is:

Radda is the second creation of Chef Matthew Jansen, after the much lauded Mateo Restaurant Provencal that opened in 2001.

The spirit, beauty and hospitality of Tuscany are transported to the very neighborhood that Matthew grew up in. Having participated in the vendemmie [wine harvests], studies and extensive travels, Radda is an experience that is authentically and wonderfully Italian. Upon entering you will be taken away with the passion for Italian food and wine.

After a some time talking about the restaurant, Megan decided to take us to Radda since I’d never experienced it.  ”Us” was Megan, myself, @ChristopherDan (part of the brains behind @boulderbars, for whom I’m a reviewer) and @cindykcruz (an amazing woman I want to spend hours upon hours with just hearing stories and begging her to pack me in her suitcase next time she goes to Italy), and we hopped over north of downtown to Radda.

It wasn’t crowded, but the bar – which is positioned in a square in the center – was definitely buzzing.  We pulled up four chairs right next the bar, was introduced to Hillary, the gorgeous bartender, and tried some of Chris’s signature cocktails – the #JustDan.  Megan also insisted we try the pizza, prepared by gorgeous (but married, sorry ladies) chef Theo Adley.  Sensitive to my veggie/pescetarian tastes, Megan ordered us a veggie pizza that was incredible.

As always, my I’m-not-a-culinary-expert-but-by-GOD-do-I-love-food-and-fun-dining disclaimer comes out when I actually talk about the food, but let’s just put it this way – we’d all had a few drinks at happy hour with some yummy apps at Mateo (OH MY GOD THE BRUSSELS SPROUTS*), and by the time we hit up Radda, I was ready for some sustenance.  The pizza?  Did the trick.  The veggies were perfect, the cheese was melty and amazing, and the crust?  OH MY GOD, the crust was amazing.

Thanks to Megan for showing us around, for introducing us to some of the fantastic staff at both Mateo and Radda, and for spending some time with me – Boulder’s new girl – and even further whetting the appetite of this little eater.

I happened into Mateo Restaurant last week because of an invitation extended to me through a conversation on Twitter.  I raved about Mateo’s use of social media in outstanding customer outreach and service on boulder.me, and thought I’d talk about the food and dining experience here.

Wine

House Red, Chateau de daugelas vaugelas (le prieure), Corbieres. I have no idea what that means, and I won’t even pretend to, but I know it was beautiful.  It was a perfect cocktail wine, but held up against the light apps and cheese we had as well.

Dessert wine: Tawny Port.  INCREDIBLE.  And Alex the Bartender educated us on the glasses this was served in.  A local company, Movia, supplies a lot of the glassware for Mateo, and the beautiful thing is that each vessel is handmade with one piece of glass.  We learned that typically, wine glasses can be made in as many as three pieces: the base, the stem, the glass.  These are made with the same piece throughout, and because of this – each of their pieces are completely unique.

Food (prices reflect weeknight happy hour pricing: 5:00-6:30PM)

assortment de noix roasted mixed nuts, curry spice $2
pomme frites herbs de provençe $3
artisian cheese tasting daily selection of cheese, fruit, wine jelly, nuts & grilled bread $7
pot de chocolat, warm dark chocolate truffle cake, crème fraîche, berries $7

Mateo can correct me if I’m wrong here, but I thought I heard or read something about the pomme frites being done in some kind of champagne gastrique (gastrique is my new favorite word – thank you Food Network! – and it’ll be the next culinary adventure I embark on).  I remember being able to taste the sweetness, and of course Europeans would bathe their fries vinegar – gastrique just made sense.  And it was YUMMY.

The nuts were a nice little start to munch on while I waited for Ashley to join me, and we chomped on the fries before and after the arrival of the cheese plate.  I need to do something to better educate myself on cheese plates and tastings.  I know I like sheep’s milk.  And goat’s milk.  And cow’s milk.  Ok, so that didn’t help much.  And I know I like anything asiago-like, anything unique, and anything gruyere-like.  And fresh mozzarella will always have a place on my palate.  Anyone know where to start with something like a cheese tasting class? That was just officially added to my life list.

Finally, the chocolate.  It just felt right to get dessert, and with that dessert to get a beautiful dessert wine.  I’m almost as much of a sucker for dessert wines (mmm tawny port… mmm Alexis Baily Ratafia… mmm) as I am for champagne.  And we all know how much I LOVE me some bubbles.

So, the chocolate.  Yeah, we pretty much licked the ramekin clean it was so good.  Dark chocolate truffle anything is one of my favorites, and this just melted in my mouth.  The crème fraîche was nice, even though I’m not totally sure what crème fraîche is… (hold please, whilst I consult The Google.  Ah! Lovely… moving on), but it was smooth and creamy and… fraîche-y.

All in all?  Wonderful experience.  There’s a risotto on that menu I want to get back and try before they change it up again (we learned they rotate menu items based on seasonality, which makes me love them even more), and of course – I’ll always have another cheese plate.

Thanks, Mateo for a wonderful, delicious, and fun random weeknight.

My first trip of 2009 was out to visit my oldest and dearest friend Steve.  He moved out to Colorado from Minnesota after college, and having recently decided that four years was enough, he moved back this summer.  I went out to visit two weeks prior to that move, back in the middle of May, to soak in the mountains and a vacation one more time before he returned.

We did all kinds of awesome things while I was there including climbing a mountain, walking around Boulder, and taking a mini road trip up to Wyoming.

But of course, I seek out interesting restaurants and remember the food, so here’s my little recap of where we ate and what we had:

In Denver (technically, Broomfield):

• Tres Margaritas (6896 W 120th Ave, Broomfield – (303) 410-8705)

We weren’t on any particular culinary adventure or mission at Tres Margaritas; I was mostly in need of food and drink upon my arrival and Steve picking me up from the airport.  We each had two margaritas – on the rocks, thanks – and I ordered a taco/enchilada combo that was HUGE and AWESOME and naturally came with the requisite Mexi-rice and beans.

I’m always a sucker for good Mexican food and for a quiet little hole-in-the-wall in the suburbs?  This one was muy bueno.

In Boulder -

Boulder was SO much fun to explore!  They have a walking mall area called Pearl Street where vehicles aren’t allowed and folks just roam freely up and down the shop- and bar-lined cobblestone road.  Street performers entertain visitors, and gorgeous flower gardens and cute decorations line the street from one end to the other.

• The Med (1002 Walnut Street, Boulder, CO 80302 – (303) 444-5335)

At the recommendation of a colleague, Steve and I popped into The Med for dinner.  We opted for splitting a number of different small plates to better taste more of their offerings.  The menu’s set up really well for that too, and I believe we ended up with five options.  And I know, I know… FOODIE BLOGGER FAIL, since it’s now August and I’m writing about a May trip, I don’t remember all the details.  I remember mussels, lamb meat (I think on skewers), and I believe salmon.  I know, FAIL, but really?  The food was INCREDIBLE, the staff extremely pleasant and knowledgeable, and the atmosphere is deliciously funky.

All in all?  Denver and Boulder are fine culinary spots and I’d love to go back to try more.