Fine(-r) Dining in Boulder

“Do you have a dress code?”

“Well, we’d like our guests to dress nicely, but this is Boulder.”


That about sums up finer dining in Boulder. Even though high end dining has become increasingly popular, folks still expect to wander in wearing trail pants, jeans and comfy shoes. Lucky for us as vacationers!

Our first night in town, we tried out Mateo for dinner. We’d walked past earlier in the day and I was tempted by a couple of different items on the menu. It’s also omnivore-friendly. Like many of the restaurants (finer dining and casual, too), Mateo strives to use local produce and meats and the fresh, seasonal tastes were very apparent. One of the specials was this wonderful sweet corn bisque topped with what I believe they called a zucchini beignet. It was sweet and savory at once and a perfect complement to an amazing soup.

For an entrée, I had the gnocchi a la’ parisienne--ricotta dumplings, local mushrooms, sugar snap peas and sweet corn in a shallot-thyme broth. The broth was so good, that I sopped up a bit with bread because I hated to waste it. The astute server discreetly brought me a spoon to help me out. The fresh bread is wonderful, but I was thankful to have the spoon. I hope the chef took that as a compliment.


Dinner was so delicious and filling, that we only had room for cocktails for dessert. The Meyer Lemonade was perfectly light and a wonderful way to end the meal.

A visit to Boulder really isn’t complete without a meal at the Boulder Dushanbe Tea House. It’s a treat just to be inside, but the food also makes it worthwhile. And, of course, the tea. I started dinner with a white peony tea that was very light and delicate. Very little caffeine and wonderfully aromatic.

That was followed by my entrée, oyster mushroom polenta, topped with sundried tomatoes and spinach and served with a basil cream sauce. Oyster mushrooms are one of my favorite mushrooms and this was the perfect dish for them.

I had a difficult time deciding on a dessert, but opted for the chocolate flourless cake topped with Persian spiced dark chocolate ice cream, candied rose petals and rose syrup. The candied rose petals were delicious! And a perfect companion for a fantastic, rich chocolate used in both the cake and the ice cream. A great finish for the dinner.

Our last night in town, we went to the Black Cat Bistro. Black Cat has an organic farm and a booth at the wonderful Boulder Farmers Market in addition to the bistro (which was featured in The Wall Street Journal).

We started out with a wonderful little amuse bouche of cucumber and chopped tart apples. I followed that with a wonderful chilled cucumber soup that had me wondering how I could create it at home. I’m certain I can’t. Nevertheless, I now have two cucumbers languishing in the refrigerator.

For dinner, I had an entrée portion of the house-made orecchiette with grilled rapini and porcini mushrooms in a sage butter sauce. The pasta was rich and pillowy and the sauce was fantastic.

I could’ve ended there happily, but I just had to have the Madeira chocolate terrine. It was served with a vanilla genoise cake, strawberries and a dollop of whipped crème fraiche.

The bistro is a small place, so reservations are recommended. And when I say small, it’s reminiscent of New York as you are probably going to be privy to your neighbors’ conversation. But it’s well worth it and lived up to the hype. Dinner was wonderful and a great way to end our trip in a memorable way.


Mateo
2019 19th Street
Boulder, Colorado 80302
303-443-7766

Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse
1770 13th Street
Boulder, Colorado 80302
303-442-4993


Black Cat
1964 13th Street
Boulder, Colorado
303-444-5500