happytummy

When this restaurant disappeared a few years back we were disappointed — but it has come back with the identical menu, decor and quality food! It’s better than ever. Sweet Tomato bridges a gap between a more upscale Italian restaurant and a casual neighborhood Italian American joint.
Light and airy decor, fresh flowers and attractive art offsets the traditional red checkered table cloth. The small menu reflects this same duality with sandwiches, hearty pasta, old stand-bys lke eggplant Parmesan, pizza and killer spaghetti and meatballs alongside dishes such as chicken and asparagus pasta with herbs/olive oil and lemon, and delicious pasta dishes featuring wine, seafood and fresh veggies. Try the eponymous “sweet tomato” pizza, the Radiatore Annie and the pull-apart, heabed “Micciah’s bread” with dipping sauce. Nice wine list, desserts and after dinner mints!

I’ve eaten at the Italian Underground numerous times over the last 20 years, we discovered this little gem by accident and have been going to this local-favourite ever since for dependable GREAT food. The restaurant is located in an historic building in down-town Glenwood Springs (one of the oldest!) and has minimal seating, you guessed it, in the underground dining room. Crowds tend to form early and the wait for a larger party (5 and up) can be 1 1/2 hours and up, while smaller parties get in a bit faster. It’s a good idea to come early (hours are 5pm-10pm). If you do find yourself in the snaking line that inevitably spills out on to the cobblestone pedestrian street in front of the restaurant, it’s well worth it. Check out the views, enjoy the flowers and benches and read a good book. The small dining room and relatively small menu delivers delicious and well prepared food, EVERYTHING is good and nothing is overlooked.
The restaurant serves some great unique appetizers like escargot, prosciutto with sweet onions and cheese platters. However, most entrees come with bread, salad and either spumoni ice-cream or sorbetto-ripieno (sorbet) at the finish for a really great, albeit gut-busting, value. (Many entrees on the menu come in either the regular portion (GENEROUS!) or “smaller portion” for 15% off the price.)
Your meal will begin with some of the best fresh baked bread you’ll ever try. It’s soft, wheaty and warm (versus crusty and toothy) and comes with blow-your-mind AWESOME whipped garlic butter which is not at all overwhelmingly garlicky. Next, a romaine based side salad with outstanding home-made dressing will arrive in a small wooden salad bowl to tide you over until dinner. (Try the house Italian) -The baked entrees are some of the best of the best and come with a thoughtful side of piquant cherry peppers. Lasagna (meat version and vegetarian spinach) are perfectly spiced and piping hot. The parmigiana, Northern Italian rotisserie chicken and chicken cacciatore are hits with the carnivores (look for the vegetarian eggplant parmigiana special- it’s excellent!). Other popular dishes there are perfectly cooked (al dente) pastas such as linguine with clam sauce, spicy arrabiata, fetuccini with shrimp as well as old standby fare like pizza and spaghetti with meatballs. The sauces are fresh, and truly unique and even a simple dish of spaghetti with butter and Romano is elevated to the sublime.
The restaurant serves a lovely selection of premium Italian wines and great desserts like Tiramisu, Tartufo, and cheesecake.

Of note: the busy waitstaff is attentive, quick and great year in and year out.

I’ve been going to Pasta Jay’s for almost 20 years and returning again and again! -- And I’ve been addicted to their tasty baked tortellini marinara since they were a tiny TINY restaurant on Pearl with a crooked floor and a big beautiful tree to sit under and admire as you wait in line for this great food. 2 location changes later -- and one thing is the same: this restaurant still draws a crowd of devotees and the food is exactly the same — still top notch. The famous (and slightly infamous) creator Pasta Jay (Jay Elowsky) studied carefully under the auspices of some serious Italian Foodies in his culinary education and it shows in his menu.

The prices have gone up (darned inflation) by more than two times over the years but this is still a place where most entrees are under 15$. I’m not pleased that the salad is small and is almost 5$ — but it is a TASTY salad. Greens, garbanzos, beets and marinated mushrooms with the house dressing — a creamy and ridiculously thick GARLICKY Italian. Awesome! Add Gorgonzola for an upcharge.

Speaking of GARLICKY — those of you who don’t like the stinking rose — beware of Pasta Jay’s -- their FAMOUSLY unique red sauce and most other dishes are infused by this pungent bulb. My gastrointestinal relationship to garlic has changed over the years and I have to get “easy” on the sauce sometimes. -- Don’t get me wrong.. it’s not overpowering but it is a key component of a truly unique sauce experience. The marinara and the bolognese or meat sauces are a singular taste. Don’t come expecting the same old same old Marinara that you get in almost every other Italian place. Pasta Jay’s has built up locations in Denver and Moab — and a religious following BECAUSE of this sauce! You could put this sauce on a leather shoe and it would be a delicious meal.

Baked pastas, rigatoni, tortellini, ricotta and herb/spinach stuffed shells — this is what pasta aspires to be when it grows up! Try out specials like Red Clam, Lombardi pasta, Lasagna.. desserts, great wine. GREAT intimate atmosphere.. (though a little noisy)

Don’t miss Pasta Jay’s!

Rincon Del Sol is a locally owned restaurant by proprietors who bring their Guadalajara warmth and flavour to Boulder. This is not a menu packed with regional gourmet authentic Mexican dishes – the main thrust of the menu is standard combination plate fare. Burritos, enchiladas, egg dishes, chicken, seafood, pork, beef and vegetarian dishes are made with fresh ingredients and the little extras here really set this apart from all the other Mexican restaurants.

For example the pre-dinner requisite of crispy chips arrive freshly cooked (in cholesterol free cooking oil) and they not only deliver salsa (which is great!) but also a free serving of tasty, exquisitely spiced bean dip! Menu items come FRESHLY prepared and contain whole, made from scratch recipes.

Vegetarian options are especially tasty on this menu — with grilled potatoes, vegetarian black beans, fresh sauteed veggies and Mexican cheeses as building blocks. (I’m a sucker for any restaurant who can make a potato and bean burrito)

The food is not heavy and oily or greasy here even though there are lots of heavy options. Pork green chili here is OUTSTANDING — really one of the best in Boulder.

The menu is full of all your faves at a reasonable price — the margaritas and full bar is said to be great (also notorious are good Happy Hour deals) and the restaurant itself (Formerly Turley’s location) has great ambiance and has great (not typical or tacky) Mexican decor.

The Huckleberry is a fun, elegant and low-key restaurant in the heart of old town Louisville. The restaurateurs responsible for such fine dining establishments as Aji, Dushanbe Teahouse and Leaf bring “funky country” style dining to a historical Lousiville landmark. (Formerly the home of Karen’s Country Kitchen)

The atmosphere is great and the food is wonderful and service tends to be friendly and fast. Lunch, Breakfast, Dinner —fine bakery items. American classics like pot pie, meatloaf and sammies have an upscale-dining twist (garlic aioili, fresh produce, house made sauce, baked goods) and a little international flair in the form of Italian and Mediterranean items. Country breakfasts can’t be beat and feature great hand cut breakfast taters and homemade biscuits. If you’ve never had FRIED GREEN TOMATOES – try them here! Tart tomato disks are battered, fried and served with a remoulade. Nothing is pretentious, just low key casual dining.

They do, however, offer an afternoon HIGH TEA service which includes the fancy china, the tiered tower of savoury and sweet treats, fresh flowers, and linen table cloths. The restaurant features a spectacularly HUGE tea menu (green, black, herbal and imported) but even this is not a stuffy high-brow affair. These require a reservation but a fun way to treat children, co-workers or family in town for a visit — bring your teddy bears.

Whether they’re hoagies, grinders, heros or subs to you — Deli Zone can make the best version you’ve ever had.

This is a New York style sub shop that offers hot (Hot Zone) and cold (Cold Zone) creations with names that evoke the Big Apple. The Gangster, The Brooklyn Bomb, Times Square – etc. They even serve Pastrami and Corned Beef from the famous Carnagie Deli in New York City.

All your Deli standbys and many inventive combinations make this a cut-above. It is more expensive (and takes longer to get your order) than at Quiznos or Subway but the quality rolls, meat, cheese and veggies along with the great menu items you can’t go wrong. Worth the wait and interacting with New York style sandwich artists! They also serve monstrous breakfast subs with eggs, meat, veggies and cheese.

A place that draws the likes of Stephen King when he’s in town — this place is a landmark!!! The best dogs in Boulder — whether you are Jonsing for hot dogs, brats or sausage… Mustard’s Last Stand has you covered (and smothered and relished!)

Try the veggie dogs, and veggie reubens along with tasty fries, condiments and German mustards. (natch!)

Illegal Pete’s trumps almost all other make-before your eyes burrito joints like Chipotle or Q’doba… there is simply no comparison.
An Illegal Pete’s burrito is truly a thing of beauty. They are huge and roughly the size of a small Nerf football (share with a friend if you’re not up to having a food coma back at the office) but they’re packed with tasty fresh ingredients which are thoroughly MIXED so that you get a bite of each tasty flavor without a glut of rice or a wad of guacamole in one end but not in the middle… (hate that!)

The Big Potato Burrito (as the comments suggest!) is to die for. I opt for it without sour cream and with light cheese but it is great with the sauteed red peppers and squash, black or pinto beans and the yummy, infamous potatoes. The iced tea is very good and they always serve fresh lemon slices.

Woody’s has all kinds of innovative pizza selections like barbecue chicken, hot-dog, bacon cheeseburger, garlic olive oil and standard toppings — and they all taste great because of the apple-wood fired oven (Even flavors that normally wouldn’t taste good together)!!

They do have a full menu which features sandwiches, salads, appetizers, pastas and pizza but the real reason to go to Woody’s is for the all you can eat pizza-buffet. Worth it even if you can only eat a couple of slices because you can order up anything on the menu and they will cook it up and there is a great salad bar with fruits, greens, beets and neat toppings like cranberries and goldfish crackers. Try the Wisconsin Beer Cheese Soup…

TANKER sized soda glasses keep your whistle wet. Do an extra arobics routine and then head over to Woody’s for some delicious pizza gluttony!

Efrains is a favorite Lafayette destination because it offers consistent and tasty Mexican/Mexican American fare at a lower-than-average price.

The green chili is genuinely spicy — something that can’t be said of every restaurant.

They serve great Mexican spare-ribs and specialties like beef in wine and chiles, alongside burritos, tacos, enchiladas and chimichangas. The portions are generous.

Downsides are the sometimes spotty and downright BAD service which just gets worse when the place is packed. You have to wait for drinks and yet every now and then you get a lovely attentive server. — Vegetarian dishes (and beans) are bland.