Top 25 Dishes

Calamari Salad – Empire Lounge, Louisville

My Nonna can make calamari anyway, anyhow: fried, broiled, steamed, baked—on spaghetti, a pizza,  a plate or bread. After all, Nonna is Italian for grandmother. In the kitchen, Nonna taught me how to eat. In life, she taught me not to put into writing what I don’t want others to know. Well, I’m breaking that rule here. The calamari salad at Empire Lounge and Restaurant is better than my Nonna’s. (Mi dispiace, Nonna. Ti amo!) Hidden under a bed (which is where I’ll be after she reads this) of greens smothered in a lite citrus dressing, tender and cunchy fried calamari tangles onto your fork and rewards your mouth. It’s the perfect starter and enough to share con la persona che ami.

Toked Meatloaf – Oskar Blues, Longmont

Meatloaf is often the ugly stepsister on “homestyle” menus everywhere; not so for this “toked” (smoked) version from Oscar Blues. The blend of meats are smoked before being loafed, adding a whole new layer to this classic dish. Rich, savory, smoky and meaty, it’s everything meatloaf should be and things you never dreamed it could be. Try this blue plate special with house-made mashed potatoes and mushroom gravy and you’ll be a convert, too. Mama didn’t cook like this (I assume), but she should’ve. Pair it with an ice cold brew and you’ve got the perfect Tuesday night.  That’s right: this groovy loaf is only available as the Tuesday special.

Roasted Portabella and Eggplant Panini – Off Campus Cafe, Lafayette

The smell of garlic hits you before you taste the garlic roasted portabella and bite into the creamy goat cheese. Roasted red pepper adds a pop of spice to the healthy gourmet roasted portabella and eggplant panini on soft and crunchy wheat bread. But what stands out on most plates are the Russet fries—fried to perfection with no excess grease, crispy and perfectly salted. Off Campus Cafe has balance in their food and atmosphere. It’s a perfect lunch spot for someone seeking some quiet and solitude, and we think every dish on the menu is something to write about.

Chicken Fried Steak – Lucky’s Cafe, Boulder

Perhaps the funnest part of this reinvented Southern staple is cracking the over easy egg that sits atop a mountain of herb biscuit and chicken fried steak. The yolk rivers through the dish’s contours, seeping into the sirloin steak’s batter. So much of this classic breakfast food has been Boulder-ized, and we couldn’t be happier: the egg is cage-free, the steak is Meyer Ranch grass-fed, and the sausage contains zero antibiotics. Topping it all is gravy as complex as a fine risotto.

Pollo Borracho – Si Senor, Lafayette

The name of this dish translates into “drunken chicken.” No, that doesn’t mean a farmer let his livestock get sloshed. Instead, the cooks at Si Señor take a creamy sauce infused with tequila (whereas the French might use cognac), and reduce it over flame, adding chicken breast that’s marinated for three days. The result is a gourmet, colorful presentation with the attractive, varying flavorings you’d get hints of village-to-village throughout Mexico—a place where no one recipe is cooked the same.