Best of the West

Best of the West

LA’s got traffic and smog. NYC has crowds and Wall Street. They ain’t got what we got. Welcome to the Best of the West...

Challenging Elements: Treppeda’s

For Italians, food is not just the exclamation point at the end of a sentence—it is the sentence. Marking important moments with food, the Italian way of life means any gathering of family or friends is an excuse to set the table for a feast. And in Niwot, Treppeda’s Italian Ristorante has plenty of tables...

More Than Words

A few feet above my head hovered a balcony-in-miniature, complete with a wrought iron railing and shutters reminiscent of those latched to houses in the Italian countryside. Their color evinced a weather-weariness; though, pockets of flowers brought the scene to life. It was a scene unashamedly plucked from an idealization of Umbria...

Curried Away

“Rumali roti,” my Indian friend explained as I leaned back in our booth, “is a feathery sort of naan. It’s very light and soft. We eat it with many of our meals back home.” As he was talking, our dishes arrived at the table in conspicuous silence—two steaming, oval bowls overflowing with chicken and apricot curry...

Lost and Found

Hello, my name is Andra, and I’m new...

Ready to Ride

For three years, I rode with anonymous partners: snarling, four-legged beasts who, from under their rickety porches, sprinted ferociously across their yards toward my pedaling legs. Those rural Alabama dogs were just medieval. Yelling “Git!” and squirting them with water only fired them up like a religious tent revival. So I made friends with the only cyclists for 2,000 square miles—a...

Who Killed the Rocky?

We had a death in the family this winter. She was a beautiful, gracefully aged gem, the matriarch of our entire populace. She had guided us through tragedy, triumph and turbulence with a steely resolve, steady hand and strong leadership. The Rocky Mountain News died on Feb. 27, 2009. She was 149 years old...

The Amateur Anthropologist Says:

There are some things that deserve more than plain old derision and public scorn—actions so heinous and loathsome that incredulous ridicule just isn’t quite enough. Like mixing 30-year-old Scotch with 7-Up...

Best Food

Overall Restaurant EC.c : Colterra Ever since leaving Boulder (Chautauqua Dining Hall and Full Moon Grill) and taking the reins at Colterra (formerly le Chantecler) in Niwot, owner and chef Bradford Heap has kicked his menu offerings up a notch by rediscovering his own back yard. The southern French and northern Italian offerings upon which his Boulder reputation was built get the local...

Best on the Cheap

$10 Meal EC.c : Cheese Importers (Olde Philly Towne Hoagie, honorable mention) Even after updating its menu, the Cheese Importers’ grilled paninis clock in under $7. A delectable combination of sumptuous cheeses and fresh ingredients toasted between slices of pan rustica or a ciabatta roll are a deal worth the wait. Get their early or stop by before they turn off the panini grills at 2pm...

Best Before Noon

Bagel BD.c : Moe’s Broadway Bagel When a lady from Colorado and a gent from New York decide to start a bagel shop, you get an original mom and pop bagel shop with which Boulder has fallen in love: Moe’s Broadway Bagel. Named after a lifelong bagel connoisseur, the Sherman family’s authentic bagels, cream cheeses and deli sandwiches would surely make their namesake, Grandpa Moe...

Best Mid-Day

Theater Company BD.c : Colorado Shakespeare Festival When does a theater company become more than a theater company? Well, when they provide consistently spectacular productions while artfully crafting a unique performance model. In Boulder, Colorado Shakespeare Festival has been making the Bard proud for more than 50 years—causing much ado about a little something called classical theater...

Best Night Life

Wine Shop EC.c Tenacity Wine Shop No matter how small or how large, wine shops are about the personality of the wine and the personality of the people. So, you know a place called Tenacity will be robust and bold, a little tanniny, with hints of oak. Be sure to check out the legs at Tenacity in Longmont’s Prospect. Now, stick your nose in it. Don’t be shy, really get your nose in...

Best for the Family

Restaurant for Kids EC.c : Two Dog Diner BD.c : Gondolier on Pearl Chuck E. Cheese, you can take your pizza and singing robots and shove them in your ball pit. The hip new diner in hip new subdivision Prospect is the perfect place for hip kids and their oh-so-hip parents to dine on grilled prawn and pesto omelets, Cobb salads and macaroni and gouda cheese. At Two Dog Diner in Longmont...

Best for the Guys

Wings EC.c : Pumphouse Brewery Rule of thumb: never take a girl to a get wings on a first date. The No. 1 reason involves your face slathered with Buffalo sauce. At the Pumphouse, wings come in a variety of flavors: Buffalo, fiery habanero-chipotle, barbecue, Jamaican jerk spice and sweet and spicy ginger Thai. But they only come one way: deliciously messy. They may taste great—but trust...

Best for the Gals

Day Spa EC.c : Sunflower Spa I always thought that people were supposed to be stressed-out, dry-skinned and tensed-up. And then I walked into Sunflower Spa in Longmont—where patrons take a break from life, relax, moisturize, detoxify and wash away their troubles. Whether you need to pamper your toes or give your whole body a scrub, Sunflower is ready to make life a little happier. EC.r...

Best Mind & Body

Eyewear EC.c : Rick’s Eyeworks Your eyes won’t believe it. You’ll see the light. Don’t turn a blind eye. OK, no more vision-related idioms…If Rick’s Eyeworks is known for one thing, it’s service. Rick’s has been Louisville’s local eye-care specialist for more than 20 years, with board certified opticians, a great selection of eyewear and a caring staff. EC.r : Third Avenue...

Best People

Philanthropist EC.c : Frank Day To be honest, it’s hard to pick the “best” philanthropist—it’s kind of like picking the best chocolate or the best beach spot in Fiji. But Frank Day and his bevy of restaurants seem to stand out of the charitable crowd. You had no idea those six beers you drank at Old C’s last Friday would contribute to helping children in need, the homeless and the...

Best of the Rest

Radio Show C : KCFR’s Colorado Matters Every morning when I get in my car, my radio is pre-set to 90.1. I’ve gotten into the habit of listening to NPR on my commute because I like news better than shock jocks and prefer national headlines over the super-local news on some AM talk stations. Imagine my surprise, then, when I started hurrying to get out of the house by 7:50 to catch Colorado...

Boiling Point: April 2009

1} A Friendly Reminder The economy sucks and seems to be getting suckier. But just in case it wasn’t obvious enough, we now have more proof. State labor officials reported that in March Colorado’s unemployment rate jumped to 8.5 percent, up 0.4 percent from February. Estimates show that Colorado has more than 62,900 fewer workers than it did a year ago. In January, national joblessness...

More of the Best

In our effort to create an expansive Best Of, Yellow Scene regretfully left out a few categories. Listed here are the omitted winners...

Locally Incorrect

[criminal justice] Not Enough Degrees of Separation Wesley Francis Cox has got his legal briefs in a bunch. He says he can’t get a fair trial because he is distantly related to Boulder County District Attorney Stan Garnett; he is the cousin of Garnett’s brother-in-law. Cox wants a special prosecutor—not his cousin-in-law—to handle the pending case stemming from charges that he broke...