Best of 2009 Blog Challenge: Best Restaurant Experience

This is too difficult! I can’t pick just one! Ugh…

Here are my top favorite restaurants in Boulder/Lafayette (with people I like to dine there with):

Protos for Pizza (Jim, especially when getting back home after traveling. Visiting Family. Jim and I tended to split a large Capri salad with feta and a large “Low Rider.” Best thin crust pizza, no matter what kind you get.)

Il Pastaio for Italian (The owners are the cutest Italian couple ever and Jim and I were known as “regulars” there. Giuseppe and his wife were on our flight from London to Denver in January of this year. We were so pleased to see each other. They had been visiting one of their sons and his family, while we were traveling back from a long over due trip to Saudi. Besides going there with Jim we’ve also shared this place with family, but have fond memories of eating there with Greg/Tashi and Adam. Oh, and their pasta is made in house and their sauces are divine! The pesto is so fresh and their lunch is a steal!)

Tandoori Grill for Indian (This is were Lisa (one of my most influential life mentors) and I like to meet up. Jim and her partner Ashley love it too, so often the four of us will go there together. My Tandoori staples: lentil soup with lemon, spicy saag, naan, raita, mango chutney, and sips of Jim’s chai. He and I often share bites as he gets the chicken makhani)

Efrians for Mexican (Such a fun place to go with large groups of friends. It’s cheap and their green chili is SO good. I love their chicken chimichanga.)

Snarfs for Sandwiches (Jim and I tend to pick up food on the way to the movie theater. I love their kid’s sized vegetarian with turkey. I also have fond memories having Snarfs delivered to Alaya and chow down with my incredible teacher friends when I worked there. Side note: Best Preschool EVER!)

Zanmai for Sushi (This is my favorite sushi on the planet. Jim and I used to go there twice a month. It’s one of our two favorite places to eat for special occasions. We go together, with friends (Kate, Greg/Tashi, Paul and Jenn, Madi and Casey and loads of other friends. The back rooms are fun. We went there with my family before our wedding which was cool even without the ruckus that usually ensues in those rooms with sake bombs. Eating at the bar is fun too. Jim and I love all the characters that work there. There is a waiter that looks and sounds like the blond Wilson brother with the broken nose and the Japanese sushi pros behind the counter are always goofing around and giving the new sushi chef a lot of grief. I also love that they dim the lights and have the oldest Japanese guy working there play “Happy Birthday” on a toy electric saxophone if it’s your birthday. Our friend Kate had this done for Jim once when it wasn’t his birthday. It was a riot. Perfect for small or big groups. Happy Hour ends at 6:30 so get there before. I love their Z#9, Green Hornet and Fire Cracker Roll, along with salmon and unagi. Jim loves his Caterpillar Roll and also the Buddha Roll, along with most of the stuff I get. He’s a big Tuna fan though, which I’m not. Also, their green tea is on the house and their desserts are yummy, if you’re able to leave room.)

Pekoe for best Mate Chai I’m kind of obsessed with this place. They actually have a couple locations now, but I love the one by Ideal Market. They tend to have great art. My friend Monica had her first show there which my sister Kylie and I attended before going to see a ballet. I like going their on my own, often for a quick in and out, but I also enjoyed having team meetings with my dear friend Rachel when we taught together. They have killer zucchini bread as well as a pumpkin bread. They even have gluten free chocolate zucchini bread! They serve lots of different teas, including bubble tea, but what I love is their mate chai. I get a large Mate Chai  with skim milk and 1/3 the agave (1 pump) and either hot or at the temperature the liquids are at (ice=less mate=no bueno). Be sure you get a Pekoe card and swipe it for points! You’ll get a free one when you stack up enough points. Lastly, I’d like to add that this drink rocks my world so much that I tweeted about it and a woman in Canada said she’d never heard of it and I sent her some. She’s offered to paint my dogs’ portraits in return for the yummy mate chai! This makes my heart so happy.)

The Med for Mediterranean (Tapas heaven. I LOVE this place. We almost had our rehearsal dinner here. It’s lively and colorful. During the summer it’s great to sit outside where they have a fountain. Mussels, Moroccan shrimp with cucumber yogurt sauce in pita, pizza, prosciutto and melon with parmesan and balsamic, falafel, warm feta with artichoke hearts tomatoes and olives, fried artichoke hearts wit ha lemon aioli. Divine! They used to have an excellent vegetarian fettuccini I loved called the Michelangelo. they also have an decadent pizza with gis and truffle oil that was incredible. I also love their desserts (which fortunately and unfortunately change). They once had the best key lime pie (next to my own) with the most perfect tang and crust. Their version of a lava cake is rich and damp with cinnamon ice cream and candied slivered almonds. YUM! They also have affogato as well as some mousse that had a layer of passion fruit pulp that was killer. I love going her with Jim, Monica and her husband Javier. The four of us have a great time and I know that Monica will always be down for dessert. One time though I must mention. I went there one night with just over 30 friends, including my brother Slater who was in town. First off, my friends and I don’t drink, which is always a bummer for the waiter, but I bought a beer and let my brother drink it, which was one of those silly moments where I wanted to be the fun older sister. The crazy part was that our waiter, who I swear was high on coke, took all 30+ orders my memory and didn’t mess a single thing up. I was stunned!)

The Kitchen for Everything (This is our special occasion go-to. I’ve celebrated birthdays and other fun get-togethers here with close friends and family. I had a quick yet fun lunch with my friend Chris when he still lived there (and so did I for that matter). Jim and I like going there for romantic dinners. Jim and I especially love sharing this place with our friends Brad, Chandler and their adorable son Owen. We had our last dinner out with them here. They sent us off with a CD, flowers, and a very touching card. Chandler and I are a little obsessed with their beet and chevre salad. I had been making it at home, but wanted to get their recipe to see if I had missed anything. The head chef personally emailed me back which made my day, and Chandlers! He mentioned that when they add green they get them from our friend’s farm. The Kitchen makes great use of all the wonderful local suppliers of food, are powered by wind energy, and use their excess oil to run Steve’s car. They also use seasonal ingredients so the menu changes. Whether you go for brunch on the weekends, lunch during the week, or dinner, it’s a treat. They even do a family style dinner on Mondays which sounds cool, though I’ve never been. They also have an upstairs that has a separate kitchen and menu but is equally cool. It’s more lounge-like. I’m on their mailing list and for my birthday they sent me a post card saying I could get 10% off breakfast during the week (when they were still doing that). I went and enjoyed my meal of fresh squeezed juice, a cappuccino, chocolate croissant, and egg frittata with chevre and spicy greens topped with sea salt and fresh ground pepper, and a side of fresh toast. I wrote and enjoyed the morning light as the world started to wake up. When Jim found out I had gone, he said he would have skipped work to have joined me. A few notes: EVERY THING is good. Tomato soup with garlic fries (the thin kind). Spicy greens salad with citrus dressing. Gnocchi. Jim loves their lamb. I love their beets. CHEESE PLATE with crusty bread, the best almonds, honey, and fruit along with three national cheeses (they even have an in-house waiter that used to be a cheese monger)! Jim and I often say we’ll go sometime just for the cheese platter, but when we go, we throw down. Their Sticky Toffee Pudding and Eton Mess are outrageous. Favorite restaurant on the planet. Enough said.)

Honorable Mentions to:

Bacaro (where Jim and I had our first valentines as well as our rehearsal dinner)

MoJo Coffee House (excellent coffee shop in Lafayette with art, friendly people, and easy and delicious breakfast food and drinks)

Whole Foods (their pizza, sushi, cupcakes, Asian slaw, ginger beer, and their olive and salad bar kick butt.)

Radda Trattoria (Excellent Italian food. Love their breakfasts.)

Tee And Cakes (Just too fun and yummy! Took my sisters here. They have a bacon cupcake. So weird.)

Spruce Confections (Great drinks, quiche, almond cupcakes, croissants, and madelines)

Glacier Ice Cream (Made in Boulder. They have excellent ice cream and sorbets, but I love their gelato!)

Water Course (Vegetarian and Vegan Heaven in Denver)

I’m still accumulating my favorites down here in Costa Rica. Will have to get back to you on that later.