I admit that I can’t recall much about most of the restaurant meals I ate in 2024. Sometimes breakfast or lunch is just eating, not dining. Certain dishes, however, were unforgettable — like the okonomiyaki at Osaka’s of Boulder and cherry pie at Goodfella’s Diner in Longmont.
The following dining diary is packed with favorites I’ve tasted locally in the past 12 months. Many have been spotlighted in Nibbles, in Boulder Weekly special sections, and on KGNU’s Radio Nibbles.
I couldn’t include the Korean fried chicken at Mono Mono, Asian sausage at Casian Seafood, or fried clams at Reelfish Fish & Chips because these eateries and others are shuttered. But they would have made the list.
Here are a few recommended local tastes of 2024:
Brunch - Jamestown Mercantile, Jamestown
The drive into the foothills is rewarded with a changing and satisfying Sunday brunch menu ranging from pastries to breakfast sandwiches. Try the hard-to-beat crispy chile and cheese rellenos with eggs and an edgy green chile sauce plus roasted Yukon gold spuds drenched in lemony hollandaise.
Gochujang chicken saam - Velvet Elk Lounge, Boulder
Thanks to the kitchen it shares with The Post Chicken and Beer, Velvet Elk dishes a near-perfect bar treat. Sweet, spicy, salty and fermented gochujang sauce coats fried boneless chicken wrapped in lettuce leaves with pickled onion, cilantro and mint.
Melanzane Parmigiana - Bucatino Trattoria Romana, Lafayette
This new Italian eatery plates a serious upgrade on hockey players’ lucky meal. Here, eggplant Parmesan is tender, fried organic eggplant slices baked with mozzarella and tomato basil sauce served over penne alfredo. You’ll want some fresh focaccia.
Choy sum and baked bao - Zoe Ma Ma, Boulder
The much-loved Asian street food menu at the James Beard Award-nominated, Michelin-recommended Zoe Ma Ma has added new pleasures. Choy sum is deceptively simple but delicious: fresh greens wok-fried with garlic. The Taiwanese baked bao sesame seeded buns are tasty bites filled with peppery minced beef.
Tropical Storm taco - McDevitt Taco Supply, Boulder
I like the pork chorizo tacos and praise the version filled with crispy pork, but my new craving is the Tropical Storm. Soft griddled corn tortillas are stuffed with fried plantains topped with kale salad and hot honey. Cilantro, onions and avocado-tomatillo salsa give it extra zest.
Pasta a la huancaina - Rosario’s Peruvian Restaurant, Longmont
Peru’s multicultural influences shine on Rosario’s menu, including this alfredo variation. Noodles are robed in a queso fresco cheese sauce amped up with ají amarillo chilies. Desserts include meringue-topped passion fruit cream.
Sii cheh kao sweh - Urban Burma, Aurora
Mango House is a remarkable shared community center for resettled Denver-area refugees featuring food stalls and international shops. The Urban Burma counter offers big-flavored South Asia dishes including sii cheh kao sweh, flat rice noodles with fried garlic, sesame oil, green onions and crispy pork or chicken. Don’t miss the fermented tea leaf slaw.
St. Louis-style ribs - Wayne’s Smoke Shack, Superior
Lots of local eateries sell ribs, but Wayne’s wins my vote.The oak-smoked St. Louis-style ribs feature juicy fall-off-the-bone pork under a chewy bark. Add tart-hot mustard BBQ sauce for a little bite. Don’t miss the house-baked rolls brushed with beef fat and butter.
Jaegerschnitzel - Prost Brewing Co., Northglenn
Prost’s gleaming new Biergarten and brewery is winning prizes for its pilsner and a menu of German comforters. It’s easy to love the pork cutlets sided with ham-and-cheesy spaetzle dumplings, as well as chewy pretzels and locally made sausages with red cabbage.
Saag paneer - Mountain Bites, Lafayette
Hidden in a gas station, the family-run Mountain Bites crafts all my must-have, take-out Indian and Nepali dishes including spicy spinach saag with plenty of chewy paneer cheese. It’s heaven with basmati and garlic cheese naan. Hit the road with a cup of milky chai.
Pizza okonomiyaki - Osaka’s, Boulder
We spell taste bud satisfaction “okonomiyaki,” the savory Japanese cabbage or kale pancakes. Some are topped with beef or seafood, but I’m a fan of the pancake topped with melted cheeses. The restaurant’s Osaka Burger sliders use small okonomiyaki as “buns.”
The Magdalena - Süti & Co., Boulder
The cozy downtown coffee shop specializes in exquisite shortbread creations made with imported Danish butter. I’m fond of the Magdalena, a vanilla shortbread fig jam sandwich and candied walnuts, and The Lilly: chocolate-dipped, ganache-filled cookies.
Snow Bingsu - Bowl Izakaya, Longmont
This impressive creamy Korean dessert offers a big bowl of riced ice cream topped with cheesecake chunks, almonds, caramel sauce and chocolate cookies.
The tastiest square pizzas
A 2024 research project required sampling some of the best square Detroit-style pizzas in various forms along the Front Range. These were some of my favorites.
Detroit-style Hawaiian pizza - Ghost Box Pizza, Lafayette
CrispyDetroit-style twice-baked crust is crowned with Canadian bacon, pineapple, red onion, mozzarella and a simple tomato sauce.
Wild Shroom - Rock City Pie & Ice, Broomfield
Detroit-inspired focaccia-like squares are graced with marinated roasted Colorado mushrooms and a multitude of cheeses: goat, brick, provolone, cheddar, ricotta, fresh mozzarella and parmesan -— plus fresh basil and tomato sauce.
Brooklyn Bridge - Blue Pan Pizza, Golden
Blue Pan’s exceptional bready crust is topped with pecorino romano, mozzarella, brick and fresh ricotta cheeses with tomato sauce, pepperoni, Italian sausage, garlic and oregano. The crunchy, cheesy edges are a joy.
Arrabiata Detroit-style pizza - Urban Field and Market, Longmont
Perfectly crispy outside, tender inside, theDetroit-inspired crust is flavor-layered with tomato sauce, cheese, cup pepperoni, red onion, pepperoncini, garlic, Calabrian chiles, hot honey and fresh basil. On concert nights at the Boulder Theater, Urban Field serves in The Lounge.
Other Boulder County taste treats
• Burnt beef ends and well-smoked ribs, H3rsh3r BBQ Co. at Parkway Food Hall, Longmont.
• Breakfast rice square with pork belly and eggs, Skratch Labs Cafe, Boulder
• Cherry pie a la mode, Goodfella’s Diner, Longmont
• Spinach gnocchi, River & Woods, Boulder
• Corned beef hash and eggs, Home Cookin’ Cafe, Louisville
• Croque Madame, Jeannot’s Patisserie, Lafayette
• Beef brisket sandwich with fries, Blue Sky Bistro, inside Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport terminal, Broomfield
• Shui Jiao Beijing pork and cabbage dumplings, Ginger Pig, Boulder
• Chicken cutlet curry, Domo Restaurant, Denver
John Lehndorff is the former Dining Critic of the Rocky Mountain News. He hosts Radio Nibbles and Kitchen Table Talk on KGNU. Podcasts: kgnu.org/category/radio-nibbles