For Boulder diners and cooks who love authentic ethnic dining and shopping, the City of Aurora and Denver’s South Federal Boulevard are two favorite destinations.
Unfortunately, enjoying those districts requires a major time investment and a willingness to hassle with the traffic.
Thankfully, there is an undiscovered enclave of amazing food options located only 15 minutes away from Boulder. It boasts a huge Asian supermarket, Japanese and French bakeries, hot pot, Cajun-Asian boils, inventive taquerias and good barbecue.
This amazing place is Broomfield, but it can be a little hard to pin down. On the map, Broomfield’s 34 square miles are tucked into a truly wacky patchwork of boundaries stretched out for miles across the southern edges of Boulder County. For diners looking for a travel-worthy meal without all the travel, this undersung destination is worth exploring for yourself.
First stop: The 120th Avenue of flavors
If you only have time for one Broomfield destination, head down 120th Avenue. The expansive mall anchored by GW Supermarket and the surrounding neighborhood are home to a multitude of international eateries well worth the drive.
GW is a giant Asian supermarket with entire aisles devoted to noodles and condiments and kimchi. Across the parking lot is Hong Guan Chinese Restaurant, a large eatery with a full menu and the closest place to Boulder offering a full-scale weekend dim sum menu. The Hong Guan small-plate lineup ranges from baked barbecue pork buns, sesame balls and shrimp and pork shu mai to chicken feet in black bean sauce, steamed leek and shrimp dumplings and Portuguese-style egg tarts. Don’t miss the savory, soothing preserved egg and pork congee.
Next door to the supermarket is the largest, closest hot pot eatery to Boulder. Kirin Hot Pot offers dozens of meat, seafood and veggie options for cooking in simmering broth at the table. Nearby are Pho 79 and Pho Duy, two of the Denver metro area’s longest-serving cafes where fans get their traditional Vietnamese pho fix.
Across 120th Avenue, The Crab House specializes in the wide world of seafood including various Cajun-style boils featuring everything from shrimp and snow crab legs to green mussels and squid.
Chef-ly roadside shrine to Detroit-style pies
Hidden in a faded Broomfield strip mall is one of the state’s true pizza artists. At Chef Jason Dascoli’s tiny Rock City Pie and Ice, scratch-made, double-baked focaccia-like dough is baked with premium toppings and crispy cheese edges.
One Rock City favorite is topped with marinated roasted Colorado mushrooms and a wealth of cheeses: goat, brick, aged provolone, sharp cheddar, ricotta, buffalo mozzarella and fresh mozzarella and parmesan. Top it with fresh basil and tomato sauce and you have a true Detroit-style artisan joy. Dascoli also makes finely textured and flavored East Coast-style Italian ices.
Surprise! Layer cakes and bento boxes
You are unlikely to just happen upon The Enchanted Oven tucked away in a strip mall near Flatiron Crossing Mall. Those who find Maki Fairbanks shop tend to become regulars because it features the best of two bakery worlds. The menu ranges between traditional French-style cakes and pastries to red bean croissants, steamed pork buns and other distinctively Japanese sweet and savory treats. Fairbanks offers a weekly pre-ordered Wednesday bento box meal featuring dishes like curry buns, katsu cutlets or okonomiyaki pancakes plus salads and pickles.
Fine Indian fare and a great wine list
There are many Indian food options for local diners, but Azafran near Flatirons Crossing Mall offers elevated fine dining and an extensive wine list. Beyond well-prepared favorites from chicken tikka masala to palak (or saag) paneer, Azafran’s chef shines a light on more adventurous regional preparations ranging from Kesar-Anardana Jhinga (jumbo shrimp in a saffron-pomegranate marinade) to masala lamb chops and Punjab-style bone-in goat curry.
Yucca Brava and an elote margarita
La Distileria is a spacious, colorful and well-stocked Mexican bar in Broomfield. The menu has all your classics: tacos, burritos and quesadilla platters. Their starters are generously portioned, beginning with solid chips and salsa.
La Distileria’s chorizo reserva plate boasts thin slices of dry-aged Spanish chorizo salami with Oaxaca cheese shreds, pickled peppers, guacamole, grilled shishito chilies and crispy fry bread.
The Yuca Brava is the perfect nosh to pair with mezcal or tequila flights. Thick sticks of crisply fried yuca are topped with shredded pork carnitas, a spicy radish salad and spicy mayo for dipping.
Food and drink are fused in the eatery’s Elote Margarita, a play on street corn flavors with tequila blanco, roasted corn syrup, lime juice and a salted rim.
500 whiskeys and bangers and mash
Lots of restaurants say they serve comfort food, but the Burns Pub & Restaurant near the Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport truly embraces the mission. Rib-sticking traditional British Isles fare includes bangers and mash, fish and chips, shepherd’s pie and Irish stew. More than 500 whiskeys and imported ales were made to accompany dishes like masala curry-topped chips. Don’t miss the rarely seen Scotch eggs wrapped in sausage and deep fried.
The Broomfield fly-in barbecue destination
The last place you might expect to find good barbecue, breakfasts and sandwiches is in the terminal of a small regional airport. Blue Sky Bistro at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport has quietly attracted a following among locals and small plane enthusiasts who fly in for lunch.
House-smoked beef brisket or pulled pork is piled on brioche buns with BBQ sauce, pickles and sides like mac salad, coleslaw and doughnut bread pudding. The breakfast and lunch menu includes giant green chili-topped burritos, breakfast bagels, Cubano and French dip sandwiches and Cobb salads.
Meals can be enjoyed at tables inside the terminal. The patio can be quite loud, but it is often packed with adults with kids watching everything from small commercial jets to helicopters take off.
10 Tastes in Broomfield
Need a food itinerary at a glance? Check out these Top 10 Broomfield dining destinations — from pho-inspired burritos to bacon flights and a bevy of bites in between — for your next sojourn south of the Boulder Bubble.
1. Dominican-style stewed oxtail in tomato sauce with rice and beans @ Taino’s Take-out Caribbean Cuisine
2. Bò Lá Lot: grilled, betel leaf-wrapped spiced beef appetizer rice paper wraps @ Tu’s Kitchen
3. Pho-rrito: tortilla-wrapped brisket, grilled beef or grilled chicken with rice noodles, bean sprouts, onion, cilantro and hoisin and sriracha sauce with pho dipping broth @ Jennie Pho
4. Bacon Flight: three strips of maple brown sugar bacon and three strips of jalapeno bacon @ Eat Food & Drink
5. La Gianduja: hazelnut shortbread topped with gianduja (Nutella) ganache and milk chocolate mousse in milk chocolate glaze, garnished with caramelized hazelnuts @ La Belle Bakery
6. Lamb Kobida Kabab with basmati rice, salad and tzatziki @ Kabora Afghan Cuisine
7. Roasted poblano chile rellenos smothered in creamy pistachio sauce @ Limon y Sal
8. Pan-seared duck with blueberry-pomegranate demi-glace, vegetables and polenta paired with vegetables, orzo and a glass of 2020 Borgo Scopeto Chianti Classico from Tuscany @ Vinca Restaurant
9. Camper Breakfast: scrambled organic eggs, sausage links, bacon, potatoes, toast and coffee, served family-style for the table @ The Camper, Omni Interlocken Hotel
10.
l Jefe Hot Chocolate Imperial Stout with cinnamon, coffee cacoa and marshmallow @ 4 Noses Brewing Co.
John Lehndorff is the Boulder Weekly Food editor and writes the Nibbles food column weekly. Comments: [email protected]