Byron Gomez, award-winning executive chef at Denver’s Michelin-starred Brutø has been named one of 25 “exciting food personalities and up-and-coming culinary rock stars” on The Food Network’s annual hot list. Brutø is a sister eatery to Boulder’s Basta and Dry Storage.
Born in Costa Rica, Gomez is a DACA recipient — an immigrant who arrived in the U.S. as a child without permanent legal status. Gomez previously wowed locals with the fare at his Costa Rican-inspired Pollo Tico stall at Avanti in Boulder.
Conde Nast Traveler 2025 global bucket list destinations includes Denver and visiting Odell’s Bagel (3200 Irving St.), Sap Sua (2550 E. Colfax Ave.), Laws Whiskey House (80 W. Arkansas Ave.) and Johnny Curiel’s Alma Fonda Fina (2556 15th St.), sister eatery to Boulder’s Cozobi Fonda Fina (909 Walnut St.). Alma Fonda Fina was also named to Esquire’s Best New Restaurants in America list.
Culinary Calendar: Tea class, dumpling fest
Boulder’s The Riverside hosts a March 20 three-course dinner in celebration of Nowruz, the Persian New Year, with film, music and dancing. boulderriverside.com
Day Day Up Tea in Lafayette hosts a traditional Chinese tea tasting class March 22 featuring the history, culture and art of tea. daydayuptea.shop
Boulder’s MASA Farm hosts a March 23 pancake breakfast to raise funds for a new greenhouse. The pancakes are made with farm-grown corn and amaranth. Tickets include pancake mix to take home. bit.ly/MASApancakes
The Denver Dumpling Fest on May 7 is a driving or biking taste tour from restaurant to restaurant of dough-wrapped variations from wontons to momos to gyoza (read about a Louisville dumpling restaurant here). bit.ly/DumplingFestBW
Beer festivals are a dime a dozen in Colorado, but serious ale geeks will make a beeline to Collaboration Fest on April 19 in Westminster. More than 180 craft breweries have teamed up to create one-time-only beers. bit.ly/CollabFestBW
The Boulder and Longmont Farmers Markets open April 5.
Plan ahead: Boulder Creek Festival (May 23-26) and Boulder Taco Fest (Aug. 23).
Which eateries are the Best of Boulder?
The Boulder Weekly's Best of Boulder 2025 online ballot is the best platform you and your friends have to shout about your favorite Boulder restaurants, bakeries, bars and other businesses. Vote in at least 20 categories to have it count.
Ballot stuffers will be publicly flogged. Just kidding, but seriously: Don’t waste your time — our verification system will flag bots and sabotage of all kinds!
If you don’t see your favorite cafe in the choices listed, make sure you write in its name accurately. Voting ends March 29 with winners announced May 1.
If you don't vote, we don’t want to hear you whine that the same old places always win: vote.boulderweekly.com
Words to Chew On: The birth of brunch
“Brunch is cheerful, sociable, and inciting. It is talk-compelling. It sweeps away the worries and cobwebs of the week.” — Guy Beringer, the Englishman who mashed the words “breakfast” and “lunch” into “brunch” for the first time in an 1895 essay.
John Lehndorff hosts Radio Nibbles and Kitchen Table Talk on KGNU-FM. Listen to podcasts: kgnu.org/category/radio-nibbles