It’s not exactly breaking news that Colorado is full of transplants. It’s gorgeous out here! How can we blame anyone for trading in the sights and sounds of their respective birthplaces for mountain trails and sunny skies?
Still, no matter how much time you spend at altitude, the taste and smells of your favorite hometown cuisine stick with you. Luckily, Boulder has what you need. So if your pallet is feeling a bit homesick, we’re hoping this list of regional favorites, located right here, will fill that Chicago hot dog-shaped hole in your heart.
Skyline chili – Cincinnati
Cafe Blue
5280 Spine Road, Suite 103, Boulder
Skyline Chili is a sacred institution in Ohio’s southernmost hub, the most popular spot for heaping plates of spaghetti, cheddar cheese and chili. The closest you can get to experiencing this pile of glorious slop (besides buying the Skyline brand’s canned chili at the market) is Cafe Blue, whose menu item called “Cincinnati chili” is an impressive homage to this regional favorite. You can even ask for a four-way or a five-way — if you’re into that sort of thing — and the chef will happily pile on beans, onions or both. (We prefer four-ways at Boulder Weekly.) Hell, they’ll even put it in a bun with a hot dog (called a coney), rounding out a true Cincinnati chili experience.
Eggs sardou – New Orleans
Lucile’s Creole Cafe
2124 14th St., Boulder
Where cities like Cincinnati, Philadelphia and Nashville have one or two specialty items, New Orleans has an entire menu. Lucky for us, one of the Front Range’s most successful breakfast chains is slinging dishes from The Big Easy in Boulder, Longmont and Erie, among other locations. Their red beans and rice are perfectly hearty, their gumbo isn’t too thick or too salty, but the star of the show may just be their eggs sardou. A traditional Creole offering, Lucile’s nails this rich, bright breakfast dish. Two beds — one grits, the other creamed spinach — cover the bottom of the plate. Poached eggs and gulf shrimp lay atop these delectable sides like pillows. Doesn’t that sound heavenly?
Nashville hot chicken – Nashville
The Post Chicken & Beer
2027 13th St., Boulder
The breaded triad of chicken preparation — tenders/nuggets, wings and fried chicken — has American dining culture in a chokehold. Folks far and wide are dunking them in sauce, frying them with peculiar oils, throwing them between slices of bread, and so much more. In Nashville, it’s been the same old song and dance since the Prince family turned up the heat nearly a century ago.
While it’s next to impossible to recreate the crunch and kick of Prince’s Hot Chicken, The Post is doing a darn good job of it. We recommend rounding up friends and family, finding a patch of grass at a park and splitting the tab on “The Throwdown” — 16 pieces of their chicken, tossed in Nashville hot for a satisfying burn, four sides (get the collard greens with pork belly if you know what’s good for you) and some biscuits.
Hawaiian barbecue – Honolulu
L&L Hawaiian Barbecue
2323 30th St., Boulder
Barbecue as a midday meal is a source of great pride in Hawaii. They keep things simple but effective: a couple scoops of rice, a spoonful of macaroni salad and a protein (typically chicken, pork, beef or a local catch). Johnson Kam and Eddie Flores Jr. brought this staple meal to the states at the turn of the century, and today, we’ve got one of their L&L Hawaiian Barbecue locations right here in Boulder.
While the choice between the sweet Kalua Pork, tangy chicken teriyaki or full-bodied barbecue beef is up to you (and you can’t go wrong), two dishes are required purchases. Their macaroni salad is to die for — it’s the sort of shamelessly creamy variation that induces nostalgic memories of summer cookouts. And if you’re going to L&L, you have to get a SPAM musubi, or you didn’t really go. Rice, seaweed, marinated and grilled spam: It’ll have you hopping on the SPAM-wagon after your first bite.
Chicago-style hot dog and Italian beef – Chicago
Mustard’s Last Stand
1719 Broadway, Boulder
Chicago likes big, extravagant food staples. It’s a city with long winters and disappointing sports teams, so to numb the pain, Chicagoans lean on thick pies, monstrous beef hoagies and hot dogs featuring the whole garden. While true tavern-style and deep dish are tough to find in Boulder (visit Wyman’s #5 in Denver for those), Chicago dogs and Italian beef sandwiches can be found in the middle of town at Mustard’s Last Stand.
A Chicago dog is a harmonious sum of its parts, and this place doesn’t leave out any of them: a Vienna weiner, mustard, celery salt, sport peppers, tomato, pickle, chopped onion and neon-green relish, all on a poppy seed bun — absolutely no ketchup. The Italian beef is simpler, but its flavor is simply undeniable: sliced beef simmered in Italian gravy, with giardiniera, green and hot peppers and grilled onions. Mustard’s Last Stand nails both. Next time you’re there, don’t cheat yourself: Get one of each, struggle to eat them on your drive and take a half-day nap when you get home, Chicago style.
Lobster roll – New England
Maine Shack
2010 16th St., Boulder
Of all the regional bites in this article, the lobster roll may be the hardest to replicate outside of its native land. We’re as close to Maine as Maine is to Ireland, so fresh lobster in our neck of the woods seems impossible. At Maine Shack, they see it as a worthy challenge. They receive orders — wild-caught ethically and sustainably, from Stonington, Maine — a few times a week. You get one of two choices: the Maine way, served chilled, or the Connecticut way, served warm. We’re not here to settle the debate on which is better; we’re just here to tell you that at Maine Shack, they’re both worth battling downtown traffic.
Street Tacos – Los Angeles
Shreddy’s Tacos
2690 Baseline Road, Boulder
Los Angeles natives will beat it into your head that, on every corner of their precious city, you can pay a few bucks and get the best street taco you’ve ever had. They’re right, but in essence, the simplicity of a street taco can be replicated almost anywhere. Shreddy’s Tacos, Boulder’s newest vendor of Mexican fare, honed their craft in the shadow of Winter Park’s ski mountain and found brick and mortar solace just off Baseline Road. Their carne asada is mouth-watering, and they’ve got their al-pastor marinade all the way down, but our favorite may very well be the nopales — a vegetarian option, made from the nopal cactus pads, that possesses a deep, earthy flavor, paired with cream and chopped onion.
Read about another staff pick for street tacos here.
Ribs and Smoked Pork – Memphis
KT’s BBQ
2660 Broadway, Boulder
No city knows its way around a pig like Memphis. The shoulder, the belly, the ribs — they’ve got a dish for every stop, from head to toe. KT’s BBQ brings the pork-forward world of Memphis to our lunch and dinner plates. Kirk and Tricia Jamison have kept the chain family-owned for 30 years, and the quality hasn’t wavered a bit.
We recommend either the dry-rubbed pork ribs or the hickory-smoked pork shoulders, both of which are perfectly tender and flavorful, and a perfect partner to one of their two regionally based barbecue sauces: the tangier Kirk’s Memphis sauce, or the sweeter Tricia’s Texas sauce. Get both mains, both sauces and mix-and-match until you find your perfect pairing.
New York Bagels – New York City
Fleishman’s Bagels & Delicatessen
2355 30th St., Boulder
“There’s something in the water that makes them special,” they’ll tell you. We don’t know if that’s scientifically true, but it’s hard to argue that the best bagels on the planet call The Big Apple home. Since 2020, Danna Fleishman has carved out a slice of the east coast in Full Cycle’s parking lot. Her food truck, Fleishman’s Bagels and Delicatessen, does things the right way: Every last bagel is hand-rolled, boiled and baked. Want some white fish salad with yours? They’ve got it. How about some capers, onion and lox? Of course. Looking for Taylor ham, egg and cheese? Danna and her team have you covered.