The Boulder Passport: Rueben’s Burger Bistro

Our first stop for our Boulder Passport was Rueben’s Burger Bistro. I hadn’t been there in a while and am really glad I went back. We enjoyed their Passport special of two for one Brother Rueben’s Tripel, and were reminded of their very extensive beer selection. What impressed me most about sitting at the bar was not just the 42 beer taps, but the twelve wines on tap as well. In my opinion, wine on tap = very cool.

Sean and I decided to try one of their burgers because they have a house made veggie patty. We ordered the Hampsten which comes topped with arugula, sprouts, avocado, cucumber, and toasted pumpkin seeds. Our bartender asked if we were splitting it, and it was served cut in half on two plates. Nice touch.

Stop one on the Boulder Passport was a success.

The Boulder Passport

2014 is the first year of The Boulder Passport, a 2-for-1 drink specials booklet valid at 40 establishments (chosen by yours truly). The Passport launched in Denver last summer and was hugely successful, so this summer, valid Memorial Weekend through Labor Day Weekend, there are passports a plenty in Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins, and Brooklyn.

I was hired to get the Boulder Passport up and running, which was hugely gratifying once I got to hold it in my hands and see 40 kickass establishments offering great drink specials. I decided that since I was going to visit all 40, why not write about each of them?

Get your Boulder Passport before they sell out.  Cheers to a fun summer!

Julian’s Providence, R.I.

Sean and I had one morning to spend in Providence, RI, which I was excited about because I had never been there, but know they have a pretty phenomenal culinary scene. I did a lot of research looking for “food bloggers Providence”  and similar terms hoping to come up with a “must-eat” list, but was really disappointed with the lack of local bloggers helping someone like me get hip to their food-scene. A few posts and blogs mentioned Julian’s, but I wasn’t really excited about it. I had something else in mind that I wanted to experience for my one and only meal on a Monday late morning/lunch stop.

We were in a time crunch to get back to Sean’s twin sister’s house in MA as he hadn’t seen her in an unacceptable number of years, nor had he met his twin niece and nephew. We couldn’t lollygag all day exploring the city, and our Air BnB room was a few blocks away from Julian’s, which was coincidentally one of the only places open around 11 am on Monday. So, Julian’s it was.

And I’m SO GLAD it was. This place was cool. Very cool. The decor was kind of ridiculous with some dragon-like-serpent hanging from the ceiling and “slithering” throughout the place. But, we were greeted by someone super friendly, seated, and had a great server. So far, so good. And, they’re KISS fans… ?

We started off with a Bloody Mary, one of my all time favorite drinks that I drink all too infrequently. Sean remembered half-way into his that he doesn’t really like them, so I got to finish his when he switched to beer. I definitely took one for the team!

Since I’m going to marry a vegetarian, I’m basically a vegetarian:) But seriously- I had been a strict vegetarian from age 13 to 21, and then was a pescatarian until age 24. I still prefer to eat vegetarian and appreciate restaurants that invite vegetarians to have an enjoyable meal- not just pasta primavera or a seasonal veggie platter as is all too often the case. Julian’s is a place where everyone can find something great.

I ordered the first dish on their Specials board-  a tofu scramble with roasted summer vegetables, shaved radish, fennel, and toast. It was so good I pretty much ate the whole thing despite being full.

This place is a REAL restaurant that makes almost everything in house. You have to appreciate that, especially since they do a wide variety and it seems like they do it all well. Granted, we were just there for one meal. But, everything was spot on. Including Chef Sean’s indulgent meal, an eggs benedict.

I had one bite, but he pretty much licked the platter clean as if he were Jack Sprat eating Swift’s Premium Ham. Did I just lose you there? I grew up with this poster in my kitchen-

Anyway- Julian’s was great. We’re still speaking really highly of it almost two months after our trip (I know, it took me a while to document our food journey). But, I’m pretty sure almost anyone out there will find something enjoyable on their menu. More importantly, I’m pretty sure they’ll do a nice job cooking anything and everything on their menu. It’s a great restaurant and there’s a reason it’s a Providence establishment. Though, I’m still trying to figure out just why anyone lives in Providence in the first place…

Julian’s

318 Broadway, Providence, RI

401.861.1770

Caramelized Onion Chipotle Chévre Guacamole- A Dip and Sip Challenge

As I mentioned in my blog post about my Piedra Azul cocktail- La Última Palabra– A Bolder Table was invited to participate in a Dip and Sip Challenge featuring Piedra Azul Tequila and Avocados in honor of National Guacamole Day, which is September 16. Sean and I had plans to invite friends and have a little soirée in our loft, but then Boulder suffered through a 100 year flood, making roads impassable.  In fact, we were asked to stay put so only emergency vehicles were on the road, and at the time of this posting, we’re still under a flash flood warning. So, needless to say, there was no fiesta with the $25 gift card we received to Whole Foods nor with the bottle of Piedra Azul Tequila. It was just the two of us, tequila, and avocados.

Before the flood of the century, I had plans to go to the Boulder Farmers’ Market for all of the ingredients I couldn’t purchase at Whole Foods. That, unfortunately, didn’t happen because the market was canceled due to flooding. Most of the farms, in fact, were totally wiped out, so I’m not even sure we’ll have a market for the rest of the season. But, disaster aside- plans changed. When life gives you lemons, make lemon-aide. When Piedra Azul gives you avocados and tequila, make guacamole and libations. It’s simple, sometimes.

When there was a break in the rain we rode our Linus bikes (couldn’t resist the plug) to Whole Foods to grab some Hass avocados, Haystack Mountain Boulder Chévre, and a few other ingredients to make an avocado dip to pair with my tequila tail and some veggie fajitas that the chef planned for dinner after working a ten hour shift at OAK.

The Dip and Sip Challenge is straightforward: Create a unique avocado dip and tequila libation. We received a $25 gift card to Whole Foods, a bottle of Piedra Azul Blanco Tequila, and Gaby Dalkin’s cookbook Absolutely Avocados.

When I lived in Santiago de Chile, I ate avocados every single day. After moving to Boulder and seeing a $2-$3 price tag per avocado, I pretty much made them a food specialty item in my kitchen. So, I was eager to accept the challenge, the gift card, and the cook book since I absolutely LOVE avocados. Disastrous flooding canceled our party, but the bright side is Sean and I had two days of serious avocado indulgence, which is not custom in our home.

Sean made a caramelized onion chipotle chévre guacamole for dipping with chips and spreading on fajitas. The recipe is straightforward:

Caramelize a yellow onion in olive oil. If you’ve never caramelized an onion before, it’s easy. Slice them thinly and add them to a hot pan with olive oil. Turn down the heat and let them slowly turn brown over 30-40 minutes, agitating them occasionally.

The caramelized goodness went into a food processor with a log of locally made Boulder Chévre and a couple chipotle peppers from a can of San Marcos Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce purchased at Whole Foods.

While Sean sliced the avocados, I had a giddy-as-a-school-girl-look on my face. But, we have no photo of that. Just the aguacates.

The final steps are simple- add the caramelized onion chipotle chévre mixture to mashed avocado, add Meyer lemon, French sea salt, Aleppo Pepper  to taste (recall those ingredients from my cocktail?), and mix well.

We enjoyed the dip with chips, and with veggie fajitas topped with locally made White Girl Salsa and Sean’s Habañero Hot Sauce.  

This was a fun challenge for both of us. We learned some interesting facts about avocados from Gabby’s book, were both challenged to create something new, and had a great dinner for two as a result.

¡Buen Provecho!