The Burger Stand at the Taos Ale House

As the website says, The Burger Stand at the Taos Ale House is a brewpub with a diverse selection of small batch handcrafted beer and eclectic and delicious burgers. It’s a great place for burgers and beer in a town that pretty much closes up shop at 5 or 6 pm. There are few places in Taos that are, in the opinion of A Bolder Table, worth frequenting, and the Ale House is one of them.

We ordered a couple pints of locally brewed New Mexican beers, and then went to the burger Stand counter to order burgers off of a nicely varied menu. There’s something for everyone here.

While we waited, we perused the extensive condiment selection. They have at least a dozen sauces and accouterments to add to your burger, which got us pretty excited for our meal.

We had to try the green chili and cheese fries, and honestly, it’s the only thing we had that was disappointing. The green chili was good, but the fries were obviously pre-made and packaged, not hand cut as I had anticipated, and the cheese sauce tasted processed. So, those are my gripes. Moving on…

The Quinoa and Arugula salad was good and the dressing on the side as well.

My burger was great. Sean ordered one of their veggie burger options, but I neglected to get a photo. It’s always nice when places make veggie burgers in house, and The Burger Stand goes above and beyond by making two completely different veggie patties. I went with a turkey burger version of the Fire Burger, topped with avocado and habañero cactus jam. It was delicious, especially after a full day crushing the steep slopes at Taos Ski Valley.

We really liked this place, and went back the next night for a beer before heading out to dine at The Love Apple.

Piece- A Chicago Pizzeria and Brewery

The pizza renaissance or revolution that swept through Boulder and Denver a few years ago really sparked an interest in us to explore some of the original American pizza artisans (which brought us to The Original Frank Pepe Pizzeria, New Haven, CT) and some of our contemporary pizzaioli (Pizzicletta, Flagstaff, AZ). So, it only made sense that we’d end up in Chicago sooner rather than later.

Sean’s quite seasoned on Chicago dining, whereas I’d never been to The Windy City. He suggested we start off our long weekend at Piece for two reasons: #1- It’s a great pizzeria and brewery, winning many awards for its beer over the years. #2- He needed a new t-shirt as his old Piece shirt was stained.

I noticed as soon as we sat down that the menu says “New Haven Style Pizza,” so our September 2013 trip to Frank Pepe’s was clearly a good place to include in our pizza tasting journey.

We started off with a couple pints and then discussed the menu. We didn’t stick to our routine of trying the margherita pizza (or in this case, their “red” pizza). We went with a white pizza topped with roasted red peppers and basil.

Served on a sheet tray, this pizza is reminiscent of Frank Pepe’s and has a similar crackly thin crust, but, it’s less charred. I like that Piece acknowledges it’s east coast inspiration, and it’s clear that it’s doing something right as 2014 marks Piece’s thirteenth year in business.

Cheers to great pizza!

The Boulder Passport: Sanitas Brewing

After cocktails at Roundhouse Spirits and a couple pints at Wild Woods Brewery, I got on my bike thinking we were heading home. But no. Sean had decided we should ride over to Sanitas Brewing for our third and final stop on our week night Tour de Boulder Passport.

We walked in to find our friend Marty pouring beer, which meant that our first round was followed by a second round. But, no complaints here. Sanitas has a huge patio (with lawn games), food by McDevitt Taco Supply, and good beer.

We sat until the sun set, collected our third stamp for the evening, and pedaled home in the dark discussing our spontaneously fun adventure… brought to us by The Boulder Passport.

The Boulder Passport: Wild Woods Brewery

After a drink at Roundhouse, Chef and I hopped on our trusty Linuses and rode a couple blocks over to Wild Woods Brewery for a taste of their two-for-one beers.

This was my second time at Wild Woods, as I enjoyed a beer sampler there when I delivered their Boulder Passport stamp and ink pad. I enjoy the woodsy camping outdoorsy-themed beers. I was excited to tip back with Sean as he’s generally more of a beer guy and me a wine-o.

Owners Jake and Erin Evans will gladly let you taste anything before jumping into a pint. I went right for the Treeline IPA and he enjoyed a Ponderosa Porter. Then we had another round and decided it was a good idea to visit one more spot on our Tour de Passport that evening…