Well, it’s happened again.  Another fantastic restaurant has opened in Boulder.  I thought a Tuesday night would be slow, but The Pinyon was packed when we arrived around 7:30.  We got two seats at the beautiful, large, spacious, wooden bar and got to watch the busy, meticulous kitchen staff work hard while we enjoyed the fruits of their labor.

We started out with cocktails, of course.

I tried the Waldorf, which was Rye, Sweet Vermouth, and Absinthe.  Brought me right back to New Orleans… love that rye.

To start, we split the House Made Farmer Cheese.  You must try the house made farmer cheese.  It it one of my new favorite small plates ever.  The black pepper honey and grilled bread made me want to order an entire bowl of this cheese and a loaf of bread so I could stuff myself on perfection.  But… we had other small plates to enjoy.

I don’t know what they do to their braised greens, but if I made greens taste this good, I’d actually eat them every day instead of blend them in a vitamix and drink them.  The chefs at The Pinyon must know a secret because you could get little kids to enjoy these greens.   The golden raisins and pine nuts are also a nice touch.

And the pickled vegetables!  I had never considered pickled yam as a pickling possibility, but The Pinyon did and the pickled veggies are deliciously pickled, yet maintain some crunch.  Celery, carrot, cauliflower, yam, turnip, and beets.  By the time we finished our appetizers, I was convinced that I loved this place.

Now, let’s talk about fried chicken.  I know The Pinyon offers more than fried chicken, but sitting there watching all of the plating taking place, you’d think it was a fried chicken joint.  So many people ordered this perfectly battered and fried half chicken with corn cakes and house syrup, and we did too.  The Pinyon’s fried chicken is comfort food with a new American, front-range twist.  They are well on their way to being the place in town for fried chicken. 

I took a chance on the Butternut and Pumpkin Dumplings, thinking they’d be like a Chinese dumpling stuffed with squash and pumpkin.  Not at all!  They’re so much better than that!  They’re like plump gnocchi-like pillows of mouth-watering goodness in a brown-butter sage bourbon sauce that blends well with the gingersnap crumbs, mushrooms, and roasted tomatoes.  The frisee works well with the dish and I had a hard time pacing myself.  I kept eating and eating and eating…

And, of course we ordered the doughnuts for dessert and started eating them before I even thought to snap a photo.  Three kinds of doughnuts rounded off our meal: chocolate, maple glazed, and bourbon glazed.  Ahh… doughnuts.  Who doesn’t honestly love doughnuts?

The service at The Pinyon was stellar.  The food was absolutely delicious.  It is officially one of my new favorite places in town.

I couldn’t have asked for a better last meal on our last night in New Orleans, on the last night of our vacation. The Green Goddess sits in a dark alley and, had it not been for our Christmas Eve Reveillon dinner across the alley at The Pelican Club, we would have never seen this small, unassuming restaurant.

Then, on Christmas Day, while sipping some superb cocktails at the Bar UnCommon, we were talking with Laura McMillian (from Bar UnCommon), about our traditional meal at The Pelican Club. Laura immediately suggested we check out The Green Goddess. Having nothing but absolute respect for advice coming from a foodie such as herself, we made a point to check out this goddess…

What a delight! But, my camera app was malfunctioning, so there are sadly no photos of food- just the view from the cozy bar where we sat to eat and drink. Turns out the cozy bar was the best seat in the house to experience this place…

We were somehow meant to go to The Green Goddess because we walked in and were promptly greeted by the most on-point bartender/waiter/mixologist I’d ever seen (Scott, it turns out is his name), and he asked if we had been on the streetcar that afternoon. I immediately remembered looking right at him as we were packed like sardines on the streetcar coming from the garden district back towards the French Quarter. Not to get totally off the topic of food, but it felt like a book or movie where two characters who appear to have nothing to do with each other cross paths in more than one place. Very cool. Scott himself was very cool, too. Turns out he’s been to Boulder…

Scott really keeps The Green Goddess moving at the pace it needs to in order to accommodate the seemingly never-ending line of hungry patrons eager for a bite of the fine cuisine one can only eat at an establishment of similar culinary prowess as The Green Goddess. I mean that seriously. If you spend any time reading their website and/or menu, you’ll know what I mean.

According to their website, the Green Goddess “blends New Orleans sensibilities with a globetrotting sampling of ingredients, all emanating from the small open kitchen where chefs Chris DeBarr and Paul Artigues make it happen.” This restaurant is, as they say, “the kind of place that defies labels” as it showcases local Louisiana seafood, sausages, and produce while marrying them with “exotic tastes that reference New Orleans’ historic role as one of the greatest port cities in the world, where anything can be found.”

The best of everything seems to be found on their menu. Scott told us that they enjoy supporting smaller, independent businesses that produce small-batch, high quality foods and food products. I had to Google a few things just out of curiosity, such as Clear Creek Distillery in Oregon, where The Green Goddess purchases Cranberry Liqueur and Pear Brandy.

I could go on and on, but I won’t. I’ll tell you that everything on their menu is bound to be good, so check them at:

307 Exchange Place

New Orleans, LA 70130

504-301-3347

We had just finished a great dinner at S.O.B. and were checking out some menus at various places on our walk back to the hotel.  I have apparently lost what used to be a good sense of direction because I turned down the street one way and Kevin had apparently turned the other when I heard a man ask something about food or drink.  I paid no attention and started walking when he asked, “Are you guys European?”  I guess we looked like we were lost and didn’t understand English.  Turns out it was Aldo Dean, founder and owner of Bardog Tavern.  He immediately offered to buy us some drinks and brought us to the most bustling, laid-back, neighborhood bar… or tavern: Bardog.

I didn’t have my camera, and my phone took really dark photos, so it looks like my hipstamatic app came to the rescue again.  Bardog was absolutely packed.  People were eating, drinking, and being merry.  We were lucky to score a couple seats at the bar when two people left, and we sat there for a few drinks, soaking in the local Memphis bar scene.  This was not Beale St.  Not.Even.Close.

Bardog is a bar with an attitude.  Not a snotty, stuck-up attitude- but a no bullshit attitude.  They proudly let you know there is no Redbull served there.  There’s no live music either.  This is a bar created by a man who had a clear vision of what a neighborhood bar should be, and I would say he had a great idea.

We didn’t get to try their food, but when that many people are eating, it has got to be good.  They have a full menu starting with breakfast at 8 am, as well as snacks, sandwiches, soups, salads, steaks, and desserts that they’ll serve most nights until 2 am.

We thought the bar was packed that night.  We returned the next night and it was wall-to-wall people, upstairs and downstairs.  This is definitely where the locals go.  This is where people gather until early into the morning hours when they don’t want to listen to the bands on Beale and don’t want to deal with a bar full of tourists.  It’s a place to check the pulse of the Memphis scene and I assure you, it is alive and thriving.  

I’d like to personally thank Aldo for bringing us to his bar.  We were just going to go back to our hotel when he convinced us to stay out a little later.  Bardog contributed so much to our overall experience of Memphis, and gave us good topics of conversation as we drove on to New Orleans.

On a random walk in Memphis while trying to work up an appetite, we stumbled upon a unique gastropub- S.O.B. We were South of Beale close to the National Civil Rights Museum, and thought this modern gastropub looked so much better than anything we had seen downtown (especially on or near Beale). So, we stepped in and were greeted with brown sugary, buttery, sweet and spicy popcorn.

Popcorn is a great way to start a meal. I think more restaurants should offer popcorn on the table instead of bread. It’s fun. And, here in Boulder, we have Boulder Popcorn, so I’d expect to see it on more restaurant tables. Maybe soon… anyway-

Kevin was considering something light. Then the grilled pork chop with mac n’ cheese caught his eye and he devoured it with a huge smile on his face in-between and during every bite. I do believe he went that entire day- starting in Nashville, driving to Memphis with a stop at Steak n’ Shake, then getting dinner at SOB, without eating a single vegetable. I found that hilarious and came up with a number of stupid jokes not worth mentioning here.

I ordered a spinach salad with seared red snapper, dressed in a light vinaigrette with some golden raisins and spiced walnuts. It was so delicious. The fish was perfectly cooked and moist, the golden raisins complemented the spinach dressed so delicately, and the nuts added the right crunch. I definitely made a good decision on that dish, and I got to eat a serving of veggies. Nice.

SOB is a very cool gastropub that focuses on local, seasonal foods. They serve Ghost River beers (a local Memphis brewery), as well as other southern microbrews, and have a fantastically priced Happy Hour- $3.00 drafts and $4 wells and wine.

They’re also open late- something we don’t get to enjoy out here in Boulder! Our friendly waitress (who’s name I didn’t catch, so please do let me know who you are if you read this) is opening a bakery/wine bar near SOB, so I’m eager to hear more about that because her business ideas sounded like a lot of fun for a foodie who enjoys wine and desserts. That would be reason enough to return to Memphis and head South of Beale.