A funny thing happened last spring. I found out that Colorado’s first all organic brewery had set up shop a few months prior in an office park across the street from where I live. Asher Brewing Co, who claims to be “solving the world’s problems one beer at a time” is definitely trying to solve our problem out here in the Gunbarrel neighborhood of Boulder where good food and drink establishments are scarce. At least we can finally hang out at a… I don’t know what to say… an office park brewery. You have to see it to believe it, and taste a few while you’re there.

On the Saturday before Halloween I found out that Hosea Rosenberg’s StrEAT Chefs would be at Asher, serving some street food from their shiny mobile kitchen. I had not yet tried StrEAT Chefs, despite the fact that I’d been eager to ever since they started serving “streat”-food a few months ago. We just walked across the street and there he was, Top Chef Hosea himself.

The menu looked like good street food, and the meat-eater with me was VERY happy with his pulled pork BBQ sandwich.

Vegetarian options, however, were disappointing. My only choices were a salad or a three cheese grilled cheese sandwich, which I was not really expecting. I ordered the grilled cheese because I was starving and I eat salads all the time and didn’t feel like a salad with my beer. The grilled cheese was sinfully good, slathered in butter and dripping with cheese. But, I don’t really like to eat that way, personally. There are so many unique, cool, fun vegetarian options that I’d like to see available, especially since a lot of people will eat vegetarian foods who aren’t vegetarians themselves. It’s often a healthy choice and A Bolder Table readers know I have a number of ideas that could fly with StrEAT Chefs. But, rather than complain that StrEAT Chefs brush vegetarians to the side and assume they’ll be happy with grilled cheese, I will go ahead and give them a thumbs up because their food is good, and we desperately need food carts in Boulder!

However, if anyone from StrEAT Chefs is reading this… I’d be more than happy to provide a vegetarian menu consultation. It might take your business to a new level.

It was a typical night: I was sitting on the couch with a glass of wine, flipping between the Food Network and the Cooking Channel. The clock approached midnight… then 12:30. I decided to go to bed. But then, it happened again. A Boulder food business was being featured on a Cooking Channel show. I feel like I’m constantly seeing Boulder food businesses on TV, so I recorded it… but stayed up til 1:00 am just to hear about these nuts.

Olomomo. What in the what kind of name is that? Justin Perkins, the founder and CEO of Olomomo, talked about his company’s name. He apparently created the word. It’s a mouthful, but, in my opinion, describes these flavorful nuts, in some kind of odd way.

I enjoyed watching Justin talk about his company on TV. He talked about world travel as an inspiration for his nut flavors, such as Chai Bliss Almonds, Maple Masala Pecans, Mango Chipotle Zinger Almonds, and Cinnamon and Cayenne Almonds. I’d love to sit down with him and talk travel/food inspiration, being an extensive world traveler myself…. but, I digress…

I’ve seen Olomomo’s stand at the Boulder Farmers’ Market all summer, so I decided to buy a few bags. I tried the Maple Masala Pecans, Mango Chipotle Zinger Almonds, and Chai Bliss Almonds.

The verdict: These are my new favorite snack. I had to show real self control to not devour all of the nuts before even taking a quick photo. Great job Olomomo! I’m so happy to have you here in Boulder and look forward to eating lots of Olomomo nuts in the future. Ski season is approaching, and these small packs are a perfect snack.

If you’re in Boulder, make sure to stop by one of the last few farmers’ markets and sample some nuts. If not, order online. Your taste buds will thank you.

Join us on a culinary walking tour for a taste of Boulder. I’m having so much fun being a tour guide (as well as a founding foodie) and wanted to write a quick post urging you to visit the Local Table Tours website for more info and to register for a tour. If you’re not from Boulder, it’s probably time to visit.

Wining and dining has never been so much fun!

Let’s hear it for the Boulder food scene! We are so lucky to live in a town where people get a good idea and roll with it. The Root Cellars is just one of those great new ideas, and I was able to squeeze a 20 minute shopping trip into my busy Sunday (I do work for a living, you know…).

Here’s a photo of what I took home.

I finally tried some Kale Chips. It seems like they are all the rage lately and everyone is making them except me. When I have Kale in the fridge it usually ends up in one of my versions of a healthy lunch smoothie, not baked and dehydrated into chips. So, I was eager to get some from Sandy Robinson. I must admit, I didn’t enjoy the first bite. But, after a few kale chips, I kept on snacking. Finished them all in just a short while.

There were a lot of different specialty food vendors at Taste of Place, and a healthy gathering of foodie-shoppers who wanted to try something new, homemade, and small-batch produced. What could be better than that?

The most impressive food for me… the one that actually drew me into Taste of Place in the first place, was the homemade tempeh by Crispina Arkin. I sincerely hope that Boulder Tempeh becomes widely available in local stores because I am a tempeh lover!

I also went home with some local raw honey from Ann Mattson of New Moon Farms, and Peach Habañero Sauce from Handcrafted With Altitude. The Peach Habañero Sauce is fantastic, and I absolutely love the raw honey. I expect both of these jars to be empty shortly.

I can’t wait for the next Taste of Place by The Root Sellers. I will allow at least an hour next time to peruse all of the vendors’ tables and taste-test my way through Boulder’s “underground” food scene.