Many times, when you set foot in a Boulder-area deli, you’ll experience a certain degree of geographic predictability. Often you’ll see images of New York landmarks, such as the Statue of Liberty, to help build Big Apple culinary cred.

While I am admittedly a carnivore, I’ve observed there are two main paths that vegan restaurants can follow.

Given the weather, I ordered a hot $3.50 Vietnamese coffee to combat the chill. This beverage adhered to traditional presentation with a metal coffee press dripping dark roast brew into a glass with a hit of sweetened condensed milk on the bottom. After the coffee finished brewing, I poured the syrupy mix into a mug of hot water.

Noodles were always an integral part of my family’s Friday night dinners in Oakland Chinatown. Sometimes these restaurant repasts featured thick ribbons of chow fun rice noodles topped with slices of flank steak seasoned with salty black beans and hot mustard.

If Jack Reacher were to ever return to Colorado and wind up in Boulder, I suspect he’d make a beeline for the Parkway Cafe.

Tracy, the genial owner who cites Kansas City style ’cue as a significant influence, walked companion Keith and I through the menu, interspersing nostalgic tales of dining at K.C.’s Arthur Bryant’s.

While some may be rightfully skeptical of a sushi spot nestled in a grocery, Sachi handily distinguishes itself from chain supermarket operations that truck in fare from afar.

Once known as Pizzeria Basta, the Boulder eatery now simply known as Basta still serves savory wood oven pies. But this name change more accurately reflects a menu offering much more than just pizza, which is a smart move.

West Flanders is a Belgian province known for significant events in both World Wars, notably the bloody fighting around Ypres and the Dunkirk evacuation. It also has a reputation for the peculiar practice of cat flinging. Lastly, and perhaps most relevantly, it has a longstanding tradition of brewing high-quality beers.

For the most part, previous forays to the three Moe’s locations scattered across town (there’s a Denver branch too) were of the grab-and-go variety.