A few years back, a California chain, Ruby’s, attempted to create a ’50s retro diner at Boulder’s Twenty Ninth Street. This space was recently resurrected as a retro eatery under local ownership and a new moniker, the StarLite Diner and Lounge. Like its predecessor, the ambience suggests a trip back in time, with plenty of vinyl banquettes and neon accented by cruiser bicycles and soaked in a golden oldies soundtrack.

The decor is minimal in this narrow 40-seat eatery, which features several tables and a tiny sushi bar in the back. I noticed a fair number of Asian families dining here, always a good sign. Noodle offerings including thick udon, as well as more svelte ramen, are available in a variety of broths.

REO Speedwagon’s Hi Infidelity, the first season of Miami Vice and the John Madden-era Oakland Raiders are among my myriad of guilty pleasures. Chicken wings come close to making this list. However, many versions, either prepared indifferently or adhering too faithfully to the vinegary tones of the original Buffalo version, inevitably disappoint. For this reason, they have yet to reach the exalted status of a guilty pleasure.

One of my pet peeves is the eatery that appropriates inexpensive ethnic food and gussies it up beyond recognition with little resulting benefit. Adding insult to injury is the establishment that jacks up the prices on affordable chow to something approximating the cost of a taco truck rather than the taco itself.

For over a hundred years, the building housing The Louisville Rex has provided Main Street with entertainment of one kind or another. Established as a billiard hall, it became a theater, and eventually another restaurant prior to its current iteration. Nowadays, one of the main attractions of this spot is the spacious rooftop deck, which has the amiable feel of a venue in a far-away, warm-weather resort town.

Located a stone’s throw from Williams Village, Moe’s Original Bar B Que is the Boulder outpost of a ’cue operation that originated in Alabama.

Over the $8.99 lunch buffet at the Royal Clay Oven (formerly India’s Clay Oven) on Arapahoe, British-born friend Andrew and I discussed the differences between Indian restaurants in the U.S. and U.K. He pointed out that more people in the U.K. work in subcontinental eateries than in the shipbuilding, coal mining and steel-making industries combined.

I’m not entirely sure why I hadn’t paid a visit to Longmont’s Tortugas in the last few years — in the late ’90s, I thought it was one of the best restaurants in the county. Combining a hospitable, homey, Key West feel with a menu of fresh seafood, prepared in the manner of the Caribbean, Mexico and New Orleans, it was an easy winner.

My first job out of college was working for the U.S. Forest Service in Rutland, Vt. Unfortunately, lunch choices in this town were limited, and I ate most meals at the family-run Sandwich Shoppe. Pricing was in line with my entry-level salary — today, you can still get a big meatball sub there for $6.

For those old enough, you may remember 1985 as a dark time, mostly because that’s when McDonald’s launched the McDLT. In today’s recycling-conscious age, the McDLT probably wouldn’t exist. For those of you unfamiliar with this environmental atrocity, this was a burger adorned with lettuce and tomato that came in a double-chambered Styrofoam container.