BIG BUFFET FOR TURKEY DAY
It may only be the first week of November, and it may still be too warm and mild to think too much about Thanksgiving. But the Hotel Boulderado has sent out a notice that its Thanksgiving buffet is filling up fast.
The Boulderado will host its buffet in the ballroom Nov. 28 from 12 to 4:30 p.m. On the menu — not to ruin the suspense — is roast turkey, vegetarian stuffing, mashed potatoes, candied sweet potatoes, steamed vegetables and pumpkin pie.
But of course there’s a lot more than the traditional fare.
Molasses-and-chili-rubbed tenderloins, Scottish salmon, quinoa-stuffed sweet peppers, pasta with spinach and squash, fig and spice crème brulee: Boulderado is definitely going above and beyond the spread at Grandma’s. There are five other desserts on the menu as well, including a gluten-free chocolate lava cake.
The cost is $49 for adults, $25 for children ages 4-10 and there is no charge for children under 3. Reservations can be made on the Boulderado’s Open Table page, and questions can be directed to 303-440-2880.
FIRST BITE TIME
For the eighth year, Boulder County restaurants will set out prix-fixe menus at $26 per person for First Bite Boulder Nov. 15-23.
First Bite, founded in 2006 by Kate Lacroix of restaurant publicity company dishwire and Josh Dinar of DiningOut Magazine, resembles Denver Restaurant Week, in its 10th year. Restaurants design a separate menu, typically three courses, for $26, offering diners a chance to dine at some of Boulder’s most upscale eateries for a more affordable price.
This year’s participants favor Italian restaurants; 13 of the 48 restaurants that have been announced serve Italian food. That includes two top-five finishers in the Italian category in the Boulder Weekly Best of Boulder 2013, secondplace winner Carelli’s and fifth-place restaurant Arugula. The top overall restaurant in Best of Boulder, The Mediterranean Restaurant (OK, The Med), is participating; it will offer a menu of two courses followed by dessert. In the recent Best of Boulder East County, Colterra was voted Niwot’s best restaurant; it will be serving a two-course-and-dessert menu with an unusually high number of options — four — for each course.
Most restaurants participating in First Bite participate in Open Table for reservations, but some list phone numbers instead. The complete list of restaurants and menus is available and updated regularly at www.firstbiteboulder.com.
FADE BACK
The wild card of Left Hand Brewing Company’s lineup is Fade to Black. A seasonal available in the fall and winter months, Fade to Black changes every year as Left Hand’s brewing team plays around with dark beers. This year, drinkers can follow the arc of the Fade to Black series, as Left Hand is releasing a 12-pack with three bottles each of Volumes 1 through 4 of Fade to Black, as well as six-packs of this year’s release, Volume 5.
Fade to Black’s first four volumes are: a foreign export stout; a smoked Baltic porter; a pepper porter; and a Rocky Mountain black ale. The stout, which was Volume 1, has won gold twice at the Great American Beer Festival, in 2009 when it was first brewed and this year.
Volume 5 is a black rye ale, described by the brewery as a deep dark brown ale with a coffee scent and flavors of nut bread, molasses, spicy rye and a hops finish.
And just to be clear: Left Hand is not bottling 5-year-old beer. The brewery re-brewed each of the previous Fade to Blacks this year.
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