Taste of the week: Boychik and Lost City Coffee
For a good time, try a plate of Boychik’s falafel while taking in the view of the Flatirons from the roof of downtown Boulder’s Avanti Food & Beverage.
Located in the first-floor food hall, Boychik focuses on scratch-made Mediterranean fare. I appreciated the fresh-from-the-fryer falafel: large scoops that were soft and hot inside of a crunchy shell, dotted with herbaceous zhoug, a spicy green puree of cilantro, chilies and spices similar to Argentinian chimichurri.
My bowl also included super-creamy tahini hummus; cucumber, tomato and parsley salad; sumac-pickled onion; and soft pita bread. Add a few shakes of Middle Eastern hot sauce, and you have a pretty exciting lunch.
Other Boychik menu items include chicken shawarma, fried cauliflower (with ras el hanout [a blend of earthy spices], dates and mint) lamb kebab, fries dusted with za’atar spice, and a vegan tahini date smoothie.
Leaving Avanti in a hurry, I was stopped in my tracks by the sight of beautiful sticky toffee pudding, mango coconut cake pudding, cake “sundae,” biscotti, muffins and more in the pastry cases at the food hall’s resident coffee and pastry slinger, Lost City. Open only two weeks, chef Jennifer says her approach in the sweets department is to apply European pastry techniques to familiar American desserts. The banana cream pie with pastry cream and whipped cream is top notch. Lost City also offers Denver’s Little Man Ice Cream.
Boulder Recipe Flashback: Flagstaff House Apple Tart
Desserts beginning with a plate of sweets plus whipped cream and coffee have been a hallmark of epic dinners since the Flagstaff House Restaurant started serving from the side of the mountain half-a-century ago.
Back in the late 1990s, a reader requested the Flagstaff House’s recipe for a much-enjoyed crisp apple tart with cinnamon ice cream and caramel sauce.
Mark Monette, the eatery’s legendary executive chef, kindly rewrote the recipe in a home-kitchen-friendly form.
Flagstaff House Crisp Apple Tart
4 squares frozen puff pastry dough, thawed
4 Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored and sliced very thinly
1/2 cup sugar combine with 1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar
Cinnamon ice cream (see note)
Caramel sauce (your favorite)
Roll out pastry dough into four thin circles, each four inches wide. Sprinkle the pastry with brown sugar. Spread the apple slices over the entire surface and dust with cinnamon sugar. Bake at 325 degrees for about 30 to 45 minutes or until golden brown. Cool and serve with cinnamon ice cream and warm caramel sauce.
Note: To make cinnamon ice cream, barely soften a pint of vanilla bean ice cream or gelato and stir in one tablespoon of cinnamon. Refreeze if needed, or serve as is.
Culinary Calendar: First Sip
The folks at Boulder’s First Bite have launched First Sip, April 28-May 1, a weekend of adult beverage experiences at 33 restaurants, including a whiskey tasting at Boulder Spirits, cocktail creation at Japango, and beer sampling at Bohemian Biergarten. Tickets: firstsipboulder.com … The Big Stir Festival, April 23 in Denver, honors women leaders in the culinary industry with food and beverage sampling and seminars. Proceeds fund scholarships from Les Dames d’Escoffier Colorado. Tickets: tinyurl.com/2zse6ar7 … Plan ahead: Boulder Creek Beer Festival is May 28-29. … Whistling Boar’s summer Farmhouse Supper Club features a dinner series starting June 30 at Longmont’s Metacarbon Organic Farm. whistlingboar.com … Send food event information to: nibbles@boulderweekly.com
