When you live in a place that’s named “Foodiest Town in America”, dining out becomes a part of the lifestyle. However, when you have two picky eaters in tow, you have to choose your culinary destinations wisely. Will there be enough adult-friendly options for mom and dad? Will there be enough healthy-bland options for the kids? Lucky for us, living in a foodie town gives us a wide-variety of choices – and a wide-variety of price points – to keep everyone in our family happy.
The Southern Sun
The Southern Sun
One of the biggest perks of our yuppy/hippy community is the Sun family. The Mountain Sun opened its doors back in the mid-90’s appealing to the young downtown-hippy crowd with their fancy microbrews and high-quality-no-nonsense good food. When they opened a slightly larger sister pub, The Southern Sun, several years later, the hippies-turned-families flocked. Piles of super-delicious-what-do-they put in-those-things-anyway nachos and community games make this restaurant a top choice for our family.
Murphy’s Grill. Photos by Susan Tucker
Murphy’s
After soccer on Thursdays we like to stop by another Boulder staple, Murphy’s Grill in North Boulder. Much to our delight and surprise, this is also when Mr. Lamont, the local magician, happens to do table performances. (I tell you ever since meeting Lamont, the magic tricks are never-ending at my house.) You can hear the oohs-and-ahhs from around the restaurant as Lamont stops off for his five-minute performances. And, to top it all off the food is pretty darn good, too! A kids menu that offers broccoli or carrots as a side – that my four year old will actually order – awesome!
Mustard’s Last Stand. Photo by Let Ideas Compete
Mustard’s Last Stand
One of our favorite things to do is to ride our bikes along the creek path to downtown Boulder. Sometimes, we get hungry along the way. Lucky for us, Mustard’s Last Stand is a quick easy stop for a fun lunch. Not only do they serve up the best dogs (burgers, sandwiches and fries, too) this side of the Wrigley Field, they will also supply you with a blanket for a creekside picnic! The kids love the corn dogs. I love the veggie dogs. Yum!
Photo by Backcountry Pizza & Tap House.
Backcountry Pizza and Taphouse
When mama needs Mr. Pesto, mama needs Mr. Pesto and Backcountry Pizza and Taphouse has what mama needs. Since I’m really the only one into a pesto, fried chicken, tomato and kalamata olive pizza, it’s a good thing that Backcountry Pizza has a quite large menu that appeals to the entire family (even the in-laws) with burgers, salads, sandwiches and, of course, pizza. A selection only matched by their extensive beer list. Throw in the game room and this restaurant is a crowd-pleaser every time.
Photo by Casa Alvarez.
Casa Alvaraez
Who doesn’t love a free meal? We love free meals and we love good, authentic and fresh Mexican food. Casa Alvarez offers Kids Eat Free every day with the purchase of an adult meal. Just for joining their club. (Ok!) Our kids love the burritos and we love their tasty margs.
Sushi Zanmai. Photo by Sushi Zanmai
Sushi Zanmai
Shhh! Here is a secret. Boulder’s funnest Karaoke spot doubles as a family friendly restaurant. Sushi Zanmai offers a $6 kids’ meal. It comes with a choice of two entrees—including tofu, shrimp, egg and rice, Japanese-style “chicken nuggets,” and gyoza—a cup of miso soup, rice, edemame, fruit and vanilla or green tea ice cream for dessert. Mom and dad get their unagi…. and karaoke, too (if they’re feeling particularly sassy.)
Glacier Homemade Ice Cream & Gelato
If you consider ice cream a food group – and I do – then you will most certainly LOVE my last pick – Glacier Homemade Ice Cream & Gelato. Good thing we’re biking distance, so we can work off some of those sinful calories. We love to enjoy our Death by Chocolate, Funky Donkey and Carmel Oreo scoops from one of the oversized couches or on the outside patio. If we’re in a hurry, we like to grab a homemade cookie/ice-cream sandwich for the road.
As our foodies-in-training grow and their taste buds mature, we look forward to expanding our restaurant ventures.
Comments
When I was out in Boulder, I loved to go to Backcountry Pizza, but I’m jus learning about the gelato place. Man, I could totally go for an ice cream cookie sandwich. They look EPIC.
Pingback: Best Colorado towns for a summertime family getaway | Savvy Sassy Moms