blog.bharper: the blog of brandon harper

I started browsing restaurants at the Westword (Denver’s alternative newspaper) while avoiding the uber sun rays happening outside at the moment, and came up with a long list of places I need to check out at some point or another. Some of them were already on my list, but I figured I’d put them all in one place for me to reference later. I rarely find myself in the situation to eat a meal above the $15 mark or so including tip for dinner, so if you’re looking for something swanky, you’ll want to research that yourself since I didn’t really look at those type of places. For the most part I enjoy mom & pop restaurants with reasonable prices, but I am willing to spend more for the right occasion of course.

I’ll try and update this list later with the places I have eaten as well, which might take awhile…

• Joseph’s Southern Food: Mmmm.. fried chicken! I’ve read somewhere else about this place too it seems. I dig the Park Hill neighborhood and seem to find myself more often than you’d think (going there again this weekend actually).
• Tom’s Home Cookin’: Some more “down home” type fare
• Jack-n-Grill: Supposedly the best green chili in Denver. Tried going once with a friend and it was PACKED… opted for somewhere else because of time constraints.
• Kabul Kabob: This place sounds more middle-eastern fusion than middle-eastern to me, but I’ve heard good things about it and need to check it out sometime. I think one thing that separates the US as far as cuisines from other countries (and really, it’s about the only thing.. very few cuisines have been invented here other than Creole, Barbecue, etc) is the wide variety of fusion cuisines available.
• L&L Hawaiian Barbecue: We had a Hawaiian style picnic for work a couple of summers back, and it was amazing (though I would of preferred an entertainment free picnic). I’m not sure if it was these guys or not (though I do remember them being from Aurora), but I’m certainly ready for some more swine and sweet bread.
• Moongate Asian Grill: One fusion cuisine that I think is completely overdone is Asian-fusion, but perhaps I’ll have to give this place a try sometime.
• New York Pizzeria: Though I have yet to take a trip to New York, I certainly dig on their style of pizza.
• Oshima Ramen: Ramen to most people conjures the thought of the twenty for a dollar packages of Top Ramen they survived on while in college and in their early 20’s. Unfortunately what they don’t know is how yummy fresh Ramen noodles are (which is really what Ramen is), and that they have little in common with their bastardized counterparts.
• Pint’s Pub: I love brewpubs– I think a co-worker recommended this place once as well.
• Playa de Oro: Actually their second location is just down the street from me. I’ve considered going in there, but have yet to try it. Apparently they specialize in the seafood dishes of Mexican food.
• Rosa Linda’s Mexican Cafe: Sounds like a good family owned place to get some tasty Mexican food. Yes please.
• Spicy Basil: I love the Thai. One of a few Thai places I have yet to check-out.
• El Taco de Mexico: One area that I’ve not spent much time in Denver is the Santa Fe district. It seems like a cool combination of small galleries, lots of great Mexican food places to explore, and various shops (sort of like the southwest version of Broadway). Anyhow, this place is in that area, and I need to give it a try sometime.
• Tommy’s Thai: Yet another Colfax eatery that I need to check-out sometime. The wide variety of great places to eat on Colfax always astounds me, and I don’t think it’s really that bad of an area. Granted I’d never ride the bus there at night, but the same can be said for my neighborhood. Well, I mean I’ll never ride it at night again.