#7. Boulder
Boulder, CO is one the best food cities in America. Known for its array of outdoor adventures, the mountain town of Boulder, contains an equally impressive collection of restaurants, markets and food purveyors. Boulder made our first Top 10 Foodie Cities list back in 2012. You’ll find residents here get just as excited about the opening weekend of the neighborhood farmers market as they do the opening of surrounding ski resorts. They take pride in knowing where their food comes from and patronize restaurants that use local, sustainable ingredients. Boulderites eat out and spend more on meals than average Americans, proving they love their city’s restaurants.
The Boulder Dushanbe Tea House offers one of the most unique dining experiences in the city. International dishes like Indonesian peanut noodles, Caribbean trout and North African harissa chicken are served in a house originally constructed in Tajikistan and rebuilt in Boulder. Brasserie Ten Ten provides diners with a true taste of France and a vast assortment of handcrafted cocktails. Dishes like the Provencal seafood stew, potato crusted salmon and gruyere crepes please sophisticated palates. With the feel of an authentic Japanese sushi bar, Amu delights with exquisitely made sushi rolls, sashimi and more than 40 types of sake to taste. The winner of a 2013 James Beard Foundation Award for “Outstanding Wine Program,” Frasca Food and Wine dishes out Italian meals prepared with locally sourced produce and meats. Inside the restaurant’s cellar are more than 200 varieties of wine ranging from acclaimed European vineyards to smaller winemakers. Frasca’s chef Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson won the JBF’s “Best Chef: Southwest” award in 2008.
Other places to sniff out: Curry n Kebob, The Buff Restaurant, Mountain Sun Pub & Brewery, Il Pastaio
Don’t miss: Breakfast at Snooze, which offers a cookie pancake.