Restaurants In Boulder, Co

[waitingdorothea]

I will be traveling to Boulder, CO next month on business, and would appreciate any and all information on restaurants to visit or to avoid. I am not a picky or sophisticated eater - ie I'll eat almost anything, but it need not be facny - but I'm usually in a hurry. Thanks!

[uvm87]

Boulder has some great gluten free restaurants. There is a lot of gluten free awareness in Boulder. If you don't have UDI's where you are, make sure you stop at Whole Foods to get some bread, muffins and pizza crust. Also, if you are flying into Denver, there is a UDI's cafe at Stapleton and they have a great gluten-free menu including sandwiches on gluten-free bread.

Whenever I go to Boulder, I go to urbanspoon.com and search under gluten free. They have a lot of restaurants. One of our favorites is bimbamboo (www.bimbamboo.com). Please post after you go to let us know what restaurants you tried.

[ksymonds84]

I will be traveling to Boulder, CO next month on business, and would appreciate any and all information on restaurants to visit or to avoid. I am not a picky or sophisticated eater - ie I'll eat almost anything, but it need not be facny - but I'm usually in a hurry. Thanks!

my daughter goes to school there. My favorites are Sunflower and Laudisio. Both are a little pricey but so very worth it. I've been wanting to go to Jax Fish house. It is Chef owned and I've heard outstanding seafood and gluten free friendly! Hoping to try it the next time I go visit her or to bring her home. Enjoy Boulder, it is a beautiful city!

[jnclelland]

my daughter goes to school there. My favorites are Sunflower and Laudisio. Both are a little pricey but so very worth it. I've been wanting to go to Jax Fish house. It is Chef owned and I've heard outstanding seafood and gluten free friendly! Hoping to try it the next time I go visit her or to bring her home. Enjoy Boulder, it is a beautiful city!

I think I just read in the local paper that Sunflower closed, which is a real bummer. Laudisio is good (Italian - with gluten-free breadsticks even!), but the service can be remarkably slow for such a high-end place. Beau Jo's pizza has good gluten-free pizza. My favorite restaurant in town is Restaurant 4580, in the way north part of town; a substantial portion of their menu is gluten-free and clearly marked on the main menu, and it's all fabulous.

I don't actually eat out all that much, but Boulder is very gluten-free friendly. I hope you have a great trip!

Jeanne

[DougE]

I asked a similar question back in November...see link called Traveling to Boulder

We had a wonderful time. The highlights are listed below.

Laudisio's was our favorite, but you can't be in a hurry. They had a separate gluten-free menu which included many options...pasta, etc. plus the bread sticks were a nice touch.

Beau Jo's has one of the better gluten-free pizza crusts (although I still miss authentic pizza). They also had 4 different gluten-free beers on the menu!

Turley's was extra special for me because I manage to have a burger and fries at a restaurant for the first time in 2 years. All of their burgers can be put on locally made rice buns. When the waiter asked me if I wanted fries, I gave him the cross-contamination spiel. He replied that they do their fries in a separate deep fryer.

I also ate at Zolo Grill which has a separate gluten-free menu, but I learned there that just because it says gluten-free on the menu, doesn't mean it's safe, so you have to ask questions. Ditto for Brasserie Ten Ten.

Boulder is definitely the most Celiac friendly place I have been to in my limited travels. You will have no problem.

[ksymonds84]

what a bummer about Sunflower!! As a fellow restaurant owner (fine dining) it makes me sad that the economy is so hard on us! I will try 4580 next time!

[buffettbride]

There is a place called Noodles (I think there are a few locations in Boulder). You can get Pad Thai and many other dishes made with ride noodles. Just make sure to ask for "allergen aware for gluten." My daughter gets the pesto cavatappi with rice noodles quite often.

[waitingdorothea]

I thought I'd loop back and report on the food from my trip:

Great meal at Jax - no dedicated menu, but the staff was pretty knowledgable and the kitchen seemed to understand. I was in a situation where I wasn't comfortable playing 20 questions with the waitress, and I was fine. I was surprised, however, that she told me that chocolate malt flavored gelato would be gluten free.

Went to Zolo's twice - successful both times. The servers were very knowledgable. They had just revamped their menu, and so didn't have a printed gluten free menu. It is important to note that they do NOT have a dedicated fryer. Their chips are fried first thing in the morning in fresh oil, and I ate those with no problem (I am not very sensitive), but I wasn't about to risk anything else fried. However, the waiter specifically asked me about my tolerance level for shared fryers, so they seem aware that this isn't the gold standard. The chocolate mousse came with a piece of chocolate in it that seemed to have crispy rice in it - I didn't eat that because I suspect it might not have been gluten free.

I also ordered Beaujo's Pizza. This was...honestly, ick. The crust was tasteless and soggy. Kudos for trying...maybe it was an off night.

Lastly, I went to Pei Wei, which was a first for me. The food was tasty (and spicy...so rare!) and pretty good.

Overall, this was the best business trip for me food-wise since my diagnosis.

After my colleagues discovered my situation, I was told that the Original Pancake House also has a gluten free menu.

[waitingdorothea]

I ended up going back to Boulder this week, and made it to Turley's and Laudisio. Laudisio was frankly amazing - I had the baked polenta dish and I have GOT to figure out how to make that at home. The gluten-free menu is huge. My non-gluten-free colleagues were also highly impressed. Turley's was great too - fast and cheap. I was very excited to have a burger (w/ bun) and fries in one meal - something I haven't had since going gluten-free last year.

I also gave Beaujo's a second try. It was much better, but the crust was still a bit on the soggy side. Maybe it was the particular toppings.