The next Boulder (Colorado) restaurant group outing will be to Efrain's (Mexican), 101 E. Cleveland, Lafayette, phone 666-7544. Wednesday, May 14, 7pm. Lots of people have said this is the best Mexican restaurant in Boulder County. Reasonable prices. Tentative future restaurant group outings will be to: Redfish (New Orleans). Tuesday, May 27, 7pm. 2027 13th (& Pearl), 440-5858. Seafood, steaks, jambalaya, gumbo, etc. Vegie risotto and vegetable dishes. Entrees $13-18. Old Louisville Inn, Thursday, June 12, 6:30pm. 740 Front, Louisville, 666-9982. Live Celtic music from 7:30-10pm (we'll meet at 6:30 to have some time for conversation, and because the restaurant doesn't take reservations). Menu includes chicken, steak, trout, vegie lasagna, $10-14. Pub fare (fish&chips, burritos) for less. Wednesday, June 25, 7pm...haven't decided where to go. See below for some ideas. RSVP if you want to go. Ask hostess for the "Internet restaurant group." On April 30, four of us enjoyed Al Fresco, 2690 Baseline (at Broadway). Al Fresco is an upscale northern Italian restaurant, with entrees from $10-17. We noticed the bottom of the menu said "5 courses, chef's choice, $15 per person, minimum 2 people." The waiter (Justin) explained that you get appetizers, salad, sorbet "to cleanse the palate," entrees, and desserts. The catch is that the chef decides what to make for you. We all ordered this. The waiter started us with a huge platter of mussels Alexander. Then he brought 2 Caesar and 2 mesclune salads. After cleansing our palates on raspberry and blackberry sorbets, the waiter brought four entrees -- three pastas, with various forms of chicken, sausage, and vegetables; and a veal dish. He completed the meal with four desserts -- a chocolate mousse in a puff pastry, an apricot tart, a custard with blueberries, and a tiramisu. Positive comments were made at the start of the meal on the fresh rolls and "black pesto," which we decided was really olive tampanade. I checked the menu, and ala carte this would have cost at least $35 per person. I don't see how they can make a profit on 5-course dinners for $15! We enjoyed wondering what the next course would be, and the waiter enjoyed telling us what each item was. He enjoyed letting the women have first pick of the salads, and the men picked the sorbets, and the waiter decided who got which entree, and we shared the desserts. Portion sizes seemed good to me, as I'd come from a track workout, but everyone else took something home. The food was excellent, the waiter was fun, the women talked like recently-released Trappists, and we were there 3 hours, until long after the restaurant was closed. Suggest restaurants you want to try. Let me know if you want to be on (or off) the restaurant group e-mail list. Now for ideas for future outings. The Boulder Weekly says the "best of" are: Best vegetarian: Creative Vegetarian Cafe, Harvest. We went to both last year and liked them. Best Chinese: Hunan Garden, China Gourmet, Tra Ling's. I usually don't like Chinese restaurants (too much fat, too Americanized). If these have healthier menus I might schedule one. Best Indian: Taj. I'm always up for Indian food. Mijbani was second. We went there a few months ago and liked it. Best Italian: Laudisio, Cafe Gondalier. We just went to Al Fresco. Best Mexican: Juanita's. We went there and two people couldn't find the group. The food's good but it's too noisy and crowded and dark. Best seafood: Jax. Too crowded. Redfish was runner-up. Best barbecue: KT's. Daddy Bruce's. I'm not a barbecue fan. Best outdoor eating: West End Tavern. What's the menu like? I'm ruling out the following because our group seems to prefer 3-hour 5-course dinners. Best burrito: Masa Grill, Illegal Pete's, both featuring "the new healthier style of burrito." Best salad bar: Boulder Salad Co, Healthy Habits. Best sandwich: Salvaggio's, Daily Bread, Pressto. Best breakfast: Lucille's; Dot's Diner. Best Japanese: Sushi Zanmai, Sushi Tora. Does anyone have comments about the Red Lion Inn? Rumor is that they have an "early bird" deal of $10 entrees if you get there before 6:30pm.
Boulder, CO