Burrito Revolution

There has been a burrito revolution in the USA.  It was in 1993 when big fresh burritos started showing up near college campuses, Chipotle was one of the first, near the DU campus in Denver.  Cheap, fast, good, fresh food in large portions was exactly what poor starving college students were looking for.  Back then, most fast food places were burger joints.  Maybe Taco Bell offered a burrito back then, but it wasn't very filling, good, or fresh.  My first experience with this new kind of restaurant was Big City Burrito, which started in FoCo in 1994.  It was a very bohemian place, almost like a hippie food co-op from the '60s.  There was a long line of students waiting to devour their football-sized tortilla-wrapped bundles of joy.  It was fun.  Since then, the concept has been corporatized, and American fast food will never be the same, thankfully.

Aztec Peppers

This is no small bistro, but a corporate giant with 2,000+ locations world-wide.  However, it did start here in CO, with roots in the Boulder area.  Above we have a veggie burrito bowl, huge portions, and almost guiltless at $6.50.  Something about their food just tastes better to me.  Maybe it is their commitment to Food with Integrity campaign, documented in the snarky custom cold cup above (love those).  Maybe it's because their ingredients just have awesome taste, compared to Qdoba who relies on a gloppy goo they like to call "queso".  

Maybe they also need to balance Food with Integrity with "Food with Safety".  Numerous food alerts have cut their stock value in half over the past year, maybe non-conventional food sourcing comes with it's own set of risks. I have never had a problem, so far, still rolling the dice here.

The name chipotle derives from the Aztec word for "smoke-dried jalapeño pepper".  Sure, I like the local joints better, but this also works for me.

Thai'm for Thai

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One of the newer Thai places in Loveland got a new name.  What was once Cafe de Bangkok II is newly christened Thai Thai'm.  The reason: this place does a lot of carry out orders.  Folks on the phone were getting confused between the Loveland and FoCo locations.  So the new name should help fix that.

Above we have the Panang curry.  Still the same deliciousness, just a new name.

the Matador, another one

The renovated Foothills Mall in FoCo has some new places to eat, this is one of them.  Casa Del Matador or The Matador is a small chain from the Seattle area, with a few new locations in CO.  The Tex Mex menu is not huge, but the tequila menu is, with 200+ different kinds offered. (It is amazing how humans will ferment just about anything they can to get buzzed, even in the desert.) So, maybe mostly a tequila bar, with some food.  But the burrito above seemed to be very tasty and different, homemade and fresh.  Their upscale space is attractive and fun, and the protected patio is popular. Not to be confused with the other Matador in town, which is faster, cheaper, and has more beer than tequila.

This is the kinda place that makes eating out in FoCo fun: new, young chains seeking early expansion opportunities love to come here, because we will support them, if they are good.

Phở Sure

A little bit of Vietnam in Loveland, Pho Lan recently moved from a sketchy strip mall on US-34 to a better location, where Red Dragon used to be, near the Post Office.  Huge portions of noodle soup, that is what they do here.  You get your "salad" on the side, just dump all that in and stir. 

Above we have their Pho Dac Biet, dac biet means "special deal" and it means you get not one, but 4 different pieces of cow in there.  Come on now, be brave, when's the last time you had tripe for lunch?  If you can't "stomach" that, select any of the the other 13 varieties offered.  My favorite place when there's lots of snow falling or I need to cure a cold.

Loveland Thai

So eating out Asian has been getting more fun down in Loveland.  The town used to be known only for the typical Asian/American buffet with stale, tasteless food sitting in iffy steamer trays, all you care to eat.

Not anymore.
Something has changed recently.  Good, fresh, spicy Asian offerings are starting to show up in FoCo's southern sister.

This one here is called Cafe de Bangkok II.  The sequel.  A spin off of the one in FoCo over on Elizabeth.  Bangkok II is located in a old strip mall off the main street Eisenhower / US-34.  The location is bit sketchy, but hey, isn't that usually where the good food hides?
Up above we have spring rolls ($4.95) and duck curry ($12.75).  No reason to stray from the curry page of the menu with 8 different curries to choose from, most with the sweet and spicy coconut milk base.  With 4 levels of heat you can set when ordering, nothing boring here.

Bai the Way, in Loveland ...

Here's another example of the new awesome Asian offerings showing up now in Loveland.  It's called Bai Tong, which anglicizes from ใบตอง or banana leaf, I'm told. They also offer 8 different Thai curries, most unique is an Avocado curry. Up above we have chicken Panang curry ($10.95), fresh roll ($6.50) with cabbage & chicken soup (free).  (I've got a thang for Panang, do you?)

Don't go for boring white or brown rice, go large with the unique coconut rice offering for .50 more, trust me.  They offer 5 levels of hotness here.  Warning: they really mean it!.  If you can go 3 stars or higher, you can really take the heat.

It's located in a quaint, brightly-colored house/restaurant (or "housetrant") on Loveland's main northbound 1-way, called Lincoln. (Be extra nice to the wait staff, there are a couple flights of stairs for each trip from the kitchen.) With roots in the Seattle area, I am not exactly sure why the Sunti family decided on Loveland, but I am sure glad they did.

Matador Burritos

If you have not found Matador Mexican Grill yet in SE Foco, you should.  It's on E. Harmony next to Cold Stone in a little strip mall.  Do you need yet another another burrito joint?  Yes you do, and here's why: 5 kinds of wrapper (suggestion: jalapeno-cheddar), 6 kinds of veg choices (including potato), 6 kinds of generous, well-seasoned meats (suggestion: big chunks of steak), and optional piping hot liquid queso sauce.

But by far the best reason to go to "Maty" is for the homemade salsas.  The photo up top shows 20+ offerings for salsa, I personally go for the Mango Habanero, but there is something for everyone, here.  If you are a hot-pepper aficionado, like the local owner is, you may recognize Ghost, Scorpion, and Carolina Reaper listed there.  These are the newest, hottest peppers that have recently redefined the Scoville scale of hot-pepperiness.  This is the only place in town that offers 3 of the hottest peppers in the world on your plate, if you like to eat bear spray on your burritos, like some of my friends do.

Tips: beat the lunch rush, this place can have long lines right at noon.  Another location is available in Loveland, a bit east of Target.  The green chili smother, shown above, is another nice option.  They offer a really, really cheap daily special, check the menu or chalkboard. So try something other than corporate Qdoba and Chipotle, go local instead.

Lunch Bunch

Do you have a lunch bunch? That is, some folks you regularly eat with at lunch time?  If not, you should get one.  Eating alone is boring. Eating in can be, too.  Find some friends at work and go out for lunch together.  Especially helpful if one of them drives a larger vehicle.  Christen that the "lunch bus" and go explore the local eateries.  Make sure at least one of them is an extrovert, to keep the convo rolling.

Loveland Raw

Here's a $10 combo plate: spicy tuna roll with 5 nigiri sushi.  Located in NW Loveland, Sushi ZENSAI has been around a while, pretty good eats.  Be sure to order the combos, buying this à la carte would double the price tag, what a "raw" deal that would be.  寿司 or sushi literally means "vinegar rice", referring to the old days when the rice was fermented. 前菜 or zensai means "before salad" or "appetizer".  握り or nigiri means "handle", indicating easy-to-eat with your hands.  So if you can handle fermented rice appetizers, this place is for you.

Corporate Dough

Huge corporate chain with 2,000 locations, not my usual food.  But this stuff just tastes really good.  Not my usual crowd either for the lunch bunch.  A few of the places we go seem to attract the "soccer mom" set: younger housewives with kids in tow.  Must be all the salads here.

But at a place literally titled "Bread-Basket Bread", you should order, uhh, bread, like above.  Sandwich, baguette chunk, and optional pastry for .99 more. Lots of bread. Sandwiches you can order off the menu that actually taste great.  My favorite here used to be something called the Asiago Steak sandwich.  Panera risked dropping me as a customer when they dropped this old choice from their menu recently.  So I tried the replacement Steak & Arugula, above.  Tastes like nothing else I've ever had, and the combination is incredibly yummy.  (What is arugula, anyway? I guess you could call it Italian kale, or others call it "salad rocket".)  Hats off to the creative sandwich chefs here who forced me to try one of their new surprising offerings.

Triple D

Huge portions, fresh-made, green chili, yum.  Sums up Doug's Day Diner.  This is a local CO chain, with NoCo locations in FoCo and Loveland Downtown.  The owner is from Windsor, Doug Weckerly.  The homemade green chili can be ordered with just about any menu item.  The chili is a legacy of Doug's first restaurant in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Up above we have huge pancakes, thickest bacon in town, a giant omelette (or would that just be an 'omel') with homemade peach jelly and a biscuit the size of 3.  You will not go away hungry here.  Just don't show up for that other D -- Dinner, closes at 2pm.