Birthday happy hour at Riffs

Pearl Street mall on July 4th offers some of the best people watching in the country. I know this because I've lived in a whopping three different states. We obviously need to have a happy hour snack at one of the restaurants on the pedestrian mall, and after much debate, settled down at one of our regular eateries, Riffs.

Unless you live in a Prius, you have probably figured out that most happy hours in Boulder offer a menu laden with compromise... good food and mediocre libations, great libations and so-so food, or just a bunch of no-frills everything. Riffs breaks this tradition with an excellent selection of cocktails, unique wine, a short but fun list of beer, and ten or so small plates. All of this is discounted up to 40 percent! Naturally, the three of us all ordered the burger, medium rare and the kitchen grilled it perfectly to temperature. And they have white cheddar. And the fries are salted and crispy. And it's really only $8 with cheese. Awesome.

On to the drinks. Our server[and consequently the bar manager], informed us of a rosé of Cabernet Franc fresh out of Chinon. Upon first sniff and taste, the wine showed strawberry and a little funk, typical of this region, but not for rosé. After completely embarrassing our party with an obligatory table side experiment, I was absolutely sure it was flawed. Our server eventually agreed, opened another bottle at the table, and poured a fresh glass. The wine was perfect at $11, but on happy hour it rings up for under $7!

Name another restaurant with excellent service on the pedestrian mall, where you can sit outside, devour a perfectly cooked burger made with local beef, sip world-class wine and beer, and leave completely satisfied for $15/pp before tax and tip. I lied. We had two drinks each. Theoretically you could have self-restraint and only get one drink. If you have never eaten at Riffs, you also need to try the daily specials. Most are reasonably priced, offer top-notch local ingredients, and expert preparation.

Happy Birthday America!

Better late than never. An ode to my procrastinating ways

The first post... five years too late. Through family, friends, and plenty of other culinary experiences, I have finally decided to publicize my adventures in consuming food, wine, cocktails, and whatever else looks like it wont kill me or assist in extended stays on the porcelain goddess. If you know me, or have had the displeasure of enduring my opinions of anything and everything, you know that I enjoy the finer things in life, albeit seldom at full price and never without pressing the server or bartender for a taste of some obscure wine or bourbon or tequila.

If you disagree with anything posted here, please say so! Opinions are welcome, especially those that lead to even more refined consumables than I've already discovered. Please don't make an argument in favor of toxic red cherries, Hershey's [is it really chocolate?] syrup or sulfite-free wine. For the sake of full disclosure, I've written off pretty much everything with a base sweetener of high fructose corn syrup. More on that in the second post...