• Boulder is home to dozens of fantastic restaurantscolorado springs,colorado image by Earl Robbins from Fotolia.com
  
  The progressive mountain town of Boulder, Colo., is home to a major university and dozens of great restaurants. Many of the most highly regarded restaurants are found along Pearl Street, the main drag in the center of the city, though there are plenty of other fantastic places to eat scattered around town. Whether you're in the mood for classic Old World fare or innovative new American cuisine, Boulder's best restaurants are sure to leave you smiling.
  
  

Frasca

• This upscale Italian restaurant has received innumerable accolades from popular food magazines like Gourmet, Food & Wine, and Bon Appetit. Frasca uses recipes drawn exclusively from Friuli-Venezia Giulia, an alpine region of northern Italy known for its fresh seafood and spectacular cuisine. Frasca's seasonal menu features fresh produce and organic meat purchased from local Colorado farmers. Start with the creamy chestnut polenta, radicchio and honey crisp apple salad topped with asiago cheese, or the russet potato gnocchi with oxtail, mushroom and parmesan. Main dishes might include grilled Colorado lamb loin with fingerling potatoes and fontina cheese, pan roasted Maine diver scallops with chickpeas and pork-fennel sausage, or crispy Berkshire pork belly with roasted cabbage, bacon and celery root. Frasca's staff travels to Italy every year to brush up on their skills, and it certainly shows.
  
  Frasca
  1738 Pearl St.
  Boulder, CO 80302
  303-442-6966
  frascafoodandwine.com
  
  

The Kitchen

• Over the past five years, this charming New American cuisine restaurant has received praise from Zagat Survey, Wine Spectator, and Fodor's. In addition to serving great healthy food, The Kitchen is committed to helping the environment; wind power provides 100 percent of the restaurant's electricity and nearly all of their discarded waste is reused or recycled in some way. Entrees include pan roasted Colorado rainbow trout with mashed Yukon Gold potatoes, slow roast duck with bacon and cure farm hen egg, and char grilled hanger steak frites. Brunch is served on Saturdays and Sundays and features challah French toast with pecan toffee sauce, fox fire lamb burgers, and goat cheese omelets with smoked paprika and greens. The Kitchen's impressive wine and beer list features selections from small vineyards and microbreweries around the world.
  
  The Kitchen
  1039 Pearl St
  Boulder, CO 80302
  303-544-5973
  thekitchencafe.com
  
  

John's

• Set in a charming little red house in downtown Boulder, John's has been a celebrated mainstay of the Boulder dining scene since 1975. John's seasonal menu features both classic and contemporary selections designed by talented executive chef and owner Corey Buck. Appetizers include Tasmanian red crab and pan seared Maryland crab cake duo, hand rolled spinach and ricotta cheese gnocchi, and tuna ceviche with avocado, fresh lime and cilantro. John's hearty main dishes feature a variety of beef, poultry and seafood creations like seared duck breast with apple bacon risotto, Colorado buffalo rib-eye, and pistachio crusted rack of New Zealand lamb served with pomegranates and manchego cheese. Finish off with wild brandy marinated cherries in a chantilly cream bitter sweet chocolate fondue or pumpkin cheesecake topped with candied pecans.
  
  John's
  2328 Pearl St.
  Boulder, CO 80302
  303-444-4532
  johnsrestaurantboulder.com