PRRP installment 12: William Oliver's Publick House

William Oliver's is better known as the whiskey and bacon place! Our friends Glenn and Michelle were in the mood for hot dogs and bacon, so they joined us. This restaurant opened its Lafayette location less than a year ago. Michelle and I had been once before, but it was the first time for G and Glenn. 

It was fairly busy for a Thursday night, but the service was prompt, and the food was good. I tried the Maker's Fruit Cake off the December special cocktails list ($6 each); it was tasty and powerful! Glenn had a Bloody Boar (a bloody Mary with bacon), Michelle tried a Black Bottle (Fort Collins brewery) tripel that she said was good but not very tripel-like, and G had fresh-squeezed lemonade. For dinner, Glenn had the maple bacon bourbon dog; he liked it, but when he found that the bacon element was part of a sauce instead of an actual slab of bacon, he said he would order the bacon dog next time. Fortunately, the bacon in his drink made up for it. Michelle had the bacon dog. I tried the sweet chili pork tacos and was a little startled by the level of sweetness but ended up liking the flavors. G had the shepherd's pie and enjoyed it. 

My favorite thing was the awesome dessert we shared (though I admit that I ate most of it): whiskey bundt cake topped with pecans, bacon-beer-maple-caramel sauce and vanilla bean ice cream (and sprinkled with bacon bits). The cake was very moist but had a crisp edge except where it had soaked up the sauce.

Glenn and Michelle with the drinks: Bloody Boar, Maker's Fruit Cake, and Black Bottle tripel draft beer

Glenn with his maple bourbon bacon dog and coleslaw

Michelle's bacon dog and coleslaw

Sweet chili pork tacos

G's shepherd's pie. I told him he should try this because he loves anything that involves ground meat and mashed potatoes.

The dessert was the real show stopper: whiskey bundt cake topped with pecans, bacon-beer-maple-caramel sauce and vanilla bean ice cream (and bacon crumbles). 

PRRP installment 11: Deli-Cious Z's

We drew Deli-Cious Z's from our breakfast/lunch restaurant list, and it was true to its name: delicious! They serve breakfast and lunch all day (6:30-3:30). 

I had the Mountain Benedict, and G had the Big City Breakfast (steak and eggs with pancakes). The food was excellent, and I was pleased that they have decaf coffee, which some breakfast places don't bother to offer. You can add a donut to your order for 30 cents, and the donut was fresh and amazing. 

They were doing a steady business but were not full at 9:30 on a Saturday a.m. You order at the counter, but there is plenty of seating and nice morning sunlight from the east-facing windows. We heard the boy at the table next to us (age about 12) refer to the cinnamon French toast as "the epic gooeyness of epicness."

Our 30-cent add-on donut. I picked a cake donut, and it was awesome. 

Steak and eggs plus a pancake for G, and the Mountain Benedict for me. All delicious (or should I say "deli-cious"?).

The pastry case at Deli-cious Z's. I would like to try one of everything, please. 

PRRP installment 10: Miller's Grille (CLOSED)

Update January 2022: Permanently closed; now Ghost Box Pizza.

We actually know Miller's very well and have probably been to it more often than any other restaurant currently on Public Road, as it is in easy walking distance and has a nice "burgers, barbecue, and beer" menu and moderate prices. [2019 update: Miller's closed in 2018. The building is still closed, but the word is that a new restaurant is scheduled to open there with an arcade in the basement.]

Our friend Kat is a Miller's regular, so she joined us to provide perspective. We started out with the gorgonzola potato chips, to which Kat introduced me last spring and which remain a favorite. G and Kat both had the mushroom & swiss burger (Miller's has an extensive burger menu but was out of goat cheese, so they couldn't cook the goat-cheese-and-cranberry burger that was G's first request), G's with sweet-potato fries and Kat's with tater tots. 

I usually get the mac and cheese or the salad with smoked meat, so I decided to try something different and had the barbecue sampler plate with pulled pork, chicken, and hot links (they didn't have brisket tonight) and sides of baked beans, coleslaw, and a corn muffin--plus an Altbier from Liquid Mechanics. The chicken and pork, albeit a little dry, were tasty with the different sauces, and I had plenty to bring home.

Gorgonzola chips with house-made potato chips

My barbecue sampler plate: chicken, pulled pork, and hot links plus sides. It's hard to take a food photo at Miller's without it being dominated by the giant red water glasses, so I had to do some strategic cropping!

Mushroom & swiss burger with sweet-potato fries

Kat with her mushroom & swiss burger and tots. I did not taste the burger, but the tots were delicious!

It was fairly quiet on a Thursday night, but a handful of people were watching the Broncos game in the bar.

PRRP installment 9: Panang Thai

I had eaten lunch at Panang Thai once about a year ago, but G had never been. We both liked it very much; the food was fresh and flavorful, the service was good, and the food came out quickly. It was quiet on a weeknight, but they were doing a steady takeout business. 
We had the grilled shrimp satay appetizer, and then I had the Thai green salad and G had wonton soup. The salad was much larger than I expected, with chopped lettuce, cucumber, bean sprouts, cherry tomatoes, carrot shavings, and lots of tofu, with the peanut dressing on the side. It was delicious but so filling that I was able to sample only a little of the green curry (fortunately, it will reheat well). The curry was excellent; I requested no bell peppers, but it had lots of other vegetables. G had the panang curry and devoured it all. We weren't asked for a spice level, and he said his was pretty hot. Mine was medium, which is what I would have asked for, but if you like mild, you may need to remember to request it when you order.<

We are drawing the restaurant names from a vase.

Panang curry and green curry

Grilled shrimp satay: delicious!

Wonton soup and Thai green salad with tofu and peanut dressing

Hello, unidentified fellow diners. I hope you don't mind being featured in my post, but you sat in such a picturesque spot. 

PRRP installment 8: Santiago's

I put the remaining restaurant names into two containers, one for breakfast/lunch and one for dinner, and we drew Santiago's from the breakfast/lunch container, so we walked up at around lunchtime. Of course, they serve dinner, but we meant to try the breakfast. Next time! 

Of course we know Santiago's very well, but I have not been there for years (for no particular reason). G, however, goes often when I am not home for dinner. He usually gets the combo plate, so he tried something different this time. We hoped to order the breakfast burritos, but it turns out they stop serving them at 11 a.m., so we switched to the Indian tacos (pick two items off the burrito menu, and they pile them on crisp frybread and smother it with green chile). Mine had chicken and beans and half-and-half (mild/hot) green chile, which was just about right for someone who likes things medium-hot, and G's had carnitas and beans and hot green chile. They were delicious!

PRRP installment 7: Ras Kassa's Ethiopian Restaurant

I had been to Ras Kassa's once or twice before, both here and in its old Boulder location, but this was G's first visit. It was delicious! Nice to see the place jammed on a Saturday night. 

We had an appetizer of sambusas (pastry stuffed with spiced lentils) and entrees of lamb stew and spiced yams that came with sides of rice, lentils, salad, and the injera (spongy flatbread) that you use to eat everything with.

Sambusas: pastry stuffed with spiced lentils

Lamb stew, rice, spicy yam stew, lentils, and injera 

Discussing Ethiopian food

Busy weekend dinner rush

PRRP installment 6: Community

Today is our wedding anniversary. We celebrated with a late dinner at Community, which also counts as the fifth stop in our PRRP. The food was excellent, and at 8:30 pm on a weeknight, the place was almost empty and very quiet, which made me happy (my hearing loss makes restaurant noise very hard to tolerate). G had lamb shank, I had pork gnocchi, and we shared an apple pastry with butterscotch ice cream for dessert.

G didn’t want to be photographed but said he would be a hand model.

TThe gnocchi isn’t pretty but was delicious!

Apple pastry and butterscotch ice cream

Community on a Tuesday night

PRRP installment 5: La Familia Taco Truck

I can't find the original entry for this taco truck, which I included because it is always in the same location, in the parking lot just south of Auto Zone. I tried breakfast burritos in early November 2017 as part of the PRRP, and we liked them very much--they are larger and more solid than the breakfast burritos from some other places. Since then, I have frequently stopped there for breakfast burritos and once or twice for tacos. If I remember, I will update this entry with photos the next time I stop there.

PRRP installment 4: Taco Wagon (CLOSED)

Taco Wagon closed after a fire in late 2004. We miss it!

-----------------

Two days in a row of PRRP: today, G brought home breakfast burritos from the Taco Wagon. Delicious! And another check mark on the list.

I didn't write anything else at the time, but since this date, I have frequently gone to Taco Wagon for breakfast burritos. It's a little less than a mile from my house, so it makes a nice walk with the dog. I usually get four, and G and I eat them for breakfast two days in a row because they reheat very well.

PRRP installment 3: Pho Cafe

The PRRP continues with Pho Cafe, where we ate some delicious Vietnamese egg rolls; G had a big bowl of pho with steak, tendon, and tripe; and I had a rice noodle bowl with combo grilled meats. Good food, nice staff, reasonable prices.

PRRP installment 2: Black Diamond Restaurant & Taphouse (CLOSED)

Update January 2022: Permanently closed.

I can't post photos because my cell phone was out of commission, but tonight was G's and my second installment of our Public Road Restaurant Project. [2019 update: Black Diamond closed in 2019. Teocalli Cocina is now in this location.]

 We thought the food was very good (G had a pocket pie; I had a wedge salad with grilled chicken and drank an Upslope beer), the prices are reasonable, and the ambience was pleasant. The place was very busy--including the large patio with fire pit. There are lots of local craft brews on tap. The name is a reference to a coal mine that used to be located nearby, and some menu items, such as the pocket pies, are intended to be a tribute to the cookery of the miners' wives. 

After dinner, we had gelato at Chocolaterie Stam next door. We also liked the ambience there except that G was distracted by how badly the player piano was performing a Mozart piece that he has been playing since he was in high school.

PRRP installment 1: Fortune Cookie Chinese Cafe (CLOSED)

Update January 2022: Permanently closed.

We are beginning our Public Road Restaurant Project with the Fortune Cookie, which we've never been to before even though it has been here since before we moved to Lafayette in 1989. They seem to do mostly a takeout business, but we are dining in. Very polite 11-year-old waiter and decent food.

We learned later that many people are leery of Fortune Cookie because of its unappealing frontage, while for others, it is a favorite go-to spot for takeout or dine-in Chinese food. I say don't worry about the outside and give it a try. I liked the food, and it is a family business.