PRRP installment 19: Udon Kaisha

Udon Kaisha is technically not on Public Road, but since it is right next door to several other restaurants that are, we included it on the list. We have been here quite a few times since it opened and have always liked the food, but it had been a while since our last visit. We were actually there on Saturday, but it took me a while to get around to posting. 

We decided to try an appetizer we had never had before, okonomiyaki (sweet potato cakes with cabbage, green onions, and a crunchy flour-and-egg crust), and it may be my new favorite thing there. Next, we ordered some sushi rolls that were also new to us: spicy shrimp roll, crunchy tiger roll, and sweet potato roll. They were all good, but the sweet potato roll (tempura fried sweet potato with sweet soy and spicy mayo) was my favorite. 

Finally, G had a bowl of shoyu udon soup, which is an old favorite. I remember getting a takeout order of this soup and the spicy ramen once when we were both sick, and they were amazing then too!

Okonomiyaki. We broke up the round cake before I remembered to photograph it. It looks kind of greenish here, but I promise it is delicious.

Sushi rolls: sweet potato, crunchy tiger, spicy shrimp

Shoyu udon noodle soup

PRRP installment 18: Baseline Italian Bistro (CLOSED)

Update January 2022: This restaurant later became Mon Cherie, which closed during the pandemic shutdown before we could review it and then closed permanently. It was replaced by Casian Seafood. 

We were down to our last two dinner places, and we actually drew the other one, but it turned out to be closed on Tuesday, so we ended up at Baseline Italian Bistro.

This place has been an Italian restaurant for years, first as the Sweet Tomato, to which we frequently walked for dinner, then under new ownership as Pinocchio's, and now under new ownership again. I had not been there since before the latest name change. 

I ordered pizza because it occurred to me that it is now the only place on Public Road that serves pizza, but after dinner our server told us that they are about one week away from having a bakery and a new menu, and pizza will not be on the new menu. So get over there in the next few days if you are a fan of the pizza! The new menu, which will be mostly (but not exclusively) Italian, will still have calzones. 

We each had a salad (caesar for me, with anchovies added for a small upcharge, and garden salad for G), and G had a pasta sampler with ravioli, spaghetti, and chicken parmesan. The pizza was a build-your-own with sausage, mushrooms, and black olives, and we brought three-quarters of it home (I just had some for breakfast). Everything was good. For dessert, we shared a dish of spumoni. We noticed on the sign out front that Thursday is still all-you-can-eat spaghetti night, so perhaps that tradition will continue after the menu change!

If you don't like anchovies, sorry they are kind of the focal point here! Caesar salad and garden salad. We liked the squishy hot rolls.

Build-your-own pizza with sausage, mushrooms, and black olives and a pasta sampler with ravioli, spaghetti topped with Italian sausage, and chicken parmesan.

Pizza with restaurant background

Me with pizza and Peroni

We started eating the spumoni before I remembered to photograph it, so this is an action shot of G digging in.

PRRP installment 17: The Post

We picked the Post instead of drawing from our remaining restaurants because we wanted to use our coupon for $10 off that came as a door hanger a month or two ago and expires 2/9. Thanks, Post! 

As many of you know, the Post used to be the Lafayette VFW Post building before it was renovated to its current brewpubbery glory. It is technically half a block off Public Road, but close enough! I walked by it for many years on my route to the PO when the VFW just had a couple of picnic tables in the side yard, and you never saw anyone out there. Of course, there was no reason for it to be busy, as it was not a restaurant, but it's just interesting to contrast the atmosphere then and now! These days it is almost always hopping, even on a Monday night. 

Why Monday? BURGER NIGHT. I promise you, the Post has an awesome burger. Kat introduced me to this phenomenon a year or so ago, and it ratcheted my general liking for the Post up to a recurring Monday-night obsession. The burger (which is not served other nights of the week) comes with a Thousand Island sauce and onion jam, and the bun is a house-made English muffin. It is a good idea to split the burger to leave room for dessert! 

We also shared a big house salad, one of my favorite things there, and some garlic fries and topped it off with a show-stopping kahlua bread pudding with candied almonds and chocolate ice cream. I had a Howdy beer because I am a fan of pilsners. See photo captions for more food details.

The big salad comes with big chunks of chewy bacon, tomatoes, pepitas, croutons, blue cheese, and cucumber chunks. I just noticed the menu says it also has apples and boiled eggs, but I didn't spot any of those tonight. Oddly, on my one visit to the Post in Boulder, the big salad did not live up to my expectations based on how good it is at the Lafayette location. I don't think the Boulder kitchen had the vinaigrette right.

The burger is not huge, but it is big enough to share! The bun is a house-made English muffin, and it is topped with Thousand Island dressing and onion jam. It does not need any other condiments. It comes with a garnish of pickled veggies; sides are a la carte. 

Garlic fries with cheese crumbles

This out-of-focus photo shows how excited Kat was about her half of the burger.

Make sure you get over to the Post before this dessert rotates off the menu. Kahlua bread pudding with candied almonds and chocolate ice cream. It was amazing!