PRRP installment 16: Efrain's (and Chocolaterie Stam)

From our few remaining dinner places, we drew Efrain's. This is probably the best-known restaurant on Public Road and also the longest-lived except for the Fortune Cookie and Ting's. We vaguely remember the restaurant that was there before Efrain's, which had a name that started with a T and an eclectic menu that included things like roast duck, but we can't recall the name--or the place that was there before that one. At any rate, we hadn't been to Efrain's in several years. 

We walked up at 5 p.m. to avoid the long waits that are typical of weekend dinnertimes there. We enjoyed our meals, and the service was brisk, friendly, and competent. G had chicken fajitas, and I had the tamale plate. The tamales came from the kitchen very hot and were smothered in a flavorful red chile sauce. 

Afterward, we walked across the street to Chocolaterie Stam for dessert (a truffle for G and gelato for me). It was quiet when we first got there, as it was still only 6:15 p.m., but several groups were coming in when we left. And there was a piano player!

I thought the  margarita was pretty.

The tamales were hot and tasty, especially because I liked the red chile sauce. G liked the fajitas but thought the meat should have come on a sizzling plate accompanied by grilled onions and peppers. 

Photo of me and the restaurant in the mirror that we were seated next to. 

Dessert at Stam: cookies and cream gelato and a dark chocolate truffle. You can see the piano player waaaay in the background.

Stam has the most beautiful counter.

PRRP installment 15: Eats & Sweets

From our few remaining breakfast/lunch places, we drew Eats & Sweets. E&S actually stays open until 8 pm Sun-Thurs and 9 pm Fri and Sat, but I put it in my breakfast/lunch group because its menu is mainly salads/sandwiches/soups and I thought we'd like to visit it at lunchtime. It was hopping today! We have been there quite a few times over the years but not recently, so it was nice to see it so busy. 

Everything was very good, and G said it is his new favorite because he liked his Dave's Roast Beef sandwich so much (it is one of the house creations, and you can also build your own sandwich). He had a cup of carrot-ginger soup with it, and I had clam chowder and a salad topped with chicken salad. Note that if you add extra ingredients to your salad from the list of ingredients that cost extra, you get sizable portions! I ended up with a full half of an avocado along with this giant scoop of chicken salad. 

We also tried two chocolate cupcakes, one with white frosting and one with chocolate. Delicious!

Lots of both eats and sweets that we haven't tried yet! 

Eats & Sweets was hopping at lunchtime.

For me: salad topped with chicken salad and a cup of clam chowder. For G, Dave's Roast Beef and carrot-ginger soup. The soups were peppery, but we like them that way! Note the ice cream happy hour sign in the background.

Delicious cupcakes!

PRRP addendum: French Twist Food Truck at Odd 13 (CLOSED)

Update January 2022: Closed during the pandemic when the owner got a job elsewhere, although who knows, it may return someday!

Two food posts in two days! This one was not officially a PRRP installment, but I consider it a PRRP detour because it is only two blocks off Public Road. 

Kat and I finally synced our schedules and the French Twist Food Truck's schedule at Odd13 (every Saturday and every other Sunday, 12:30-8:30) and had lunch there. First, we took a longish walk with the dogs to work up an appetite; then we dropped the dogs off and wandered over a little after 12:30. 

I ordered the croque madame and Kat ordered the salmon madame, and we traded a few bites and found them both so amazing that we agreed we should have split them down the middle. The croque madame is ham and swiss with a mushroom-bechamel sauce. The salmon madame has smoked salmon mixed with cream cheese with tomatoes and a lemon-caper cream sauce. They paired well with Odd beer! We also split a creme brulee that was so good that we cleaned out every angle of the container.

Note that at first we expected to see the truck parked on the street and thought it wasn't there for a second until we remembered that it would be inside the courtyard.

You can have dogs on the Odd 13 patio, but we weren't sure it was warm enough to sit outside for long, and we did move indoors when the temperature dropped, so we dropped them off before we went over. Kat had one of the IPAs, and I had the Mark Lark unfiltered lager and liked it a lot.

Croque madame and salmon croque (they look the same from the outside but are quite different inside!). The waffle-cut potato chips were delicious and just the right degree of saltiness. They also came with a side of ratatouille.

Creme brulee--AMAZING.

Louise the French Twist Food Truck

PRRP installment 14: Ting's Place (CLOSED)

Ting's Place closed permanently in 2023.

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Ting's has been around since 1988, a year before we moved to Lafayette, and we used to eat there frequently when it was in what used to be called (I think) Coal Creek Plaza. From the days of those visits, we even have a goofy inside joke where we say "Ting's" instead of "Thanks." (Don't judge; I said it was goofy!) 

We had stopped going in recent years, for no reason except that we favored restaurants in easier walking distance, and we had only been to the newer location a couple of times before. We ordered the Mandarin meal for two and got soup (wonton for both), assorted appetizers (eggrolls, fried wontons, ribs), an entree (spicy tangy chicken and cashew shrimp), and ice cream for a fixed price. It was all good, and we enjoyed revisiting this old favorite.

Appetizer assortment: all good!

Wonton soup, fried wontons (which we did not actually eat but were brought when we sat down), tea, and Tsingtao 

Spicy tangy chicken and cashew shrimp with fried rice. We had never tried either of these before, and they were both good. G might like something even spicier than the spicy tangy chicken next time.

G got a mysterious fortune. Mine was more straightforward.

PRRP installment 13: Asian King Buffet (CLOSED)

Update January 2022: Closed even before the pandemic and replaced by Tandoori Kitchen.

I included Asian King Buffet on the list, even though it is technically on South Boulder Road, because it is at the Public Road end of the church mall, next to other restaurants with Public Road addresses. We had never been there even though it has been around for a while ... and now it has been checked off the list! 

It is a dark and mysterious place, although the buffet section is well lit. I tried a few bites of quite a few different things, and I thought the hot & sour soup, fried wontons, Mongolian beef, lo mein, and grilled chicken were OK. I didn't see steamed rice, so I asked a staff member, and she got me some from behind the counter.

[2019 update: This place is now gone, so I admit that it was OK but not a place we would have returned to. Tandoori Kitchen is now in this location.]

It looks like the moon, but it is really the Flatirons Church logo.

The buffet area

Wonton soup and hot & sour soup. I wanted to try the h&s soup because someone recommended it if you are sick, and I have a cold. It was pretty good.

G's first try at the buffet: jalapeno beef, grilled mussels, and sesame chicken. He did not recommend the mussels but said the other two were OK. He also did not recommend using the restroom. 

G's second shot at the buffet (background) and my plate with a few bites of various things on steamed rice (foreground). 

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 (CLOSED)

Update, June 2024: Deli-cious Z's closed permanently on May 31, 2024.

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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.