City: Boulder, CO

Category: Restaurants

Address: 1002 Walnut Street

City: Boulder, CO

Category: Restaurants

Telephone: (303) 447-2919

Address: 2111 30th Street

Description: A Boulder favorite since 1988, Ras Kassa’s moved into the city from Eldorado Springs. Meat and vegetarian dishes are served with a big slab of injera, a crepe-like Ethiopian sourdough bread, which you use to scoop up the rest of the food. Use the bread like a spoon to capture every drop of the hot, red sauces or the milder ginger and garlic sauces. Entrees include chicken or lamb, sweet potato stew, and butternut squash. You can eat in the Ethiopian-decorated interior, with authentic basket-woven tables, or enjoy the creekside patio. It’s open for lunch Monday through Friday and dinner daily.

City: Boulder, CO

Category: Restaurants

Telephone: (303) 494-9204

Address: 627 South Broadway, Suite A

Description: Voted “Best Mexican Restaurant” by a number of local newspapers and magazines. Ajuua! (a-huu-a) is an ultimate expression of cheerful celebration, and Ajuua was the name chosen for this restaurant because it reflects a friendly, celebratory environment. The owners, the Garcia family, offer traditional Mexican fare with some distinctly different selections, such as Azteca soup (grilled chicken breast in a broth topped with tortilla strips, avocado, and cheese) and Discada (a sautéed mixture of steak, bacon, chorizo sausage, ground beef, pico de gallo, and spices). Ajuua is open Monday through Saturday for lunch and dinner and Sunday for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

City: Boulder, CO

Category: Restaurants

Telephone: (303) 546-0630

Address: 3161 Walnut Street

Description: No sooner did Casa Alvarez open in a corner of the Walnut Garden shopping center than people started raving about its chili—and the honors started pouring in, including winning the Boulder Chile Olé Contest. The red and green chili are each just about the best of their type around, but the restaurant has a way with other Mexican specialties, too. When it’s mild out, the patio is a pleasant place to enjoy your meal. Casa Alvarez makes good margaritas and sells them two-for-one during happy hour, from 4 to 6 p.m. every evening. There are also beer and drink specials. Takeout is available, too. They are open for lunch and dinner daily.

City: Boulder, CO

Category: Restaurants

Telephone: (303) 444-3055

Address: 1320 College Avenue

Description: A Boulder favorite, Illegal Pete’s is famous for its sizable burritos. You might not be able to eat the whole thing! You have your choice of fish, beef, chicken, or vegetarian burritos smothered with your choice of salsa, sour cream, or cheese. Other menu items include tacos, quesadillas, and taquitos. The environment is casual and is popular with the college crowd. Open daily for lunch and dinner.

City: Boulder, CO

Category: Restaurants

Telephone: (303) 449-5273

Address: 1043 Pearl Street

Description: Consistently voted “Best Mexican Dining” by Daily Camera readers, Juanita’s is one of Boulder’s favorite Mexican restaurants. This place is noisy and usually packed, so don’t expect a quiet, intimate meal. The front half is slightly more formal. The back half is good for families, if you’re not too distracted by loud music, pool playing, or a TV screen in every corner; kids love to sit in the back where wooden booths make it easier to color the children’s menu. Enjoy the traditional Mexican food, which is always hot; fast service; icy cold margaritas; and a huge selection of beer. Lunch and dinner are served daily.

City: Boulder, CO

Category: Restaurants

Telephone: (303) 444-3690

Address: 1101 Walnut Street

Description: The Rio Grande is a popular margarita dispensary and Mexican restaurant. Juanita’s may win the best Mexican restaurant contest, but the Rio Grande always wins top votes for the best margarita. Colorful Tex-Mex burritos, enchiladas, and fajitas with loads of cheese, black beans, and Spanish rice are featured. The restaurant also offers tortilla chips and pico de gallo, a spicy vegetable relish. The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner daily.

City: Boulder, CO

Category: Restaurants

Address: 1035 Pearl Street

City: Boulder, CO

Category: Restaurants

Telephone: (303) 443-9336

Address: 4929 North Broadway

Description: You have to travel to the very northern edge of Boulder to find Terrace Maya, but the authentic Mexican fare and festive cantina atmosphere make it worth the trip. Appetizers include chili con queso, bowls of pork or veggie green chili, nachos, jalapeño poppers, and chicken wings. The menu features traditional enchiladas, bean burritos, flautas, fajitas, and chimichangas, too. If you’re more adventuresome, try Especial Mexican Barbecue, Mexican rib-eye steak, or house favorites such as Acapulco shrimp or pescado Veracruz. A full bar pours delicious mango margaritas, Mexican cervezas, and microbrews. There’s a large outdoor patio with live music every Saturday night. Open daily for lunch and dinner.

City: Boulder, CO

Category: Restaurants

Telephone: (303) 442-1485

Address: 2010 16th Street

Description: Leaf Vegetarian Restaurant is dedicated to creating a superb vegetarian dining experience in a tranquil, sophisticated environment. Leaf uses the finest organic, seasonal ingredients in providing a vegetarian global cuisine and health-conscious dining option for herbivores and omnivores alike. Leaf also provides a full bar highlighted by an enviro-friendly wine list, Boulder’s own organic Vodka 14 martinis, fresh juices and smoothies, and specialty loose teas and coffees. The dinner menu includes a wide choice of salads, pasta, and exciting vegetable dishes. The restaurant claims to offer the only strictly vegetarian brunch in Boulder. Stop by for vegan happy hour and dinner seven days a week. Open for lunch daily and brunch Saturday and Sunday.

City: Boulder, CO

Category: Restaurants

Telephone: (303) 443-8348

Address: 1200 Yarmouth Avenue

Description: Voted best new restaurant of 2008 by Boulder Weekly, Organic Orbit takes the Birkenstocks out of organic food, and the stuffiness out of fine dining, all with a mission of reconnecting with nature through food. The restaurant was developed with the overriding vision of moving the planet in the direction of an organic lifestyle. Key to that concept is the importance to returning to sustainable agricultural practices that both reduce the damage caused by conventional farming and improve the nutritional value of our food. The restaurant features great-tasting organic food and delivers an authentic dining experience in a chic and intimate atmosphere.

City: Boulder, CO

Category: Restaurants

Telephone: (303) 494-5858

Address: 4720 Table Mesa Drive

Description: This is a natural-food restaurant that looks and feels like a “normal” place, not like a granola-and-tofu dispensary. It offers fine dining based on a variety of influences from all over the world but with natural and organic ingredients. Samosas, a type of Indian snack food made with mildly spiced vegetables, are a fine starter. Thai vegetable curry and crab-stuffed trout are typical entrees and are served with homemade soup or salad and brown or basmati rice. The tenderloin filet is organically grown. If you come for brunch, try the gingerbread pancakes with whipped cream. Homemade desserts include coffee toffee and Key lime pie. Vegans and people on special diets can get made-to-order food here. Rudi’s is open for lunch and dinner daily and for dinner on the weekend.

City: Boulder, CO

Category: Restaurants

Address: 1701 Pearl Street

City: Boulder, CO

Category: Restaurants

Telephone: (303) 443-1921

Address: 2761 Iris Avenue

Description: Abo’s has been a Boulder institution since 1977. Stop in for a slice or call ahead for a whole pie. Because of its great two-for-one plus free drinks special, this pizzeria has a huge following with the college crowd. Abo’s is open daily for lunch and dinner.

City: Boulder, CO

Category: Restaurants

Address: 801 Pearl Street