Send Boulder County food event listings (classes, dinners, tastings and baking contests) to nibbles@boulderreportinglab.org. Catch up on past bites: You can read previous editions of Nibbles on BRL anytime.
For generations of Coloradans, Longmont was a drive-through city. You had to drive through Longmont along US 287 to get to Estes Park and Fort Collins.
Some locals looked down on Longmont as Boulder County’s “low-rent cousin.” They called it “Longtucky” or “the turkey factory town,” a reference to the long-closed Butterball plant on Main Street. Longmont diners jammed the Diagonal Highway on weekend nights on their way to eat in Boulder.
In 2025, the traffic flow — not to mention the perception— has reversed. Longmont is winning awards for livability and is now a more affordable city to open food businesses and restaurants.
Foodies may reasonably ask: What can I eat in Longmont that I can’t find in Boulder?
For an appetizer, the city is home to Bella La Crema, Colorado’s only freshly churned butter bar, and Cheese Importers, the state’s largest selection of cheeses and charcuterie from around the world and across Colorado.
Pizza lovers have discovered the crusty treats at Longmont’s trio of nationally and internationally recognized restaurants: Rosalee’s Pizzeria, Urban Field Pizza & Market and Antonio’s Real New York Pizzeria.
And nestled in Longmont are Dryland Distillery, a much-honored, Colorado-focused spirits maker; Robin Chocolates, a veteran-owned artisan truffle shop; and Leckerlee, a nationally known baker of lebkuchen, the spicy German cookies.
Where else but Longmont can you sample Guatemalan coffee and fare (Chí Kapé), sci-fi-themed ales (Outworld Brewing), scratch-made doughnuts fried in tallow (Amazin Glazed), and onigiri, Japanese rice balls (Kawaii Konbini)?
Restaurant Week serves up menu of Longmont tastes
Since Boulder’s First Bite week ended in 2024, Longmont Restaurant Week is the only sampling event of its kind in Boulder County.
Longmont Restaurant Week offers dining deals at $25, $35, $45 and $55 from Oct. 3-12 at more than 40 restaurants, breweries and cafés.
“We have expanded the Restaurant Week mindset of upscale meals with wine to finding new affordable places to dine,” says Jessica Ferguson, the owner-director of Longmont Restaurant Week.
“Most of these dining weeks are run by visitor and business organizations. Here, it’s an independently run event and we can take a more inclusive approach.”
In Longmont, parking is free on and around Main Street. “That’s where a lot of the restaurants are located close together. You can usually just walk in one without a reservation,” Ferguson says.
The Longmont Restaurant Week participants cover almost every cuisine including Mexican (Blue Corn Tacos), South American (Rosario’s Peruvian Restaurant), Italian (Caprese Trattoria) and Indian (Flavor of India), plus local mainstays like Martini’s Bistro.
Among the offers:
- 300 Suns Brewing: $25 gets you a trio of deviled eggs, a choice of a burger or chicken sandwich with a side dish, and a beer, cider or cocktail.
- Sugarbeet: The $45 multi-course meal can include potato croquetas with jamón ibérico and manchego, a bowl of Thai green curry, and entrées such as Arctic char, bistro steak, maple-glazed chicken or pumpkin risotto.
According to Ferguson, Longmont has experienced a food-and-drink boom.
In the past year alone, Longmont has welcomed Pelo’s Deli and Provisions, Teocalli Cocina, Red Cedar Bistro — a Middle Eastern eatery — and three bakeries: Spruce Cafe, Bakewell and Panaderia Don Tono.
Ferguson points to the Alleyway Collective, a new food establishment open inside the Abbott & Wallace Distillery tasting room. “The Collective is operated by chef Edward Perea from Summit Tacos and they serve in both the St. Vrain Cidery as well as Abbott & Wallace,” she says.
“He has a bone marrow dish on his charcuterie plate that you have to try.”View the complete menu for Longmont Restaurant Week.
What’s John eating this week?
Silky hummus heaven found in Lafayette
Frankly, Falafayette had me at the hummus.
The garbanzo bean dip is ubiquitous at supermarkets and on menus, and it usually tastes about the same. At Falafayette, owner Adam Bratter crafts the silkiest, most craveable hummus I’ve encountered.
He waxes poetic about the three-day process of soaking, cooking and grinding certified organic garbanzos into hummus or falafel. For hummus, Bratter blends in tahini (sesame seed paste), fresh lemon juice, salt, cumin “and other spices,” he says.
Bratter dishes this culinary blessing from his Falafayette food trailer, semi-permanently parked behind Romero’s K9 Club & Tap House in Lafayette.
The simple menu was inspired by flavors that Bratter sampled at legendary falafel shops in Israel and Miami.
One bowl tops hummus with tahini sauce, olive oil, veggies and pickles. A side order of hot fries for dipping is recommended.
For Falafayette’s memorable sandwiches, Bratter starts with thick, soft pita loaves from New Jersey’s Angel’s Bakery. Freshly fried falafel balls, hummus and veggies are topped with three house-made sauces: tahini, s’chug (like green chimichurri) and pickled mango sauce.
The stand is typically open year-round for Tuesday and Friday lunch, dinner on Wednesdays, and occasionally other days. Check social media for the current schedule. It’s essentially a one-man business, so savvy Falafayette regulars always order ahead online.
Falafayette also hosts a booth at the Lafayette Farmers Market selling hummus and green sauce.
Falafayette owner Adam Bratter will talk about his abiding passion for hummus with John Lehndorff on Radio Nibbles, airing at 8:20 a.m. Sept. 25 on KGNU, 88.5 FM, and streaming at kgnu.org.
Local food news
- Sustainable seafood advocate Sheila Lucero enters Colorado food hall of fame: Chef Sheila Lucero, Culinary Director of Jax Fish House and a champion of sustainable seafood, will be inducted into the Colorado Foodservice Hall of Fame.
- Boulder County eateries among finalists for the 2025 Hospitality Awards (The Hospys): The honors from the Colorado Restaurant Association recognize hospitality professionals. Chef of the Year finalists include Johnny Curiel (owner of Boulder’s Cozobi Fonda Fina). Finalists for Colorado Restaurant of the Year include Marigold in Lyons and Boulder’s Black Cat Farmstead. Diners can vote for their favorites.
Openings
- Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii has opened a location at 2850 Baseline Road, with a menu including the “Bad Ass One” sandwich — Spam, egg, Swiss, pineapple and BBQ on a sweet bun.
- Rasoi House by Spice Room is serving Indian cuisine at 390 McCaslin Blvd. in Louisville, most recently the location of Biryani Bliss.
Culinary calendar
Learning to bake rugelach and make kimchi
- Sept. 28: Journey Culinary, Longmont’s culturally immersive cooking school, offers a class in baking Jewish holiday treats, rugelach and kimchi. Register here,
- Oct. 5: Boulder’s Friends Farm is hosting a hands-on fermentation class that takes newbies through the process of safely fermenting veggies. Register here.
Colorado markets and farm stands are jammed with fresh produce as the growing season concludes. Frankly, a lot of the apples, cabbages, squashes and tomatoes are ugly, bruised, misshapen or oversized.
In the farming world these items are referred to as “seconds” or “utility” produce – still edible, nutritious and tasty but cosmetically challenged. The uglies are often hidden under market and farm stand counters and sold by the case for a much lower price.
This produce is perfect for juices and sauces, baking pies, dehydrating, freezing for later use, and for preserving, pickling and fermenting.
For fermenting, pickling and beer and cider ingredients, equipment and advice, visit Boulder Fermentation Supply, where you can sip ales from next-door Vision Quest Brewery while shopping for yeast.
Deep food thoughts
“Without question, the greatest invention in the history of mankind is beer. Oh, I grant you that the wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does not go nearly as well with pizza.” — Dave Barry
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