Thai Monkey Club

Last Sunday we found ourselves on a journey to Thai Monkey Club, which supposedly offered Thai food so good that it warranted a long drive from the suburbs to Denver.

We headed toward the south Broadway / Wash Park / Baker district that we only seem to venture into for food; Sweet Action Ice Cream and Beatrice & Woodsley are just a couple blocks away.

Thai Monkey Club doesn't look like much from the outside. It's situated on a eclectic part of south Broadway known for good restaurants, antique shops, and kitschy furniture. Oh, and there's plenty of places like the adult video store that's right across the street from Thai Monkey Club.

So why were we at Thai Monkey Club anyway? Well, because we love Thai food but we haven't tried nearly enough Thai places around town. One of our friends, let's call him "Chang," found the restaurant a couple weeks ago and has raved about it, so we figured it was worth a stop.

Chang met up with us for our earlybird dinner at 3 pm on a Sunday. Despite the unassuming exterior, Thai Monkey Club's interior was filled with brightly painted walls, Thai art, and a giant monkey mural. The restaurant was small, with tables to seat only maybe 25 people. It was completely empty when we showed up, and a few other couples arrived while we ate.

Our waiter was a bit slow to take our orders, but our food arrived incredibly quickly once he had done so.

We started off with the Fresh Spring Rolls ($4.95), which Chang had warned us were the one item he'd tried at Thai Monkey Club that he didn't like.

Spring Rolls

The spring rolls were very average. They were packed with vegetables, which is normally a good thing, but there was just too much lettuce. The rolls also contained quite a bit of mint, which I enjoyed, but other people may dislike the intense mint flavor. People like Chang.

But the spring rolls were soon redeemed by the deliciousness of our entrees.

My husband selected the Drunken Noodles with chicken ($7.95 + $2 for chicken). Thai Monkey Club offers its patrons a selection of spiciness levels between 1 and 6, with a 3 supposedly being "fairly hot."  Mr. Oyster is a big tough guy and he opted for a "4."

Drunken Noodles

The drunken noodles were excellent. The dish was very heavy on the vegetables, containing large chunks of red pepper, baby corn, tomatoes, Chinese broccoli, and carrots. The chicken and egg were less prominent but very tasty and well cooked. The sauce itself was very spicy (as requested) and flavorful.

And I ordered my Thai go-to dish, the Panang Curry ($8.95 + $2 for chicken):

Panang Curry

I had to keep up with my husband, so I ordered it at a level "4" as well.

The curry base was outstanding. Yes, it was spicy. It had the perfect mix of coconut, spices, and chili heat. Like the Drunken Noodles, the curry was heavy on vegetables, particularly bell pepper and broccoli. The chicken was cut in small pieces and had absorbed much of the curry flavor. The dish was served with a large heap of rice that I used to cut out some of the heat.

I definitely preferred this Panang curry over Tuk Tuk's - and that's saying a lot, because I still love the Panang at Tuk Tuk. Thai Monkey Club's curry tasted less sweet and less coconut-heavy than at Tuk Tuk. Keep in mind, however, that entrees at Thai Monkey Club cost about $3 more than comparable dishes at Tuk Tuk.

After sweating our way through the curry and drunken noodles, we were very satisfied with our meal at Thai Monkey Club. If it were closer to our house, we'd probably be ordering take-out from them at least once a week. I'm not sure how it compares to any of the surrounding Thai restaurants, but we'll certainly try to make another visit when we're in the area.


Everyday Dining

(8 of 10)

Pros: Excellent Drunken Noodles and Panang Curry.
Cons: Service a little slow, prices a little high


Website:
http://thaimonkeydenver.com/

Tuk Tuk Thai Grill - DTC

Needing a quick lunch last weekend on a drive home that took us past the Denver Tech Center, we decided to stop in to Tuk Tuk for some always-good Thai food.

Tuk Tuk lies near a very uninteresting shopping center (it's anchored by a giant Microcenter), in a standalone building immediately next to Quincy. The shopping center is just north of I-225, so while Tuk Tuk calls the location a "DTC" restaurant, I would actually consider it to be just north of the Tech Center.

I've been to the location a couple times before during the work week for lunch, and it's consistently been packed with office types looking for a quick, cheap lunch. I imagine with a more visible location it would be even more busy. The building doesn't look like much from the outside, but inside it's very welcoming, with bright lighting and colorful decor. Like Pho Saigon, office workers grabbing a weekday lunch should get there before 11:30 am to avoid a wait.

On the Sunday when my husband and I visited, however, it was nearly empty at lunchtime. During my work week visits, they took customers' orders at a counter up front, and brought food out to the respective tables. But for our quiet Sunday lunch, we were seated at a table and waited on during the meal.

Service has always been fast; this visit was no exception.

We started off with the Summer Rolls appetizer ($4.5):

Summer Rolls

These rice paper wrappers were stuffed with shrimp, chicken, lettuce and carrots, and served with peanut sauce on the side. They were just ok. Some of the lettuce had browned at the edges, and the chicken tasted tough. One bright spot was the peanut sauce; it was spicy and well flavored but not too sweet.

I ordered the Ginger Beef ($8) with brown rice instead of white rice:

Ginger Beef with Brown Rice

This was a solid plate of Thai food, although nothing amazing. The vegetables were fresh and crisp, the sauce was fragrant and had a slight heat, and the beef was well cooked.

And then there was the Panang Curry Chicken ($7.75) that my husband will not stop talking about:

Panang Curry Chicken

The curry had a coconut milk base, and was ordered spiced "hot". It included a variety of fresh, crispy vegetables.

My husband sipped at the curry a bit, tried a few pieces of chicken and vegetables, scooped the sauce over rice and gobbled that up, and then began babbling uncontrollably: This is sooo good. [Pause] Wow. You have to try this. It is just soo good. So good. This is just so good.

And it was.

The spice combination of the curry was perfect and the "hot" spiciness was just the right amount of heat for both of us. The chicken and all the vegetables tasted fresh and well cooked.

I neglected much of my Ginger Beef in favor of helping him out with his amazing curry (I'm nice like that).

Ok, now here's my disclaimer about my Thai food ignorance: there's a lot of things I don't know about food, and there's certainly a lot of things I don't know about Thai food. I can't speak to whether this stuff was authentic, I can only say that it tasted fantastic.

The only bad thing about the curry? If you've noticed from my last few reviews, Mr. Oyster seems to be on a streak of ordering a better meal than me. Yes, the guy who used to think Totino's Pizza was the best thing ever, who became nauseous over the very idea of eating sushi, who didn't know what an artichoke was...this guy now seems to nail down the best dishes at a restaurant with some sort of natural finesse. It is not cool, and it's got to stop.

Very good fast Thai food. Get the curry.


Everyday Dining

 (7 of 10)

Pros: Fast service, outstanding curry
Cons: Summer rolls were very average, slightly pricey

Website:
http://www.tuktukrocks.com

Pho 95

Needing some pho this past weekend and intrigued by the positive reviews that Pho 95 received on Yelp and Urbanspoon, my husband and I headed over for lunch.

Normally for a Vietnamese food fix, we head to Pho Saigon in Englewood, so everything at Pho 95 was judged relative to its south-suburban counterpart a few miles further east on Arapahoe.

Pho 95 is situated in the 'burbs at Littleton's SouthGlenn development, which is a totally different environment from its Pho 95 predecessor off Federal. Nonetheless the restaurant seems to do extremely well in suburbia.

We arrived on a Sunday around 1 pm to a brightly decorated, mostly-full restaurant, and were immediately seated at a booth near the window.

We began with our usual starter, the Shrimp and Pork Spring Rolls ($3.95):

Pork and Shrimp Spring Rolls

The rolls contained high-quality shrimp and pork, but otherwise were stuffed with only rice noodles and lettuce and were a bit bland. The peanut sauce tasted too much like overly sweet peanut butter.

Our main dishes were small bowls of Pho Tai or Beef Pho ($6) for my husband and Pho Bo Vien or Meatball Pho ($6) for myself.

Pho Bo (Beef Pho)

Meatball Pho

The soup was accompanied by a giant plate of veggies:

Pho Vegetables

You really can't tell from the photo above, but the plate came with a mountain of bean sprouts that were a bit brown and not particularly fresh tasting.

Other than the dreary bean sprouts, however, the pho was fantastic. The broth was light and pleasantly salty. The meatballs and beef slices in our respective bowls were comprised of thinly sliced, high quality meats. The soup was packed full of meat and noodles, and we threw in handful after handful of veggies on the side.

Service was ridiculously fast, efficient, and friendly. I'm pretty sure we only had time to blink between placing our orders and seeing the spring rolls delivered to our table.

Overall we loved the pho (minus the bean sprouts), but the spring rolls were disappointing. Worth another visit.


Everyday Dining

(8 of 10)


Pros: Great pho, cheap, fast service
Cons: Some aspects of food below average

Website:
http://www.pho95noodlehouse.com

Larkburger

There are so many hamburger spots in Denver that Larkburger never really made its way to my radar, despite the nonstop blogging hype and the weed-like proliferation of its restaurants across Colorado. That was, until a location opened up in the Denver Tech Center that was just way too convenient to pass up.

Larkburger labels their burgers as "gourmet" at every opportunity, and that's probably a result of their fine dining roots at Vail's Larkspur restaurant. That's also why you see truffle flavor permeating so much of the menu.

My husband, my mother-in-law and I arrived at Larkburger for lunch on a Saturday. Their Greenwood Village location is right at the heart of the Tech Center, in a fancy-ish strip mall that's packed to the brim all workweek long but is eerily quiet on weekends. As expected, Larkburger only had a few other customers during our Saturday visit.

The menu at Larkburger is very, very simple. You have a choice between various types of burgers (beef, tuna, turkey, mushroom) in a couple of different sizes, but that's where your options taper off.  The restaurant encourages a medium cooked burger, Tillamook cheddar is the only cheese option, and your toppings will be lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and sauce. Some people might find that constricting, I thought it was easy and perfect.

My husband selected the Larkburger with cheese ($6.5), I ordered the Little Lark with cheese ($4), and my mother-in-law ordered the Turkey Burger ($6.25). We also got an order of their Truffle and Parmesan Fries ($3).

Just a few minutes later, out came our food:

Left to Right: Larkburger, Little Lark, Turkey Burger  
Background: Truffle & Parmesan Fries 

One bite into my burger, and I completely understood what all the fuss was about. So good. Maybe it was the quality of the meat, or the fact that it was cooked so perfectly, or the buttery sauce or fresh toppings, but this an insanely good hamburger. I didn't even feel the need to add ketchup.

My husband loved his Larkburger equally. He made fun of the miniature size of my Little Lark, but I thought it was the perfect portion. I didn't try my mother-in-law's turkey burger but she loved it.

The fries were just ok. I prefer thick, steak-type fries, and these were very skinny and lacked the punch I was hoping for.

Overall, an outstanding hamburger for cheap. I'll be back.


Everyday Dining

(8 of 10)



Pros: Amazing hamburgers, great service, cheap
Cons: Some people may not like lack of menu options, fries were average

Website:
http://www.larkburger.com

Biker Jim's Gourmet Dogs

Well, I suppose if Biker Jim's Gourmet Dogs is a favorite of Anthony Bourdain's and if it's Susan Feniger's "Best Thing I Ever Ate", it's probably good enough for me and my amateur tastebuds. Biker Jim's has quickly become one of the most well known food spots in Denver, meaning it was time for us to get over there and see what the big deal was all about.

We showed up at about 5:30 pm on a Friday night just before a Rockies game. Surprisingly, only a few tables were occupied when we first arrived, but it soon became packed with customers after we entered.

Biker Jim's is more famously known for its hot dog stands, and just opened the brick-and-mortar location this past March in Five Points near Coors Field (across from my beloved Marco's Coal Fired Pizzeria). The Biker Jim's restaurant has order-at-the-counter service and indoor and outdoor tables.

My husband ordered the Louisiana Red Hot ($6), with cream cheese and grilled onions on top (additional $1). And a half order of the much-Yelped fried macaroni and cheese on the side ($2).

And what did I order? I'm going to get a lot of crap about this. Well, I already have from my husband. Brace yourself. I ordered a hamburger. It was the Off-The-Street Burger ($8) to be precise.

WHY you ask, did I get a hamburger? Well...

1. I'm not that big of a hot dog fan
2. The toppings sounded *%(@*$ fantastic. Fried green tomatoes, fried onions, roasted poblanos, garlic aioli and a gooey-yolk egg?  Yes please.

We munched on pickles and banana peppers from the relish bar while waiting for our plates, and we were greeted with the arrival of our food after only a few short minutes.

Left - Louisiana Red Hot dog with cream cheese and grilled onions
Right - Fried Macaroni and Cheese
Sorry my husband took such a bad picture and didn't even bother to unwrap his hot dog.

My husband was upset about my hamburger order, and I am upset with him for taking such a crummy picture of his delicious food. Underneath that tin foil wrapper is a wonderfully spicy Louisiana Red Hot dog, which was perfectly complimented by the cream cheese and sweet grilled onions.

And the shot of the two fried triangles on the right simply does not do justice to the insanely good Fried Macaroni and Cheese insides. It tastes like the richest, gooey-est, most wonderfully cheesy and with perfectly cooked pasta type mac and cheese that you've ever had. And then it's deep fried. Amazing. It lived up to every word of Yelp hype. Loyal readers (all 2 of you), you must try it if you visit.

And my order, the Off-the-Street burger:

Off-the-Street Burger

Let's start with the toppings I was so excited about. The fried onions, egg, and roasted poblano were all excellent, but the real star was the perfectly cooked, tangy fried green tomato. Clearly Biker Jim's really has their act together when it comes to fried goodies.

But sadly, my hamburger was a bit dry and flavorless. It certainly didn't have the punch of a Louisiana Red Hot dog. And the worst part about it was I was blasted with "I-told-you-so"s from my irritatingly smug dining partner. YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH IT PAINS ME TO SAY THIS, but he was right. I should've stuck with a hot dog.

Unfortunately, along with the arrival of our food at the table, we were faced with what was no doubt my biggest gripe of the experience: there were flies everywhere. I spent more time trying to swat away the nonstop swarm of winged pests than I did enjoying the food.  Biker Jim's has two garage-door panels that they had open at the time - I assume to keep temperatures cool and smoke levels down - but they need to put up screens or do something to keep the flies away. A friend who's been to Biker Jim's on several other occasions confirmed he's seen the same thing, so it wasn't just an isolated problem.

Biker Jim's: Great hot dogs and great fried mac and cheese. Well worth any marital strife your visit may cause. Bring a fly swatter.


Everyday Dining

 (7 of 10)

Pros: Amazing Fried Macaroni and Cheese and hot dogs. Fast service.
Cons: Hamburger was disappointing. Beware the flies when doors are open.

Website:
http://bikerjimsdogs.com/

CJ's Frozen Custard

CJ's is the ultimate mom-and-pop custard stop. Their small location is located in Lone Tree at Lincoln and Yosemite, in a strip mall near Safeway and in between a couple of random stores.

The interior of CJ's is pretty bare-bones, with six or so tables and fliers everywhere for every local thing imaginable.

CJ's offers the traditional custard-stand staples of chocolate, vanilla, and "flavor of the day" custards, as well as Vienna hot dogs. I've never tried the hot dogs, but I do know all about the custard. The frozen treats are offered with a variety of standard toppings, and can be ordered as part of a sundae or malt. CJ's also sells "flavor of the day" pints.

My husband's favorite thing ever is the marshmallow malt, made with vanilla custard ($5.5).

Marshmallow Malt

My selection on this particular visit was a small cup of chocolate custard with peanut butter cup pieces ($3.5).

Chocolate Custard with Peanut Butter Cup Topping

And one of my husband's favorite "flavor of the day" selections, in pint form:

Cherry Amaretto Custard Pint

CJ's isn't anything terribly unique, but it is a solid neighborhood custard stop.

Everyday Dining

(7 of 10)

Pros: Unique flavor of the day options, custard in every form consumable
Cons: Slightly expensive, very average custard options

Website:

http://www.cjsfrozencustard.com

Silver Creek Diner

The Quest: To find a plate of biscuits and gravy as delicious as the ones my husband used to eat at the local diner in his tiny rural hometown. He's been looking for a worthy contender ever since a recent visit back home.

The First Place We Started: Silver Creek Diner. We've seen it off C-470 a hundred or so times, and the use of the word diner in the title suggests the presence of some sort of biscuits and gravy.

This place has a bit of an unfortunate location. Anyone can see the huge DINER sign from C-470, but actually getting into the restaurant from there takes a lot more work. It's housed at the end of a string of retail spaces, something I wouldn't quite call a strip mall, on the C-470 frontage road alongside all kinds of random small businesses.

The yoga studio next door gets plenty of regular visitors; Silver Creek didn't seem to have the same appeal. We were there at about 11:30 am on a Saturday, which I would expect to be peak hours, but they were only at about 1/3 capacity.

The interior of Silver Creek looks as though the location used to house a Chinese restaurant, then a Mexican restaurant, and now a diner, and throughout the successive changes in restaurant theme, no one has changed the decor. Instead, they've just added random item after random item, turning the interior into a mishmash of bizarre paintings and photos and excessively bright wall colors.

As you probably guessed, my husband ordered the biscuits and gravy ($8), which came with eggs, hash browns and sausage. I went with a Denver omelet ($6), which came with hash browns and toast.

Just a matter of minutes later, out came our food.

My omelet was decent. It tasted exactly how I thought it would.  The cheese was sparsely applied, which I appreciated, the peppers were fresh and crunchy, and the ham....just tasted like regular ham. The hash browns were ok, very average, and the toast was strangely only toasted on one side.

Denver Omelet

My husband's biscuits and gravy were also very average.  He loved the buttery flavor of the biscuits, but the gravy was a letdown. It wasn't proper country gravy with a rich, meaty flavor and sausage pieces strewn throughout. Instead, it was thin and chicken brothy and too salty. The eggs, hash browns, and sausage were all decent but nothing special.

Biscuits and Gravy

We both felt very "eh" about Silver Creek Diner.  We may come back for another visit....or we may not.  It was cheap and quick and OK tasting, but just nothing to get excited about.

Everyday Dining

(6 of 10)




Pros: Good service, cheap, fast
Cons: Everything is very average tasting, weird location

Pho Saigon

Not all pho is created equal. Pho Saigon at Arapahoe and Dayton in Englewood is not to be confused with the Pho Saigon in Englewood at Quebec, or the Pho Saigon in Aurora, or any of the other pho spots in Denver. This Pho Saigon is special.

After our first visit a couple years ago, we knew we'd stumbled on a gem. We've been many times since then, and we've never been disappointed.

Pho Saigon is located along a very busy stretch of Arapahoe Road in Englewood, in a little strip mall alongside several other restaurants. The interior is simple and modest, suited to a factory that cranks out happy Vietnamese food consumers. Despite the unassuming location, Pho Saigon is no secret among nearby office workers at lunch time. Be prepared for a line out the door if you arrive after 11:30 during the work week.

The staff is friendly and very, very efficient. You won't sit long before receiving water, having your order taken, and seeing your delicious plates (or bowls) of food in front of you.

Every time we go, we get the same things:

For a starter, the shrimp and pork spring rolls.

Shrimp and Pork Spring Rolls

The spring rolls are filled with shrimp, pork, noodles, lettuce, and carrots. The peanut sauce that comes for dipping is perfectly spiced, and not too sweet.

Mr. Oyster's main dish (and occasionally mine as well) is always the traditional beef pho.


Beef Pho

One thing I'm really, really picky about anywhere I eat is that the fruits or vegetables served be high quality and very fresh. Fortunately, all the veggies here pass my picky taste and texture criteria; you'll never see any brownish bean sprouts or wilted mint leaves at Pho Saigon.

Be warned that the size above is a small pho bowl. Order anything bigger at your own risk. The combination of beef, broth, and noodles is extremely filling.

And my usual: the grilled shrimp noodle bowl. It's served with carrots, scallions, bean sprouts, lettuce, peanuts, and fish sauce.

Grilled Shrimp Rice Noodle Bowl

Here is the standard routine with Mr. Oyster and I once the noodle bowl is set in front of me: he makes eyes at me like "hey, just let me have one shrimp".  I glare at him, and quickly move all the shrimp to my side of the bowl. Sometimes, I even build up a rice noodle barricade to further hinder any shrimp theft. He attempts to distract me throughout meal in hopes for a brief window of opportunity to sneak one of the delicious little crustaceans in his mouth. He usually fails usually wins eventually. Anyway, you get the idea, the shrimp are delicious. The portion, however, is too big for me. I usually leave most of the noodles behind.

For both the quality and quantity of food served, Pho Saigon is a bargain. Our bill for the food above, including tax, came to only $17.50 (I believe spring rolls were $3, shrimp bowl was $7, and pho was $6).

They've recently updated their menu to include more vegetarian and vegetable-heavy options, but we haven't had a chance to try any of them. Also, if you're scouring the south suburbs for Boba tea, Pho Saigon offers some twenty or so flavors. 

Pho Saigon is a great place for simple, standard Vietnamese dishes. Just make sure to get there before everyone else does.


Everyday Dining

(8 of 10)

Pros: Great basic Vietnamese food. Speedy and friendly service.
Cons: Very busy at lunch hour, some portions too large

Bernie's Hot Dog Co.

Disclaimer: I'm not a huge hot dog fan. To me, a typical hot dog tastes OK but not great. Plus I sort of avoid processed red meats. But my husband is an occasional hot dog eater, and he was intrigued by Bernie's after driving by their Highlands Ranch location. Since our first visit many months ago, he's become a regular, and I tag along every once in a while.

Bernie's is located in the most stereotypically suburban setting imaginable, in a small strip mall-ish cluster of restaurants near a main artery of Highlands Ranch and across from Home Depot. But don't be fooled by the location; Bernie's is one of very few non-chain, local restaurants in the south suburbs.

Walking into Bernie's, you might forget just how deeply entrenched in the suburbs you are.The interior is a combination of eye-popping red and green walls and, in an apparent reference to its own menu offerings, canine photos plastered all over the restaurant.

Anyone wary of standard hot dogs will be pleased to discover that Bernie's offers veggie dogs, turkey dogs, and "all-natural" dogs. The "all-natural" dogs are made of Vienna beef with no added color, hormones, or nitrites, and they're what my husband and I have ordered every single time we've visited. In other words, they're delicious.

The most difficult part of a visit to Bernie's may be deciding from their 20+ condiment offerings. Besides the usuals like ketchup and pickles, there are more exotic options including blue cheese, bacon, and green chili. My husband usually orders the "Michigan Ave" (aka a Chicago Dog), which comes with yellow mustard, pickle spears, tomatoes, sweet relish, diced onions, banana peppers, and celery salt. I've tried the Michigan Ave a couple times but got turned off by the subsequent bad breath and fluorescent green relish; now I stick to just ketchup and mustard.

All-natural dog with Michigan Ave toppings

All of our meals at Bernie's have included a side of their beer-battered fries, which are always served piping hot, and with all the salty and greasy goodness you ask for from a hot dog joint.

Beer-battered French fries

Nothing stands out as being the best thing i ever ate, but you can definitely get a great hot dog - customized to your liking - at a very decent price.

Everyday Dining

(7 of 10)

Pros: Good food. Lots of hot dog and condiment options, great service

Cons: Boring location, buns are nothing special, not many healthy options

Website:

http://bernieshotdogs.com/

Gelazzi Gelato

My husband and I spotted Gelazzi at our local suburban strip mall, and we drove by maybe five dozen times saying "oooh hey we should try that place" before finally checking it out.  We've now made about three or four visits to the location. 

Walking into Gelazzi for the first time, I was surprised at how large the place was and how many different frozen treats were on the menu.  They offer about a million different ways to ingest gelato, including cannolis, cookie sandwiches, cakes and pies. There's ample seating for 20-30 people, plus a party room in the back.  The decor is a little over-the-top - think Greco-Roman meets the 1980s - but maybe the kids love it? 
Every time we've gone has been at what should be peak hours, and the place has a steady stream of traffic but its never terribly busy.

Another thing that sets Gelazzi apart from most ice cream or gelato stops is the vast array of alcohol-infused gelato treats on the menu.  Given the wide selection of these "gelatinis", they must be pretty popular.  However, I'm surprised many people would order them, considering their primary demographic in this deep-in-the-'burbs location is families and teenagers.

I'm not a huge fan of mixing dairy treats and booze, so I've always just stuck to the former. There's at least 20 different flavors available at any time, ranging from mango to Oreo to pistachio. The gelato is - as advertised - lighter tasting (and presumably lighter in fat and calories) than ice cream.  I actually find it slightly bland, but my husband loves it and will be very upset when he sees what I just wrote.  His favorite selection is amaretto chocolate chip gelato in a waffle cone bowl.  I've had a few different chocolatey flavors, all in plain cup form, with chocolate chip cookie dough gelato being my favorite.  The two of us usually get out of there for under $7.



Front: Amaretto Chocolate Chip in a Waffle Cone Bowl
Back: Chocolate Chip Cooke Dough



Everyday dining

(7 of 10)


Pros: Good service, any permutation of gelato goodness you can dream of can be ordered
Cons: Slightly expensive

Website: http://www.gelazzi.com/

Toyko Joe's

Without Tokyo Joe's, my husband and I would starve to death. 

You think I'm exaggerating.  Well, I am, but only slightly.

Tokyo Joe's opened its doors to hungry Denver fast-Japanese food lovers in 1996.  Today, lucky Denverites such as myself get to experience the joys of their 21 metro area locations.

Tokyo Joe's serves fresh, natural, solid Japanese food at a very reasonable price. The staff is friendly and service is prompt. They also have a punch card system and an "addict club" that lets regulars eat for especially cheap.

Our local Joe's

My husband and I eat here at least several times a week.  We normally get a filling dinner there for under $15.  I usually grab sushi, the Boulder Veggie Bowl, or the Lettuce Wraps.  My husband is boring and prefers the White Chicken Bowl with Oyako Sauce.

4-Piece "Joe's" Roll

The food won't blow your socks off with depth of flavor or unique preparations, but it is good, solid, healthy Japanese food for cheap.  If you don't want to or don't like to cook, Joe's is the pefect place to grab a quick lunch or dinner.

 Ramen Noodle Bowl

Lettuce Wraps

Website:

http://www.tokyojoes.com/