Rocky Mountain smackdown
Argument for Boulder: Since we tend to draw the spotlight, Denver likes to claim us as its suburb. Back off, big brother. This town of 97,000 is
setting Colorado’s food pace on a carbon-fiber-framed bike. The most acclaimed restaurant in Colorado, Frasca Food and Wine,
is in Boulder, and organic foods have been here since the ’60s. In no other town do chefs so vociferously champion their friend-farmers—and
even become farmers themselves. At one of the nation’s all-time-great and truly local farmers’ markets, the peaches are better
than Georgia’s, the lambs are raised on Rocky Ford cantaloupes, and corn is still warm from the field. Just ask Denver chefs:
They shop here for their menus.
Argument for Denver: While Boulder is driving the food equivalent of a Mini Cooper, we’re attracting chef transplants from New York and L.A. to
feed our 600,000 eaters. Awesome about your organic kale and fruity wines, but Denver is where you get international flavors.
Locals here are a little too busy to bike downtown for a wheatgrass smoothie (we actually have day jobs), but great food is
devoured into the wee hours. You can only dream of the pork-shoulder udon bowls we’re eating long after you’re fast asleep.
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