Sister's Pizza & Mussels (& Boulder Canyon chips)

Getting to downtown Loveland, CO from Fort Collins without a car is a bitch. It took me two transfers and a solid hour on the buses one way, and that was just the travel time alone. Consider that buses only run once per hour (luckily, the wait between transfers is minimal), miss one bus and you're screwed until the next hour. I might have done better biking.

I was in Loveland for an internship interview, and found myself leaving the building just after my bus was scheduled to pull away from the curb. Having already wandered most of the downtown area before the interview (I arrived an hour early so that I wouldn't be late), I gave myself the task of figuring out where to get something to eat. Just in front of the bus stop, Sister's Pizza & Mussels caught my eye.

A place focused on both mussels and pizza seemed an unlikely business model, but I was game. Inside, the place was empty and had the air of a takeout joint. Mussels were mainly featured as part of pasta dishes, and not wanting to tussle with a forkful of spaghetti while sitting outside at the bus stop, I opted for the classic portable meal, a plain slice.

It was surprisingly good. The bottom of the thin, chewy crust was crisp without being cracker-like, and the cheese, sauce, and dough all seemed well balanced.

One slice is pretty slim, however, so I supplemented my meal with a bag of chips. I'd seen Boulder Canyon Natural Foods chips all over Colorado—it seems to be the local brand of choice—and I was eager to check out their Spinach & Artichoke flavor because I have a fascination with oddly flavored crispy snacks. These kettle-cooked chips were hearty, with good potato flavor and the perfect amount of salt. The added seasoning seemed to be a nod toward spinach and artichoke dip, which made the chips taste like a better version of sour cream and onion. Yum.

Panda Express: Even in a pinch, pass

Veggie lo mein and beef and broccoli from Panda Express and a book of selected stories by Alice Munro, both consumed in the food court of the student center. This is how I killed an hour between classes because I didn't feel like walking back to my apartment to make lunch, but after that styrofoam tray of salty grease and flavorless, gummy noodles, I really should have.

At least the stories were good.

Dou-ban yu fail

After tasting my dad's dou-ban yu before I left for Colorado, I was determined to recreate the dish on my own. At the Asian supermarket in Denver, I picked up a bottle of the spicy bean paste/hot bean sauce brand he had used (same as the one I used for my mapo tofu dish), and figured all I needed was to add chopped garlic, cilantro, scallions, and basil for the sauce.

But then there was the matter of the fish. I didn't know where I could buy a live carp, and how could I possibly eat an entire carp anyway? So I made the dish with frozen tilapia filets that I bought at Wal-Mart, not knowing how wretched they would taste. Overly fishy, and with unpleasant scales and bones still randomly stuck in them, which totally booby-trapped each bite. I know I have to make grocery compromises because of budget and availability now, but these filets were just not worth it.

The flavor of the sauce, however, was great. My mom advises that I add cooking wine and ginger next time to brighten the flavors and to reduce the fishiness, so I guess that's how I'll tackle the rest of the filets I have left. After that, though, there's no way I am buying them again.

Asian grocery fix: East West Imports

East West Imports is probably the closest Asian market to me, just around the east side of campus. It's a funny place that offers a combination of groceries, cooking classes, language classes, and gift items.


Their grocery selection is surprisingly extensive for the space—the market area is small, but the shelves are packed. It has the usual selection of condiments, snacks, teas, and dried goods, and a refrigerated section on the side offers items like frozen dumplings, ice-cream filled mochi, or wonton wrappers. There also seem to be some more obscure Japanese items, which I didn't recognize. Prices are a bit higher than the Vietnamese grocery I went to in Denver, but that's to be expected.

Overall, this place is a good option and I'm happy it's in town!

Four ways to eat an apple and raw beet salad

I had a bundle of beets and an abundance of Honeycrisp apples from the farmer's market, and decided to chop 'em up and put them together with a splash of lemon juice and a little salt to make a healthy raw beet and apple salad. I loved the earthy sweetness of the raw beets paired with the simple, tart sweetness of the apples, but the problem was, three large beets and three large apples equals one damn enormous bowl of salad. I was eating the stuff for days. So here are some of the combinations I came up with:

Topped with cashews and cilantro, alongside toast;

On jalapeno-cheddar bread, with some cream cheese;

In a tortilla with peanut butter (a surprisingly awesome pairing);

On a piece of toast spread with pate, after adding chopped cabbage into the mix.

In the end, I loved the flavor of the salad, but the texture was a little unwieldy. I thought the beets would soften and wilt after marination, but they never did. Next time I'll try grating the apples and beets instead of cutting them into matchsticks.

Beet greens, by the way, should definitely not be tossed. I sauteed the chopped greens with a little salt in some olive oil, and ate them on top of rice with a fried egg. The greens are as tender as spinach and taste just a little earthier.

Wild Boar Coffee: My coffee shop, mine!

I spend most days doing work in my apartment, as I've been able to set up a study in my second bedroom. But there are only so many hours you can spend holed up in one place, and it's then that I move myself over to Wild Boar Coffee.

Not only is it close to my apartment, but as a converted house it manages to be both cozy and spacious. There are usually tables available, many with good light, and plenty of outlets to plug in laptops. A pile of board games in the main parlor, too.

The tea selection is a little weak (does anyone else hate Republic of Tea? Their little tea bags are so flavorless), but their coffee is good, and I believe they just started serving alcohol for those looking to curl up with a glass of wine while reading a book. And the food? Tasty and also inexpensive! If I'm spending an entire day in Wild Boar, I don't mind that I have to eat one or two meals there. Here's a rundown of some of the items I've tried:

Pulled pork sliders, which I requested come with a salad instead of chips for maybe fifty cents more (I think). Both the salad and dressing were good and fresh, and though the pulled pork was a little too sweet—almost like Chinese rou soong—it was altogether satisfying.

Tomato bisque was on the salty side (my most frequent complaint about most non-homemade soups), but the flavor was good and the butter-topped roll that came with it soft and toasty.

Bacon quesadilla with a side salad. The quesadilla is pretty plain—just melted cheddar and several strips of bacon, with salsa and sour cream on the side—but you can't really go wrong with that combination.

Egg and potato "breakfast burrito," smothered in pork green chili and topped with melted cheddar for fifty cents or a dollar more (I can't remember). In some parts the tortilla seemed a little tough (over-microwaved at the end?) but it wasn't bad—definitely a filling bang-for-the-buck.

Finally, a giant peanut butter cookie. Could have had more peanut butter flavor and was a little too crisp for my tastes—I lean towards chewy cookies—but decent nonetheless.

From what I understand Wild Boar Coffee opened up sometime last spring and so is a relative newcomer to the town. It seems like they're still experimenting with some things (newly emphasizing that they are a restaurant, for instance, though they seem solidly like a coffee shop to me), so there will probably be more to report later on. In the meanwhile, I'll be there with my laptop and manuscripts as long as they've got a table for me.

O'Tasty pork buns: One for the frozen food files

Still on the quest for good bao. Despite the machine-made crimping, this looks much better than the last one, dunnit? These are O'Tasty Foods brand, priced at six bucks for a pack of eight, which I found in the frozen section of Cabana Asian Market—another funny shop that is a combination of salon, spa, and grocery.

After I microwaved one the dough was moist and soft, and the roast pork filling had good flavor that wasn't too sweet, though it could have been a bit less mushy. They're small, so they're pricier than NYC Chinatown for sure, but the taste was close enough so that I didn't mind.

What I did with kale

The bundle of Tuscan/lacinato kale I bought at the farmer's market, paired with caramelized onions and braised. Next time, I'll let the kale cook a little longer; I was impatient and didn't let it get soft enough. In terms of flavor, though, the caramelized onions were a nice match. There was a bit of tang from lemon juice, too—not sure if this was essential, but it worked.

With the regular kale, I braised it with garlic, onions, and chopped tomatoes.

It went surprisingly well with some cheese ravioli!

Enter the giveaway!