Food BEST OF BOULDER

cart outside of Sanitas Brewing. Each visit necessitates grabbing at least one of the Lightning, a chicken taco with house-made kale salad. Rotating specials are also a big part of McDevitt’s summer roster.

GLUTEN-FREE MENU FLOWER CHILD

2580 Arapahoe Ave., Boulder, 303-386-8090

Silver: Leaf Vegetarian Restaurant

Bronze: Tangerine

Write-in: Piripi

As part of the Phoenix-based Fox Restaurant Concepts — which also includes Denver’s Culinary Dropout and Blanco Cocina and Cantina — Flower Child manages to mesh a variety of cooking styles to create robust dishes. The Boulder menu is full of conspicuously labeled gluten-free dishes, including a ginger miso crunch salad, chicken enchiladas and the Glow Bowl, which comes packed with spicy sweet potato noodles, bok choy, zucchini, onion, jalapeno, shiitake mushroom, coconut milk and sunflower butter.

Ice Cream Sweet Cow

2628 Broadway, Boulder, 303-447-3269

669 S. Broadway, Boulder, 303-494-4269

Silver: Gelato Boy

Bronze: Glacier Homemade Ice Cream and Gelato

Drew Honness opened his first Sweet Cow in Louisville in 2010. Lucky for Boulder ice-cream lovers, the empire has since grown to include two locations on either end of Broadway. Flavors are constantly rotating, but ones like Ozo coffee and vegan peanut butter Oreo have sustained the place’s ongoing popularity.

INDIAN SHERPA’S ADVENTURE RESTAURANT AND BAR

825 Walnut St., Boulder, 303-440-7151

Silver: Kathmandu Restaurant II

Bronze: Tandoori Grill

Write-in: Gurkhas Dumplings and Curry House

The chef at Sherpa’s, Jangbu Sherpa, claims to have summited Mount Everest 10 times without supplemental oxygen. The food there — a blend of Nepalese, Indian and Tibetan staples — all seems to be made with invigoration in mind. A tandoor clay oven churns out delicious meats and breads, and the lamb korma is some of the best in the region.

ITALIAN CARELLI’S OF BOULDER

645 30th St., Boulder, 303-938-9300

Silver: Il Pastaio Ristorante

Bronze: Pasta Jay’s

Write-in: Barchetta

Carelli’s opened in 1991 as a sandwich shop. It’s since evolved into a fabulous, white tablecloth date spot with dishes like Mediterranean lamb meatballs, tricolored tortellini and salmon carpaccio. Don’t leave without getting the gnocchi, which comes topped with peas, Hazel Dell mushrooms, roasted red onion and a healthy sprinkle of Pecorino.

Japanese Japango

1136 Pearl St., Boulder, 303-938-0330

Silver: Hapa Sushi

Bronze: Sushi Zanmai

Write-in: Blofish Sushi

Japango elegantly blends classic Japanese refinement with one of the city’s finest cocktail programs. A wide range of nigiri is joined by rolls like The Aquaman, which combines fresh salmon, cream cheese, tempura asparagus, smelt roe, onion, avocado, honey and macadamia nuts.

Kid Friendly Mountain Sun Pubs And Breweries

1535 Pearl St., Boulder, 303-546-0886

627 S. Broadway, Suite E, Boulder, 303-543-0886

Silver: Lucky Pie Pizza and Taphouse

Bronze: Noodles and Company

Write-In: Barchetta

While the Mountain Sun Pubs and Breweries’ kid’s menu keeps it bound to the classics — an oven pizza, a grilled cheese, boneless chicken tenders and a basic burger — the inviting restaurant is spacious and the crayons are plentiful. The restaurant’s charming culture is inviting to guests of all ages.

LATE NIGHT COSMO’S PIZZA

3117 28th St., Boulder, 303-442-3278

659 30th St., Boulder, 303-447-3278

Silver: World Famous Dark Horse

Bronze: Illegal Pete’s

While much of Boulder’s dining culture closes up shop early, Cosmo’s Pizza stays open until midnight throughout the week and as late as 2 a.m. during the weekends. It’s a great pie to soak up the sins of the evening, with hours built to consistently serve past any respectable bedtime.

LYONS RESTAURANT OSKAR BLUES GRILL & BREW

303 Main St., Lyons, 303-823-6685

Silver: Mojo Taqueria

Bronze: Smokin’ Dave’s

Write-in: Marigold

Oskar Blues Grill & Brew is a true Lyons icon. Open since 1997 through flood, fire and pandemic, the restaurant has earned our readers’ votes year after year because it dishes something for everyone. For music lovers, Oskar Blues is a well-known venue for live bands, and beer fans travel here for the award-winning fresh ales. The familyfriendly menu features a full burger roster including the Trustifarian, a patty topped with goat cheese, honey, bacon and arugula. (Switch out the fries for a side of garlic mashers and butter!)

Oskar Blues’ Louisiana accent shows up in the jambalaya: a big bon temps bowl loaded with spicy crawfish, sausage, shrimp and chicken with rice.

Mediterranean Falafel King

1314 Pearl St., Boulder, 303-449-9321, falafelkingco.com

Silver: Ash’Kara

Bronze: Mediterranean Market

Write-in: CAVA

Eateries come and go at a rapid pace on Boulder’s Pearl Street Mall, but Falafel King is the same as it ever was. Since 1980, we have stood in line for familiar Mediterranean dishes, especially pita sandwiches filled with warm, fried-to-order falafel, smooth hummus and salad. Falafel King also has a Denver location and the eatery’s pita, hummus, falafel and other foods are available at local markets.

MEXICAN EFRAIN’S OF BOULDER MEXICAN RESTAURANT

2480 Canyon Blvd., Boulder, 303-440-4045

Silver: Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant

Bronze: Jefe’s

Write-in: Summit Tacos

Efrain’s has always had a devoted following for its spicy chile verde, but the local eatery’s former East Boulder location was mostly about takeout, not dining in. That has changed with the opening of Efrain’s beautiful new restaurant near McGuckin Hardware. The spacious dining area is the perfect place to start with freshly crisped tortilla chips and salsa and a Mason jar “coin” margarita while waiting for the sound of sizzling fajitas. If you order a bowl of Efrain’s fall-apart pork and roasted peppers “hot,” prepare to sweat.

Nederland Restaurant Backcountry Pizza And Taphouse

20 Lakeview Drive, Nederland, 303-258-0176

Silver: Kathmandu

Bronze: Crosscut Pizza

Write-in: Decent Bagels

Backcountry Pizza and Taphouse is Nederland’s favorite pizzeria but it’s also a vibrant community gathering spot. Any day of the week you’ll find a mix of families, hikers and skiers chowing down on fried or smoked chicken wings, chicken Parm sandwiches, fragrant garlic knots, burgers and build-your-own pizza with a choice of crusts, toppings and sauces. Backcountry Pizza always has sports on the big TV and two dozen or more craft beer choices on tap.

New Restaurant Barchetta

1644 Walnut St., Boulder, 720-749-4751

Silver: Marigold

Bronze: Urban Field

It might seem like quite a coup for Barchetta to be voted Boulder’s best new restaurant, but only if you think it’s “just” a pizzeria. This is a chef-driven kitchen where crust is given all the TLC that duck and lobster get at French bistros. The result is chewy outside, soft inside, perfectly charred and foldable slices. Barchetta’s small plates include roasted broccolini, house-pickled giardiniera and pancetta-wrapped asparagus. A self-service tap system allows diners to pair dishes with Super-Tuscan and Sangiovese wines by the ounce. For dessert: An exceptional scratch-made, lightly salted, buttery dark chocolate chip cookie.