Downtown Boulder's East End

The Pearl Street Mall lies at the heart of Downtown Boulder. This pedestrian mall (the Bricks) debuted in August 1977. The Bricks runs between 11^th and 15^th streets and features a vast array of unique boutiques, fantastic restaurants, diverse businesses and one-of-a-kind people watching opportunities. But, it doesn’t stop there…where the Bricks end some of the best Downtown Boulder has to offer begins!

To have a complete Downtown Boulder experience, step off the red brick road and head Pearl Street’s East (15^th to 21^st streets) & West Ends (11^th to 8^th streets) and everywhere in between from Arapahoe Avenue to the south and Pine Street to the north. Below are some highlights of what is waiting to be discovered on the East End…

The new kids on the block at 15^th and Pearl include: the Tea Box, Real Baby, Topo Ranch and Barbara & Company. Heading east, you can find delicious dining options at Gondolier on Pearl, Mateo, Frasca Food and Wine, Dish, Sunflower, Bimbamboo and Aji among others. Scatter among the restaurants are fantastic retail options such as Violette, besos, Two Sole Sisters, MomentuM, Common Era, Feather Thy Nest and Bliss just to name a few! Outdoor enthusiasts should check out the Boulder Army Store and enjoy a cup of Joe at The Cup, Foolish Craig's Cafe or the Laughing Goat Coffeehouse. Those in need of a cut and color should check out Urban Pearl. Diet Coke and M&M's lovers wanting to polish up their hands and feet should head to Ten20. If you are feeling artsy, stop by Color Me Mine. For fun and flirty underwear, T-Bar is the place to be. The East End's treasures are too many to mention here but too good not to be explored. Have a Downtown adventure today. Grab your friends and head to the East End!

Frasca Named One of the Top 40 Restaurants in the US!

Culinary Colorado reports that Downtown Boulder's venerable favorite epicurean delight, Frasca, has garnered yet more critical acclaim. Claire Walter's Blog reports that the 2008 Gault-Millau Guide's "Cream of the Crop" which features the top 40 restaurants in the US, includes our very own Fruilian inspired locale. Congratulation to Bobby and Lachlan for once again making Downtown a destination for refined palates all over the world.

Click here to read the Culinary Colorado Blog entry.

Outdoor Divas fundraiser for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

This Thursday (October 30) at 7 p.m., Outdoor DIVAS will host their 3rd annual DIVAS in Drag, a fundraiser benefiting Boarding for Breast Cancer (B4BC).

Boarding For Breast Cancer (B4BC) is a non-profit, youth-focused education, awareness and fund raising foundation. Their mission is to increase awareness about breast cancer, the importance of early detection and the value of an active lifestyle.

The $20 ticket (with 100 percent of the proceeds going to B4BC) includes admission, beverages and a chance to win some awesome prizes including:

• Signed Gretchen Bleiler K2 Mix snowboard
• Sherpani Duffle Bag
• Skirt Sports skirt
• A season pass to Echo Mountain
• 2 KEEN shoe packages
• Stonewear Fleece
• Boobie Prizes
• Betty Rides Jacket
• $250 Orage gift cert
• ROXY Envi snowboard
• Neversummer Infinity snowboard

Twelve male friends of Outdoor DIVAS will get their vogue on down a runway sporting this season’s hottest women’s gear, while helping to raise money and awareness for B4BC during this year’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The event will include snowboard video games, beverages, the extreme raffle prizes and the not-to-be-missed fashion show! Call Outdoor DIVAS for tickets at 303.449.DIVA or learn more by visiting their Web site.

Outdoor DIVAS is located on Downtown Boulder's historic Pearl Street Mall. Their address is 1133 Pearl St. (just west of Broadway). Outdoor DIVAS is a shop committed entirely to active women. In addition to a superior selection of gear and apparel, the store also hosts activities and events introducing women to new and exciting activities in a supportive and non-competitive environment. The store's Divas love to be outdoors in all seasons and pride themselves for playing as hard as they work.

RedFish Will Change Name/Look

Downtown's venerable Cajun-inspired brewpub, RedFish, has been sold to Boulder businessmen Mitch Arden and Jim Howse, who are planning to re-open the favorite haunt with"big-screen televisions, revised menu prices and bluegrass and acoustic music."

Click here to read the entire Camera Article.

DeVotchKa to rock Boulder October 31 and November 1

A few years ago, one of my dear friends from high school married a musician from a local band just starting to get noticed on the music scene. Today, that band tours the world with an ever loyal and continually growing fan base following their tremendous success - including a Grammy nomination for the soundtrack to Fox Searchlight's indie hit, Little Miss Sunshine.

DeVotchKa's melodic sounds are rooted in a 'beautiful blend of Eastern European Bohemia, American prairie rock and distinctive indie. The band was actually a cross-pollination of numerous influences including cabaret, spaghetti westerns and the immigrant dance music of Eastern Europe.'

The band is comprised of four extremely talented individuals:

Shawn King (aka Chrissy Deal's husband) on drums, percussion and trumpet;
Nick Urata on vocals, guitars, piano, Theremin and trumpet;
Jeanie Schroder on acoustic bass, sousaphone and vocals; and
Tom Hagerman on violin, accordion and piano

In the summer, DeVotchKa headlined Red Rocks' Monolith Festival and now on October 31 and November 1 they will rock Boulder during performances at Downtown Boulder's historic Boulder Theater. Buy your tickets now to hear them perform songs from their latest CD, A Mad and Faithful Telling. Paper Bird & Dust on the Breakers will open this not-to-be-missed show!

Eye Witness Report: Einstein Spotted at the Boulder Bookstore

(Click on the picture above to link to Len Barron's performance of Two Views from a Bridge)

If you saw him walking down the street, you would look and then look again, convinced that you had just crossed paths with the one and only Albert Einstein. It’s true, 75 year-old Boulder native Len Barron and Einstein do share a remarkable resemblance to one another, but their connection goes beyond a mere double-take. For nearly 20 years Barron has made a career out of the similarities that he shares with the late genius, not as an impersonator, but as someone who seeks to show Einstein as a human being to whom we can all relate. One audience member describes a performance of Barron’s, saying, “he was not Einstein and yet he was…this is how Einstein himself would have revealed his life.” He does this through hour-long presentations of the insights and experiences of the late genius that make Einstein come to life. For example, in a quiet moment on stage, Barron will smile and say, "When he laughed, he had a giant laugh. It always surprised people. You know how a little child laughs -- he would just explode into laugher. It sounded like a contented seal.” And suddenly, Einstein comes alive in the laughter of the captivated audience.

Len Barron will speak about and show clips from his DVD Portraits of Einstein on Thursday, November 20, 2008 at 7:30pm at the Boulder Bookstore, 1107 Pearl Street, Boulder, CO.

Posted by Sarah Haas
Boulder Bookstore Makreting Intern

Downtown Boulder businesses mentioned on KMGH's A-List

Congratulations to all of Downtown Boulder's 2008 KMGH TV's A-List winners! This year, the Boulder Dushanbe Tea House took the number one spot under Best Tea Houses.
Outdoor Divas took second place for Best Ski & Snowboard shop. The Boulder Book Store was award fifth place for Best Bookstore. Sunflower Restaurant picked up a fifth place award for Best Healthy Lunch. Fifth place awards also went to: The Kitchen for Best Brunch; Brasserie Ten Ten for Best French Restaurant; and Leaf Vegetarian Restaurant for best Vegetarian Restaurant.

Also mentioned on the A-list is Downtown Boulder's:
Bacaro (Italian);
Belvedere Belgian Chocolate Shop (coffee house);
BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse;
Boulder Theater (live music venue);
Centro Latin Kitchen & Refreshment Place;
DecorAsian (furniture);
Dish Gourmet (sandwich);
Frasca Food & Wine (Italian);
Hotel Boulderado (venue);
Lazy Dog (sports bar);
Om Time (yoga studio);
Pasta Jay's (Italian)
MAX (women's boutique);
Red Fish (brewpub);
Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant (Mexican);
Tee and Cakes (bakery);
Ten20 (manicure / pedicure);
The Cup (coffee house);
Two Sole Sisters (women shoes);
West End Tavern (burger)

Congratulations to all those businesses in Downtown Boulder who made it on the A-list! As a special treat, visit Tee and Cakes page on the A-list site and download a coupon for a buy one, get one free cupcake now through November 3, 2008...ENJOY!

The Tea Box Comes to Downtown

New to Downtown: The Tea Box offers oodles of flavored teas, tea slushes, loose leaf, iced teas, tea lattes and estate quality hand-picked whole leaf teas for to take home or drink in their modern inspired tea room at 1505 Pearl St. They also offer the perfect light lunches or breakfast to start your day. With stratas, bagels, a kids menu, croissants, field green salads, whole grain sandwiches, soups, tea rice bowls, decadent desserts, and even a dim sum platter, it's worth a stop in. So welcome them to the neighborhood and visit this Pearl Streets newest addition today!

A Pearl of a Performance

Two Fridays ago I went downtown to see the artwork of John Lennon at a gallery show on the corner of 9th and Pearl St. Afterwards, I walked down the pedestrian mall taking in the crisp fall air and the changing leaves falling onto the bricks. It wasn't more than a minute before Iran into a magician from Las Vegas standing behind a velvet table and using fancy words to talk about coins from Russia. Intrigued, I made my way to his table where he was quick to pull a coin from behind my ear. "Magic," I said in genuine amazement as an older man to my left who couldn't contain his excitement begged for "another trick already!" Soon there were twenty people, friends and strangers, gathered around the little table. We had all forgotten about where we were going, why were there and who knew knew who as we became enraptured in the magic of being a kid again.

Since that night I've often caught myself day-dreaming about the street performers who gave Pearl Street its flair during my childhood in Boulder. There was Bongo the Balloon Man and his airy crowns fit for Boulder Princesses. I remember celebrating the zip-code man's admittance into the Guinness Book of World Records when he identified the most number of zip-codes at random, proud to have participated in a few of his practices for the big feat. But no matter what the act or artist, the street performances on Pearl Street are always an engaging experience to be remembered. In an instant, a day of good-eats and shopping becomes an interactive event in which Boulder becomes more than just a place as it brings together a community.

Posted By Sarah Haas

Boulder Bookstore Marketing Intern

Lights...Camera...Shoot Out Boulder

In its 5^th year, the Shoot Out Boulder is getting ready to turn the film festival scene upside down! Forget about submitting a flick that took months to produce and millions to create. The Shoot Out Boulder “asks filmmakers to trust their courage, imagination and determination by making a 7-minute film in just 24 hours.” Voted ‘Best Film Festival’ in 2007 by Westword, Boulder is one of five cities to host this annual Shoot Out event. (The other cities are: Geelong and Toowoomba, Australia & Hamilton, New Zealand, as well as the founding city, Newcastle, Australia).

The Shoot Out Boulder, will challenge participants to make a film in 24 hours, using in-camera editing only. The challenge and skill involved becomes evident with the list of required technical, material and timing 'rules' for creating the films. The Shoot Out kicks off at precisely 5:55 pm on Friday where an announcement will be made and The Brief (a hand-out) will be provided to all entrants with a list of eleven items. These items are specific to Boulder, and are not necessarily locations from which entrants must select a minimum of five to use in their film. Learn more here!

This Sunday, Downtown Boulder’s historic Boulder Theater will host the Shoot Out’s Top 10 Gala Screening. Doors open at noon and the show starts at 1 p.m. All ages are welcomed and tickets can be purchased online at the Boulder Theater. A few weeks later, on Friday, October 24, the Boulder Public Library will host a free Top 10 2008 screening at 7 p.m. (Those in Denver have a chance to see all the movies made during this year’s Shoot Out on October 14, 15 and 16 at The Bug Theatre). In February 2009, the team crowned Best Film Winner 2008 will have their movie screened at the 2009 Boulder International Film Festival.

For more information on The Shoot Out Boulder, click here!

Two Downtown Chefs to be on Bravo's Top Chef!

It looks like Downtown Boulder's going to be well represented on season five of Bravo's Top Chef. According to the Top Chef website, Jax Fish House's Chef Hosea Rosenberg, as well as Centro's Sous Chef Melissa Harrison will both do battle on the top rated show hosted by Chef Tom Colicchio and Padma Lakshmi. Top Chef is the number one food show on cable and the first episode airs November 12. Be sure to follow along the trials and tribulations of these two culinary conquerors and see if feeding the hungry hipsters of Downtown Boulder have prepared them for the challenges of TV competition.

To read our Downtown Magazine's interview with Chef Hosea Rosenberg click here. (pg. 18-19)