Downtown Lakewood's Best Restaurants

For many metro area residents, the idea of downtown Lakewood being home to good eats seems like an oxymoron. After all, a drive down Wadsworth between 1st and Mississippi means staring in disbelief at the crowded parking lots at the local Olive Garden, Chili’s, Wing Stop and Red Lobster. 

Sadly, people still eat at these Lakewood chains (with the exception of Red Lobster, which closed in 2024). But downtown Lakewood has more interesting options, and not all of them are in the Belmar development.

With all this in mind, here (and in no particular order) is my current list of downtown Lakewood’s top eateries:

T-Street

When it comes to restaurants, I’m looking for three things: tasty food, atmosphere, and good service. T-Street (445 S. Teller St.) has all three, but it’s the restaurant’s urban atmosphere that makes it a shoo-in for my best eats list. Located on the Belmar Plaza, it has sophisticated decor and large windows that are great for people watching. 

The food is good too, with my preference being to snack off the appetizer menu, with items like sweet caramelized Brussels sprouts with goat cheese or the steamed mussels in a white wine garlic sauce. If I’m hungrier, I’ll order the excellent short rib enchiladas. 

Little India

The Belmar outpost of Little India (425 S. Teller St.) also has a lovely location on the Belmar Plaza, with plentiful outdoor seating for sipping tamarind margaritas. The restaurant’s true calling, however, is providing fast and delicious take-out.  If you live in Belmar, you can order online and then walk right over to pick up your order while it's hot.

Try the lamb vindaloo (order it either medium or spicy, but please, never mild), tandoori wings, and saag paneer. Oh, and while you’re at it, do yourself a favor and order the puri, a whole wheat fry bread that’s tastier than naan. 

Panaderia Rodriguez

The secret to understanding the appeal of Panaderia Rodriguez (6201 W. Alameda Ave.) is to not think of this hole-in-the-wall establishment as a bakery. Yes, they make perfectly adequate conchas and bolillos, but it’s their lunch menu that’s so amazing. 

Get the chorizo tacos (served open-faced with lime and salsa) or the torta milanesa (a fried chicken sandwich). Atmosphere-wise, walking into the Panaderia Rodriguez is like traveling through a dimensional portal to a random loncheria in northern Mexico. I lived in Zacatecas state for a year, and wow, this place brings back the memories. As an added bonus, Panaderia Rodriguez is a great place to practice your rusty Spanish.

Lady Nomada

Lady Nomada (7167 W. Alaska Dr.) has the best open air patio in Lakewood, with garage-style doors that welcome passers-by to wander in. On a warm fall evening, the lights and bustle at Lady Nomada are magical. (Honestly, I wish other Belmar-area restaurateurs would learn this lesson. Don't put up solid walls between your dining room and the street--I'm looking at you, Great Divide!) In the winter months, Lady Nomad's interior Baja vibes will keep you feeling summery.

Food-wise, there are hits and misses. To avoid a miss, I recommend the excellent birria--whether in the form of tacos or loaded fries. If you're there with a group, the paloma party pitcher is a delicious deal.

Monogogo 

Monogogo (450 S. Teller St.) has never gotten the love it deserved. The restaurant's Blake St. location recently closed, and owner J.W. Lee says tariffs, lower consumer spending and high labor costs are having a negative impact on his businesses.

It's a shame, because Monogogo's chicken wings are the best in town. Try the soy garlic or hot spicy wings while you can, because I have a bad feeling Monogogo isn't long for this world. 

Mason’s Dumplings

You might think I'm crazy, but I much prefer the dumplings at Mason's Dumplings (6981 W. Alaska Dr.) to the any of the ones on offer at Star Kitchen or Super Star Asian Cuisine, Denver's long-time dim-sum rivals. The atmosphere at Mason's is sunny, modern and casual, although I could do without the QR, web-based ordering system. 

Mason's also serves noodles and bao, but stick to the dumplings--pan fried beef, pork, and chive. Their soup dumplings are also worth a sample, along with their steamed bbq pork buns and Chinese "pancakes."

Pizza Lui

I'm almost reluctant to write about Pizza Lui (5380 W. Mississippi), not because it's located on fringe of what could decently be considered downtown Lakewood, but because it's already so popular that I'm not sure I want word of this unbelievably good pizza joint to get out any further than it's already gotten. 

Located in a charmingly industrial mid-century commercial building, Pizza Lui is all business, from the flat-folded pizza boxes stacked high on the counter to the commercial-sized cans of Italian tomatoes on the back shelves of the open kitchen. My favorite is the Mexican street taco pizza with homemade chorizo, mozzarella, red onion, cotija cheese and Olathe sweet corn, but they do a brisk business in all their pizzas from the moment they open until they run out of dough. Grab a bench (if one's available) and drink a glass of wine while you wait for your take-out pizza to appear at the register. 

What's missing from my list?

I've eaten at least once at every place in Belmar (with the exception of Onto Coffee), so if you see a place that's missing, it's probably because I think it's only okay. The French Press (7323 W. Alaska Dr.) is a good example of this. It's popular. The food is good. I just don't care much for the atmosphere (dated chairs and tables; the ubiquitous ketchup bottles on every table). It also doesn't help that I'm not much of a breakfast person. If you love the French Press, I understand. It's obviously me, not you.

There's also the outstanding Share Tea (424 S. Teller St.), but it's a boba spot, not a restaurant.

One place I've yet to try (but very much want to) is Gabys German Eatery (245 S. Harlan St.). I've heard great things about this tiny hold-in-the-wall that requires reservations. 

Are there other places between roughly Garrison and Harlan and Mississippi and 1st Ave. that I should try? Let me know...

Coming Soon: KPot Korean BBQ & Hot Pot

Walking through the Belmar Plaza this morning I spied the sign below in the window of the old Qdoba corporate office space. Most of the old Qdoba office has become the home of Google Fiber, but the I love the idea of the plaza getting another restaurant. And Korea BBQ? Yes please.

Having lived in Korea, I have my own thoughts about what makes for good Korean BBQ, but I'm excited to try KPot when it opens, and I'll write a review after I've had a chance to check it out. In the meantime, it's good to see another restaurant coming to the Belmar Plaza.

 

Building Remodels: Torchy’s Tacos Falls Short While Belmar Groves Looks Successful

While one of my favorite things to post about on this blog is new construction, the reuse of existing buildings can also be exciting. It’s rare, however, to see it done right. 

Part of the problem is that so much of Lakewood’s existing infrastructure is low-density and car-based. Think one story buildings surrounded by a sea of empty and unused asphalt. Reusing these buildings, while cheap, doesn’t do anything to build a vibrant and walkable downtown. The Belmar shopping district is a perfect example of this. The old Villa Italia mall was surrounded by acres of unnecessary parking. Tearing the entire thing down paved the way for the Belmar to rise as a walkable downtown. 

With that in mind, let’s focus on two building remodels currently underway in downtown Lakewood—one of which appears successful from a design standpoint, and the other not so much.

The first remodel is of the Belmar Groves Apartments on the north side of Alameda and Wadsworth. Metro West Housing Solutions is the developer, and like everything they do, the Belmar Groves remodel appears to be a quality project. Starting with 118 apartments of undistinguished 1970’s design, Metro West is removing the bland outer facade and replacing it with a modern facade featuring a number of different textures and feels. The apartments will receive new kitchens, bathrooms, flooring, HVAC systems—the whole shebang.

What’s really exciting, however, is Metro West’s emphasis on connecting residents to the spaces outside their units. Apartments are getting balconies and doors that open onto the complex’s updated landscaping. There will be gardens, BBQ areas and a playground. 

It’s an impressive design of the kind we’ve come to expect from Metro West Housing Solutions. There work to bring affordable housing to Lakewood has been continually impressive.

The second remodel is being done by Torchy’s Tacos, which is taking over the defunct Village Inn location at 7381 W. Alameda, across from Belmar and along the beautifully renovated Alameda Parkway Business Improvement District. Although the interior of the old Village Inn building is being renovated, the outside footprint has been left unchanged. That’s my problem with it.

The Village Inn was a car-centric building that did nothing to interact with the surrounding space. It remains that way, despite its transition into a taco joint. Literally the only exterior change appears to be the replacement of the words “Village Inn” with “Torchy’s Tacos.” 

In my view, a better plan would have involved adding outdoor seating and perhaps a garage-style door connecting patrons to the landscaping along Alameda and adding to a sense of “urban bustle.” 

I put this term in quotes, but it’s a real thing. Being able to see people in an indoor/outdoor space encourages others to come into the business and patronize it. Connecting what’s happening inside a building to what’s going on outside keeps public spaces from feeling empty or dangerous. It’s what the Belmar Groves projects gets right and the Torchy’s Taco project ignores.

  

Mason's Dumpling Shop: Another Promising New Belmar Restaurant

Another promising new restaurant opened recently in downtown Lakewood's Belmar neighborhood. Mason's Dumpling Shop serves handmade boiled, steamed and pan-fried dumplings. The owners are restaurateurs from Los Angeles and the Belmar Mason's is their third Colorado location. 

Now, I wouldn't call myself a dumpling expert, but I have eaten a lot of dumplings over the years, including at restaurants that are often hyped as the best of the best--specifically, Din Tai Fung and Goubuli Dumpling--so I was excited to try Mason's.

Din Tai Fung is a Taiwan-based chain that makes some of the best soup dumplings you can get. When you walk into their Seattle location, you walk past a glass window showing the kitchen crew hard at work rolling out and filling an enormous number of dumplings. The amount of dumplings that location makes in a day must be incredible, and it shows in the amazing freshness of the dumplings they serve. The dumplings I ate there were about as perfect as any I've ever eaten.

Meanwhile, dumpling aficionados know Goubuli Dumpling (狗不理包) is a restaurant in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin that is world-famous for its dumplings and buns. Rather like Din Tai Fung, Goubuli Dumpling serves their signature dish in astonishing quantities, and their sprawling, labyrinthine location is always packed. I'm sure there are debates about whether Goubuli Dumpling is too touristy, but I found their dumplings tasty and absolutely perfectly-prepared.

What do I consider tasty? Basically, I like dumplings when they're served hot and evenly cooked--not too doughy but also not too chewy (or crispy, if pan-fried). Cooking dumplings like that is something I suspect takes a lot of practice, because over the years I've had a lot of dumplings that were pretty mediocre, even at otherwise really top-notch restaurants. These places didn't specialize in dumplings, and it showed. 

On the day I went to Mason's, they were advertising that they were in a "soft opening" and still working to get everything just right. 

As we went in, I was impressed with the remodel of the location from its previous incarnation as a seafood-slash-sports bar (Seafood Empire), and I was glad to see the annoying big screen TVs gone. (I hate restaurants with televisions in them, but that's another story). Mason's isn't fancy, but it's clean and comfortable. Vibe-wise, it reminds me of a typical dumpling house you might wander into in Los Angeles' Monterey Park neighborhood. (Side note: if you're ever in Monterey Park, Mama Lu's Dumpling House is worth the long lines.)

At Mason's, we ordered six or seven dishes off the menu. First up were the pan-fried pork dumplings, and I was blown away at how perfectly they were cooked. Really, they were that outstanding. They were so good that we immediately ordered a second plate. Unfortunately, the dumplings in that second round were alternately too doughy on one side and too crisp on the other. The cook, it was clear, had rushed the second order and not paid enough attention to getting them just right.

Next we tried the soup dumplings. I find these way too doughy at places like Star Kitchen (really, they just never seem to get them the way I like them), so I was pleased to find Mason's soup dumplings cooked perfectly. To round things out, we ordered the pan fried beef, cheese and onion dumplings and several steamed buns--the stewed Angus beef and stewed pork belly. These were well-received by my party, with the light fluffiness of the buns and the savory stewed beef as the standouts.

Overall, it was a fun, tasty meal and I absolutely recommend you go by and try the place. Certainly I'll be back again to see how things have progressed once they're fully open. If they can make every order of pan-fried pork dumplings as good as that first plate we received, Mason's Dumpling House is going to be a hit.

   

Mono Gogo's Korean Fried Chicken is Excellent

You may have noticed that hot chicken restaurant Mono Gogo recently took over the space next to the Belmar Century 16 theater that was formerly Menya Noodle Bar. Menya's noodles were good but not great, while Mono Gogo serves up some of the best hot chicken right now in Denver. End of story. 

Except, it's actually more complicated than that. 

Mono Gogo and Menya are both owned by Denver restauranteur JW Lee, whose Seoul Hospitality Group also owns Belmar's Wasabi Sushi Bar and a whole bevy of other restaurants in other Denver-area locations. 

Lee specializes in a range of Korean restaurants. Some serve what I would consider more traditional Korean recipes (I'm basing this on the two years I lived in South Korea), while others are delightfully Americanized (Bulgogi nachos, anyone?) He's always trying something interesting. And he has so many new restaurants that I'm only now learning about some I've got to try, like his dumpling-focused restaurant Seoul ManDoo, and his Hawaiian-Japanese style donut shop Mochinut. 

Right now, however, I want to give another shout-out to Downtown Lakewood's Mono Gogo. The joint serves some seriously good food. Specifically, Mono Gogo needs to be your go-to place for hot wings. I like the soy garlic and the hot spicy, but there are a couple of other flavors as well--all of them light and crispy and absolutely delicious. You can even wash them down with Mono Gogo's own rice lager, made at the Mono Mono Brewery in Longmont. 

It's not elegant dining. Everything comes served in baskets or paper boxes. There's a napkin dispenser on each table, and far too many flat screen TVs playing spammy adverts. But it does remind me a bit of the fried chicken restaurant on my block when I lived in Busan back in the 1990s. That place wasn't fine dining either. It was a quick place to grab take-out on the way home from work, tasty and hot. 

The difference is I never had fried chicken in South Korea that was even half as good as the birds served up by Mono Gogo. So the next time you're in Belmar, drop in and order some soy garlic wings and a beer and pretend you're still a young English teacher in South Korea on your way back home after a long day at work. That's what I do.

In-and-Out Burger Is a Go for Downtown Lakewood

Although I'd heard a while ago that the corner of Wadsworth and Alameda was under consideration for one of Denver area's first In-and-Out Burgers, there was a long period when nothing seemed to be happening. 

Well, things are happening now, as evidenced by the construction happening on the corner, as well as the banner hanging out front. Woot!

Now, I first heard about In-and-Out Burger in the 1980's, when high schools friends who'd moved to Colorado from California regaled me stories of the chain's burgers. I also recall a cheerleader I knew who coyly modified the In-and-Out Burger bumper sticker in her locker by carefully cutting out the "b" and the "r" in "burger." Such was the 80's.

It wasn't until the mid-90s that I actually tried an In-and-Out Burger-- and it was good! So I'm pretty happy to have one in my neighborhood to keep me out of McDonald's.

That said, the architecture is pretty standard fast-food design, the building on a small pad with lots of room around it for a drive through and parking. The building does front Wadsworth, and the drive-though looks as if it will be hidden behind the structure, which I suppose is a sort of win. But it's a lot of asphalt.

It also seems likely, at least in the short term, that downtown Lakewood's In-and-Out Burger is going to drive some horrendous traffic our way.

Time to brace ourselves for lots of people with the urge.

Locust Cider Coming to Belmar Plaza

It feels like a million years since last January, which is also the last time anything seemed to be going right with Downtown Lakewood, America, or the world. 

Belmar has felt like a ghost town for much of 2020. During the mandatory shelter in place orders, the lights were literally turned off throughout the shopping district. Cars gathered dust in the parking lots, untouched and undriven for weeks. Store shelves were emptied at Target and King Soopers. It became hard to find toilet paper, bleach, meat, milk.

Then, as the nation reckoned with protesters demanding an end to police brutality and affirming that Black Lives Matter, storefronts in Belmar were literally boarded up by owners fearful of looters. 

Later, as the virus spread unchecked and the economy plunged into depression, a dozen or so businesses in Belmar shut their doors permanently. 

Yes, it's been quite the year. 

So when a sign appeared on the boarded up Crazy Mountain Brewery space, I couldn't help but feel like a weary traveller who has stumbled across single flower sticking up in a field of snow. 

Locust Cider is based out of Washington state, but has locations all over the western US. They specialize in flavored ciders like Dark Cherry, Pineapple Smoked Pepper, and Hibiscus, but make a traditional dry cider as well.

Now, I love hard cider. The first time I encountered it was as a university student in Wales, where cider was the preferred drink of coal miners, fisherman, and other hard-working types. This was over thirty years ago. Since then, I've sampled ciders in England, France, and Spain. Some are sweeter, while others are indistinguishable from a dry sparkling wine. But cider was always hard to find in this country. 

That's changed in recent years. Our own local Lakewood event, Cider Days, has for several years now hosted a cider tasting event, and Denver's RINO is home to several boutique cideries. But the thought of a cidery in downtown Lakewood, right on the Belmar Plaza, has me flashing back to my days wandering the streets of Europe.

If, that is, restaurants and tap rooms are allowed to stay open. The coronavirus is currently spreading uncontrollably in Jeffco, with Lakewood as the hottest of hot spots. New restrictions could be announced any day. It's a brave bet, opening a cidery in the middle of pandemic, just as the weather outside is getting cold. But if Locust Cider does open, I'll be there, mask on, to get a case of bottles to go.

First Take: Menya Noodle Bar

Well, it's here-- Belmar's first ramen joint, Menya.

I've spent a good portion of my adult life looking for a really good bowl of ramen. For a couple of years in my twenties, I roamed the streets of Pusan, South Korea, looking for spicy ramen with lots of kimchi. This was street ramen, served up in thin metal bowls outside the university gates, cheap and filling.

Later I got to try the ramen in Japan, where the dish has a more subtle broth and the noodles are garnished with colorful vegetables topped with pork belly. The best was at a little noodle shop in Nagasaki, whose name I couldn't even read, where the bowls were slurped by lunchtime patrons seated at creaky wooden stools in front of a long, linoleum counter.

And can I talk about all the great ramen in Hawaii? I've gotten to eat at high-end concept ramen joints like Lucky Belly and local favorites like Kiwami Ramen.

So when I moved back to Denver, it was only natural that I started looking for ramen here, too. For years, the only place I liked was Oshima Ramen, the Denver franchise of the Japanese chain founded by Keiji Oshima, and dedicated (according to the sign when you walked in) to the "God of Ramen."

These days, with so many ramen places to choose from, I have two favorites: Ototo on S. Pearl Street in Denver, and Miyako Ra-men Spot on S. Broadway in Englewood. Ototo, owned by the same folks who run the infinitely glorious Sushi Den, serves up some of the best spicy ramen I've ever eaten. It's house-made, with a fatty, almost creamy broth that's positively decadent. Miyako's broth is almost as rich, but they get the spicy part down perfectly. Their heat reminds me of the ramen I used to get in Korea.

All of which brings me to Menya, downtown Lakewood's new ramen shop. And the truth is, I'm extremely hesitant to review it, having only been there once.

When I went in recently, I ordered a bowl of their house ramen, and found the broth rich and the pork belly as meltable as butter. Impressively, my bowl had a perfectly soft-boiled egg (many ramen shops mess this up) that was a delight to cut into. The only thing I didn't much like was the use of raw baby spinach as a garnish-- it was just too taken-out-of-the-plastic-bag for me. I'd have loved to see it wilted with a little sesame oil, or else replaced with something like bok choy. But honestly, I'm not an expert on regular ramen. What I like is Korean-influenced spicy ramen. And even then, I'm hardly an expert. All I know is what I like.

Menya has spicy ramen on the menu, but I was little surprised to see that it was a spicy chicken ramen, which is something I've never seen before. It was so surprising that I decided to hold off trying it until my next visit. Which means I'm going to hold off on any judgements until I've had a chance to try their take on spicy.

Meanwhile, I was recently downtown and passed by Menya's 16th Street Mall location, and it was packed at noon, so there's apparently a large group of people for whom Menya hits the spot.

Will Menya Belmar end up on my list of regular downtown Lakewood lunchtime spots? Time will tell, but it's a promising start.

Review: Share Tea Brings Taiwanese-style Bubble Teas to Belmar

It's been a busy year, but I wanted to post about one of my favorite new places in Belmar-- Sharetea.

Of course, there are a lot of Taiwanese-style "bubble tea" or boba shops in Denver these days, and Sharetea is far from the only business in Belmar to offer them. The thing is, Sharetea is an actual Taiwanese chain of boba tea shops. There are something like 500 Shareteas in the world, most of them in Asia, but more than a few are now open here in the US.

What I like about Sharetea, beyond the taste and quality of their drinks, is how culturally Chinese the franchise feels. When you walk in, you're greeted loudly by the staff. The menu has options for white or black boba, lychee, and aiyu jelly. It reminds me, in a reverse kind of way, of what it's like to go to a McDonald's in Beijing or Seoul-- the rules of the franchise dictate a certain feel and experience, no matter where in the world it's located.

It might sound strange to talk about McDonald's as an icon of American culture in these jaded days, but as a twenty-something, I vividly remember the instant feel of home I felt when ordering a Big Mac in Shanghai after a month of backpacking through rural and small town China. Guessing from the long lines I saw at Sharetea on opening day, I'd say there's a fair-sized community here in Denver that feels the same way about Sharetea.

One of the best examples of what I'm talking about happened on Lunar New Year, when a troupe of lion dancers performed both outside and inside the tea shop. The event began with a riot of firecrackers on the sidewalk outside. Shortly afterward, the lions came inside, exploring every inch of the cafe, climbing up on tables and pressing up against patrons. Finally, in an impressive display of acrobatics, the lions reached up to the ceiling and pulled down bundles of lettuce. Inside the lettuce? Traditional red envelopes with money for the dancers.

And what was I drinking while all this was going on? An Oreo ice milk blended with boba pearls-- a drink that now gives me an instant feel of home.

Yum! In-N-Out Burger Proposed for Downtown Lakewood

150 S. Wadsworth is that strip of undeveloped property on S. Wadsworth Boulevard between Pickering's Auto Service and the Swedish Belmar Emergency Room, and it's been the site of several proposed developments over the years, including a Kum&Go gas station and townhomes.

The city of Lakewood recently allowed the property owner to develop the site as multiple pad developments, in other words, a row of typical free-standing, suburban buildings. The first to be approved was a car wash, and it looks like a Sherwin Williams paint store and Bank of America won't be far behind. It was all pretty "meh."

Only now the city has received an application by In-N-Out Burger, the quasi-legendary California based burger chain, to build on the site as well. To which I say, "yum!"

If you've never been to an In-N-Out Burger, well, all I have to say is that they can be really, really good. When I was last in Arizona, I ate there three times in a single week, it was so good. Anthony Bourdain said it was his favorite fast food restaurant. Thomas Keller, owner of America's most famous restaurant, The French Laundry, celebrated the 16th anniversary of his restaurant with catered In-N-Out Burger.

The restaurant's founders, Harry and Esther Synder, supposedly refused to expand the chain beyond its original California locations, fearing that they would lose the quality control that made their burgers so delicious. So while rival McDonald's encircled the globe, In-N-Out Burger stayed close to home, until Grandaughter Lynsi Synder took control of the company in 1999, expanding slowly into Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, and Utah.

So it's a big deal that In-N-Out is finally coming to Colorado, and a really big deal that downtown Lakewood might get one. The Denver Post covered it. 9News covered it. It's big. And delicious. And hopefully it won't be scuttled by the anti-growth, anti-everything crowd that seems to be oh-so-vocal in Lakewood these days.

15th Annual Belmar Festival Italiano Coming Sept. 7th & 8th

Has it really been fifteen years since the first Belmar Italian Festival?

I didn't even live in downtown Lakewood the year of the first Festival Italiano. Instead I stumbled across it while on a bicycle ride out into the 'burbs from my then-home on Capitol Hill. There wasn't much to Belmar back then-- just a few blocks along Teller Street and Alaska Drive-- but I remember locking up my bike and grabbing a slice of pizza.

My plan for the festival this year is much the same as it has been every year since I moved to Belmar. I'll wander out my front door, pick up a glass of prosecco and watch Frank Sinatra perform (played this year by Derek Evilsizer). At some point I'll watch the Sbandieratori march up Alaska Drive and spin their flags to the sound of drums and trumpets. When it gets hot, I'll walk back home (that's the great thing about living in Belmar) and then come back in the early evening to sample the pizza and gelato.

One thing I am planning to do this year is map out my day a bit better than I usually do, as many of the musical acts only perform once. The schedule of events, including performance times, is available at the Belmar website.

Finally, it's worth mentioning that this year's festival is coinciding with the closure of Dino's Italian Food, which has operated on Lakewood's stretch of West Colfax for over 50 years. It's a reminder that in the early part of the 20th century, Italian Americans made up 20% of Colorado's population, and that the northwest side of Denver (including Lakewood) was home to many of these new Americans. When I was a kid in the 1970's, I remember the many red sauce, checkered table cloth, pizza and spaghetti joints that used to fill the area, along with an equal number of long gone Italian markets and taverns. Many of these places were already long past their heyday when I would go to them with my grandparents, but wandering the streets of Belmar during the annual Festival Italiano brings back memories for me, and is a wonderful celebration of the way that immigration has built today's Colorado.

Denver-based Ramen Shop, Menya Noodle, Coming to Belmar

I know it's been quiet here at La Vida Belmar. I've been meaning to go out and take photos of the amazing streetscaping that's finishing up on Alameda, or write a review of ShareTea, the Taiwanese bubble tea chain that's opened up shop in Belmar. But I was on vacation for much of June, and then I was back at the office with a lot of work to catch up on. So yeah, things have been kind of quiet on this blog.

Today, however, I was walking past the former Grappa Italian Bistro location on S. Teller St. in central Belmar an I saw something exciting. Work is happening inside the restaurant space, and the permits on-site are for Menya Noodle. This was so exciting that I had to write about it.

Menya, if you weren't aware, is a local chain of noodle shops owned by Denver chef J W Lee, who also happens to own Belmar's Wasabi Sushi. Each Menya has a slightly different menu, but I believe they all serve ramen. And if there's one thing Lakewood needs, it's a good ramen shop. Really. I get so tired of driving across town for ramen.

Now, when it comes to ramen, I prefer the Korean variety, which is topped with kimchi and deeply flavored with hot pepper paste, to the Japanese broths, which tend to strike me as a little bland. Lee is originally from South Korea (even if his restaurants are Japanese), so I'm hoping the Belmar location will carry a bold, Korean-style spicy ramen.

In Photos: Belmar Chuy's Construction Site

Bar Louie to Open at 7111 W. Alaska Dr. in Belmar

The word on the streets is that Bar Louie is set to open a location at 7111 W. Alaska Drive, the former home of Belmar's now-shuttered Elephant Bar.

I've personally never eaten at one, but they do seem rather ubiquitous in all the metro area's "life-style centers." There's one at Northfield in Stapleton, another at the Streets at South Glenn, and at least one more up north at the Westminster Promenade.

Bar Louie appears to specialize in burgers, flat bread pizzas, sandwiches and salads, but the menu seems to cover all the bases.

Again, I've never eaten at one. Anyone have any thoughts?

Chuy's Tex-Mex Coming to Belmar

Chuy's, the Austin-based Tex-Mex restaurant with a cult following, plans to open a Belmar location later this year.

Negotiations have been ongoing for at least a year to bring the restaurant to 499 S. Vance Street, across from the Belmar Chick Fil-A. This is the corner lot that cuts into the parking garage attached to Whole Foods and Mile High Wine and Spirits, and it's fantastic to see it finally get developed.

I haven't seen any renderings of the planned structure, and Chuy's is known for giving each of their locations its own, unique look. Among the common design elements are shrines to Elvis and funky, vintage decor.

As far as the menu at Chuy's goes, it's standard Tex-Mex fare, gently influenced by a New Mexican focus on green chilis. As such, it doesn't represent anything particularly new to the culinary scene in the metro area, where "Colorado-Mex" already blends New Mexican, Mexican, and Tex-Mex flavors together. I've never eaten at a Chuy's, but reviews tend to mention the freshness of their ingredients and their housemade tortillas. Perhaps the most notable thing about the menu is the absence of green chili, by which I mean the green chili, tomato, and pork stew that tops nearly every burrito, tamale, and relleno served in Colorado. Instead, Chuy's goes with New Mexican green chili, which is a thinner sauce made from green chilis alone.

My favorite Tex-Mex joints in Denver are the Blue Bonnet, Benny's, and the Rio Grande. And although I don't eat at any of these restaurant all that often, all three are well worth the occasional crosstown drive. For me, I'm excited to see how Chuy's fits in. If the food and the atmosphere are at least as good, then Chuy's will be a great addition to downtown Lakewood.

First Take: Brodo Italian Scratch Kitchen is Good, Really Good

I stopped into Brodo today to take in the lovely February weather (!) and try a few things off their menu. The short story is that I had an amazing meal made even better by outstanding service. The longer story? Here goes:

As I wrote back in October, I've had some reservation about owners Shaheen and Knauf's decision to focus on Italian American classics instead of the more authentically Italian dishes they offer at their Greenwood village location, The Wooden Table. And I still have this concern. But I was able to find more than enough interesting choices on today's lunch menu to make it difficult to settle on just a couple of items.

As expected, the menu had plenty of pasta and red sauce, along with a meatball sandwich and chicken or eggplant parmesan. None of these choices stood out as particularly interesting, but I was tempted by the braised pork shoulder and chicken marsala, especially as they seemed likely to come with homemade pasta.

In the end, though, I started with an order of mussels in white wine, butter, and garlic, topped with a slice of grilled ciabatta. I paired it with a house chardonnay, and I got to say, I love mussels and white wine. This is a classic dish, but one that's easy to screw up if the mussels aren't top notch, or if they're over cooked. The ones Brodo served up were perfect, with not a single unopened shell or too-chewy bite. Instead, the mussels were tender and buttery, and the broth that they were served in was so good that I requested a side of bread to dip into it. The bread was crusty and fresh, and together it was practically a meal.


The mussels are on the appetizer menu, which means they're a couple of bucks off at happy hour (making then $12 instead of $14). The side of bread was just a couple of dollars, and at happy hour glasses of house wines are just $5. Taken together, this is a combination that I'm looking forward to going back to try again sometime soon.

After the mussels, I went for the hanger steak salad, which involved slices of the aforementioned hanger steak atop a plate of spring greens, gorgonzola, roasted grape tomatoes, and a sherry and gorgonzola vinaigrette. The steak was as tender as any steak I've ever had, and cooked exactly to my requested medium rare. The salad was perfectly balanced, and a true delight, especially when matched with a glass of a 2015 Posta Fazzio malbec. At $12 a glass, it was a bit of a splurge for a humble blogger like myself, but had deep cherry and plum undercurrents that went beautifully with the steak salad.

At this point, I'd eaten enough to call my appetizer and salad a meal, but obviously I was very pleased with the quality of both the ingredients and the cooking. Brodo seems like the real deal, if you can get past the conservative, ultra-classic nature of the menu.

I also want to highlight the quality of the service, because my server was outstanding. He clearly knew the menu, the food, and the ingredients, and he orchestrated the arrival of each course perfectly.

My only complaint was with the ambience, and specifically, the decor. The renovation of the space itself has been tastefully done. There's a large garage door that opens onto a spacious patio (hello spring and summer happy hour!), and a warm, open dining room under high ceilings and modern lights. But the tables and chairs seem a little institutional, and the wall art appears to have been plucked from a Bed, Bath, and Beyond discount bin. If Shaheen and Knauf really want to compete, they need to hire an interior decorator to finish the job.

But I really enjoyed my meal, and I think Brodo is going to be an outstanding addition to Belmar and downtown Lakewood. If you haven't gone over to try it yet, you really should. Order the mussels and a glass of wine, sit out on the patio, and enjoy a warm, February afternoon.

Brodo Italian Scratch Kitchen to Open in Belmar

Update: Now that Brodo is open, see my 2/20/17 review.

Jane Knauf and Rachel Shaheen, owners of The Wooden Table in Greenwood Village, are getting ready to open new restaurant in Belmar. The restaurant, which they describe as an 'Italian Scratch Kitchen,' will be called Brodo, and will take the place of The Oven and the original Jamba Juice location at 7161 W. Alaska Drive.


Business Den has the details, but Knauf and Shaheen apparently plan to Americanize the fare,  making it less authentically Italian than at their other restaurant.

Personally, this sounds like a terrible idea. With entrees expected to run between $18 and $25, I'm not likely to drop in for red sauce and chicken parmesan. Not unless it goes beyond the 'really good' category and enters that of 'Platonic ideal.'

My worry is that if the good citizens of Lakewood are unwilling to try anything more cutting edge than spaghetti and meatballs, then I'm not sure how Brodo is going to compete with the chains. After all, Mark Tarbell tried much the same thing with the late Mark and Isabella's, and that didn't work out so well.

Of course, I'm no expert on the Lakewood palate. If I were, maybe I wouldn't be so shocked whenever I go by our local Red Lobster and Olive Garden locations and see how many cars are in the parking lots. I mean, really. Sheesh.

The concept at Brodo seems to be one of familiar favorites-- made from scratch and with quality ingredients-- served in an inviting and modern space. Will it be enough? I guess we'll see...

Update:

Voland1935 stresses the involvement of Rachel Shaheen's husband, Brett Shaheen, in Brodo. Brett has an excellent reputation-- Westword, for example, refers to his cooking as "stunning."

It might also be worth taking a look at the Yelp reviews for The Wooden Table. The trend seems to be  excellent food held back only by a 'meh' atmosphere (it's in a strip mall, and the decor is decidedly low-budget). Brodo's Belmar location should solve this problem.

In Photos: T-Street Roadhouse Grand Opening Event

T-Street Roadhouse: Redefining Fine Dining in Lakewood

The T-Street Roadhouse in Belmar is just about ready to open, and a peak inside reveals a modern vibe that's stylish and hip in a way I've never seen before in Lakewood.

With marble topped tables, Chesterfield sofas in saddle tan leather, and a long bar illuminated by Isamu Noguchi-inspired pendants, the T-Street Roadhouse would be right at home in Denver's LoHi, RiNo, or Cherry Creek.

I'll come right out and say it: if the food's as good as the decor, T-Street is going to be Belmar and downtown Lakewood's first "it" restaurant.

This isn't to say that I don't enjoy the decor in Belmar's current crop of restaurants, but T-Street is clearly going for a more designed, more contemporary look. The only space in Belmar that's as nice, in my view, is the elegant dining room at Little India, which the owners inherited in large part from the now-defunct Mark & Isabella's.

Of course, if nice decor was all that mattered, Mark & Isabella's would still be around. Service matters, as does value, and of course there's the little matter of the food.

So, will the food at T-Street be any good? We'll find out soon enough, but the owners have a good track record, and they're clearly trying to raise the bar on what qualifies as fine dining in Lakewood.

Plans for a New Restaurant: Belmar Roadhouse

Lane Bryant recently completed their move one block north on Teller St, leaving the clothing retailer's former space open. It's a prime location, directly across from the Century 16 Bel Mar theater and the Grappa Italian Bistro, and I'd been hoping a restaurant might be shoehorned in.

The problem, apparently, has been the ventilation system in the Plaza Building, which was built for retail and residential, not food service.

But now it looks like a restaurant is indeed going in. The Roadhouse Hospitality Group owns 17 restaurants in Colorado-- about half in Denver and half in the mountains. Their first, Spanky's Urban Roadhouse, opened near the University of Denver in 1991. Their newest is LoDo's Wazee Supper Club, which Roadhouse purchased earlier this year.

I don't have a lot of details on their new downtown Lakewood location. Despite the "Belmar Roadhouse, LLC" notice on the front door, I've heard it won't be "roadhouse" themed, and that instead it's going to be more of a white tablecloth kind of place. Spanky's Urban Roadhouse serves breakfast, but I haven't heard if breakfast service is planned for Belmar. I have my fingers crossed, though, as I'd love more breakfast options for Belmar.

The new restaurant apparently won't be opening any time soon, however, as extensive renovations are required for the former retail space, including, I've heard, the installation of scrubbers to make sure restaurant odors don't impact residents living above.