Hi all! We have been exploring some new places in Boulder and loving the results. Next time you are in our neck of the woods, you may want to give a try to Via Perla located on 9th and Pearl. Opened by the owners and operators of The Med and Brasserie 10-10, Via Perla is our new stop for Happy Hour. $20 will buy a bottle of wine and an appetizer. The food is what I would term more of a "small plate" but yummy and fresh! You can always share the wine with multiple people and add a soup or pairing from the regular dinner menu. Our favorite is the zucchini with fried lemons and aioli sauce on the side. If you have never had a fried lemon, you are in for a treat! Also included in the HH menu are meatballs, cheese plate, and an assortment of nibbles. You can even get a small bowl of spaghetti and easy get out for $30-$40 for two which includes the 4 glasses of wine.
I have blogged about how to have a Gourmet Group. We have a blast together and are always cooking up yummy food, laughing and drinking wine. This weekend, Dave and I suggested the "family style" menu at Via Perla. We started at our house with wine and apps, drove up the street to the restaurant and continued our evening with some fun and food where someone else did the dishes and cleaned up after. The food was excellent. For $33 per person( a few short opening weeks ago, it was $29…will they keep increasing the cost??) we had (more) appetizers, a beautiful fresh salad with peas and a light lemon dressing, bread, a lamb (which I picked off because I don't eat it) pasta with more fresh peas, and a small dessert taster of a berry crumble and cream. If I am honest, the breadbasket isn't worth the calories, especially if you have experienced the chewy, soft olive bread served at The Med. The focaccia is dry-ish and needs some seasoning. It is served with an olive tapenade and a small saucer of salt. (I don't remember this from Italy…but I like salt). You need to ask for olive oil or butter if you want the salt to stick to something. The set menu was a fun way to try some new food...of course we have some allergies, but too often I pass on new food and opt for the usual. Overall, the service was good (our favorite server is Jenna but she doesn't work on Sundays) and the wine glasses stayed full.
As a side note, I brought some questions to spark new conversation with the group. My favorite was "sing the first line to your favorite song"...and the rest of the group has to guess the song. We had a blast learning that (some people) like, "Ice-Ice baby" and me personally has had the beautiful tune, "My name is NO, my sign is NO, my number is NO" in my head to sing. Don't ask!
Cheers!
CoffeeTalkMom
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