Foodie Friday
There's a good reason Bon Appétit called Boulder, America's Foodiest Town. This weekly blog will help you understand why! Every Friday, check out downtown's food scene and all the incredible opportunities available to tantalize your taste buds! Check out this list of restaurant specials and promotions compiled weekly - just for YOU!
Food-Related Events and Announcements: October 23, 2026
Happy Friday, Foodies! October is beginning to wind down, but there’s still plenty to make room for before the month is through. Halloween is just around the corner, and Monday, October 26 is Go Out to Lunch Day, giving you a good reason to step away from your desk and let someone else handle the cooking. For now, settle into the weekend with something warm or see where your sweet tooth takes you. Here’s what sounds good downtown this week.
There’s no need to retire your ice cream habit just because it’s fall. Ben & Jerry’s has familiar favorites like The Tonight Dough, Butter Pecan and Chunky Monkey ready for your next scoop. Stop in after dinner or take a break during an afternoon downtown. A little chill in the air doesn’t have to get between you and dessert.
With Halloween getting closer, Rocket Fizz is a fitting place to follow your sweet tooth. Browse candy and soda from around the world, with plenty of gifts tucked into the mix. Pick up something for the holiday or revisit a childhood favorite you haven’t thought about in years. Give yourself a little time to look around. Choosing is part of the fun.
If your downtown wandering calls for a proper meal, Spruce Farm & Fish inside the Hotel Boulderado has a burger worth sitting down for. The Spruce Burger starts with an 8-ounce Angus patty, layered with Calabrian chile pesto and hot honey balsamic bacon jam. Melted Fontina and fresh arugula finish it off on a toasted brioche bun. Arrive hungry and give yourself a break between stops.
A rooftop catch-up feels like a good way to enjoy what’s left of October, and West End Tavern has a happy hour to help make it happen. Monday through Friday from 3 to 6 PM, settle in for specials including $7 cocktails and $4 gluten-free tavern street tacos. Bring a friend and let the afternoon stretch a little longer.
Over at Bohemian Biergarten, a Reuben gets a home on a poppy seed pretzel bagel, with fries alongside it. Add a beer from the selection and you’ve got a strong case for taking your lunch break downtown. It’s another one to keep on your list for Monday, especially if your usual lunch could use a change of scenery.
Centro Mexican Kitchen has a few reasons to put a weekday meal on the calendar. Tuesdays bring a burger and an ice-cold beer for $25, with free add-ons. Go for green chile or pile on bacon and fresh avocado. On Wednesdays, stop in for $18 deluxe nacho platters and $5 margaritas all day. If Sunday is more your speed, crispy chilaquiles are available all day, along with spiked agua frescas starting at $2.
For an evening you’d like to take your time with, make a plan for Cozobi Fonda Fina. Its Tetala de Pato brings together duck carnitas and mole rojo pipián, served with crema de rancho and a petite salad. Let it be your invitation to settle in over dinner and enjoy a little good company before another week gets going.
Breakfast has something new to offer at Snooze, where the tacos have gotten an update. The new build includes sautéed poblanos with caramelized onion, topped with lime crema, jalapeño and avocado salsa. If you’re looking to make breakfast a little heartier, try them with braised beef. A slow morning downtown deserves something worth lingering over.
The Post Colorado is bringing a Colorado touch to German comfort food with its Pueblo Green Chile Schnitzel. There are Pueblo Green Chile Fries, too, served crispy and cheesy under a helping of veggie green chile, then finished with bacon-chive sour cream. Order some for the table and warm up over a meal that suits the season.
Give your Tuesday plans a little friendly competition at Avanti Boulder. Trivia and Tini Nights are free to play, so gather a few friends and see who’s been holding on to the most useful bits of random knowledge. On Wednesdays, check @avanti_boulder for the Name of the Day special. Your name could be the one picked for a $100 tab on the house.
And for the Buffs making plans for next week, Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant hosts College Night every Thursday from 9 to 11 PM. Stop in for $6 classic Rio margaritas and $7 chicken quesadillas, and catch up with friends as the week winds down. The weekend will be back before you know it.
Ways to Help
Emergency Family Assistance Fund (EFAA) helps those in our community whose immediate needs for food, shelter and other basic necessities cannot be adequately met by other means, and supports their efforts toward financial stability or self-sufficiency. You can help them with a financial contribution, volunteering, or donating non-perishable food and cleaning supplies.
Emergency family assistance fund
Harvest of Hope Pantry's sole mission is food assistance. They offer clients a choice shopping experience where individuals select preferred foods within their shopping allowances. You can help them with financial assistance, volunteering or by hosting food drives.
Boulder Food Rescue aims to create a more just and less wasteful food system by facilitating the sustainable redistribution of healthy food that would otherwise be wasted to low-income communities, by bicycle. The best way to help them currently is to donate or volunteer.
Meals on Wheels Boulder provides nutritious meals and a daily well-being check to Boulder residents, regardless of age or income. The number one way to support them during this time is to contribute financially.