I knew there was a reason why Jax is my favorite restaurant in town. Having said that, Hosea, I know you can take your $100,000 and high-tail it to NYC, Chicago or hell, even Portland where there are better (but more competitive) culinary scenes. However, I would prefer if you kept your skills right here in Boulder, I'm going to be living here for a little while and I'd like to dine at your restaurant at least a couple of times.

There actually is a good food scene in Boulder and a good number of 'foodies' to talk about it with. I'll do a post sometime about my favorite restaurants. In the meantime, let's discuss the problem with Boulder restaurants: trendiness. Everyone needs to open up that 'fusion' or 'eclectic' restaurant. I'm curious to see what Hosea decides to do and if he stays in Boulder.

Speaking of me again, did you like my predictions from my November 26 post about Top Chef? I cheated a bit and gave a top 6, but wouldn't you know - those top 6 happened to be just that. Stefan, Fabio, Carla, Leah, Jamie and Hosea. I kick culinary ass. I knew my years in the restaurant industry would pay off.

Also - I was just about to link the term 'Boulderite', just so those who are outside of Colorado are aware of what the rest of the state thinks of us and this is what I found in the urban dictionary:

Boulderite

1. A general class of people similar to the Hippie, who live on a diet of fruits, nuts, granola and other organic foods. Often liberal in thinking and very much into outdoor activities. They can be distinguished by their economical yet functional vehicles and their equally functional attire. Name is derived from the "all natural" town of Boulder, CO.

You see that girl in the riding shorts and hiking boots with sunglasses on her head snacking on trail mix? That is one fine Boulderite.

2. One who:
1. Trains for a marathon before work.
2. Spends more than 10 hours a week in spandex.
3. Eats out at fine establishments, wearing a fleece vest and expensive outdoor shoes.
4. Carries plastic bags for picking up dog poop.
5. Drinks 2oz. of espresso for breakfast, 2 oz. wheatgrass for lunch, and 24 oz. Microbrew with dinner.
6. Drives a Subaru Outback with some clever form of an anti-Bush bumper sticker.
7. Buys groceries on a commuter bike, or cross country skis.
8. Owns a bike rack and bike that costs more than the price of their Subaru.
9. Lives within walking distance of a yoga studio.
10. Wonders how CO can still be a Red State?!

Spandex on by 6am, Cycling through Martin Acres, mildly hung- over, and completely stoned, the Boulderite rode to Whole Foods for a Powerbar and a Latte with soy.

Too funny. Okay, it's Wednesday, off to bed. However - exciting things this weekend! We are doing out tasting at Mary's Lake Lodge on Friday night (where we are having our wedding) and have heard nothing but GREAT things about the food. Will let you know!

Oh - and by the way. I'm sorry Carla. If you had more guts, didn't want to compete with love and didn't let Casey take over your dishes, you might be thinking about opening your own restaurant right now and your husband and stepson could go to every Super Bowl. Oh, snap. Yes I did. I'm such a bitch.

I've decided to blog about this season because;

a. I love the show

b. Two people from Boulder are on the show, which I've already mentioned before, but will do it again; Melissa and Hosea.

My post is going to be uber short because Doug is allowing me to get Sex and The City: The Movie On Demand tonight and because I'm saving all of my energy for my real ring post that will be coming shortly.

Quickly - my predictions for the top chefs that make it to the end (anyone want to bet lunch?): 

1. Stefan - because everything he makes appears to be awesome.
   
2. Fabio - he can cook and the judges really like him.
   
3. Jamie - her love of SSOUUUPPP is going to take her far.
   
4. Carla/Leah - both silent winners. Well, Carla isn't too silent, but they are showing a lot of her for a reason.
5. Hosea - I have to say him because Jax is my favorite restaurant in town.
   

After next week's episode, I may narrow it down.

On to my Boulder restaurant reviews:

Doug and I recently partook in First Bite Boulder. We ventured to the Greenbriar Inn and I have to say, it was average. I really loved the lamb that Doug ordrered, but my steelhead trout was just, well, average. The gnocchi appetizer I ordered had great flavor, but was overcooked. I'm going to put it on my list of 'don't go out of your way, but if someone is taking you, might as well.'

We also went to Radda recently. The appetizers we ordered weren't the best, but the dinner was delicious. The cocktails were laughable. Even worse, actually. I don't care if you're a wine place, learn how to make a cocktail. No Captain in house, no type of Seagram's whiskey, so I resort to the Gin Days and order a Tom Collins with a splash of grenadine. What do I get? Half of a tumbler full of gin on the rocks with  a splash of grenadine. What, not sweet and sour mix and no soda water? Geez. Doug's Jack and water was even worse, I'm not even going to take the time to explain. All in all, I give them just a bit higher than the rating I gave the Greenbriar.

My ratings:

1. Greenbriar Inn: C+
2. Radda Trattoria: B-

Doug's ratings:

1. Greenbriar Inn: B+
2. Radda Trattoria: B-

For all of you Boulderites, I'll get a list going of my favorite restaurants in town, so you know what I'm comparing them to. 

On to the movie!

TWO chefs from Boulder, CO made it onto the show. One, a man named Hosea, who is (would it be - was?) the executive chef at Jax Fish House. For those of you who don't know - Jax is my favorite restaurant in Boulder - my favorite meaning it's usually my birthday dinner spot. Yeah - that kind of favorite. That said, I can't wait to see what he's going to cook up on this season.

As for the second chef, I'm not as impressed. She's the sous chef at Centro, which I don't think is that great. It used to be a place called Rhumba that served really bad jerk chicken, in my opinion. However, Jax and Centro (as was Rhumba) are owned by the same company. Which reminds me, one of my other favorite restaurants in Boulder is owned by the big red f restaurant group, too - Zolo. About a year ago, they changed their fish tacos and now, the dish is not nearly as good, but still worth going for. As for the guacamole, out of this world - best guac in town.

Back to Top Chef - the other chef is Melissa. I'm basing the fact that she will be good; not on her experience at Centro, but because she's from Maryland and knows about the amazing Chesapeake Bay Blue Crabs.

What I wouldn't give to have one now....

If you haven't yet done this hike - I highly recommend it. To get to Brainard Lake from Boulder, take Lee Hill Drive just off North Broadway (LOTS and LOTS of road bikers, so be prepared to be the pedestrian) to Old Stage Road. Old Stage will dead end - take a left onto Left Hand Canyon into Ward. Once through Ward, take a right onto Highway 72 (Peak to Peak) and then an immediate left into Brainard Lake Rec. Area. The drive from Boulder is about a 1/2 hour.

If you want to take a more scenic drive and have a little extra time, you can just follow Canyon Road into Nederland and then follow the signs to Highway 72. Go north on Highway 72 and Brainard Lake will be on your left just past Ward. Takes a little longer - about 45-50 minutes.

Now - back to those bikers. I think the road bikers in Boulder are insane. Boulder has three major roads that swerve through the Canyons into the Indian Peaks Wilderness area.

These 'major' roads are two lane roads that curve and bend in every direction up, up and up. AND UP - without much of a shoulder, at all. At any given time, on any given day, you are bound to see massive amounts of bikers, old and young, making their way up. When I catch a glimpse of any number of the climber's faces - they look like they are in serious pain. I mean what I imagine to be giving birth pain. Their bikes are in the lowest gear possible, their calves look like they are going to pop out of their skin and explode and their faces are as red as possible from the oxygen deprivation that their body has been experiencing the past 20 miles.

Mind you, the way down is no exception. I'm not sure I need to be doing 45mph on my bike while flying around hair pin turns and passing cars all the way. Nope. Not for me. Now, I love a nice bike ride and a great work out, but this is the EXTREME. I guess it is Boulder. I once had someone ask me what three extreme sports I partake in - "you know, if you live in Boulder you've got to be serious about 3 extreme sports." There really is no joke to that. We even have 'extreme sports' band-aids at the grocery store. They made out of town guests of mine pee their pants they were laughing so hard.

Back to the biking. I'd love to know how it feels, so maybe one day I'll do it. But, I do like my life, so I think I'll skip riding up Baseline, Canyon or Lee Hill on my shitty bike. If you're reading this and you're a biker - enlighten me about why you might do this, because just to get a good work out, or get out on a Saturday morning doesn't do it for me.

I talked to my dad yesterday after the race and he quickly said "Oh...boy, how was it? You and I just aren't built for running." That's an understatement. The thick Getzan legs are perfect for short sprints on the hockey field or side shuffles on the tennis court, but I certainly am not tall, with lean legs, like most runners. However, I do have endurance, so I got that going for me.

I had to participate in the 2nd largest 10K in the country this year (as this is the first time I've been in town in the almost 4 years that I've lived here). It's nothing but a good time with bands playing along the way, people offering you bloody marys as you're running, and a good supply of sprinklers to run through. I wasn't aiming for speed, by any means, as I ran about a 12-13 minute mile. My goal was really to at least jog the whole time, which is exactly what I accomplished. I ran it with 3 friends, who were awesome BolderBOULDER partners - thanks Megan, Burn and Kate! I should get a finish picture emailed to me within the next couple of days, so I'll make sure to post it - it's bound to be a good one.

Some stats for you:

• My division place (females who are 31) was: 566 out of 673.
  
• My gender place was: 18,692 out of 26,287.
• The course starts at 5,300 feet with the highest point being at 5,391 feet and runs all through Boulder.

I shouldn't leave out that my favorite band playing along the way was doing an awesome cover of Van Halen's 'Running With the Devil'. If you happen to know who this was - let me know!

I don't have many celeb encounters. In fact, one of my guilty pleasures is reading In Touch magazine (for the Sudoku, of course, as US doesn't have the games) and watching horrible reality TV (think The Hills). So, as you can imagine, when I do happen to stumble upon someone that I consider to be a celebrity, I usually don't have the most profound things to say.

My first run-in with Mr. Krakauer was at Brandon and Kate's wedding last summer. I have to admit that once I noticed him, I would randomly check in on what he was doing from across the room - while we were having dinner, listening to speeches, dancing, etc. I wasn't stalking him, I was just waiting for the right time to approach him and tell him how much I enjoyed Into Thin Air.

Sure - like that was going to be something original he had never heard before.

I came to the conclusion that I would be just another annoying fan, but decided to say something anyway, as I probably would never have the chance to speak with him again. I sheepishly walked up to him (for those of you that know me, you can attest that I'm anything but sheepish, but I swear, I was being quite shy) and introduced myself. Much to my surprise, he patiently listened to me rant about how I'll never know Everest first hand and that I appreciate he wrote about his experience. He responded with an extremely sincere thank you; he was warm, friendly, approachable and was the opposite of what I expected. I guess I expected someone who would act bored with my comments, or brush me off. Krakauer does live in Boulder and there are a lot of mountaineers/climbers/adventurers who live here, but he still acted as if it was the first time someone told him their opinion of his book.

My second encounter with Krakauer was at Brandon and Kate's house this past weekend. Kate just finished taking the boards for med school (congratulations!), and was celebrating that, as well as her birthday. Her parents were in town (that is the connection with Krakauer), and much to my surprise, he was there on Saturday night for her little soirée. This time, we were having dinner and hanging out in a very intimate setting with many opportunities for me to say something completely unoriginal to him. Of course, I jumped at the chance and once again, he was very friendly and seemed as if he appreciated and cared about what I had to say.

By this meeting, I had watched Into The Wild and immediately bought the book afterwards. I love the book, and read it in a day. I told him that I thought the movie was great and came out really well (I had read about the family's apprehension for the past 10 years, about Sean Penn wanting to make it perfect, and about Krakauer's hard work interviewing whomever he could that crossed paths with Chris McCandless). We talked briefly; I told him that I enjoyed the chapters he included of his time in Alaska (I really wanted to say something about him lighting his tent on fire because he was smoking, but held back) and he responded with the fact that many people have told him that is their least favorite part of the book. I found that to be a surprise, but then laughed, letting him know I had heard that from some people.

Again, Krakauer wasn't arrogant (I didn't really expect him to be this time, but he's pretty famous, and I guess I just assume it comes with the territory) and was seemingly eager to talk. Later in the evening, he was discussing his new project, a book on Pat Tillman, with the group, how it is much more interesting than he had imagined, and how it has been extremely intense, hard work. He spent 4 months in Afghanistan and has been collaborating with Pat Tillman's mom (who also wrote a book, which is out this week).

Under the Banner of Heaven is next in my que (no, I'm still not finished reading Kitchen Confidential), so hopefully, by the next time I see him, I'll have something to say about that one, as well (actually, I hope I can conjure up some more interesting conversation for him). I did tell him that when I was in the Border's on the 29th Street Mall, the man who helped me reach (they were on the top shelf - way too high for someone who is 5'1) Into the Wild and Under the Banner of Heaven told me that the latter was by far his best work. Krakauer said on Saturday night, "it's the weirdest, for sure." I can't wait!

In case you haven't read anything by him yet, I suggest at least the two I've read, and from what I've heard, the third, as well. Here are links and reviews of the books:

• Into thin Air
• Into the Wild
• Under the Banner of Heaven
  

While I was being domestic, just 2 miles from our house on the CU Campus, the largest 4/20 celebration in the US was in progress with more than 10,000 people in attendance and no arrests. That's pretty impressive.

The Daily Camera, Boulder's local paper has a fun article and had a reporter on site: