Like a lot of people, I spent the majority of my years as an undergraduate obsessed with keeping my waistline shaped to a size two (those days are long, long gone) and spending whatever leftover scholarship money I had on food that rung up in cents, rather than dollars, because, as any student knows, a Styrofoam container of dried, salt-licked, dishwater-stained noodles punctuated with freeze-dried carrots and peas from the corner market is about the cheapest thing on the supermarket shelves, save for a can of sale-priced SpaghettiOs. And then, sometime later, when I knew better, I became a bona fide noodle-loving nerd.
That revelation came years before Bones, Frank Bonanno's modern noodle house in Governor's Park, ever came to be, but in the time that Bones has been plying its superior earthen bowls of broth to fervent ramen and noodle bowl warriors who slurp with abandonment, I've become even more of a fanatic. And a recent addition to the menu, a redolent, transforming white miso broth, pooled with glossy glass noodles, generously jolted with dashi and fortified with floats of golden-hued sea scallops, pudgy rock shrimp, leaves of red chard and roasted oyster mushrooms, is the tongue equivalent of a lap dance. Bite after bite, slurp after slurp, it delivers a delicious swing of flavors that makes you want to noodle around.
Hungry for more? All the dishes in our countdown are linked below:
No. 100: Italian wedding soup from the Squeaky Bean No. 99: American Classic Burger (and fries) from Tarbell's No. 98: E's clam linguini from Mangiamo Pronto No. 97: Queso a la plancha taco from the Pinche Tacos wagon No. 96: Prosciutto-wrapped jalapeño poppers from Tony's Market No. 95: Fried chicken from the Pinyon No. 94: Seafood soup from Farro No. 93: Posole from The Porker No. 92: Breakfast Burrito from the Taco Wagon in Lafayette No. 91: Hummus from Shish Kabob Grill No. 90: Albondigas meatballs from Solera No. 89: Lemon-ricotta doughnuts from Olivéa No. 88: Döner kabob from Shondiz No. 87: Roasted cauliflower salad from Euclid Hall No. 86: Beef cheek enchiladas from El Diablo No. 85: Fried Brussels sprouts from Panzano No. 84: Pork osso buco from Osteria Marco No. 83: Cazuela Colombiana from Cafe Brazil No. 82: Chicken potpie from Devil's Food No. 81: Sichuan braised beef noodle soup from Zoe Ma Ma No. 80: Larb nua from Taste of Thailand No. 79: Pork shank from Argyll No. 78: Truffo panino from Shangri-La Cafe No. 77: Pig-snout tacos from Guadalajara Authentic Mexican Buffet No. 76: Speck and maple ice cream from Pizzeria Basta No. 75: Tom yum goong from Thai Flavor No. 74: South African black ruff from TAG No. 73: Gumbo from Bistro One No. 72: New England clam chowder from Bittersweet No. 71: Celery and lime popsicle from Spuntino No. 70: Curried split pea soup from Modmarket No. 69: Mais pizza from Pizzeria Locale No. 68: Risotto frutti di mare from Firenze a Tavola No. 67: Frico caldo from Frasca Food & Wine
In late 2009, we embarked on a culinary journey that took us through our favorite dishes in the Mile High City -- one hundred, to be exact. Now we're back with round two, counting down (in no particular order) a hundred more of our favorite Denver dishes in a list that, by our imperfect calculations, should be wrapped up in the spring. If there's a dish you think we need to try, tell us about it in the comments section below, or shoot us an e-mail at [email protected].