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Golf courses are not known as great dining destinations. I don’t golf, but I am the food editor for a Colorado golf magazine. In the past, many of the state’s clubhouses served the same unimaginative fare and the “clubby” ambiance was a dining turnoff to underdressed non-members.
Happily, the golf food paradigm is starting to shift toward better fare and a more inclusive atmosphere. One prime example is hiding in plain sight in Boulder. Ironwood Bar and Grille has been open for a year at Flatirons Golf Course.
Overseeing the new eatery and all food and drink at the course are veteran Boulder restaurateurs, Noah and Tanya Westby. They whetted several generations of appetites with tapas and paella at their 22-year-old Dagabi Cucina, which has continued operating since they sold it.
While Ironwood has slowly been discovered by golfers and East Boulder neighbors, most locals are still unaware that a new, full-service sit-down restaurant is just down the driveway at the golf course.
Blame it on the preconceptions of folks like me.
“We get asked a lot that if it’s a club where you have to be a member to eat. People think that most golf courses and their restaurants are private,” Tanya Westby says.
Flatirons Golf Course. Courtesy of Flatirons Golf Course
Flatirons Golf Course is a public facility owned by the City of Boulder and Ironwood is open to the public daily for takeout breakfast, and sit-down lunch and dinner, with brunch on weekends.
What diners discover is a modern, high-ceilinged space with an expansive patio opening onto lawns and trees with a foothills view. Sunsets are especially dramatic there.
Numerous Boulder area restaurants have stunning views of the mountains, but none have the pastoral panorama at Ironwood Bar & Grille.
“The reason the city chose us to operate the restaurant is that they want it to attract families and be a local neighborhood restaurant on a beautiful park,” Westby says.
Ironwood’s lunch roster includes soups, salads and upgraded golf course necessities like a classic club sandwich and a grilled Polidori bratwurst with sauerkraut, onions and peppers.
“We’ve brought some of the recipes from Dagabi, especially the small plates and tapas,” Westby says.
Lighter fare includes P.E.I. mussels, fried calamari and artichokes with marinara and chile aioli, and lamb meatballs or falafel with tzatziki sauce and grilled pita bread.
Ironwood’s dinner plates range from chicken Marsala and filet mignon au poivre, to blackened salmon and eggplant parmesan. Pair them with an affordable by-the-glass wine list.
Make brunch reservations weeks ahead for the classics such as shrimp and grits, biscuits and gravy, eggs Benedict, and house-made corned beef hash. Reflecting Dagabi’s Mediterranean influence is shakshouka: eggs poached in a spicy tomato sauce with grilled bread.
The other problem facing Ironwood Bar & Grille has been that East Boulder has never been a dining destination, according to Westby.
You’ll drive several miles west on Arapahoe Avenue over the hill to find the next dining spot, KT’s BBQ.
“Thank goodness for Blackbelly. We have another place out here that attracts attention. They broke the ice for East Boulder dining,” Westby says. Blackbelly Market & Restaurant is chef Hosea Rosenberg’s award-winning establishment, but there are other culinary attractions nearby.
Yotsuba Sushi recently opened nearby in the same strip mall as Sherpa Kitchen and Boulder Baked. The center next door has a strong lineup of locals: Ozo Coffee. Snarf’s, Pica’s Taqueria, and Le Frigo, a well-stocked French-inspired deli.
When winter comes Westby hopes diners will still visit the family’s restaurant.
“It’s very beautiful and inviting here in the winter,” she says.
“We’ve been working with the city on getting a public ice skating rink at the course, as well as a cross-country skiing route.”
“It can be confusing, but once you eat here you understand,” Westby says.
What’s John eating this week?
Ironwood cheeseburger with the works on the links
Truth be told, I’ve consumed an awful lot of mediocre burgers in Boulder over the years. It was intentional. I keep ordering them because it is one way — along with over-easy eggs — that I can tell whether an eatery is serious.
At the Ironwood Bar & Grille, I dug into a thick, juicy fresh-ground beef patty, cooked to order medium-rare. It was draped in melted Swiss with an onion slice, lettuce and tomato on a toasted buttered brioche bun.
I appreciated the kitchen’s attention to detail with crisp dill spears, fresh-cut double-fried frites (with aioli). Add an ice-cold pilsener and it was near-perfect meal with a peaceful view of the putting green.
A cheeseburger, fries, and an ale at Ironwood Bar & Grille on Boulder’s Flatirons Golf Course. Credit: John Lehndorff
Local food news
If your home trees are full of fruit you won’t be able to collect, get them harvested by Community Fruit Rescue. The crop will feed neighbors through Community Food Share. Information: fruitrescue.org. If your backyard is bursting with produce and the angry townspeople reject your zucchini, sign up for Boulder Food Rescue’s backyard garden donation program. Information: boulderfoodrescue.org.
The Home Cook classes at Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts include Farm to Table: Vegetable Cooking Techniques at the farmers market from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 6. Information: escoffier.edu/about/cooking-classes-boulder
Openings
The most carefully pronounced Boulder deli is back! After being shuttered for months after a fire, Half Fast Subs reopens Sept. 8 at 1215 13th St. We hope the deli, which opened on the Hill in 1996, keeps our favorite Thanksgiving dinner sub on the menu, The Gobbler.
Boulder food businesses are spreading their wings
Food Lab cooking school has launched a second location at 1230 South Pearl Street in Denver.
Chef Hosea Rosenberg is dishing green chile and breakfast burritos at the new second location of Santo, his New Mexico-focused restaurant, on Concourse C at Denver International Airport.
Boulder-born Aloy Thai recently opened a fourth restaurant at 1400 E. Hampden Ave. in Englewood.
Coming attractions
Extreme joy spread through the local baking community with the news that King Arthur Baking Co. is opening a Boulder pop-up store at 1638 Pearl St. on Sept. 13. King Arthur is an acclaimed employee-owned company in Vermont. As a longtime baker, I use and highly recommend King Arthur’s flours and all their baking recipes. The store, open through Jan. 18, offers mixes, tools, accessories, appliances and gifts plus classes, demos and book signings. Details: kingarthurbaking.com/visit/boulder-co
Culinary calendar
The 22nd Denver Food and Wine Festival — one of Colorado’s top culinary gatherings — includes a Sept. 4 food truck and cocktail showdown, and a Grand Tasting from 50 restaurants on Sept. 6. The lineup features MAKfam, Tavernetta, the Flagstaff House, Blackbelly, Vail’s Sweet Basil and Shin Myung Gwan Korean BBQ in Aurora. Funds raised support local food workers. Tickets: denverfoodandwine.com
In the past few years Longmont has experienced a dining boom. Find out what’s cooking a few minutes from the Boulder bubble at the TasteAbout Downtown, 1-5 p.m. on Sept. 7. The self-guided sampling tour de bites includes Kuper Wine Bar, Rosa Cantina, Deep Roots Distillery, Georgia Boys BBQ and The Roost. Tickets: longmontrestaurantweek.com.
Deep food thoughts
One more cup of coffee for the road
“Not that I want Nirvana for myself, no sir, just a good night’s reset every single night, with window open, in silent night, and wake up to a good cup of coffee.” — Jack Kerouac
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