First Bite Restaurant Week Returns To Boulder County In 2021

BOULDER, CO — The First Bite: Boulder County Restaurant Week is back in 2021 with more than two dozen participating restaurants.

The 16th annual event returns Oct. 8 to Oct. 17, but diners will also have the opportunity to attend First Bite Preview Tours Sept. 25 and Oct. 2. Tickets for the tours are $95 each and are available on the Local Table Tours calendar.

First Bite participating restaurants:

• Ash'Kara
• Avery Brewing Co.
• Bohemian Biergarten
• Boulder Cork
• Brasserie Boulder
• Cafe Aion
• Centro Mexican Kitchen
• Chautauqua Dining Hall
• Chimera
• Corrida
• Dagabi Tapas Bar
• Dry Storage
• Fringe, A Well-Tapped Eatery
• Japango
• Leaf
• OAK at Fourteenth
• River & Woods
• SALT
• Sforno Trattoria Romana
• Ska Street Brewstillery
• T|aco
• The Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse
• The Empire Lounge & Restaurant
• The Greenbriar Inn
• The Post Brewing Co.
• West End Tavern
• Zucca

First Bite will include three price levels for dinner: $29, $39 and $49. Menus and reservations for the participating restaurants will be available in early September, organizers said.

“This year’s First Bite is really the final progression for our team in terms of realigning this event with our values," said Jessica Benjamin, First Bite producer. "My original goal in 2019 was to evolve First Bite into a deeper community of like-minded diners; patrons who cared more about the people making the food or the stories behind each restaurant more than the price of their dinner.

"Writing A Bite of Boulder really showed us that the community’s enthusiasm for our local restaurants is unwavering, and their appetite for getting to know them more intimately is stronger than ever. So that’s what First Bite is this year: we have the most engaged, and most enthusiastic restaurants ready to welcome our deeply engaged foodie community. I am so proud of the 27 restaurants that are joining First Bite to celebrate what we’ve all been through these past 18 months. Diners are eager, Chefs are excited - it’s going to be a fabulous week,” Benjamin said.

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"First Bite continues to evolve by giving restaurants the opportunity to be more creative in their menu offering if they are so inclined," the Boulder Chamber said in a news release. "This deviation has allowed restaurants who would not fit the past three course requirement to shine. One enticing example is urban taqueria T/aco, who will be welcoming diners to enjoy as many tacos and margaritas one can eat in a 90 minute period."

First Bite will also include a dessert competition, organizers said. Participating chefs will be challenged with creating a dessert using specialty caramels from Table Mountain Farms, a family-run Longmont goat farm.

Restaurant week organizers have also partnered with Nosh Boulder for Dine Out to Give Back.

“When Nosh Boulder started their Give Back Mondays I knew we had to partner with them for First Bite," Benjamin said. "They are owned and operated by local independent restaurants and they truly work to support the larger Boulder community."

Between Oct. 8 and Oct. 17, 10 percent of all orders placed through Nosh Boulder will go directly to The Emergency Family Assistance Association, a Boulder County non-profit that works to support families in the community by offering emergency assistance through their food bank, programs, advocacy and services, First Bite organizers said.