I walked in on a spring evening when warm weather had just begun to pop it’s head out. The music was live. A shy young man stood hiding behind his equipment. He shyly glanced towards the audience, hopeful they would listen to him sing. His voice was loud, and his music accompanied his sound filling the speakers. The ambience of the restaurant felt busy and trendy with the live music, and yet the man behind the mic style remained a bit shy with his talent, as his head did little nods to see if anyone was listening. The awning of the restaurant will not lull you in. But shy talented musicians, food, and the ambiance inside will. The BRU is found on 5290 Arapahoe Ave, look for mountains in the background and an ice cream shop next door.

Inconveniently for me, I am one food critic who hates sharing food. Yet somehow my friends managed to convince me to order several items from the menu and try most of them, in a communal sharing of food. Wood fired chicken wings, rotating charcuterie board, oven charred cauliflower, shishito peppers, and the bru-tine in made it to our table. I am slowly learning that practically every restaurant in Boulder offers cauliflower appetizers. These were just as good, warm and crispy with a complimenting dipping sauce. My friend Tiffany described the chicken wings very poetically and proudly saying, “you get the spice of the chipotle, the sweet of the coconut, and the zing of the limes.” On par with our rotating charcuterie board we requested a butter candle. A butter candle is, well exactly as it sounds. In the butter is a wick and as the candle burns the butter melts beautifully. Warm butter melted onto the plate was a wonderful addition as well as terribly romantic. The peppers were savory with a little bit of grease. The bru-tine reminded me of my summer trip to Wisconsin with their famous cheese with a classic brew french fry.

We finished by sharing a pizza. The ovens were within sight the whole time, there’s something so rewarding about seeing a pizza pulled straight from a pizza oven. It always makes me feel close to the process of my food, savoring the flavor and the care put into it. The Bru pizza came with tomato sauce, ale sausage, aged white cheddar, charred kale, and smoked shallot. Tables at the Bru are like giant chalkboards, complete with mason candles with chalk in them. Throughout the meal, the music, and the conversation, we each doodled on the table. We each drew something unique. Atop our table was a monster Chihuahua, a few flowers, and some sunshine complete with mountains. We left our table at the Bru with empty glasses, clean plates, and darling doodles. You don’t want to miss humble musicians, summer tabletop chalk memories, and plates you’ll want to share.

Sierra Brown

Sierra is a recent graduate with a bachelor's degree in psychology. She loves creative writing and gut wrenching stories of people and their lives. Sierra is a gluten free snacker with an attention to food allergies, and is a self professed super taster. Her current obsessions include social justice, photographing human subjects, and binge watching Netflix shows. Sierra has lived in Rifle, Gunnison, and Fort Collins. She currently divides her time between Boulder, Denver, and Loveland soaking up all that the Front Range has to offer.