Hi Everyone,
I am tagging along on a short business trip to Boulder in early February. We will be staying at the Boulderado. I checked other posts on this board, and while there wasn't a a lot of information, the hotel sounds pretty neat.

Does anyone have suggestions for restaurants, bars or interesting places in Boulder? I'll be on my own during the day--not sure if I will have a car. We'll probably be exploring in the evenings. No malls or chain restaurants, please.
History,fun,funkiness and natural beauty are what I am looking for.

Thanks so much!

Boulderado is the best place to stay in Boulder. You will be right in the center of downtown just a block from the Pearl Street Mall. Best restaurants are The Mediterranean (called the Med by locals) at 10th and Walnut and 14th Street Bar and Grill at 14th and Pearl. Both locally owned and excellent. Pasta Jay's is a fun place for reasonably priced Italian. Go to Bookend Cafe or Trident Cafe for coffee. Walk up the hill to the Univ of Colo campus. Walk straight west and get on a hiking trail that will take you very quickly up high enough to get great views of Boulder. Plenty of good bars downtown - try West End Tavern, Conor 'O Neils, or Walnut Brewery.

Perfect, thanks! I've never been to Boulder and this trip sounds like fun.

The Boulderado is a classy old hotel, with a little funk thrown in. There is a nice restaurant in it, too, but I forget the name. (A footnote: Bill Murray has been known to stay at the Boulderado.) Also a jazz club in the basement, I think.
I totally agree with the suggestion to walk up to CU and explore the campus. It's beautiful. Go across the street, to "the Hill" and get a Sinkburger at the Sink. Pretty funky for sure. If you have transportation, go to Chatauqua Park for a hike, and stay for dinner if you can. They have a beautiful wrap-around porch on the historical building overlooking the Flatirons and the city. Beautiful at dusk, and a good restaurant.
A short drive from there up Flagstaff will take you to a panoramic view of the Continental Divide. Great hiking, too. Can't get better scenery than that! (Skip the Flagstaff restaurant unless you're on an expense account-- it's way overpriced IMHO.)
A little Chatauqua history-- rumor has it that Mo Siegel, the founder of Celestial Seasonings, got the idea for his tea business while hiking there.
South of there a little bit is NCAR, where part of Woody Allen's "Sleeper" was filmed. You can see it sitting in the foothills from Broadway and Table Mesa Drive.
Also, drive up Boulder Canyon to the Red Lion Inn, an historic inn, for a beer or dinner.
In downtown Boulder is the teahouse, given in its entirety to Boulder by its sister city across the globe. Good place for lunch, by the creek.
You could even drive to Estes for the day, if you want to. But there's plenty to do in Boulder itself, so you might not feel the need to go much further.
You'll love it. I hope the weather cooperates.

If you like tea, the free tour of the Celestial Seasonings factory is well worth the time. The room where they store their mint will set your eyes to watering and you'll smell like mint for the rest of the day! They also have free samples of the dozens of different teas they make and an extensive gift shop.

It sounds like I will have plenty to keep myself occupied. It all sounds interesting, and yes, I love tea! What is Boulder's sister city?
I assume all these areas you mentioned are safe if I end up going on foot. What's the public transporation like?

Maureen mentioned weather. What might I expect during the first couple of weeks in February?

Boulder's sister city is Dushanbe. The tea house is located on 13th street between Canyon and Arapahoe. Only a couple of blocks from the Boulderado. The exterior of the teahouse is impressive but the interior is a bit of a disappointment. Boulder is a very safe town but I would take normal caution after dark. You can reach most of Boulder by foot - certainly all of downtown and the CU campus. Chatauqua is a bit farther. There is a mediocre public transportation system in town but it may be fairly effective from downtown. The main bus station is only about three blocks from your hotel. As far as weather the temperature could be 10 degrees and two feet of snow or 70 degrees. There is no way to predict.

The teahouse looks pretty interesting. I will definitely make it over there. Have you ever had one of their desserts?

Wow, lots of great information here -- I usually hate the month of February but now I am actually looking foward to it!

I've only been to the teahouse once, for lunch in the summertime. Had a very nice meal, sitting on the patio by the creek. Didn't see the dessert menu, but I'll bet it's on-line.

Quick trip report: Thanks so much for all of your tips. Had a great time in Boulder. It's certainly a great city for walking! We also had a car and packed a lot in our short trip. Loved the Celestial Seasonings Tour and tea sampling, especially the mint room. NCAR was interesting... we took the audio tour. Thanks for suggesting the drive up Flagstaff... the snow was beautiful. Also the tea room -- wonderful.
Restaurants: Red Lion-- German food special was surprisingly good, and GREAT banana bread pudding.
Burnt Toast-- found this on our walking day, when we were looking for breakfast. It's across from The Sink. Delicous breakfast omelet and homemade bread - very funky.

"The Med" -- wow-- salmon was fantastic.

Some people from the conference took a bus from the Boulderado (for $3.75) to El Dora and went snow shoeing. That sounded like fun.

Loved the Boulderado -- very strange to be upstairs in the Victorian atmosphere with its period music and go downstairs into the Catacombs bar for some serious partying and rock and roll.

Thanks again -- I hope to go back some time!