Three Stars for Café Aion; 'Brunch-Wait Hell' at Jelly

Liz Moskow of the Daily Camera reviewed Boulder's Café Aion this week, gifting the Moroccan restaurant three stars. Moskow said the place transported her back to a fond memory of dining at a local Moroccan restaurant on a trip through Spain and Morocco. "Our forks dueled over the last remnants of honey yogurt. I felt so at home, I was tempted to lick the plate, but thankfully managed to restrain myself," she wrote, mentioning that all small plates were very enjoyable. "Cafe Aion fosters an environment that parallels their mission: providing straightforward, honest presentations of Spanish and North African inspired fare. It stands out among other small plate restaurants by adding its own unique nuance to local Front Range cuisine." The only negatives? An overly salty duck confit leg and some underwhelming charcuterie. [Daily Camera]

Laura Shunk of Westword survived "brunch-wait hell" at Jelly Cafe in Cap Hill for her review. Her description of the place, noted while waiting for a table among crabby hipsters, doesn't get much better than this:

"I was already pressed up against the edge of the bar, trapped there by a horde of disheveled twenty-somethings wearing skinny jeans and birth-control glasses, nursing Bloody Marys and red beers and smelling faintly of day-old booze. As the snarling man continued to stare, the obscure band playing what sounded like snare drums and kazoos over the speakers seemed to get louder, and the pink-and-orange color scheme began to close in on me. I was in brunch-wait hell."

Despite what seemed like a painful wait, Shunk concluded that the food was good, but it needed some more punch. She adds that Jelly isn't the same crazy circus during the week. [Westword]

William Porter of The Denver Post made his way to Krameria Cafe for breakfast on several occasions for his review, noting that the place never really opens at the same time. With a flexible attitude about breakfast, Porter wrote nice things about the food. He loved the luchadores plate. "Washed down with a robust cup of Pablo's coffee, where even the decaf grabs your collar, it's a smashing way to start the day." [The Denver Post]

Café Aion [Photo: Jake The Craftsman]