Under the Microscope: Recess Dining and Wild Standard

One of LoHi's newest additions, Recess got reviewed by the Denver Post this week. Critic Bill Porter was pleasantly surprised with the restaurant's ability to re-energize pub food, the likes of which seem to fall by the wayside of beer in a very microbrew-centric city. He noted that the beer menu features a rotating mixture of both craft brews and big named beers, though the focus is mostly on the former. The food menu, however, was even more pleasing. Pulled pork sliders were dressed up with a raspberry aoili, and an updated mac and cheese allowed for cheese flavor customization, from cheddar to pepperjack. Though in some places the food fell short (too much bread on the bourbon-braised apple sandwich, a "carrot" salad with too few carrots), Porter gave recess an overall thumbs up on taste, creativity, and value.

Chef Bradford Heap's newest venture, Wild Standard was the focus of The Daily Camera's review. The Boulder restaurant features a menu with a selection of smaller places, such as tempura fried cauliflower and an octopus salad, as well as a rotating seafood menu. Both menus provided critic Clay Fong "instant gratification." Fong also praised Wild Standard's oyster selection. One road-bump that the restaurant seemed to hit was that there appeared to be a lack of oysters on two different occasions during Fong's visit,  perhaps a result of the popularity of the shellfish. Overall, the restaurant was awarded three stars.