24 Carrot Gold: Farm-To-Table Cuisine That Will Blow Your Mind

Entrance, Photo Credit - Oliver Retzloff, 24 Carrot Bistro

​I’m not sure if it was the exposed brick walls, the glimmering chandelier, or the mocktails made of lemon curd and fresh rosemary, but this little gem off Erie’s historic Main Street had me at hello. I first visited 24 Carrot Bistro back in December 2016 while on a business trip with my husband. With a few hours to kill before our flight, we zeroed in on a warm spot to shake off the winter chill and landed at 24 Carrot - a must-eat, farm-to-table bistro that has now become our favorite place for craft cocktails and “food that gets you thinking.”

25 ft Antique Bar, Photo Credit - Oliver Retzloff, 24 Carrot Bistro

​Since moving back to Boulder we make it over to 24 Carrot often - for date night, for lunch, for the occasional cocktail and dessert, we can't get enough - and now we can't wait to show off our new local haunt to family and friends when they visit. Affordable, attainable and sustainable, 24 Carrot Bistro was recently voted "Best Restaurant" in Yellow Scene Magazine’s 2017 Best of the West: Readers' Choice Eats, the people’s choice for dining in Boulder County, and named “Best New Restaurant” in Boulder Weekly back in 2016. 

Pan Roasted Sole, Photo Credit - Oliver Retzloff, 24 Carrot Bistro

Anyone who dines here will quickly see why 24 Carrot is becoming a Northern Colorado favorite, and it starts with ​Executive Chef and Proprietor Kevin Kidd. The culinary genius throws down in the kitchen like an a seasoned artist brushing paint to canvas. With a fresh spin on classic dishes, Kidd composes New American Cuisine using only the highest quality, seasonal and local ingredients, challenging customers' palettes by elevating the ordinary with modern and surprising twists that keep you guessing.

The menu changes often, featuring exquisite plates such as Coriander Ahi Tuna, Roasted Duck Breast, Pork Tenderloin and Pan Roasted Sole, served alongside satisfying staples, like the Bistro Burger – one of the freshest, tastiest, juiciest burgers you will ever sink your teeth into – and the Brick Chicken, a mouthwatering organic beauty, paired with quinoa-chickpea cake, chard, arugula, and mustard cream. 

Frothy Sour, Photo Credit - Oliver Retzloff, 24 Carrot Bistro

​If that's not enough to tempt your taste buds, the hand-crafted cocktails at 24 Carrot are sublime, made with house-infused syrups and spirits like thyme-extracted vodka, to bacon fat-washed bourbon poured over a delightfully carved sphere of ice. Try the classic Bloody Mary, if you’re into that sort of thing, which is as savory and tart as it is beautiful, rimmed with a smattering of spices and salt, topped with banana peppers and fresh veg. Or better yet, sample the Frothy Sour pictured above - the photo speaks for itself.

Bar team leader, DJ Riemer, is the man behind 24 Carrot's award-worthy libations. In fact, all his cocktails are made from scratch, using liqueurs, shrubs, foams, bitters, tinctures, infusions and syrups made in-house. You really can’t go wrong here, and for those of you taking a break from the bottle, $4 house-made sodas will do the trick. A number of enticing combinations like Blood Orange & Basil, Lemon Shrub & Cardamom, and old-school goodies like Scratch Lemonade or Cherry Limeade are all on the menu.

24 Carrot Cake, Photo Credit - Oliver Retzloff, 24 Carrot Bistro

​The ambiance is in a word, enchanting. Refined yet quaint. Warm and inviting. Fresh yet familiar. 24 Carrot is all the things you want as a diner, and not easy to find, nor replicate. It's a place that harkens back to a time when you could sit down and visit, enjoy a quality meal at a quality price, get exceptional service, and walk away with an experience that's worth every penny. 24 Carrot has this in spades. 

​24 Carrot Bistro is located in the heart of historic old town Erie, Colorado
578 Briggs Street Erie, Colorado 80516 | p: 303-828-1392
For more information or to make reservations visit www.24carrotbistro.com

​Cheers and happy dining! 

AP

Amy Puchaty is a professional writer whose marketing campaigns and copywriting work appear in numerous publications including the Wall Street Journal, Architectural Digest, Denver Post and Dallas Business Journal. Learn more about Amy at www.amypuchaty.com/about