Best Bites: Post Brewing Company’s Beet, Goat Cheese, and Kale Salad

You don’t walk into a fried chicken-and-beer emporium and expect to walk out saying, “That was the best kale salad I’ve ever had.” But that’s exactly what happened to me after a visit to the Post Brewing Company’s new Boulder location, which opened on November 2 in the former home of the (relocating) Shine Restaurant & Gathering Place.

Just steps off the Pearl Street Mall, the lodge-inspired Post Boulder is the brewery/restaurant’s fourth outpost. And like the others (in Lafayette, Longmont, and Rosedale), it serves crispy and juicy (gluten-free!) fried chicken, rich sides, and a solid selection of GABF-winning beer. But the Boulder menu, overseen by chef Jimmy Giesler, features a few unique dishes, including cast-iron, chile-glazed lamb meatloaf—it’s the size of a prime rib—chicken pot pie, and, yes, that kale salad.

In the latter, strips of kale are tossed with red quinoa, small florets of pickled cauliflower, roasted red peppers, toasted cashews, and, hidden underneath, a few Lego blocks of roasted beets; it’s all mixed to-order with a tangy, house-made red wine vinaigrette and topped with creamy bits of goat cheese. It’s earthy, crunchy (pro tip: order the garlic oil-coated crispy black-eyed peas and throw a handful on top), and just a little sweet. And it gets your serving of greens in before you inhale that order of fried chicken—which you most certainly should.

One more note about the beer: Post Boulder has all of the flagship brews—we’re partial to Ski Tan red lager—but brewer Nick Tedeschi plans to dedicate five draught lines to one-off beers unavailable at any other Post location.

The Post Brewing Company Boulder is open for dinner daily at 4 p.m. Brunch service begins Friday, November 17, and will run Friday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; look for a brunch happy hour from 9 to 11 a.m. The restaurant does not take reservations. 

2027 13th St., Boulder, 720-372-3341