by: Janet Day

The north-central part of Colorado known as the Front Range includes restaurant-rich Denver area suburbs, organic produce farms, huge cattle operations and a tiny restaurant famous for its Rocky Mountain Oysters – sliced, fried bull’s testicles. Originally exclusively farming and ranching, the Front Range has developed into a mix of subdivisions, shopping malls and restored downtowns surrounded by farms.

Dining in the college town of Boulder – both high-end and fast food – comes with an emphasis on organic and sustainable practices. Several food producers set up shop in the Boulder area and offer tours plus tastings: Celestial Seasonings teas, Haystack Mountain goat cheeses, White Wave tofu and other soy products, micro breweries and wineries making Mead (honey wine).

To the north, Fort Collins is home to some of the best small-batch beer in the state and was the epicenter of the micro-brew and brewpub industry’s beginnings in the 1980s and 90s.

Communities to the east hold tight to their farming roots and produce markets abound. Every Friday in August, local farmers sell their in-season vegetables on Johnstown’s Parish Street.

Greeley is home to all things beef as well as the country’s sugar beet industry. While sugar beets don’t show up on anyone’s menu, the beef is everywhere. For a different slice of beef, order the Rocky Mountain Oysters at Bruce’s Bar in tiny Severance, where the bar’s motto is “Where the geese fly and the bull’s cry.”