Cafe Aion, Boulder, CO

       Looking for a place to eat before heading to the Shakespeare Festival?  There are plenty of eateries on The Hill which is within walking distance of the Mary Rippon Theater; however, hanging out with the college kids at The Sink seems less than desirable.  If you prefer a more grown up but still fun atmosphere, look no further than across the street where Cafe Aion serves up Spanish tapas and paella.
     Even on a 90 degree day, the sidewalk seating provided a shady reprieve.  Ice water is served readily.  
You can't really have tapas without Sangria, and both the red and white varieties are served here.  I chose the white Sangria.  It was refreshing and herbaceous.  On this night, they were also featuring 4 beers from yet another new craft brewery.  
     Thursday nights are also music nights.  A couple started their set promptly at 6:30 in the indoor dining room.  Lively blue grass music drifted out the open window so outdoor patrons can enjoy the music, too.
     Our friendly server promptly took our order.  We opted for four plates to share.  The Night Menu is divided into three sections:  Tapas (with the most items), Plates, and Paellas.  From the Tapas section, we selected the oyster mushrooms, manilla clams and fried cauliflower.  The oyster mushrooms were from a favorite local purveyor, Hazel Dell.  Meaty mushrooms are sautéed in sherry, thyme, and garlic and then heaped onto two crusty grilled bread slices.  The bread was baked to golden perfection and marked by the grill.  Each satisfying bite of the crisp crust contrasted nicely with the hearty mushroom. 
     The Manila clams arrived simultaneously with the mushrooms.  This was a lovely plate of Mediterranean style seafood.  Perfectly cooked, tender clams, still in their shells swam in a pretty saffron broth.  Chunks of house smoked Spanish chorizo sausage provided aromatic smokiness.  Preserved lemon offered some tang to the rich dish.  But the star of the dish was the freshly shucked spring peas.  You can taste the grassy goodness in these toothsome peas the size of Tahitian pearls.  Don't hesitate to request more grilled bread to soak up the delightful broth.
     Next came the beef short ribs from the Plates section.  A savory hunk of boneless, fork tender, slow braised beef sat atop an even more generous serving of chunky mashed potatoes.  Pickled carrots and onions offered a surprisingly good mouth puckering tang.  The rich and creamy potatoes were delicious and did not take away from the meat.  It was a scrumptious dish and a great value for $16, but somewhat heavy for a mid summer night's meal.
     The only short coming of the meal was the server omitted to enter the cauliflower.  Maybe she predicted we would be sufficiently stuffed.  More food would have induced somnolence, and we needed all the alertness we can muster to sit through 3 hours of old English.
     I am intrigued by the paella dishes and vow to return on paella night when $49 gets you a paella dish to share along with a bottle of wine.  From what I have sampled thus far, expectations should be fulfilled.

Oyster Mushrooms

Manila Clams

Braised Short Ribs