Weekly Bite of Boulder: Dushanbe Teahouse

Restaurant is a multi-sensory experience

Easter Sunday, what a lovely day for tea and crumpets at the Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse. If you’re not too into the crumpet idea, don’t worry. The teahouse has you covered in every area of culinary delight.

Located at 1770 13th St. in Boulder, the teahouse offers a unique experience with both wonderful food and an exquisite atmosphere. The building itself almost distracts from the decadent cuisine. The mayor of the city of Dushanbe in Tajikistan established the Teahouse to Boulder in 1987 to celebrate its sister-city ties. The teahouse is the only one of its kind in the Western hemisphere.

From 1987 to 1990, Tajik artists created hand-carved and hand-painted ceilings, tables, columns and the ceramic outside walls. After a long process of finding the perfect spot for the teahouse, it was placed next to the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art and Central Park right next to the Boulder Creek.

There was about a 30-minute wait when I arrived for brunch, which gave me plenty of time to read up on the history and take in the beautiful art work. It also gave me time to look at the impressive menu.

I was seated next to the Fountain of the Seven Beauties, which is in the center of the Teahouse. The life-sized copper sculptures are based on a 12th-century poem. I was ready to order the minute I sat down. My friend and I both ordered the famous house chai. It’s brewed in-house, which is very rare, and takes two days to make. We ordered our food and awaited the famous tea.

As we sipped our tea, which was very sweet, but had exactly the right amount of spice to it, we read more about the teahouse’s history. Tajik artists and Boulder construction workers had to assemble the 2,100-square-foot puzzle that made up the enormous teahouse. By May of 1998, it was finally complete. The aroma of the cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and cayenne pepper were soothing as we sat by the trickling fountain.

Our food was out in about 15 minutes. I ordered the Italian Panini ($9) which was on homemade onion focaccia bread. It was grilled, sliced and stuffed with grilled eggplant, mizuna (a leaf vegetable), chopped green olives, roasted red peppers and fresh mozzarella and completed by a drizzling of balsamic vinegar.

The panini was served with a bed of lettuce topped with a pickled pepper salad, which included green, yellow and red peppers sliced with onions, parsley and tomato. It had a vinegary, sweet taste, which made it a little too overbearing for me to eat the entire salad. The panini was too large for me to finish in one sitting, which is perfect because I love leftovers.

My dining partner chose a dish with a different ethnic palate. He tried the Indonesian Peanut Noodles. The dish included rice noodles and tofu with steamed broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and peppers. All of this was tossed in a spicy peanut sauce and topped with lime, cilantro and crushed peanuts. I’ve had this dish in many other restaurants, but it was much more flavorful and fresh-tasting than any of my previous experiences. My friend had a large appetite and easily finished his meal.

While I watched my friend devour the delicious dish, I looked at other items on the menu. I was impressed by how diverse it was. The Persian Vegetarian Kooftah Balls ($9.95) caught my eye. They’re described as herbs, onions, spices and breadcrumbs rolled and cooked in a sweet spicy tomato sauce and served with spinach. Another dish that piqued my interest was the Butternut Ravioli ($12.50), a roasted butternut squash with garlic, nutmeg, cinnamon and ricotta, with a sage cream sauce, saut