Zoe Ma Ma

"In 2010, CU grad Edwin Zoe opened this little counter joint to give his mother, Anna Zoe, then a recent transplant to Colorado, a place to cook for her new community. Now it’s one of Boulder’s most-loved success stories (there’s also a branch in Denver). Based on Anna’s recipes from Taiwan, the comfort-fueled menu centers on items like dan dan mian, roast duck bao, and other street foods, noodles, and rice dishes; speaking of noodles, by the way, Zoe also puts his spin on Japanese and Vietnamese soups at Dragonfly Noodle around the corner." - Rebecca Treon, Josie Sexton, Ruth Tobias, Nisa Sedaghat

"This humble operation wears its charms on its sleeves: a mother-and-son collaboration between businessman Edwin Zoe and Chef Anna Zoe, who cooks up her take on traditional from-scratch recipes using high quality ingredients, resulting in soul-satisfying, homey dishes—the appeal is not hard to find. The pint-sized space is counter service only—you’ll seat yourself and bus your own table—but the exceedingly reasonable prices make this an easy value proposition. Staples like dan dan noodles and potstickers are top-notch, but look out for rotating daily specials like Sichuan braised beef soup noodles. A second location, in Denver's Union Station, is just as popular." - Michelin Inspector

"In 2010, CU grad Edwin Zoe opened this little counter joint to give his mother, Anna Zoe, then a recent transplant to Colorado, a place to cook for her new community. Now it’s one of Boulder’s most-loved success stories (there’s also a branch in Denver). Based on Anna’s recipes from Taiwan, the comfort-fueled menu centers on items like dan dan mian, roast duck bao, and other street foods, noodles, and stews. Edwin was nominated for a James Beard Award in 2022 in the outstanding restaurateur category, and he runs Dragonfly Noodle with locations in Denver and Boulder." - Rebecca Treon, Josie Sexton, Ruth Tobias, Nisa Sedaghat