Big and Smoky: Our Restaurant Roll Call for November 2015

With more than twenty restaurants and bars opening in the metro area in November, a couple of trends stood out. Barbecue continues to heat up the dining scene, with four smokehouses opening from Aurora to Westminster. If the sheer number of new 'cue joints opening this year means more competition and better food, Denver's barbecue arena may finally be coming into its own. 

Big restaurants are also on the radar, with Del Frisco's Grill, Rhein Haus and the second outpost of Los Chingones all opening with spacious dining rooms and plenty of additional outdoor seating. In the years following the Great Recession, food trucks and tiny eateries were popular with chefs and restaurateurs, but with the restaurant market booming — like the rest of Denver in general — and money flowing more freely, restaurant owners are taking chances with multimillion-dollar builds. 

Over in Aurora, the inconspicuous but tasty Catfish King served up its last basket of fried fish. While east-side eateries come and go almost faster than we can keep track of them, this little soul-food gem was one of our favorites. The space was quickly snatched up by a new Korean/Chinese joint called Hororok Mandarin Noodle House. 

Here's our complete list of openings and closings for the past month. Let us know in the comments section below if you've seen any that we missed.

RESTAURANTS/BARS/MARKETS OPENING IN NOVEMBER*
Allegro Coffee Roasters, 4040 Tennyson Street
Bacon Social House, 2434 West 44th Avenue
Blaze House BBQ & Soul Food, 2210 South Chambers Road, Aurora
Carve Barbecue, 1000 South Colorado Boulevard
Cerebral Brewing, 1477 Monroe Street
Cured West, 2019 Tenth Street, Boulder
Del Frisco's Grille, 100 Saint Paul Street
Desmond Bar & Grill, 2230 Oneida Street
Dion's Pizza, 25750 East Arapahoe Road, Aurora
El Metapan, 11707 East Colfax Avenue, Aurora
Fit Kitchen, 1998 Downing Street
Globe Hall, 4483 Logan Street
Grill & Vine at the Westin DIA, 8300 Peña Boulevard
GQue Championship BBQ, 5160 120th Avenue, Westminster
Hororok Mandarin Noodle House, 12203 East Iliff Avenue, Aurora
Los Chingones DTC, 4945 South Newport Street, Greenwood Village
Max Market, 2020 Lawrence Street
My Ramen & Izakaya, 3280 28th Street, Boulder
Nagoya Hibachi Express, 10761 East Alameda Avenue, Aurora
Pollo Lima, 9614 East Arapahoe Road, Englewood
Rhein Haus, 1415 Market Street
Snowlab, 4360 East Evans Avenue
Viand, 1040 15th Street
White Fence Farm, 18630 Green Valley Ranch Boulevard

RESTAURANTS/BARS CHANGING NAMES IN NOVEMBER*
Modern Market Farm Fresh Eateries (from Modmarket), multiple locations

RESTAURANTS/BARS TEMPORARILY CLOSING IN NOVEMBER*
El Tepehuan, 3457 South Broadway, Englewood

RESTAURANTS/BARS CLOSING IN NOVEMBER*
Bin 1884 Cheese Bar, 1884 South Pearl Street
Catfish King, 12203 East Iliff Avenue, Aurora,
Ignite Ale House & Kitchen, 7995 Sheridan Boulevard
The Keg Steakhouse & Bar, 1890 Wynkoop Street
Lower48 Kitchen, 2020 Lawrence Street

*Or earlier, and not reported previously.