North-American Food and Cooking

Agave Taco Bar will take the place of The Local in Washington Park

For years -- YEARS! -- I've prayed to the Mexican food gods that someone in my Wash Park 'hood would open a taqueria, or at least a taco joint, saving me from hiking to Federal Boulevard when I want my al pastor fix. And, now, it looks like I'm finally going to get my wish. See also: - Best Taqu ... More >>

Photos: Pinche Taqueria Highland rolls out new salsas and tacos

What do Madhava honey, a vegan history lesson and "liquid fire" have in common? They can all be found on Pinche Taqueria's updated menu. On a slightly overcast Monday afternoon, Kevin Morrison, chef-owner of Pinche Taqueria, gathered his staff around the communal table at the new Highland locati ... More >>

How do I maximize my burrito-eating skills?

Exclusive first look: Ay Caramba! opens in Cherry Creek

Alex Gurevich, who owns Limón, a Latin American lounge in Uptown, as well as My other Bar on Seventh Avenue, wasn't in the market for a third restaurant, but after his ex-wife vacated Bisque last June, the Cherry Creek North space became available. And since Gurevich held the note to that space, h ... More >>

Reader: People born and raised in Denver deserve competence at restaurants, too

The discussion over Gretchen Kurtz's review of Restaurant Fourteen Seventy-Two has demonstrated how passionately people care about Platt Park (however it's spelled), why you shouldn't eat Mexican food in Charleston, what constitutes low-country cuisine and other lessons of geography, including itsbo ... More >>

Round two with Ignacio Leon, exec chef of Paxia and Los Carboncitos

Ignacio Leon Los Carboncitos 3757 Pecos Street 303-458-0880 www.loscarboncitos.com Paxia 4001 Tejon Street 720-583-6860 www.paxiadenver.com Part one of my interview with Ignacio Leon, exec chef of Paxia and Los Carboncitos, ran yesterday; this is part two of our conversation. Favorite food city ... More >>

Ignacio Leon, exec chef of Paxia and Los Carboncitos, on the wild rabbit, helping the homeless and Mexican food

Ignacio Leon Los Carboncitos 3757 Pecos Street 303-458-0880 www.loscarboncitos.com Paxia 4001 Tejon Street 720-583-6860 www.paxiadenver.com This is part one of my interview with Ignacio Leon, exec chef of Paxia and Los Carboncitos; part two of our conversation will run tomorrow. Ignacio Leon has ... More >>

Kevin Morrison, exec chef-owner of Pinche Taqueria, on learning enough to move on

Kevin Morrison Pinche Taqueria 1514 York Street 720-475-1337 pinchetacos.com This is part one of my interview with Kevin Morrison, exec chef-owner of Pinche Taqueria; part two of our conversation will run tomorrow. "Just shut the fuck up and give me the taco." That was the order Kevin Morrison re ... More >>

El Rico Dicho Menuderia Y Taqueria opens in the former Tao Tao Noodle Bar space

When Tao Tao Noodle Bar, a stellar Chinese joint in Aurora famed for its xiao long bao, mysteriously shuttered in March of this year, the space, which has seen its share of restaurants, sat vacant for quite a while, but late last month, it reopened as El Rico Dicho Menuderia Y Taqueria, a quirky Mex ... More >>

El Senor Sol mixes up Mexican meals for vegetarians and vegans

With five metro locations, El Senor Sol is a homegrown chain -- but the outpost on West Colfax Avenue in Golden doesn't feel like a chain spot. Just up the road from the ubiquitous national chains at Denver West, El Senor Sol feels like the family-run establishment it is, with warm colors, lots of a ... More >>

Roux the day: The light and dark sides of gumbo

A rose is a rose is a rose, right? Not so for gumbo, which happens to be Colin Mallet's favorite dish from his home state of Louisiana. While there are probably as many versions of this soup/stew as there are families who make it, Mallet, executive chef of Sassafras American Eatery, can makes a di ... More >>

Wild Eggs celebrates one year in Denver with a bow to the King, revamped menu

Elvis Presley Week begins today and runs through Saturday, August 18. And Wild Eggs -- the Kentucky-based breakfast and lunch chain that expanded into Denver last August, putting a store at 300 East Alameda Avenue -- is honoring his memory and its birthday with a week-long special on "The King Woul ... More >>

Kevin Morrison opening a second Pinche Taqueria in Highland

"Done deal!" Those were the ecstatic words that Kevin Morrison, the brains behind the Pinche Taco truck and Pinche Taqueria, the stellar urban taco joint that he opened in 2011 on Halloween eve, spilled this morning when he revealed that he's opening a second Pinche Taqueria at 3300 West 32nd Avenu ... More >>

America's love-hate relationship with Mexicans and Mexican food

Torta Grill opens on East Colfax...to a cluster of habitual addicts

You're back!" booms Steve Clifton, diverting his eyes away from the flattop just long enough to greet a customer who's on his third day straight of tortas. "It's been like that ever since we opened," says Clifton, who, along with his wife, Ardeni, took over the former Pineapple Grill at 1818 East Co ... More >>

Tarasco's transports you to Michoacan and beyond

Slide show: In the kitchen at Tarasco's

Reader: Which came first? The taco or the truck? Comida or Pinche or T|ACO?

The talk continues about T|ACO, the updated taqueria with the awkward name that opened yesterday in Boulder. It's not the first hip taqueria in the area, of course. Pinche Taqueria gave the Pinche Tacos concept a permanent home last year. And in February Comida Cantina opened a brick-and-mortar ver ... More >>

Photos: A first look at T|ACO, opening Wednesday in Boulder

When you eat at T|ACO, which opens in Boulder on Wednesday, you'll be sharing space with John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Robert Redford, Annie Oakley, Raquel Welch and Robert Duvall -- at least their likenesses.

Ten Mexican fast-food guilty pleasures

Mexican fare from fast-food chains usually isn't authentic, healthy or even pretty, but it's irresistible. And we all indulge from time to time -- hitting the window at Taco Bell at 2 a.m. after a night of mainlining vodka gimlets; finding any excuse to grab a sunflower-seed-stuffed veggie burrito a ... More >>

3 Monkeys Cantina opens in the former Bistro One space

I was rather hoping to see a few monkeys when I stopped by 3 Monkeys Cantina, the new Mexican restaurant that owner Alex Waters opened yesterday in the former Bistro One space, which he closed four weeks ago after a four-year run at 1294 South Broadway. No monkeys, no trees. But the new quarters, ... More >>

Reader: Chubby's is pure Colorado Chicano cuisine

Joe's Buffet Mexican hamburger lives on at Taqueria Mexico

It wasn't until Gustavo Arellano, our Ask a Mexican columnist, started researching the spread of Mexican food in this country -- or what passes as Mexican food in this country -- for his new book, Taco USA, that we realized Denver was not only home to a unique green chile, but was also the place wh ... More >>

Comida launches lunch and (hip-hop) brunch

When Rayme Rossello first announced her plans to build Comida Cantina, a stationary extension of her mobile concept, in Longmont, she had big plans for brunch: "In my dreams, I'd love to do a 9 to 5 service that's old-style Mexican: long, leisurely, pork dinners and whole roasted chickens served fam ... More >>

Reader: Tom Tancredo doesn't like Mexicans but loves their food? Hilarious!

Los Carboncitos is still a favorite

I wasn't thrilled with Paxia, the upscale Mexican joint brothers Cesar, Roberto and Ignacio Leon opened in the Sunnyside neighborhood last year, especially because their original restaurant, the vibrant Los Carboncitos, is located just six blocks away. And after I'd eaten my review meals at Paxia, I ... More >>

Bistro One will close on Thursday and reopen as 3 Monkeys Cantina

Alex Waters, the owner/chef of Bistro One, is taking a sabbatical, albeit a short one. "My kids and I are heading to the mountains today for a little break, and then it's back to work," says Waters, who will close Bistro One, his four-year-old restaurant, on Thursday and reopen it as 3 Monkeys Canti ... More >>

Tacos and tequila flavor Pinche Taqueria, the subject of this week's review

After Kevin Morrison left Spicy Pickle, he pursued a very different kind of venture -- he picked up a truck, gave it a naughty name and began hawking his own version of street tacos all over the city.

Denver's ten best nachos

Whether our team makes it or not, Super Bowl weekend is always a wonderful time of year. Mostly because it's an excuse to daytime drink on a Sunday while we munch down truly impressive quantities of bar snacks, which vastly enhances our viewing pleasure. The festivities wouldn't be complete, either, ... More >>

The 1812 tests the potential of crowd-funding for backing a restaurant

There's not much Cajun food in the Mile High City, a lack that Johanna Cooke started lamenting after her husband, a native of Louisiana native, first made gumbo for her back when they were dating. Since then, Cooke, who has worked in the food industry since she was fifteen -- most recently at the no ... More >>

Zydeco's gears up for grand opening this Friday

​One month ago, Zydeco's opened quietly in the old Trios Enoteca spot in LoDo, bringing Cajun specialties to the neighborhood. Turns out, though, that was just a limited version of the restaurant. "It was more of a soft opening," says Justin Archuletta, who does marketing for the new place. "T ... More >>

100 Favorite Dishes: Mixiote de borrego from El Trompito Taqueria

Lori Midson​ No. 56: Mixiote de borrego from El Trompito Taqueria

Guess where I'm eating?

Lori Midson​It's worth taking the pilgrimage to this off-the-radar taqueria to stuff your belly with street tacos, as well as the shrimp diablo, a fiery dish that's jolted with chipotle chiles. Can you guess where I'm eating? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct answer to the w ... More >>

Applebee's picks its official Colorado Burger

​AmRest, which owns and operates over a hundred Applebee's in eight states, had challenged its Colorado stores to create the perfect "Colorado Burger" -- ideally, one that incorporated "Stinkin" Good Green Chile, created by Bronco Mark Schlereth, spokesman for this campaign. He met up with fou ... More >>

Applebee's is looking for the ultimate Colorado burger -- with Stinkin' Green

The Applebee's Cowboy Burger​When the homegrown Smashburger decided to create a burger for Colorado, as it already had for Idaho (topped with potato chips) and Minnesota (topped with cheddar bar cheese and garlic-grilled onions), it came up with an iconic combo for the Colorado Smashburger, ad ... More >>

Second Helping: Red Claw Seafood and Wings

Lori Midson​Craving a crawfish boil? While Denver's not exactly crawling with spots to get your fix, there are a few options, including Red Claw Seafood and Wings. In this dark, dilapidated joint, you can order crawfish by the pound, flavored with your choice from a boatload of seasonings, an ... More >>

Taco Mex makes tacos al pastor the traditional way

Denver's five best street tacos

Lori MidsonTacos de trompa at Guadalajara Authentic Mexican Buffet.​We love a good taco here at Cafe Society, and we're willing to hit the pavement all over town to find a good one. While the streets of Denver are filled with street tacos, only a handful rise to the top. Here are Denver's fiv ... More >>

Machete will bring tacos and tequila to Cherry Creek

Lori MidsonElway's Cherry Creek alum Jose Avila will be the exec chef of Machete​Dan Ohlson, the former owner of Chez Jose, the burrito joint in Cherry Creek that shuttered last December after a seventeen-year run, swore up and down that he'd never open another restaurant in Cherry Creek. Neve ... More >>

Tex-Mexican Standoff

LoDo may not be big enough for both of them.

Seafood, Eat It

Los Reyes brings an underappreciated taste of real Mexican cooking to Denver.

Dive! Dive!

Cheap entertainment is Casa Bonita's one small pleasure.

We'll Take Desert

To Grandmother's House We Go

Mouthing Off

Mouthing Off

The Joy of Mex?

MEX AND MATCH

MOUTH OF THE BORDER

BLAND ON THE RUN

SMOTHER LOVE