So it was a pleasant surprise to open the October issue -- a celebration of The American Restaurant -- and see some good stuff, namely shout-outs to two Colorado spots in an article recognizing "Restaurants Worth the Money."
But while editors noshed their way through restaurants in New Orleans, San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Chicago with $1,000 in their pockets, Denver didn't get that kind of royal treatment. Which may explain, in part, why one of the joints that Gourmet named best in the West is El Taco de Mexico, 714 Santa Fe Drive, which is obviously worth the money since it's effing delicious and it costs virtually nothing to eat there. Gourmet didn't exactly say that, but here's what they did write about our beloved taqueria:
This tiny no-frills Mexican joint is beloved for its green chile, a.k.a. Colorado's de facto state food. Order tacos al pastor or burritos de chile relleno at the counter, say yes when asked if you want it smothered, and get some horchata to cool the chile's blaze.
On the compete opposite end of the dining spectrum, the magazine sings the praises of Boulder's Frasca Food & Wine:National acclaim hasn't pushed Frasca's prix-fixe prices upward; at about $70 a head, you'll be hard-pressed to find a more exquisite Friulian meal in America. Chef Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson canvases the state for pristine ingredients to use in dishes like handmade pasta alla chitarra with poached egg and bitter mustard greens, while wine director Bobby Stuckey oversees the lively dining room.
Overall, it's a good showing -- given that El Taco de Mexico and Frasca made the same list as the French Laundry, which is where both Mackinnon-Patterson and Stuckey stomped before opening Frasca in 2004.
Still, we can think of at least fifty other Colorado restaurants that are worth their weight in spare coinage and c-notes. No doubt you can, too.
