Audio By Carbonatix
As a countdown to the Best of Denver 2010, coming April 1, Cafe Society is serving up a hundred of our favorite dishes in Denver. Send your own nominations to cafe@westword.com.
Number 57: Molcajete a la Mexicana from El Paraiso
Despite a voluminous menu of more than 400 dishes, maybe 500, El Paraiso’s regulars, of which there are hundreds, never seem to crack the laminated book open. They’ll spend five minutes agonizing over whether they should order a margarita, agua fresca or cerveza, but to them, the menu doesn’t harbor the mysteries that it holds for newcomers, the people who sit there for hours on end leafing through the pages, mouthing the ingredients, most of them written in Spanish, sniffing the oval pictures, delusional that they’re the scratch-and-snort variety.
The balm of griddled fresh corn tortillas — flour, too — garlic, blazed meats, onions and chiles that waft across the cavernous dining room is often too much to bear, but it’s the scent of the sizzling molcajetes — lava-hot mortars overflowing with splatter and stain — that the regulars are after; if you scour the tables, you’ll see a molcajete on nearly every one. They’re all fantastic, but there’s a clear champion among the contenders, and that’s the molcajete a la Mexican, a deep heap of housemade chorizo, smoky carne asada, grilled cactus petals, sheets of tender chicken, spring onions, their grilled bulbs the size of ping pong balls and ropes of Oaxacan cheese melting into the stewy mix of chiles and tomatoes. Try it.
Hungry for more? The dishes in our countdown thus far are linked below:
No. 100 Chicken-fried steak from Lola
No. 99 Alaskan reindeer sausage from Biker Jim’s Gourmet Dogs
No. 98 Mac-and-cheese fries from Jonesy’s EatBar
No. 97 Soft egg ravioli from Prima
No. 96 Pho – any pho — from Pho 95
No. 95 Assiette de charcuterie maison from Z Cuisine À Côté
No. 94: Cheeseburger from Larkburger
No. 93: BBQ Masher from Cabin Creek Smokehouse
No. 92: Apple pancake from the Original Pancake House
No. 91: Burrata from Osteria Marco
No. 90: Eggs Benedict from Devil’s Food Bakery
No. 89: Chile Relleno from La Fiesta
No. 88: Deviled eggs from Steuben’s
No. 87: Corn-in-a-cup from Jack-n- Grill
No. 86: Enchiladas from Taco House
No. 85: Pupusas from Pupusas Sabor Hispano
No. 84: Baklava from Ali Baba Grill
No. 83: Masa-fried oyster shooters from Deluxe
No. 82: Tacos al pastor from Los Carboncitos
No. 81: Salsa bar from Tacos Y Salsas
No. 80: Dim Sum from Star Kitchen
No. 79: Green chile cheeseburger from Cherry Cricket
No. 78: Fries from Encore
No. 77: Shanghai-style dumplings from Chopsticks China Bistro
No. 76: Chile relleno burrito from El Taco de Mexico
No. 75: Fish fry from GB Fish and Chips
No. 74: Posole from Tarasco’s
No. 73: Sausage, ham and egg biscuit from Table 6
No. 72: Bacon flight from the Berkshire
No. 71: Tasty Treats from Gaetano’s
No. 70: French dip from Udi’s
No. 69: Panang curry from US Thai Cafe
No. 68: Pineapple upside-down pancake from Snooze
No. 67: Saag paneer from India’s
No. 66: Udon noodle bowl from Bones
No. 65: Grilled corn soup from Lola
No. 64: Sesame pockets from Lee’s Garden
No. 63: Whiskey-braised beef from Steuben’s
No. 62: House special from Viet’s
No. 61: Sultan Combo from Phoenician Kabob
No. 60: Cake and a shake from D Bar Desserts
No. 59: Caprese salad from Gaia Bistro
No. 58: Fried chicken from Tom’s Home Cookin’
