Best Budget-Friendly Mexican Restaurant 2024 | Taqueria La Familia | Best of Denver® | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Denver | Westword
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Best Budget-Friendly Mexican Restaurant

Taqueria La Familia

Taqueria La Familia falls into the "If you know, you know" category — and north Denver knows. This twelve-year-old location is owned by a father (Freddy) from Zacatecas and his sister, daughter and son, and it's the family's celebration of the vibrant flavors of Mexico. You'll find a humble interior with just four tables, but if you're looking for cozy, authentic food with lots of vegetarian and gluten-free options, this is the perfect spot — especially on a sunny patio day or when you're grabbing food to go. You'll always be greeted warmly with complimentary chips and two kinds of salsa while you peruse the menu of smothered burritos ($8.99), fajitas ($14.99), taco plates (five for $11.99) and more, plus breakfast plates that start at $6.99.

2642 West 32nd Avenue
303-433-2332

Best Tacos Árabes

El Sampa Taqueria Bar

Family owned and operated, El Sampa Taqueria Bar has been serving authentic Mexican cuisine for twelve years. With an extensive menu of tacos, tortas, burritos and other Mexican staples, there's something here for everyone. But El Sampa also has something you don't typically find at other spots: the elusive tacos árabes. This specialty was created by Middle Eastern immigrants in Mexico and mirror the shawarma tradition, made with thinly sliced, spit-roasted pork seasoned with cumin and oregano and a spicy chipotle sauce on a thick flour tortilla that's reminiscent of pita. We can't get enough of them.

  • 2321 W. Evans Ave., Denver, 80223 Map

Best Machetes

Machetes Gourmet

Broc Smith

Jossy Flores grew up in Zacatecas, Mexico, where she loved eating machetes — a long, folded masa shell crisped up on a flat-top and filled with your choice of meat or vegetables and cheese. It was a dish that she didn't see any other food trucks doing, so she launched Machetes Gourmet. What truly makes these Mexico City-style machetes special is the housemade masa shell, which is perfectly thin and crispy — not the thicker, cake-like ones used by some restaurants in town. If you're having trouble choosing which filling to go with, don't worry: There's so much tortilla real estate to work with, you can get yours half-and-half.

machetesgourmet.com

Best Carnitas

Mi Tierra Caliente

Tony White

Since opening last May, Mi Tierra Caliente has amassed a loyal following that spreads far beyond its Arvada address. Many diners come specifically for the carnitas, delectable slow-cooked pork that's simmered in oil for hours. This delicacy hails from the Mexican state of Michoacán, the home of co-owners Ayax Silva and two longtime friends, sisters Sandra and Fernanda Calderon. For years, they sold their carnitas directly to friends out of Sandra's garage, but both demand and ambitions grew, leading them to open their first restaurant, where they continue to serve up the specialty — just with more space and a lot more clients. Whether you get the carnitas in a taco for lunch or by the kilo to go on Sundays, it doesn't get any better than this.

Best Take-Home Flour Tortillas

Panaderia San Antonio

If you're rolling out of bed for Mexican pastries or stocking up on telera bread for a feast of homemade tortas, Panaderia San Antonio is a solid bet in southwest Denver. Fruit-filled empanadas, pig-shaped marranito cookies and brightly colored conchas fill shelf after shelf for shoppers armed with plastic trays and metal tongs. But a stop at the crowded little shop isn't complete without a bag or two of fresh-made flour tortillas, tinted pale amarillo from lard and dotted with dark blisters from the hot comal. These are soft and chewy, but not puffy like supermarket tortillas, and they're perfect warmed and slathered in butter or rolled into a breakfast burrito awaiting its bath of green chile.

facebook.com/panaderiasanantonio

Best Place to Buy Small-Batch Mezcal

Destilados de Agave at Golden Liquors

Briana Austin

After working as a bartender for years, Nate Austin wanted a career change, so he and his wife, Briana, bought Golden Liquors, a small shop located across from Coors Brewery. When Proposition 125 passed, allowing the sale of wine in grocery stores, many shops like Golden Liquor were worried about its impact on sales. The Austins worried, too, so they decided to revamp the store as an agave spirits destination, inspired by their travels to Oaxaca and stocked with many hard-to-find labels. A visit to Destilados de Agave will yield not only a great bottle section, but also stories behind the spirits. And yes, you can still buy Coors here, too.

golden-liquors.com

Best Rotating Weekly Margarita

Fellow Traveler

Fellow Traveler

Every Tuesday, this Englewood bar with a vegan food menu bangs out consistently clever concoctions in the form of different tequila- or mezcal-based margaritas that are reliably delicious and colorful in equal measure for just $6. Past marg recipes have drawn inspiration from balancing contrasting flavors, creating a veritable Venn diagram of sweet and spicy notes including cantaloupe and habanero; pineapple and guajillo; or mango and poblano with ginger. On Tuesdays you can also sample pours from Fellow Traveler's deep agave spirits collection for $1 off.

Best Soul Food

Blazing Chicken Shack II

Molly Martin

If there are two things you should eat in Denver before you die, it's the oxtails with rice and the caramel cake at this homey Park Hill restaurant and bar. Timing is critical on both, as the succulent oxtail is only served Thursday through Saturday, and the caramel cake sells out quickly, so be sure to order a slice at the beginning of your meal. But both represent the soul of soul food — the kind of cooking that beckons you in like a dinner bell and makes you stay like a grandma's admonitions until you're beyond stuffed. Of course, everything at Blazing Chicken Shack tastes great and comes with a generous side of Southern hospitality, whether it's the extra-crunchy and not-too-fussed-with fried chicken, the steaming slabs of catfish or the surprising gumbo.

Best Banana Pudding

Chef Zorba's

Courtesy of Chef Zorba's

This dessert is bananas, B-A-N-A-N-A-S. This longtime Congress Park staple is best known for its Greek fare and breakfast favorites, but be sure to save room for a sweet treat, too. Chef Zorba's pastry case is lined with options like thick slices of chocolate cake and baklava, but the sleeper hit is the ultra-creamy banana pudding, with just the right amount of banana chunks and wafers that manage to still retain a bit of crunch.

Best Place to Get a Whole Slow-Smoked Hog

Frank's Bar-B-Que

Frank's Bar-B-Que

The Volkmer family has been smoking meats since 1969, when they founded their family business in Bay City, Texas. In 1980, they moved to Denver and have been serving 'cue in the Mile High ever since. While Frank's specializes in Texas-style beef brisket, the real showstopper is the whole roasted pig, a specialty it has been perfecting for over thirty years. The preparation is simple: A whole hog is loaded into the smoker and cooked low and slow for upwards of eighteen to twenty hours. Orders have to be placed in advance, but this is one hell of a way to feed a big group that's down to go whole hog.

franksbbq.com

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