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No. 79: Pork shank from Argyll
Pig is not hard to find in Denver. In fact, save for restaurants whose menus are dedicated to herbivores, you’d be hard-pressed to find a board that doesn’t pimp porcine. And Argyll, the Cherry Creek gastropub whose kitchen is overseen by executive chef Sergio Romero, is no exception.
His menu, a mash-up of charcuterie and cheese, updated pub snacks, burgers and the year’s vegetable of the moment — Brussels sprouts — doesn’t overdo the pork trend, turning out just two dishes that are swine-centric: choucroute garnie and a pork shank, the latter of which belongs on the pig heaven honor roll. Only slightly smaller than a jumbo jet, it’s jaw-droppingly good, the shards and scraps of flesh easily flecked from the bone with a slight tug of the fork. Romero pools the brutish shank in a veal demi-glace, and serves it alongside a cast iron crock of Brussels sprouts singing with citrus and a whimsy pouch of fluffy, cinnamon-scented sweet potatoes draped with a light whip essenced with cardamom.
Hungry for more? All the dishes in our countdown are linked below:
No. 100: Italian wedding soup from the Squeaky Bean
No. 99: American Classic Burger (and fries) from Tarbell’s
No. 98: E’s clam linguini from Mangiamo Pronto
No. 97: Queso a la plancha taco from the Pinche Tacos wagon
No. 96: Prosciutto-wrapped jalapeño poppers from Tony’s Market
No. 95: Fried chicken from the Pinyon
No. 94: Seafood soup from Farro
No. 93: Posole from The Porker
No. 92: Breakfast Burrito from the Taco Wagon in Lafayette
No. 91: Hummus from Shish Kabob Grill
No. 90: Albondigas meatballs from Solera
No. 89: Lemon-ricotta doughnuts from Olivéa
No. 88: Döner kabob from Shondiz
No. 87: Roasted cauliflower salad from Euclid Hall
No. 86: Beef cheek enchiladas from El Diablo
No. 85: Fried Brussels sprouts from Panzano
No. 84: Pork osso buco from Osteria Marco
No. 83: Cazuela Colombiana from Cafe Brazil
No. 82: Chicken potpie from Devil’s Food
No. 81: Sichuan braised beef noodle soup from Zoe Ma Ma
No. 80: Larb nua from Taste of Thailand
In late 2009, we embarked on a culinary journey that took us through our favorite dishes in the Mile High City — one hundred, to be exact — as a precursor to the Best of Denver 2010 issue. Now we’re back with round two, counting down (in no particular order) a hundred more of our favorite Denver dishes in a list that, by our imperfect calculations, should be wrapped up by the time the Best of Denver 2011 hits the streets on March 31. In the meantime, if there’s a dish you think we need to try, tell us about it in the comments section below, or shoot us an e-mail at lori.midson@westword.com.
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