Antony Bruno
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It was a busy few months sampling more than 50 cheeseburgers for this week’s cover story, plus a personal trip to New York for a week. But there was still time and opportunity to indulge in a few other local dishes, both from newcomers making their way into the scene and old guards that I’ve yet to visit until now.
Asado Night at Orejano Casual Latin Cuisine
Antony Bruno
I’ll forever have a spot in my heart for the restaurants along Havana Street in Aurora. It’s where I got my start as a food writer, and to this day it still feels a little like home when I drive down the street.
One of my favorite stops in that series was Orejano Casual Latin Cuisine, which continues to put out the best empanadas in the metro area. And now, owner/chef Marcelo Alvariza has finally added the grilled meat component he’s wanted to include since opening.
I’ve already written about this, but it’s worth another hit. I can’t stop thinking about how great that steak was. Being in the middle of tasting dozens of burgers for our Best Burgers roundup, you’d think the last thing I wanted was more beef (and it was). But, man, it was the cleanest cut of meat I’ve had in ages. Check them out on Thursday nights; just be sure to text ahead to make a reservation.
Little Kitsune “Ramakase”
Antony Bruno
I remember a time when the only places to get ramen in Denver were a little shop in Sakura Square and Oshima Ramen on Hamden Avenue. That has clearly changed. But the style of ramen that has taken hold in America is only one of a vast catalog of ramen types enjoyed in Japan.
Chef David Wang of the in-home pop-up experience Little Kitsune has dedicated himself to broadening our horizons, offering a four-course tasting menu of ramen and associated dishes that challenge accepted standards of the popular Japanese noodle dish.
Among the standouts was a bowl of house-made noodles in a consommé made from three different stocks. In lieu of the standard crispy pork belly, there was a crispy skin-on chicken thigh and a tender pork loin. The chef’s kiss to top it all off: a Hakurei turnip prepared just so.
The Flautas at El Tule
Antony Bruno
Denver is in the midst of a Mexican food renaissance. The town that gave the world green chile sloppers is now challenging its Den-Mex heritage with a spree of high-end restaurants from immigrants determined to turn the conversation back to the food they grew up with. Among them is the newly opened El Tule near the Denver Tech Center.
The menu at this new restaurant is still evolving. Among the appetizers available today are Flautas de Pollo that brought me back to Oaxaca. It’s a pretty straightforward flauta, with slow-cooked chicken stuffed into a crispy fried corn tortilla — but it’s smothered in my favorite of the famous “seven moles,” coloradito.
Now there’s mole, and then there’s mole, and this sits firmly in the latter. It’s full of all the depth, complexity and flavor you’d expect from a sauce made with dozens of ingredients cooked over the course of several days. The result is a lick-your-plate dish that sets the bar, just as intended.
The Pep’s Pizza Lumache at Boombots Pasta Shop
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Although it opened back in November, I had yet to visit Boombots Pasta Shop until this month, when I had the opportunity to sit with owners Cliff and Cara Blauvelt. It was a wonderful and insightful conversation, made only better by the food. There’s just something uniquely exciting about sampling food designed to break the rules, which can only work when executed by chefs who’ve been around long enough to know which rules to break.
That’s pretty much Boombots’ raison d’être, and the restaurant continues to push boundaries with its menu refresh earlier this year. I was pressing Cliff to see if any of the changes were a result of some items being too “out there.” But none of the dishes I had pulled any punches. My favorite was the Pep’s Pizza Lumache: shell-shaped pasta in a red sauce mixed with strips of pepperoni, along with a truly craveable crispy chicken that was hard to stop mining for within the bowl.
The whole dish is like placing a chicken parm atop a pepperoni pizza on top of pasta. Makes no sense, but when it’s this good, it doesn’t need to.
The BEC at Port Side
Antony Bruno
Earlier this month, I spent a week in New York, and as part of that trip had a few bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches for breakfast. Some were even from highly rated stands and bodegas near our hotel. And, to be honest, I was pretty underwhelmed.
So I was pleased to see that Denver’s own Port Side in RiNo was still showing us all how it’s done. Unlike those East Coast versions (which featured an overcooked egg and stale bacon), Chris Bell at Port Side serves his BECs with a lovely soufflé egg, crispy bacon and a potato bun that allows each component to stand on its own while still complementing the other.
Unfortunately, this is the last weekend you can enjoy it, as Bell has decided to close up shop on July 5. But he says he plans to continue slinging the BEC at pop-ups and collabs in the future.
