Los Carboncitos

This small, family-friendly neighborhood cafe is warm and crowded during the day and loud and crowded after dark. The big kitchen is constantly at work banging out food that may not yet be ubiquitous in Denver, but certainly should be. The house specialty is huaraches: long, open-faced slabs of corn masa topped with whatever is […]

Los Carboncitos

This small, family-friendly neighborhood cafe is warm and crowded during the day and loud and crowded after dark. The big kitchen is constantly at work banging out food that may not yet be ubiquitous in Denver, but certainly should be. The house specialty is huaraches: long, open-faced slabs of corn masa topped with whatever is […]

Los Carboncitos

This small, family-friendly neighborhood cafe is warm and crowded during the day and loud and crowded after dark. The big kitchen is constantly at work banging out food that may not yet be ubiquitous in Denver, but certainly should be. The house specialty is huaraches: long, open-faced slabs of corn masa topped with whatever is […]

Los Chingones

Troy Guard is out to make the 2400 block of Larimer Street the taco the town with Los Chingones, a stylish taqueria that he opened there at the end of 2013. For decades, this block was home to the Bamboo Hut, a Mexican restaurant that made grease-dripping fried tacos; in contrast, the tacos on the […]

Los Chingones Central Park

Troy Guard made the 2400 block of Larimer Street the taco the town with Los Chingones, a stylish taqueria he opened there at the end of 2013, ten blocks and a world away from his flagship restaurant, TAG. He now has four locations of his “bad-ass” eatery, all offering the same menu of tacos — […]

Los Chingones Colorado Mills

Troy Guard made the 2400 block of Larimer Street the taco the town with Los Chingones, a stylish taqueria he opened there at the end of 2013, ten blocks and a world away from his flagship restaurant, TAG. He now has four locations of his “bad-ass” eatery, all offering similar menus of tacos — little […]

Los Chingones DTC

Troy Guard made the 2400 block of Larimer Street the taco the town with Los Chingones, a stylish taqueria he opened there at the end of 2013, ten blocks and a world away from his flagship restaurant, TAG. The second outpost of his “bad-ass” eatery opened in November 2015 in the Belleview Station development, offering […]

Los Dos Potrillos

This staple in the southern suburbs that opened in 2002 is better known for its Mexican cuisine reminiscent of the food its founder Jose Ramirez’s hometown of Jerez, Mexico, than for Denver-style grub, but Los Dos Potrillos knows how to make a killer green chile and much more. Now with four locations, the family-owned hospitality […]

Los Farolitos

When we were putting together our 2011 Best of Denver issue, there were many spirited discussions about which chile made us the greenest with envy — and while there were several viable contenders, none was more worthy than Los Farolitos, where the green chile, tarted up with tomatillos and gobsmacked with heat, is simply terrific.

Los Mangos

This tiny strip-mall snack bar didn’t get our attention for the riot of colors on its exterior – though the orange-and-yellow storefront and fedora-wearing mango mascot are definitely eye-catching – but rather for the elusive Sonoran hot dog served within. This perro caliente is as intimidating as it is delicious, with a bacon-wrapped dog, a […]

Los Mesones

When husband-and-wife owners Hector Hugo Soto and Adriana Chávez opened Los Mesones in 2006, there were three other Mexican restaurants nearby. Now, only Los Mesones remains, but it’s still serving the neighborhood well, with a sprawling, multi-page menu loaded with options, from whole, deep-fried tilapia and molcajetes overflowing with meat to staples like enchiladas, tacos […]

The Lost Cajun

There aren’t many Cajun eateries in Denver, and the few that do pop up often skew Asian, thanks to the Vietnamese immigrant population that settled in Louisiana and then migrated north. But this Littleton spot is all Southern, and despite the casual vibe, it doesn’t take any shortcuts with the food: The gumbo simmers for […]

Lost Lake Lounge

In 2010, former hi-dive and Sputnik owner Matt LaBarge took over the East Colfax space that had long been the Bulldog Bar (and the Monroe Tavern and Mr. Von’s Alamo before that) and transformed it into Lost Lake, a cabin-style lounge inspired by some older bars in the Silver Lake area of Los Angeles. LaBarge […]

Lotus Medical

Lotus Medical feels like an upscale oasis geared toward the older crowd, with a setup not unlike that of a Cherry Hills rec room: lots of couches and chairs to recline on while viewing ESPN on the high-def TV hung on one of the exposed-brick walls. There are also books on cannabis and other topics […]