Las Saltenas

You may not even know that Denver has a Bolivian restaurant, much less what kind of food you'll find at Las Salteñas. This tiny restaurant is devoted to the Bolivian national treasure: empanada-like pockets of beef or chicken stew called salteñas. Soupy and notoriously difficult to eat without spilling, salteñas contain spicy filling studded with olives, potatoes and diced hard-boiled eggs. Poke a hole to let the steam out before nibbling the slightly sweet pastry and downing the rich, warming broth. Other specialties include lomo borracho — a beer-based chunky beef soup topped with a fried egg — and pique macho, a street-food-lover's dream dish of tender beef, french fries, hot dog slices and spicy gravy. With only a few seats in the place, takeout is a definite option, but then you'll miss the owner's warmth, charm and wistful descriptions of Bolivian culture and cuisine.