Billy's on Colfax to Become Los Tacos; Ballpark Location Still Serving Gourmet Dogs

It's still baseball season, if anyone cares, and baseball season means hot dogs. But while the Billy's Gourmet Hot Dogs in the Ballpark neighborhood is still going strong thanks in part to fans who continue to pack Coors Field (for completely unknown reasons), the same can't be said for the Colfax Avenue outpost of Billy's, which is now closed. New banners have been hung announcing the imminent arrival of the evocatively named Los Tacos, which expects to open in October, according to the taqueria's website. The website also mentions that the menu at Los Tacos will be created by an unnamed "chef at a swanky five star restaurant."

Hot-dog aficionados now have one less place for a good dog, but the Ballpark Billy's isn't too far away and touts baseball-season specials not found during the cooler months. Among those is the White Hot Dog, a real rarity in these parts. Billy's special-orders veal-and-beef franks from Zweigle's, a brand that doesn't have much distribution outside Rochester, New York. The Zweigle's dog is fat and fine-grained, almost like a German weisswurst, and is held together by a natural casing that gives each bite a good snap. The White Hot, served with onion, yellow mustard and Billy's chili con carne, isn't cheap at $6.75, but seasoned hot-dog hunters in Denver know this one is worth the outlay. Billy's on South Broadway remains open, too, but call ahead to check on specials, since they may differ from those at the Ballpark location.