Not all of the first-floor stalls have new concepts. Quero Arepas and Bowls by KO have returned, and no changes were made upstairs, where Ama Modern Mexican and Knockabout Burgers (which also serves stellar chicken tenders and fries) are still serving.
Here's a rundown of what's new at Avanti:
The Pizza Bandit
"I'm obsessed with making pizza," says Melina Felix, who turned that obsession into a business when she and her husband, Federico, launched the Pizza Bandit as a pop-up two years ago. For the last year, it has operated as a food truck. Melina was still working her corporate job when the opportunity to move into Avanti came about just six weeks ago through a connection with one of Fredrico's co-workers.The pie that sold the Avanti team was inspired by Chicago-style hot dogs — it will hit the menu when the Rockies season kicks off on April 4. The Pizza Bandit is also working on a Thai-inspired collaboration special with another new stall, Farang Thai Kitchen, and it just added a Super Pepperoni Ranch pie with hot honey — a creation that came from customer demand.
Diners can expect creative specials regularly from the Pizza Bandit, alongside staples like its Sweet Heat pie, which is topped with cupping pepperoni, jalapenos, hot honey, cream cheese, hibiscus-pickled, red onions, and three types of cheese: mozzarella, cheddar, and Monterey jack.
"I'm an artist. I've created art my entire life," says Melina, so creating visual appeal is as important to her as taste — which, based on the Sweet Heat pie we tried, the Pizza Bandit has nailed.
Alongside the pizzas and shareable starters such as sausage cheese dip and a charcuterie bento box, the stall also offers two desserts, a peach cobbler pizza and what may be the best root beer float in town.
It came about after Melina and Federico visited Old 121 Brewhouse in Lakewood, which makes its own root beer. "I was like, this is the best root beer I've ever had," Federico recalls. So the next logical step was finding the best ice cream to pair with it. For that, the couple went to Right Cream owner David Right and asked him to make "the most amazing vanilla ice cream the world has ever seen."
To top it off, a traditional syrupy cherry wouldn't do. Instead, the Felixes opted for a freeze-dried cherry Starburst made by CosmoCubes, which is based in Colorado Springs. "When you bite into it, it just disappears in your mouth, but it leaves that cherry flavor," Federico explains.
The locally sourced sweet treat is root beer float perfection.
Farang Thai Kitchen
Chef Ben Whelan has been living and working in Denver restaurants for over a decade, but his biggest culinary influence came when he spent a year in Thailand cooking, including a stage at Michelin-starred Bo.Lan in Bangkok, and eating everything in his path — a journey he shared with Westword readers as a contributor.Since returning from that adventure five years ago, Whelan has worked at A5 Steakhouse, Ay Papi and was most recently the sous chef at Ash'kara. He'd launched Farang (the word commonly used in Thailand to describe foreigners) as a pop-up, but when he got the opportunity to move into the stall formerly occupied by Pho King Rapidos, he couldn't pass it up.
"When you're coming up doing classic French food or Western training, it's like a string quartet — there's four things happening at a really technical level," Whelan says. "Thai food is more like a symphony — there's all the things happening all at once. ... It creates this really rich, full sound flavor-wise."
Several curries and larger entrees are on the current menu, including khao soi, a northern Thai noodle dish made with a rich, coconut-based broth.
There are also small plates on offer, such as Hat Yai chicken nuggets with nam jim, a sweet and sour sauce, for dipping; Sai Oua, a house-made Thai sausage; and a spin on Fai Daeng, which is traditionally made with morning glory. Here, it is a Brussels sprout dish with Thai oyster sauce, peanuts, pickled chiles, cilantro and fried garlic.
"We don't hold back," Whelan notes. "We're very aggressive seasoning-wise, we're very aggressive with hitting you with acid, hitting you with heat, hitting you with fish sauce. I really want to go for it in that way." Based on our first taste, Farang is delivering on that promise.
Eloise
Quincy Cherrett, who was a co-owner of 22 Provisions, is back in its former stall with a new concept, Eloise, an American Bistro. "Me and my sister are hotel brats," he says. "My dad was a general manager for the Four Seasons," and moved locations often, so the siblings spent a lot of time living in the hotels. "One of my sister's favorite books growing up was Eloise — it was something she could relate to, so the name is an ode to my sister, who is my best friend."The stall is now serving some more elevated food that aims to appeal to the date-night crowd. "I feel like Avanti's kind of missed that for a while," Cherrett notes. Among the options are a salad with fried goat cheese, chicken liver pate, steak frites, moules frites, and fried Brussels sprouts with red wine and goat cheese vinaigrette and toasted walnuts.
But anyone who was a fan of 22 Provision's sandwiches need not worry: Eloise is also offering two sandwiches, including the ever-popular chicken Caesar wrap and a steak sandwich with cheddar, caramelized onions, arugula and chipotle mayo.
The sandwich is served on soft yet chewy rolls from City Bakery, which also makes the cookies that Eloise serves warm with milk — an offering inspired by Cherrett's time working at Death & Co in RiNo.
While nearly everything at Eloise is made from scratch, the stall's ovens are not ideal for baking, so sourcing the bread and cookies from one of the best suppliers in the city makes sense. The only other items not made in-house: "Ketchup, because Heinz Ketchup trumps everything, and our french fries are frozen. Thomas Keller says that frozen french fries are better and I agree," Cherrett says.
"It's fun to be doing something else here," he adds. "We know the clientele and know how it works."
All of the new stalls hope to open brick-and-mortar locations one day but right now, as the local restaurant industry continues to struggle, "It's nice to be able to hunker down here," Cherrett concludes.
Avanti is located at 3200 North Pecos Street. For more information, including bar, cafe and food stall hours, visit avantifandb.com/location/avanti-denver.
