The Best Things We Ate Last Month Include a Shockingly Good Broccoli Dish

After making it through the holiday season, I spent the first month of the year as a lot of people did — playing catch-up. For me, that meant dining at a number of newer places that I hadn't yet had a chance to try, like Kawa Ni.

The eatery is one of several that opened in LoHi late last year. Owner Bill Taibe introduced the concept in Westport, Connecticut, and for his first venture west of the Mississippi, he opted to bring a second outpost of the buzzy Japanese restaurant to Denver. It's been a fast hit, as evidenced by the packed dining room and bar on my recent visit. The menu is fun and filled with surprises, the most memorable of which came in the form of raw broccoli — really.

“At Kawa Ni, we have a great relationship with our farmers," Taibe explains. "The Shaved Broccoli Miso Goma came about at our Connecticut location when our farmer, Patty, had a big broccoli boom and I figured I could make something really creative and help her out. I was thinking how you rarely get to eat broccoli in its purest form: raw. So I combined shaved broccoli, ham, burnt honey and crunchy ra-yu together. It's just one of those funny dishes that appeals to so many because it’s fresh and delicious and also salty, sweet, spicy and crunchy — it’s everything! I thought it would be on the menu for a week or two — that was nine years ago. Who would have thunk shaved broccoli could be so adored?"
Urban Cafe opened in late December in a space connected to the Denver Health building on Broadway between Sixth and Speer. Last month, I stopped by for lunch, and while there are some standard sandwiches, salads and pastries, the real fun here comes in the form of Persian specialties.

While I don't usually order dessert with lunch, I couldn't skip something I'd never tried before — Persian ice cream infused with saffron, rose, bits of clotted cream and pistachios served float-style in fresh carrot juice. It's a combination that may seem odd, but it just works, especially if you're not a fan of overly sweet treats. I've been craving another ever since.
Husband-and-wife team John and Jandee Craig opened Da Sauce at 2907 Huron Street, near Coors Field, last April. It's a small spot with a walk-up counter for ordering, as well as a small bar and some tables in the back. It specializes in Chicago's thin crust, tavern-style pizza, but it also dishes out one hell of an Italian beef. Built on bread from a local bakery, it's loaded with tender sliced beef and served with John's homemade gravy — you can get it dipped or with sauce on the side. You also get a choice of mild or hot giardiniera (or a mix of the two) and the option to add cheese. The sandwich comes in two sizes, but even the regular was more than big enough to share.
At this point, most people know Dana Rodriguez's name from her newest gig as the executive chef for Casa Bonita 2.0, but last month I visited her first solo venture, Cantina Loca, which has been open at 2880 Zuni Street since 2022. Chef de cuisine Alejandro Rodriguez (no relation) recently launched an updated menu; among the new additions are a guest favorite, the birria quesadilla, as well as a stellar molcajete complete with nopales, small peppers stuffed with cheese, shrimp, steak and a large, rolled-up cheese crisp, all swimming in a smoky tomato sauce. Cantina Loca has also added a weekend brunch and has some other fun additions coming soon, including a rooftop party.
Over at one of our picks for the best brunch spots in town, the Bindery in LoHi, chef Linda Hampsten Fox recently added something new to the lineup, and it was the favorite at a recent meal. While it's always a good idea to order a pile of pastries for the table here — and the sweet or savory version of the Dutch Baby is a showstopper — this open-faced porchetta sandwich on sourdough was a particularly pleasing way to spend a Sunday. It's made with sage butter and covered in melted Jack cheese with a side of chimichurri and a dried duck egg on top for good measure.