Riot BBQ's Manny Barella Hosting Pop-Up Dinner at Palenque

Manny Barella, a Top Chef alum and co-owner of Riot BBQ, is bringing his talents to Littleton's Palenque Cocina y Agavería for another pop-up dinner. The four-course dinner pairing on August 19 is a follow-up to a sold-out pop-up Barella hosted at Palenque earlier this year; this time, he's teaming up with chef, mezcal expert and cookbook author Danny Mena.

“Palenque introduced me to Danny Mena and we decided to shoot for 125 to 150 attendees for the event, which is huge for a paired dinner,” Barella recounts. “Bringing together barbecue with mezcal just makes sense because of the smoke flavor profiles of both elements.”

According to Barella, the event is almost sold out, which is impressive when considering his last sold-out pop-up at Palenque was capped at fifty people.
Though the menu is still being finalized, the courses are slated to include roasted carrots with a seed salsa macha and jocoque, which Barella says is “like a Mexican version of labneh"; pulled pork enfrijoladas, a dish similar to enchiladas but featuring a smooth, black bean salsa rather than using a chile-based sauce; smoked and braised lamb neck with mole verde; and, for dessert, sweet potato churros served with an orange-and-chile marmalade and chocolate ganache.

“These pop-ups are very exciting for me because I get to do something outside of my daily recipes," says Barella. "It’s a perfect opportunity to play around with different ingredients or techniques or flavor profiles. It’s a good avenue for creativity to come through."

The chef is no stranger to pop-up events. This Saturday, he’ll also be at the Colorado Beef Challenge on the Auraria Campus.

“I’m always signing up for events, anytime I have the opportunity to put the restaurant out there…I’m going to come to you and show you what we’re doing, and hopefully you like it enough that you’re going to come to the restaurant,” he says.

Since June, Barella has been running Riot BBQ with Patrick Klaiber, a Texas-style barbecue joint with a Mexican twist.
“If you asked me for a best-case scenario before we opened, I would’ve probably sold myself short. It’s been fantastic,” Barella shares. “Last week, we sold out twice, and [three weeks ago] we sold out three times…we’re super grateful that people have been loving what we’re doing.”

Selling out of food is a small price to pay for maintaining consistency and quality, he notes.

“As we have been getting busier and busier, we’re like, ‘Well, we have the space and the smoker. Why don't we just cook more?’ But there is a threshold…there is an amount of briskets that we don't want to go over because when we decided to do that, the quality dropped. We're not going to sacrifice quality just to make a couple hundred bucks, so that's why if we run out, we run out,” Barella explains.

“In theory, Texas-style barbecue is until sell-out. In Texas, nobody is expecting you to be open past four o'clock,” he adds. “We try to have as much as possible until 8 p.m., but I have zero problems closing early because we have an unwavering attachment to quality.”

In addition to offering Texas-style favorites like smoked brisket and baked beans (Klaiber’s recipe), the new concept has allowed Barella to show off his Mexican heritage through daily specials. On Wednesdays, for example, the barbecue joint serves half chicken pibil – based on the Mayan dish cochinita pibil, and served with xnipec (a red onion, habanero, and oregano relish). On Thursdays, it features tri-tip with a cilantro chimichurri, made with smoked beef tallow.

A new creation is likely to hit the menu soon, he says: “As we speak, I'm working on a papa asada, which is like the Mexican version of a baked potato that we would serve with chopped brisket on top.”

Soon, barbecue lovers will be able to make their own Riot BBQ-inspired dishes at home. The team recently finalized its retail branding and is preparing to sell housemade barbecue sauces, seasonings and smoked beef tallow by the jar.
Between Riot BBQ’s continued momentum and various pop-up events, Barella has no plans of slowing down. The upcoming dinner with Mena is more than just a fun side gig. It’s also a chance for Barella and his fans to learn about mezcal.

“I love mezcal, but I can’t sit down and teach about it,” he says, and laughs. “That’s why I’m excited to work with someone like Danny. I’m here to learn, too.”

He sees mezcal’s rise in the U.S. as part trend, part marketing. “It’s something new. People want to learn more about Mexican cultures, and it’s only a good thing that people want to learn more about my culture,” he says.

His prediction for the next trendy Mexican liqueur: nixta. “It’s like a corn liqueur, I'm waiting for it to blow up, I think it needs to get discovered here.”

But first, the pop-up at Palenque. “This is the biggest event I’ve done personally,” Barella says. “But it’s not going to be the last.”

Chef Manny Barella’s pop-up at Palenque, 2609 Main Street in Littleton, will start at 6 p.m. on Tuesday August 19; get tickets here. Riot BBQ is located at 2180 South Delaware Street and open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday.