Mexico City Lounge finally calls itself a restaurant

For more than forty years, the Mexican City Lounge has held down its particular patch of Larimer Street, serving up hot, hot green chile and great greasy steak tacos to generations of faithful fans. Back in the early '70s, when the Garcia family opened this neighborhood joint, it was in...

By Patricia Calhoun

June 11, 2012

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "12017618",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "17242653",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261320",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261321",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

For more than forty years, the Mexican City Lounge has held down its particular patch of Larimer Street, serving up hot, hot green chile and great greasy steak tacos to generations of faithful fans. Back in the early '70s, when the Garcia family opened this neighborhood joint, it was in the heart of Denver's skid row. Today, the area is almost as hot as Mexico City's green chile.

After all, Mexico City now shares the 2100 block of Larimer Street with not just Marco's Coal-Fired Pizza, but Trillium, Ignite! and Biker Jim's. And even the former dive bars on the block -- Star Bar and El Charrito -- have gotten new life as hipster hangouts.

Now Mexico City has made a few changes to reflect its increasingly upscale surroundings. Soon after Robert Muniz took over the place from relatives, he did a major housecleaning that revealed that the floor we'd always thought was brown linoleum was actually green. Then, just in time for baseball season four years ago, he did a major facelift that replaced that linoleum with tile and gave the walls a golden, chi-chi cantina look.

Now he's given the spot a new logo that graces the sign out front -- and puts the word "Restaurant" squarely between "Mexico City" and "Lounge."

But for us, this will always be one of the great places to sit and lounge in Denver over a big burrito and a bucket of beers. The kind of place that attracts blue- and white-collar types alike, and where Pete Coors once left his lunch to go fix a tapin the basement.

Here's to Mexico City...no matter what you call it.

Follow @CafeWestword on Twitter and at facebook.com/denvercafesociety

KEEP WESTWORD FREE... Since we started Westword, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Denver, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.

Patricia Calhoun is editor-in-chief of Westword, the alt-weekly she co-founded in September 1977. She’s been inducted into the Colorado Press Association Hall of Fame, the Association of Alternative Newsmedia Hall of Fame and the Colorado Restaurant Association Hall of Fame. She’s also received dozens of local, state and national awards for writing, including first place for feature writing and first place for column writing with the Society of Professional Journalists. Patricia is a weekly commentator on Colorado Inside Out, PBS 12's public affairs roundtable, which has won two Emmys.

Contact: Patricia Calhoun

Follow:

Facebook: patricia.calhoun.927