The Five Best Bites at The Big Eat

Monday mornings are tough, but this series isn't. Social Sightings is a quick taste of recent food tidbits that goes down as easy as your first cup of coffee, and should whet your appetite for the week ahead.

Food fests can be hit or miss. How long are the lines? What's the vibe of the crowd? Will the restaurants run out of food before it's over? Will any of the food actually be good?

Even so, there are some food fests I look forward to every year: In addition to Westword's Tacolandia, set for August 19, as well as Feast, which returns this September (Out to Brunch joined the Westword lineup in June), another event I await with mouthwatering anticipation is The Big Eat. This annual celebration of Denver's dining scene takes place at the open-air Galleria at the Denver Performing Arts Complex every July and is put on by EatDenver, a nonprofit association for the city's independent restaurants.

The organization has always been a valuable resource for its members in the local dining scene, but it really stepped up during the pandemic, helping eateries navigate the ever-changing landscape and providing a place where owners and operators could share knowledge and ask questions.

Last year, when the Big Eat returned from a two-year pandemic hiatus, it was better than ever, and that trend continued at the 2023 edition on July 20, which included more than sixty vendors. Most eateries offered an impressive dish, going hard on bold, fun flavors.

Although I definitely did not manage to taste every single bite available, here are five Big Eat standouts:
Bodega, which is located in Sunnyside, does a lot of things well. It was our 2023 Best of Denver pick for Best Breakfast and it landed on our list of the best burgers in town. At the Big Eat, it served a tom kha chicken meatball slider with green papaya slaw and crispy shallots that I hope might make an appearance as a restaurant special soon.
Adobo, which started as a food truck and now has locations on Federal Boulevard and inside First Draft in RiNo, is known for its smoked carnitas that can be added to its vegetarian green chile for one of the best takes on that local favorite in town. For the Big Eat, it opted for smoked pork belly instead — a single, super-tender bite amped up by the use of cherry and Thai chile glaze with some sesame seeds for crunch.
Cooking outside at a festival is a totally different game than making food in a brick-and-mortar kitchen, but newcomer Red Tops Rendezvous managed to maintain the quality of its pizza even while using a mobile oven. Everyone who saw me eating this generous sample of its Detroit-style pie asked where to find it, and then made a beeline for the Red Tops table. They weren't disappointed.
Of all the bites I tried, two really stood out. Chef Hosea Rosenberg's Blackbelly in Boulder recently debuted a remodel complete with the new Blackbelly Butcher next door. One of his specialties is lamb, and this version was a reminder of the Blackbelly team's talent with the protein. Thin, succulent slices of rotisserie lamb from Buckner Ranch were served on buttery, light and airy foccacia with rich spuma di gota, a mousse made from pork fat.
Restaurants that aren't open yet sometimes make an appearance at food fests, offering diners a preview of what's to come; that was the case with MAKfam, a new concept from Meta Asian Kitchen owners Ken Wan and Doris Yuen that will debut in Baker later this year. At the Big Eat, they served up a sneak peek in the form of the most flavorful (and spiciest) bite of the night: leen goh, Shanghai-style shaped rice cakes with a garlic sauce that really brought the heat.

I'm already looking forward to the 2024 edition of the Big Eat. But first, can we please get a ban on the most overdone event dish of all time? Enough with the watermelon feta salad!