Top Of The Town 2022: Dining

Editor’s Alternative

Prime Chef

Manny Barella

To speak about tacos, Manny Barella should first talk about hamburgers. “Individuals fear a lot concerning the toppings of a burger as a substitute of the flavour of the meat,” says the manager chef of Bellota, the Mexican eatery that opened contained in the Supply in RiNo in October 2020. (A second location, in Boulder, was slated to debut in June.) “I discover that in tacos, as nicely. Right here in America, they wish to placed on a mess of toppings as a substitute of constructing it easy. In Mexico, we now have the tortilla and the meat, then salsa, onions, and cilantro,” Barella says. “I need the meat to talk by itself.”

Barella’s meats don’t simply communicate—they sing, serenading style buds with pitch-perfect flavors. From the carnitas—extra like a candy, wealthy pork confit because of the Coca-Cola, condensed milk, and fats that sink into the meat whereas it’s cooking—to the habanero- and achiote-marinated cochinita pibil, one might simply ditch the tortilla and make a meal of the protein.

We wouldn’t suggest skipping the tortilla on what’s change into one in all Bellota’s shock hits, although: the shrimp taco. Whereas working on the venerable Boulder fine-dining restaurant Frasca Meals and Wine, Barella realized to make use of each a part of his components. So, when he opened Bellota in 2020, a stroke of crustacean creativity impressed him to toast discarded shrimp shells and fuse them with butter. He then brushes that shrimp butter onto flour tortillas, grills them till crunchy, and stuffs them with shrimp, Chihuahua cheese, and tomato crema. The result’s a delectably briny, shrimp-on-shrimp, gooey chunk that may ceaselessly change your notion of seafood tacos.

The chef’s fare is already attracting nationwide consideration—Barella was nominated for a 2022 James Beard Award within the Rising Chef class—though he’s conserving his sights set on native domination. “If we’re going to make Mexican meals and name it Mexican meals, I need it to be as near Mexican as doable with out catering to the American palate,” Barella says. “I joke, however I’m additionally severe: I’m taking on Denver, one taco at a time.” We gladly give up. —Allyson Reedy

Prime Ethiopian

Konjo Ethiopian Food

Fetien Gebre-Michael and Yoseph Assefa are getting Denverites hooked on the delicacies of their homeland. The corporate began as a catering enterprise in 2014 and expanded to a meals truck a yr later, however Konjo started reaching its largest viewers in 2019 when it debuted a stall at Edgewater Public Market—and promptly spawned cravings for spongy injera, stir-fried rooster, lamb, and beef, and vegan sides. Tempted to affix the newfound followers however slightly intimidated by dig in? No worries: We requested Gebre-Michael to offer us a primer on a few of Konjo’s hottest choices. Rule primary? “Your utensils are your fingers,” says Gebre-Michael, whose household emigrated from Ethiopia to Colorado when she was three years outdated. “Historically, you eat along with your proper one.” —Patricia Kaowthumrong

Konjo with hand Joni Schrantz 52809729 Edit — Picture by Joni Schrantz

1. The plant-based gomen with dinich (garlicky braised spinach and potatoes) and tikel gomen (curry-scented cabbage with carrots and potatoes) are tasty sides that deliver stability to plates already bursting with taste.

2. Konjo’s rooster tibs is spicy and full of umami, because of daring and fragrant components comparable to berbere (a house-made seasoning of greater than 12 spices), jalapeño, onion, and tomato. On the finish of the cooking course of, Gebre-Michael stirs in kib’eh, or clarified butter, to offer the stir-fry a wealthy, saucy texture.

3. The meals stall staff makes injera utilizing teff, a small grain that grows within the highlands of Ethiopia, from scratch each morning and sells about 500 sheets of the fluffy, tangy pancakelike bread every week.

4. Many Ethiopians who apply Orthodox Christianity—about 43 % of the inhabitants—abstain from consuming meat and dairy on Wednesdays and Fridays. So Konjo is well-versed in making hearty and scrumptious vegan entrées, comparable to miser: crimson-tinted lentils cooked with a great deal of berbere, onions, and garlic.

Editor’s Alternative: Prime O’ The Night time

From cocktail hour to late-night bites, right here’s eat and drink your approach by 4 editors’ selection winners in a single night. —Patricia Kaowthumrong

Prime Bar

Yacht Club

This previous December, McLain Hedges and Mary Allison Wright resurrected their beloved Yacht Membership bar (which was open contained in the Supply in RiNo from 2014 to 2019) at thirty seventh Avenue and Williams Avenue. The informal, coastal-themed decor goes completely with a menu of seaside drinks, boozy shaved ices, home brews, and pure wines. The number of loaded sizzling canine might sound jarring, however don’t query genius: Simply pair the Wharf Rat cocktail (pictured) with the Lorraine, a frank topped with cheeseball unfold, celery rémoulade, and pickled peppers, and revel within the unusual-but-delicious coupling.

Prime Steak Home

A5 Steakhouse

At eight-month-old A5 (pictured), government chef Max MacKissock offers the old-school chophouse idea a cool makeover, changing dim lighting and wooden paneling with vibrant neon and verdant crops. On the menu, lesser-known beef cuts, comparable to marbled bavettes and tri-tips, present a refreshing alternative to strive one thing new (and scrumptious). Every is complemented by comforting à la carte sides, together with cheese croquettes, whereas a roster of tropical-inspired cocktails accompanies you in your satisfying journey of steak rediscovery.

Prime Ice Cream

Smith & Cannon

Curt Peterson’s East Colfax sweets store is the one place on the town the place you will get Philadelphia-style ice cream, which is made with out eggs. The self-taught ice cream maker as a substitute makes use of mixtures of varied milks to yield frozen treats with a wealthy, velvety mouthfeel. Ask Peterson to pour an espresso over your scoop of cheesecake- and cinnamon-forward Cunning Brown or habanero-zinged Honey Hotness. Espresso over ice cream is known as an affogato, and it’s eye-opening in additional methods than one.

Prime Tacos

Cabrón Carbón Taqueria & Galería

Home-made corn tortillas? Yep. A well-stocked salsa bar? Actually. Juicy taco fillers comparable to chile-sauce-drenched barbacoa, crispy fried tilapia, and charcoal-grilled sirloin? Verify, test, and test. Ten-month-old Cabrón Carbón ticks all of the bins {that a} prime taqueria should. Plus, it’s open till 3 a.m., Thursday by Saturday—and flanked by three nightclubs (Membership Vinyl, #Vybe, and Bar Normal).

Prime Meals Truck

Pho King Rapidos

Think about a Vietnamese meal, and chances are high you’ll conjure pictures of a grilled meat platter, a banh mi, or a noodle bowl. These are a number of the beloved dishes immigrants and refugees from the nation delivered to America after the Vietnam Conflict, and so they’ve been filling our bellies for practically 50 years. Lengthy Nguyen, who owns Pho King Rapidos along with his spouse, Shauna Seaman, believes it’s time so as to add some selection to the menu. “For us coming into it and being the following era,” Nguyen says, “we wished to do Vietnamese meals however not copy the mildew.”

The couple’s virtually two-year-old meals truck, which principally cruises breweries from Park Hill to Golden, has created its identification by gussying up Vietnamese staples—most notably the pho banh mi. Earlier than smoking the brisket for 4 to 6 hours, Nguyen lets the meat sit for a full day in a rub of conventional pho spices, together with star anise, cinnamon, clove, and coriander. To maintain the protein tender, Nguyen finishes it sous vide, then provides ribbons of Thai basil, pickled crimson onion, jalapeño matchsticks for crunch, and a play on barbecue sauce that features hoisin, darkish chili powder, and rice vinegar.

Different menu gadgets stray even farther from conventional Vietnamese dishes, such because the pork stomach fries with candy Sriracha and sesame oil sauce or the chopped cheese sandwich, a Harlem basic Nguyen fell in love with whereas working in New York Metropolis eating places. “We took what we love about Vietnamese meals and the meals we have been uncovered to out in New York [to make our menu],” he says. “We wished to make it particular and completely different, one thing that’s our personal that we could possibly be happy with.” —Allyson Reedy

Prime French

Chez Maggy

After the COVID-19 pandemic compelled Ludo Lefebvre to shut his Michelin-starred Trois Mec restaurant in Los Angeles, the French-born chef determined to open his first Denver eatery. Not too long ago, we spoke with Lefebvre about five-month-old Chez Maggy and his Franco-Coloradan fare. —Spencer Campbell

5280: You lately obtained your third bison tattoo. Why do you like them?
Ludo Lefebvre: For me, bison are as American because the wild Wild West. After I moved to the US, I fell in love with the historical past, which is why I at all times wished to do a restaurant in Denver.

What do those that are new to French delicacies must strive after they dine at Chez Maggy?
Individuals ask me on a regular basis: What do you deliver to Denver? And I at all times reply: I deliver butter. So I undoubtedly suggest the escargot. It makes me very completely happy when individuals love escargot. I’m from Burgundy, the place the recipe for escargot was created. And once I was a child—I don’t misinform you—I ate six dozen escargot. I like it, like it, like it.

What are your plans for Chez Maggy sooner or later?
I’m going to begin to twist the menu. I do know higher the greens Colorado has, and the meats. There are lovely lamb chops, for instance, and I’m going to serve them with fried artichoke. I’m going to maintain the classics, however I’m going to be slightly bit extra playful now.

Prime Pizza

Redeemer Pizza

Redeemer Courtesy of Luke Gottlieb NewRedeemer 5 of 66 — Picture courtesy of Luke Gottlieb

Love takes time, and so does nice pizza. Redeemer’s dough—a dwelling, carby mix containing 15 % sourdough starter that provides the chewy-crispy crust an additional chunk—enjoys a sluggish ferment within the fridge for at least three days earlier than it’s rolled out and topped with the likes of the straightforward (mozzarella cheese), the elegant (domestically made Elevation Charcuterie soppressata), or the sudden (sherry-and-soy-pickled mushrooms). Then, issues velocity up: eight or so minutes within the 600-degree electrical deck oven to soften the cheese right into a puddle and burnish the crust with pockets of char; a speedy slicing and supply to your desk; and eventually, and quickest of all, the devouring. Chef-owners Spencer White and Alex Figura (of Dio Mio) name the model of pie served at their year-old 5 Factors joint New York 2.0, as a result of it combines the very best of the Huge Apple’s greasy, foldable slices with the fastidiously crafted crust of Neapolitan pies. We name it love at first chunk. —AR

Prime Indian

Urban Village Grill

When chef Charles Mani opened City Village Grill in Lone Tree this previous October, he got down to create a spot the place Indian meals and superb eating are synonymous, and most necessary, the place visitors are handled like kin. “When everybody has their particular events,” Mani says, “and so they wish to spend time with me—these are the issues that make me very completely happy.”

Urban Village Joni Schrantz — Picture by Joni Schrantz

Born and skilled in Chennai, on the Bay of Bengal, Mani left India in 2005 for New York Metropolis, the place he labored at famend eating places comparable to Babu Ji and Badshah. He moved to Colorado in 2018 and launched his personal place, City Village, which shuttered through the pandemic. Mani’s gentle, wholesome, and fashionable takes on Indian meals discovered new life at City Village Grill, the place the 39-year-old chef continues to serve refreshing renditions of charred tandoori rooster, tender paneer tikka, and silky dal makhani (lentils slow-simmered for twenty-four hours in a tomato-butter sauce). Every plate, garnished with contemporary flowers, fragrant herbs, and colourful purées, is delivered to your desk by a chef—usually Mani himself—who explains the flavors and area from which the dish originates.

The compelling menu and complicated expertise can be sufficient to please most diners, however Mani additionally desires you to really feel like household—and households cook dinner collectively. So City Village Grill not too long ago debuted an ethereal patio laden with seven tabletop grills, providing visitors the possibility to sear their very own rooster, beef, seafood, or paneer slathered with conventional Indian seasonings comparable to malai, a decadent, cream-based sauce; hariyali, a mint and cilantro paste; and achari, a tangy pickling spice mix. Similar to at a yard barbecue, everyone seems to be greeted with an inside joke, a considerate inquiry about their family members, or a suggestion to style one thing they haven’t tried but. “I got here to this nation with two luggage on my shoulder,” Mani says, “and now I’ve an enormous household all over the place I am going.” —Riane Menardi Morrison

Prime Sizzling Rooster

Music City Hot Chicken

Whereas many spots have opened prior to now two years claiming to serve Denver’s most scorching sizzling rooster—the favored Nashville-style fried chook drenched in chile oil—no person matches the hearth and the flavour of this 11-month-old walk-up window inside Baker’s Trve Brewing Company. There, Fort Collins–born brothers and longtime restaurant staffers Sam and Jordan Graf deliver the warmth in seven blazing ranges crafted with proprietary blends of chiles and spices floor by Fort Collins–primarily based Outdated City Spice Store. However which burn is true on your buds? To seek out out, we used Scoville Warmth Models (SHU)—the official measurement of spice that runs from zero (as in, zero zing) to greater than three million (mainly napalm on your intestinal tract)—to gauge the efficiency of every Music Metropolis taste providing under. —RMM

On the Flammable Strong: “I eat one about as soon as each month simply to remind myself what I’m doing to individuals.” —Assistant normal supervisor Steven Skinner

Music City Chicken Aaron Colussi — Picture by Aaron Colussi

From Least to Most Spicy:

Southern
0 SHU
Made with: No spice
Count on: Traditional breaded-and-fried rooster

Jerk
>1,000 SHU
Made with: Black pepper and allspice
Count on: A taste-bud-tickling, sweet-and-savory, Caribbean-inspired mix

Inexperienced Chile
1,000–1,500 SHU
Made with: Hatch chiles
Count on: Contemporary inexperienced chile taste with only a trace of zip

Sizzling
15,000–40,000 SHU
Made with: Cayenne peppers
Count on: Earthy, finger-licking fireplace that may scare most Midwestern palates however could appear gentle to heat-seekers

Nashville Sizzling
30,000–60,000 SHU
Made with: Arbol chiles
Count on: Zesty, smoky chile spice that induces a sweat with out ruining your day

White Sizzling
100,000–350,000 SHU
Made with: Habanero peppers
Count on: Brilliant floral notes and a blaze that burns your tongue and your innards

Flammable Strong
1,150,000–2,200,000 SHU
Made with: Carolina Reapers and ghost peppers
Count on: Roughly 15 seconds of a scrumptious, deep-and-fruity chile storm earlier than a lightning strike turns your tongue into ash