It’s not whom you know, but whom you know that introduced you to your favorite things eat.
Few things prompt a waking dream like the smell and taste of seared juicy burgers, first-harvest green chili or Colorado rag-cherry pie. It was probably a family member that introduced you to that mile-high reward. The flowery smell brings back memories of a favorite aunt or little sister. The effortlessly sweet-and-sour filling transports you right back to the lake-side dock where you devoured three wedges of pie on the Forth of July a long time ago. Our favorite things to eat rate a place on the seasonal calendar for meals not to be missed. Here’s our list of places to revisit favorite foodie memories nearby, or maybe make some new ones this summer.
Mixta Cuban Sandwich
Cuba Bakery and Cafe
15028 E. Mississippi Ave.
303-752-2822
Ah, Señor Esteve, donde esta? As a college pup, “El Señor” taught me the grace of the Cubano culture chased off the island by the communists. He was a Batista lawyer, my Spanish prof, and Havana incarnate. I had once luxuriated in Cuban food in Florida. But it was El Señor who taught me what’s what about cordaditos, mixtas and guava. He would have chewed the iconic Cuban mixta sandwich slowly at Aurora’s Cuba Bakery and Cafe, just as slowly nodding his head in approval. Essentially a salty ham-and-cheese panini, the real deal is set apart by the bread, which must be fresh and chewey-crusty like expert Parisian baguette. The ham is thin and tender, not overly cured. The cheese melds with the mustard. The briny pickles are crunchy and a foil to the sandwich’s richness. El Señor would slip into his charming faux Castilian accent, arch his dark, bushy eyebrows, hold the sandwich up and pronounce, “besito.” A sweet little kiss. — Dave Perry
Tonkotsu Ramen
Katsu Ramen
1930 S. Havana St.
303-751-2222
Although Aurora has managed to seriously trick out its international dining scene in recent years, residents of Colorado’s third-largest city still have a ways to go in terms of complete inter-cultural maturity. Just ask Chang Lee. Part owner and operator of South Havana Street’s latest culinary craze, Lee has had to explain to more than one tube-sock-and-Teva-wearing Auroran that his eye-rollingly tasty noodle bowls are a tad more sophisticated than microwavable Maruchan. A couple months back Lee told me that he has to explain to whiny diners almost daily that the bone-based broth used in many of his restaurant’s uber-popular dishes takes about 12 hours to curate, and once the day’s supply is gone, it’s gone. Seems that the Applebee’s-inspired syndrome of unchanging, always faithful suburban appeteezers has made some local omnivores forget that quality food is, like, finite, and it runs out. But if you are lucky enough to make it to Chang’s Katsu Ramen while the broth is in supply, my pick is the traditional, savory Tonkotsu bowl. Filled with saline-soaked pork, and a buoyant boiled egg, Chang’s most popular menu time has got to be one of the tastiest, heartiest $9 lunches in town. Just be sure to get their early — Katsu has been known to fill up by 11:15 a.m. — Quincy Snowdon
The Missy
A-Town Pizza
17060 E. Quincy Ave.
303-693-9663
The Twittersphere can be a pretty unforgiving place. Ask Octavia Nasr of CNN. Or Brian Pedersen of the Arizona Daily Star. Or — well, you get the idea. But the social media gurus at A-Town Pizza don’t seem to give two fistfuls of farina about outside judgment on their always, always entertaining blue-bird feed. Short-charactered statements range from the assertive: “Pesto is better than guacamole,” to the pandering: “Intermission. @katyperry.” And then there’s the downright innovative: “The tooth brush and the razor run on batteries why not the whole house?” That’s straight up next level. Regardless of Owner Will Harris’ intrepid social media strategy there is nothing new-fangled, novel or really even 21st century about the pies the A-Town team has been cranking out since 2013 — and that’s a great thing. Equipped with two Italian-imported Stefano Ferrara ovens and never-frozen ingredients, the Neapolitan pies at A-town are pretty damn simple, which in turn makes them pretty damn great. Brittle crust, molten mozzarella and sumptuous tomatoes are one helluva trio and Harris’ team marries them in a classic, but uniquely hometown way. I’m a fan of the no frills, $8 Missy, because you can’t go wrong with that previously mentioned triad, combined with garlic, basil and olive oil. And while I still don’t fully comprehend everything going on with the @ATownPizzarria handle, I think Harris might be a bluebird genius. — Quincy Snowdon
Double Cheeseburger
City Pub and Burger
3575 S. Yosemite St., Denver
303-694-0454
My mom was so in love with double cheeseburgers that, my dad once told me, she was once kicked out of a McDonald’s on South Havana Street near East Mississippi Avenue for trying to climb over the counter and show the staff how to assemble one when it wasn’t on the menu. She was a short, slight woman so hopping over the counter was never going to happen easily, but the woman knew exactly what she wanted — she would have pommel horsed the golden arches to get there. The marriage of meat, more meat, cheese and more cheese is sometimes too irresistible to imagine. She died when I was five, so we never split a double-cheeseburger that I remember, but I can’t help but think of her at City Pub and Burger, a south Denver staple so patinaed with decades of grease it may have been around when she was. Their burgers — lauded by everyone who’s ever spilled ink in Colorado — are tender, salty, greasy affairs that come the way burgers should: however the hell you want it. In true Betsy Cole manner, a double-cheeseburger isn’t listed on the menu, but you don’t have to storm the kitchen to get one, just ask. — Aaron Cole
Meatloaf
Kirk’s Soul Kitchen
14107 E Colfax Ave. Aurora
720-474-1996
Not even something as amazing as gene therapy can touch the healing power of soul food. At Kirk’s Soul Kitchen, manager Brian Thomas is a firm believer in the healing capabilities of a plate piled high with meat loaf slathered in gravy, collard greens and macaroni and cheese. “If you’re mad about something,” he said one day as he prepared for the lunch rush. “Once you get some of this, you’ll be alright.” And he’s not wrong. The meat loaf at Kirk’s leaves your belly and your heart plenty full. And sopping up the last little bits with a piece of Kirk’s corn bread has to qualify as therapy. — Brandon Johansson
Roasted Pork Banh Mi
Pacific Ocean Marketplace
12303 E. Mississippi Ave.
720-858-8818
I know it’s healthy and all, but I am getting Subwayed out. Sorry, Jared. From high school to college to my incredibly fast-paced, eat-in-my-car too often lifestyle, I’ve probably consumed thousands of Subway sandwiches and sadly, I’ve always known exactly what it was going to taste like and it never wows me. My buddy, Tod, however, still swears by them and wolfs down a foot-long sandwich in no time flat. It’s fine for convenience, but I yearn for something different from a sandwich and I found it at a most unexpected place, the new Pacific Ocean Marketplace. I’d heard about the deli at the front of the large grocery store complex and its offerings of Banh Mi (Vietnamese Sandwiches) and once I’d decided to investigate, it just took the opening of the front door to get me excited. I don’t know how many other things we can thank French colonialism for (any?), but introducing the baguette to Vietnam is certainly one of them. The Vietnamese adapted the baguette to be made with rice flour, making it light with a thin and crunchy crust, all things that make my perfect sandwich bread. And so it was the intoxicating aroma of baking baguettes that drew me to the deli counter, where eight offerings of Banh Mi were on the menu. I chose the Roasted Pork, which included a combination of roasted pork, cilantro, cucumber, jalapenos and Chinese mayo encased in one of those baguettes. Warm, crisp and multi-textured, it was the ultimate contrast to the predictability of Subway. Tod might still prefer the old standby, but I’m now hooked on my new discovery and I’m guessing it will take quite awhile before it gets old.
BBQ Nachos
Jim ‘N Nick’s BBQ
24153 E. Prospect Road
720-274-5300
I’ll take credit for bringing BBQ nachos out of the South and into mainstream America, mostly because for two years, that’s all I ate wherever in the world I went. My first exposure to that particular regional mongrel covering the Liberty Bowl at a forgettable chain BBQ joint called Corky’s. But I would have never spread the gospel of crispy chips, melted cheese and pickled jalapeños drowning in pulled pork if it weren’t for my first sports-writing guide, Dirk Facer. A gregarious man who loved his family, food and sports in that order, Dirk taught me more about being a grizzled journalist in two years than I’ve learned in the 10 since I left that newspaper. A good writer doesn’t sleep, doesn’t hesitate to ask dumb questions and doesn’t pass up a catered press box. Over a steaming plate of barbecue nachos and bottomless, ice-cold sweet tea, Dirk and I raced faster toward obesity and diabetes than two sportswriters ever should. He told me tales from the road, lessons learned from dealing with grumpy coaches and avoiding desk duties by constantly looking busy. He was the king of writing on deadline, if only because he usually had a story to tell for the two hours leading up to the last minute. — Aaron Cole
The Killer Brat
Bender’s Brat Haus
700 S Buckley Rd. Aurora 80017
303-872-3569
How far would you go for a good bratwurst? I know for my dad, the 18-mile trek from our southwest Denver home all the way out to Bender’s Brat Haus was never too far. Back in those days, Bender’s was tucked in an aging shopping center at the northeast corner of Chambers Road and East Sixth Avenue — a dimly-lit space with creaky booths and tables that always felt like they were spaced too far apart. Today, Aurora — and the state’s really — finest bratwurst is served up in a bright and decidedly more comfortable place at 700 S. Buckley Rd. It’s still worth the trek, even if these days I tend to reach for the krautburger — a soft-pretzel-like bun stuffed with ground beef, cabbage and onions — instead of the bratwurst we used to drive 40 minutes for. — Brandon Johansson
Hot Wings
Challengers Sport Bar & Restaurant
12161 E Iliff Ave, Aurora
303-750-5558
My pal Sean is the whole package. He’s one of those buddies to game with, hang out with, give and take crap with, celebrate and commiserate life with. What you see, is what you get. And the more you get to know him, the more you want to. Sean and his Northern Irish wife divide their time between here and there. When they’re here, we meet at Challengers for hot wings. Like my friend Sean, these wings are the whole package. Crispy perfect on the outside, moist, meaty and tender inside. And they don’t get just a patina of watery sauce. The intense and piquant flavor is a prompt to leave a plate of the cleanest bones in town. The home-style flavors make for good times with old friends on new ones. — Dan Sorensen
Nile Combination Platter
Nile Ethiopian Restaurant
1951 S. Havana St.
720-748-0239
My love for injera started with the one dip of that spongy bread in a savory yellow curry. No, wait. It started with a visit to the Addis Kidan Evangelical Church on East Evans Avenue. I listened to Ethiopian hymns sung with such fervor that I couldn’t help but clap and sway along, even though I didn’t know a word of the gospel-inspired words sung in Amharic. After the service, a a beautiful young woman and her husband greeted me like I was an old friend. They gave me a tour of the church and then invited me to go to the Nile Restaurant to learn more about the church, and of course eat Ethiopian delicacies. Tinsae Teferi and other of her friends introduced me a spread that included piquant kitfo (minced beef), rich lamb, wildly flavorful potatoes, sweet carrots, myriad curries and of course, enough injera to be sure no one is lacking. Oh, I love that soft, spongy, sour icon of Ethiopian cuisine. A woman next to me scooped a small portion of curry with a piece and fed it to her fiancé. It’s a gesture called “gursha,” extending endearment. Like life itself, sour and sweet. — Rachel Sapin
We agree, this list is way too short. Go online to TheAuroraMagazine.com for more meals and morsels we won’t miss this summer, and you won’t want to miss either.
Seasonal Thin Crust Pizza
Potager
1109 Ogden St., Denver
303-832-5788
Everyone needs a restaurant they can take wealthy out-of-towners who can front the bill — culinary angel investors, if you will. Elways is amateur. The Kitchen is too mainstream. For me, that ‘spenive special occasion spot is a dimly-lit hive in Capitol Hill, because as far as I’m concerned, the caveat “we occasionally run out of items on our menu” is the best disclaimer a restaurant can make. It’s reassurance that ingredients are not purchased in Costco-sized dump truck loads, but instead, necessary bundles. Or, in the case of Potager, however much nearby farms have on hand or how much the restaurant’s onsite garden is currently yielding. Translated to “small, kitchen-side vegetable garden” in English, Potager has been a nearly 20-year labor of love for owner Teri Ripetto and one definitely worthy of a longer-than-usual trip down Colfax. Though it’s impossible to predict what will be on their ever-rotating menu, their seasonal pizzas are never off-point, and this spring’s thin crust, tomato pesto-drenched pie is one helluva way to inhale some calories. And yes, I fully realize that I’ve listed pizza three times now. It’s going to be a doughy summer. — Quincy Snowdon
The Swiss
The Uber Sausage
2730 E. Colfax Ave., Denver
303-862-7894
It was a hazy time, but I’m pretty sure that the majority of the conversations I had with Michael Fischer, my roommate during my freshman year of college, centered around who would be placing the Jimmie John’s order that evening and how sick the daily three-hour session of the Playstation 2 game, SSX Tricky, was that afternoon. Times were simple. And while I don’t know exactly what freshman year at Boston College was like for Alex Gschwend, Brad Arguello and Henry Dematteis, the fact that the three college buddies parlayed their friendship into opening one of the raddest restaurants in East Denver leads me to believe that their bonds ran a bit deeper than discussing video game strategy. Sorry, Fish. With the help of restaurant guru Marco Macchiaroli, the B.C. trio started Uber Sausage in 2011 and, thankfully, has not looked back. The sandwiches — called so because their buns are the size of a pair of grown human’s hiking boots — offer hearty ethnic pepperings from cajun-inspired crawfish sausages to Far East fares that are sprinkled with pickled cabbage and jicima. My standby is the tried and true Swiss, which boasts a gut-bomb-inducing veal/pork sausage seasoned with punchy yellow curry and just the right crunch compliments of stringy sprouts and zippy red onion. It’s the perfect fuel before delving into a few-hour binge of “Tricky” on a rickety, beer-coated Playstation. — Quincy Snowdon
The Fahrenheit 451
Dad and Dude’s Breweria
67630 S. Cornerstar Way
303-400-5699
Freshman dorm rooms are privy to some…interesting conversations. Just about every American 18-year-old enrolled in an institution of higher learning fancies themselves the next Jon Stewart, and they rarely have trepidation about sharing their flawlessly novel ideas. More often than not, these armchair philosophers have a copy of “Atlas Shrugged” in one hand and a gooey glob of Cheeba Chew in the other. Because they’re, you know, intellectuals. The pies at Dad and Dude’s Breweria, and the sources of inspiration behind their names, are deliciously apt for these freshman Incitatus’. D&D’s most paradigmatic menu item for that crowd is the disarmingly piquant Fahrenheit 451. Inspired by freshman favorite Ray Bradbury, the “451” is a blue and cream cheese-slathered pie, topped with chicken and ghost sauce (yes, from the pepper so spicy it needs to be handled with gloves) in order to keep the youth honest. Oh, and the fact that the za’s dough is made from the spent-grain from the shop’s in-house brewery and infused with agave nectar makes the whole thing teeter toward devilish perfection. — Quincy Snowdon
Bibimbap
Han Kang Korean Restaurant
1910 S. Havana St., Aurora
303-873-6800
It’s not unusual to see a large family chatting and laughing surrounded by sides of banchan goodies — from cabbage kimchi salad to pickled bamboo shoots at this Korean gem of a restaurant on Havana. The owners of the family-operated restaurant suggest that novices to Korean foo start with the bibimbap. A signature Korean dish, it’s served sizzling in a stone pot, a colorful collusion of white rice, beef, bean sprouts, seaweed and a plethora thinly sliced carrots, sautéed spinach, zucchini and soy-glazed shiitake mushrooms. And the genius behind the stone pot is that it continues to cook your food as your stir the raw egg into the rest of the meal. With so many small plates to accompany this sizzling slice of comfort food, it’s no wonder that the families never seem in a hurry to leave. There’s always something to nibble or share with someone, or linger on the taste of. In sum, it’s the ultimate antidote to take-out. And there’s always something else you want to try, like the spicy crab soup, or the Bulgogi … — Rachel Sapin
Eggs Benedict
Tom’s Diner
601 E Colfax Ave., Denver
303-861-7493
“Since the thing perhaps is to eat flowers and not to be afraid,” my 19-year-old friend Jason sang to the crowd of music-goers and plain old weirdos that inhabited the booths and barstools at Tom’s Diner on Colfax at some ungodly hour of the night. It was Halloween, and various friends had piled into one of the diner’s gold booths dressed as Indiana Jones, gypsies and even Cat Stevens. Invoking the spirit of beatniks like Jack Kerouac who traveled these streets decades ago, we sat late into the night reciting E.E. Cummings, talking philosophy, and eating gut-busting, greasy-spoon breakfast fare. And I believe someone may have shattered one of the glass windows that night. Oh to be young, or simply to invoke Denver’s weird, one must make a late-night visit to a diner on Colfax. — Rachel Sapin
Lobster Roll
Maine Street BBQ food truck
Mainers, through no geographic fault of their own, are fantastically weird people. America’s northernmost Galapagos has its own accent, its own sub-climate and culinary traditions. My first college roommate, Justin, was no exception. A snowboarder first and student second, Justin shamelessly hit on anything that moved, and rode down the mountain anything that didn’t. He was the first person to introduce me to lobster rolls, a savory mess of steamed lobster soaked in butter, seasoning, tossed in mayo and served on a soft roll. It’s not expensive if it’s the only meal of the day, Justin told me. Lobster rolls occupy for me a strange niche: comfort luxury food. Maine Street Barbecue run by Guy and Connor Hollowell — one of Denver’s best BBQ food trucks — does it better than most. Their tender, big chunks of lobster are lightly seasoned and instead of a steamed bun, they grill theirs. I’m not sure Justin would approve, but then again he was missing one of his front teeth. I didn’t ask. — Aaron Cole
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