18 WESTWORD FOOD & DRINK 2023 when he ordered the Tex-Mex Chili — half red and half green. I asked for a bite. Then took another. Then he made me order my own. It was basically green chile for be- ginners (and remains one of my favorite dishes today), but soon we became reg- ulars at La Fogata’s East Quincy Avenue location because it was a short walk from our apartment. That’s really where I came to understand the magic of Den-Mex and the joys of green chile-smothered Mexi- can hamburgers and crispy chile rellenos made with egg roll wrappers. What are your go-to restaurants today? It’s tough having go-to’s in this job, but I still manage to frequent La Fogata and Sam’s No 3. I often hit up Misfi t Snack Bar at Middleman for $6 happy hour Old Fashioneds and whatever the kitchen is serving, or Charlie Brown’s for BOGO vodka tonics and various fried foods when I’m in need of a real debrief session with friends. I’ve eaten countless carnitas bur- ritos at El Taco de Mexico. The prime rib French dip at Poppie’s is a regular craving, as are the drunken noodles at Thai Pot Cafe and steak nights at Columbine. I re- cently moved to the Congress Park neigh- borhood, where the sesame chicken and garlic broccoli from Peter’s Chinese have quickly become favorites. The question I get most often is, “What’s your favorite restaurant?” My current go-to answer is, if you haven’t been to Spuntino, Hop Alley or Point Easy, you should put those on your short list. What’s your splurge restaurant? Right now, Stone Cellar Bistro in Ar- vada. You don’t have to splurge to eat there, but the fi rst time I went, we ordered nearly the entire menu, and it was one hell of a meal. Dishes rotate often, so I’d love to go back for another all-in feast. Where do you take out-of-towners? This, of course, changes all the time. But the last out-of-towner who visited had a habit of talking shit about Denver’s restaurant scene, so I obviously made it my personal mission to prove him wrong. We did green chile-smothered burritos at El Taco de Mexico for breakfast, dinner at Annette, and a fi nal meal at A5. He admitted that he was wrong before he left for the airport. What is the most overdone dish in Denver? This isn’t Denver-specifi c, but can we please move on from Brussels sprouts with [insert sweet and sticky sauce]? Yes, they’re good, but do we really still need an iteration of them on every single menu? There are so many other veggies that are ready for their shining moment! What was your most disappointing meal? Recently, at Holey Moley, the indoor putt-putt place that replaced Urban Putt in the old Spaghetti Factory space. Not that I had high expectations for the food, but it’s serving a birria pizza that manages to be offensive to both birria and pizza. What restaurant do you miss most? Tom’s Home Cookin’ in Five Points, which closed in December 2015. The last time I ate there was October of that year. Because it was only open for lunch and I lived and worked pretty far away, I could rarely make it there. So, that year on my birthday, I took a vacation day at work and showed up as soon as it opened. I ordered three complete meals — meat- loaf and two orders of fried chicken, plus pretty much every side they had. Then I took it home and had a personal soul-food buffet that I still dream about. What are the big trends at local restau- rants? Prices are still rising, and service fees are more common than ever. But on the upside, the metro area has gotten a slew of new dumpling options, the local baking scene continues to get better and better (have you tried the croissant cube from Black Box Bakery or the jambon beurre from Get Right’s?), and the em- phasis on local sourcing and sustainabil- ity continues to spread. Expect that to continue now that Id Est Hospitality’s zero-waste mantra earned its eateries Brutø and the Wolf’s Tailor’s both a tra- ditional Michelin star and a green star. What do you think about Michelin? It’s a valuable resource that will at- tract more national and global attention — and more culinary talent — to our local scene, but it’s not the be all and end all for people looking for a great meal in Colorado. The fact that destination marketing organizations like Visit Denver pay to have certain areas of the state covered explains why some deserving places were left out — simply because of ge- ography — but I don’t think that dis- counts the work the actual inspectors do in choosing which restaurants are included. Their picks for the fi rst Col- orado guide are generally on point and leave a lot of room for future growth. But every single one of the 44 restau- rants that were honored currently are or have been on Westword’s annual list of the 100 restaurants Food for Thought continued from page 14 continued on page 22 La Fogata is a go-to for Den-Mex staples and pink-hued margs. MOLLY MARTIN
