12 DECEMBER 12-18, 2024 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | BUDGET-FRIENDLY BITES The places dishing up a bang for your buck. Blackbelly Market 4324 West 41st Avenue 720-476-5812 blackbelly.com Blackbelly Market is the Denver outpost of the original in Boulder, which in turn is the breakfast-and-lunch spin-off of chef Hosea Rosenberg’s fi ne-dining restaurant Blackbelly. Here you can grab a breakfast burrito brimming with green chile (a spe- cialty of New Mexico native Rosenberg) or go whole hog with house-cured salumi, charcuterie, deli meats and other meaty wonders from this Michelin-recognized butchery team led by Kelly Kawachi. Grab a seat and order up a stacked sandwich and a monster chocolate chip cookie, or pop in for exquisite dry-aged steaks to impress your dinner guests. Blazing Chicken Shack II 5560 East 33rd Avenue 720-596-4501 blazingchickenshackii.com This small spot tucked a block off Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard may not look par- ticularly welcoming from the outside, with its caged-in windows and barred door, but you’ll fi nd warm hospitality inside Blazing Chicken, along with a menu full of homestyle Southern classics. From the fried chicken to the gumbo to sides like mac and cheese and collard greens studded with shredded ham hock and bolstered with cabbage, this is soul food done right. The Bronze Empire 1591 South Colorado Boulevard 720-599-8888 thebronzeempire.com Tian Xia and Jing Wang, a pair of University of Denver students who moved to Denver from Beijing, brought Chinese hot pot to a South Colorado Boulevard shopping center in 2016, and it quickly became a go-to for anyone craving bubbling broths loaded with meats and veggies. In 2017, it became part of the growing One Concept Restaurant Group, and in the years since, more and more hot pot options have joined the scene. That led to a big change at Bronze Empire in September 2024, when it switched to an all-you-can- eat model that has made it an even more tempting option. Carmine Lonardo’s 7585 West Florida Avenue, Lakewood 303-985-3555 carminelonardosdeli.com This cozy, family-owned Italian market and deli has been around since 1976. The shelves are lined with imported pasta of all shapes and sizes, olive oil, canned goods, frozen foods like housemade sausages, and so much more. Still, the sandwiches — huge, messy masterpieces loaded onto freshly baked rolls, which you can cus- tom-order with that Italian sausage and a variety of other meats in hot and cold varieties — are unbeatable, and reason enough to visit. Carrera’s Tacos 7939 East Arapahoe Road, Greenwood Village 303-862-6942 carrerastacos.com Originally from California, brothers Joshua and Ryan Carrera launched a catering com- pany-turned-food truck in 2019 with the goal of bringing the type of Mexican food they’d grown up eating to the Mile High — and their business was a hit. In 2022, it moved into a permanent home, making the Denver Tech Center an unlikely destination for French fry-fi lled burritos, ceviche, asada fries and a variety of must-try tacos. Cuba Bakery & Cafe 15028 East Mississippi Avenue, Aurora 303-752-2822 cubabakeryandcafe.com Orlando Colombe opened this bright and welcoming strip-mall spot in 2013 after mov- ing to Colorado from Florida for a change of pace. The often-packed casual eatery serves a wide variety of sweets and a lineup of sandwiches, such as a traditional Cuban and pan con lechon. But it also serves seri- ously impressive slow-cooked entrees such as ropa vieja, picadillo and tender pork ribs, along with daily specials like the Saturday- only marinated oxtail. Gaia Masala Burger 609 Grant Street 720-532-0417 gaiadenver.com A fast-casual restaurant that started in Boul- der and now has two Denver outposts, Gaia Masala is a savior for anyone seeking late- night eats. It offers straight-up Indian dishes, a smattering of Mediterranean entrees like falafel and shawarma, and a handful of burg- ers. But dig deeper into the menu and you’ll fi nd the really exciting stuff: neon-orange tikka masala cheesesteaks; a burger topped with mint, cucumber and tikka masala sauce; and (our fave!) cheesy masala fries served plain or loaded up with a choice of chicken, lamb or cheesesteak. While others in the area have tried to follow suit with similar offerings, Gaia Masala does them best. Garibaldi Mexican Bistro 3298 South Broadway, Englewood 303-781-0812 garibaldimexican.com This little eatery is wedged between a Conoco and an automated car wash, but don’t let the location fool you: This is one of the top spots in town for tacos as well as specials like lamb barbacoa and quesadillas with huitlacoche and squash blossoms. Other hard-to-fi nd regional dishes include pambazos (smoth- ered tortas), nopales rellenos (stuffed cactus leaves), Oaxacan-style tlayudas, and mixiote (slow-cooked pork or chicken). Fill ’er up! House of Bread 202 South Parker Road 720-727-0000 houseofbreadinc.com This Armenian bakery offers a full range of pas- tries, cakes, breads and deli products, so you’ll fi nd traditional barbari and matnakash breads. But you can also get a full-on meal at House of Bread. Order savory manti dumplings. a few lahmajun — small fl atbreads topped with fi nely ground beef, cheese or za’atar — or the ajarski, a canoe-shaped bread whose hollow center is fi lled with cheese and eggs. Kiké ’s Red Tacos 1200 West 38th Avenue 720-397-0591 kikesredtacos.com Named for family patriarch Enrique Silva Figueroa (aka Kiké), who spent much of his life working in restaurants and managing kitchens in Jalisco, Mexico, this business started as a food truck in 2021, just as birria tacos were taking hold all over social media and restaurant menus. In 2023, it moved into a brick-and-mortar location, and the expanded kitchen has led to a larger menu that includes carnitas and al pastor (though it’s tough to pass up the birria), as well as a full bar program. La Diabla Pozole y Mezcal 2233 Larimer Street 720-827-4158 ladiabladenver.com Chef Jose Avila’s La Diabla has been heaped with praise since opening in 2021 for every- thing from its namesake pozole to its tacos and stellar house margs, and rightfully so: It does a lot of things well, but we also love the fact that it offers guests a lot of deals on those things. In addition to the Thursday-through- Sunday happy hour from 2 to 6 p.m., there’s a wings-and-beer special on Mondays for $10; $4 street tacos on Tuesdays; the Jose’s Gone Fishing offer on Wednesdays, with two al pastor tacos and a house margarita for $5; and two-for-one bowls of pozole on Thursdays. It’s enough to keep us coming back over and over — sometimes several times a week. Lucky Noodles 1201 East Colfax Avenue 720-917-1000 luckynoodlesthaidenver.com Inspired by the food she missed from her hometown of Bangkok, Kamolrat “Ploy” Limpapath opened this cozy neighborhood restaurant off East Colfax in 2020 — despite delays caused by the pandemic and with the help of the community. The neighborhood has continued to show up for Limpapath’s warm welcomes and her lineup of Thai hits such as tom yum soup and khao soi, many of which are made with ingredients she sources directly from Thailand in order to provide guests a taste of what it’s like to dine in her home. Mango House 10180 East Colfax Avenue, Aurora 303-900-8639 ardasclinic.com/mangohouse.htm In 2019, this refugee resource center founded by Dr. PJ Parmar moved to a new, bigger location. Now home to several nonprofi ts and other services that include health care and a family lawyer, the facil- ity houses a food court with international offerings, providing aspiring restaurateurs a place to share their cuisine. With stops ranging from Urban Burma to Jasmine Syr- ian Food, Natoli Ethiopian Restaurant and Nepali Spice, a trip here is like a passport for food lovers. NBX Asian Cuisine 9068 Forsstrom Drive, Lone Tree 303-643-6464 nbxasiancuisine.com For those living in the southern suburbs, the family-owned NBX Asian Cuisine, which opened in 2022, offers a warm, casual at- mosphere alongside an impressive array of Chinese dishes. The owner is happy to help guests navigate the choices, which range from Shandong chicken in a rich brown sauce to pan-fried dumplings, chilled liangpi (wide noodles) and rou jia mo, a dish often referred to as “Chinese hamburgers,” a rare fi nd in the Mile High. Odie B’s 2651 West 38th Avenue odie-bs.com Northside native Cliff Blauvelt opened his rowdy daytime eatery in Sunnyside under the name Bodega in 2022. Since then, it’s been rebranded as Odie B’s, but no matter what you call it, there’s no denying that it’s earned its many fans, who line up for breakfast staples like burritos and the Eat Here continued from page 10 Odie B’s is a hit for breakfast and lunch. BEHIND THE APRON MEDIA
