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DENVER Challenged

Chicago has the Dog and the Deep Dish, Philly has the Cheesesteak, San Diego has the Fish Taco. Kansas City & Memphis fight over the BBQ. Miami has Cuban food, & Minneapolis has Vietnamese.

What is the Denver equivalent? The thing happening in the Denver food scene that's not happening elsewhere, or being copied in other places? I'm heading to Denver in about a week and looking for interesting (not necessarily expensive) food to eat for lunch or dinner.

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  1. I wouldn’t say that Denver has a great food identity but we do have some very good places to eat. Here are two of what I consider Denvers Best Places to Eat!!!

    Z Cuisine
    2239 W. 30th Avenue
    Denver, CO 80211
    (303) 477-1111

    Is excellent!!! It is a tiny 25ish seats that serves extremely fresh Bistro French fare. The menu changes almost every day.

    Lao Wang Noodle House
    945 S Federal Blvd Ste D
    Denver, CO 80219
    Phone: (303) 975-2497

    This place is dive. It is run by an older Chinese couple. They make hands down the best post stickers on this side of Hong Kong. The soup dumplings are also very good.

    1. Rocky Mountain Oysters. ;-)

      1. Jim, its probably because Denver is the 3rd or 4th best location to eat in Colorado. Boulder is easily the first, then either the Roaring Fork or Eagle (Vail) Valleys, then Denver. Its getting better, but I don't think it will every overcome the "chain" effect.

        1 Reply
        1. re: BlueOx

          I disagree with your assertion that Boulder has better eats than Denver (and I live there!). Where can you get a good cheeseburger? Name 3 mexican restaurants with good green chile. Show me where I can get tacos al pastor or barbacoa. Who serves cassoulet? Is there ban mi available in the city limits? Dim sum? Prime beef? While there are distinct restaurants you can point to and argue that they surpass their Denver counterparts, I don't believe Boulder holds a candle to Denver, chowwise.

        2. Two themes are going on here -- one about casual food associated with a particular place and the other about the food scene. Numerous threads suggest worthy places to go forlunch or dinner.

          As for foods associated with Colorado, there's the Denver omelet (also called the Western omelet and usually attributed to the women who cooked on westward-bound wagon trains) and the cheeseburger (which MIGHT have been invented at the Humpty Dumpty Barrel Drive-In in Denver). Rocky Mountain oysters?

          1. A similar thread appeared a few months back. Besides the RMO suggestion, "wild game" dishes are what I remember most.

            Now, I also credit The Fort with their peanunt butter stuffed jalapeños as an original Denver (OK, foothills) dish.