Denver City Food Tour
It may not be a surprise that Denver, Colorado has a wide range of restaurants that serve all kinds of delicious food for almost anyone. But with hundreds of restaurants to choose from, it can be tough to tell which are the best in town and where they are located. Well, if you are a food lover, then the Denver City Food Tour is right for you!
Guided by a resident of the city, the Denver City Food Tour takes you to five local restaurants on or near Larimer Street, located a couple of blocks into the Northwest entrance into Downtown Denver, and along the way you get a taste of the city’s history.
————————————————
The tour starts off at Marco’s Coal-Fire (Image above). Located near the intersection of Larimer Street and 22nd Street, Marco’s is an Italian joint that has been serving up wood fired pizzas since 2008.
The wood fired oven used at Marco’s
What makes their pizzas more unique than the dozens of pizza restaurants in Denver alone? Well, for starters, their dough is created with a super fine, high-protein flour called 00, which gives their crust a wonderful soft texture that’s also fun to chew on once you get to the slightly-charred crust at the end. The dough is mixed in house and is rolled out to perfection before baked in a wood fire oven that burns at around 900 degrees F, so the pizzas take bout 90 seconds to bake!
While there's a good variety of different pizzas to choose from that range from classic Italian to a couple of new world styles, the one served on the tour couldn’t be more of a classic. A wonderful sauce made from sweet and plump San Marzano tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella for a stretchy, slightly tangy experience, and gorgeous fresh basil, it's truly a pizza that we all dream about. Paired with a glass of house made limoncello and you will feel like you’re in Italy!
————————————————
The second stop takes you across 22nd Street to Lazo, a small chain Argentinian spot that has been cranking out traditional, hand made, fresh baked empanadas for about 5 years! Their empanadas start with a handmade dough that is pressed with one of the 14 house made fillings such as steak, spicy chicken and spinach & cheese that Lazo has to offer and is baked to golden perfection.
On the tour you are treated to their classic ground beef empanada which, though it may fit in your hand, is bursting with flavors such as spices, onions and golden raisins, all wrapped in a delicately flaky pastry that is like eating the ultimate hand pie. Drizzled with their house made chimichurri and your tongue will not know how to taste anything else, it’s that good!
——————————————————
Assuming you’ve gotten over Lazo’s incredible empanada, Stop #3 goes back across 22nd street but on the other side from Marco’s to a place that defines the term ‘as seen on TV’, Biker Jim’s Gourmet Dogs. Also opened in 2005, what started out as a small sausage cart has evolved into what is now a top spot for sausages in Denver, and has been grilling up a variety of sausages made from some pretty exotic meats such as rattlesnake, rabbit, elk and ostrich. These sausages are such a hit that they were even featured on a couple of food TV shows such as Best Thing I Ever Ate and Anthony Zimmerman’s Bizarre Food!
With such a variety of unique sausages, it can be hard to know which to choose, but again, that’s why the Denver Food Tour is there! There you are served their signature jalapeño elk sausage which, while it does give a good kick of heat, is also bursting with flavor and juice. Topped with sweet and rich caramelized onions and a stick of cream cheese, all tucked into their sweet buns, and it’s a real party in your mouth!
——————————————————
The fourth stop is a bit of a walk from Biker Jim’s, but is well worth it! Located near the intersection of Market Street and 20th street and next to Denver’s famous Milk Market, stop number four takes you to Kachina Cantina, a local Mexican restaurant that certainly knows their way around a taco!
There you are treated to something you might not be familiar with, a fry bread taco. A take on an Indian fry bread, fry bread tacos involve a tortilla that is fried so that it puffs up like a balloon before smashed down and topped with a wide variety toppings! The one served on the tour happened to be topped with grilled steak, onions, avocado, cilantro and queso fresco, all of which come together to form a perfect bite.
——————————————————
The fifth and final stop for the tour takes you to a bit of an unexpected location, that being the Denver Union Station. Tucked in a corner of the train stop lies a Spanish and Portuguese restaurant run by an award-winning chef, Ulteria. Ulteria serves up classic Spanish tapas and dishes that is well worth spending the extra money!
There you are served some little egg yolk tarts that date back to 13th Century Europe when egg whites became popular for starching clothes and the yolks had to be used for something. Custardy egg filling tucked in a wonderful crisp pastry, it's certainly the perfect way to end such a fabulous tour.
———————————————
The tour costs about $75 per person, a bit more for a drink pairing option and takes about 3 hours to complete, but with all the sights, tastes and smells that you will experience, it's well worth it!
