PRICE KEY
Average amount spent on food at dinnertime, per person
$ – Less than $20
$$ – $21 to $30
$$$ – $31 to $40
$$$$ – $41 or more
CANTINA LOCA
LOHI At Cantina Loca, there are no cliff divers, arcades, or caves—features associated with Dana Rodriguez’s latest endeavor. Instead, the casual LoHi bar and restaurant specializes in the straightforward Mexican cuisine and well-made drinks that put the F-bomb-dropping chef on the map long before a table at Casa Bonita became the most coveted reservation in town. While you can also taste Rodriguez’s food at RiNo’s Work & Class and Super Mega Bien, we’ve become partial to nearly two-year-old Cantina Loca for epitomizing the Chihuahua, Mexico–born chef’s culinary range and fiery personality (after all, Loca is her nickname). Her prowess in the kitchen translates to a tempting roster of tacos (try the cabrito, slow-braised goat with avocado salsa) and shareable must-haves such as the molcajete: bone-in chicken, pork wing, and steak engulfed in a bubbling salsa verde with melty asadero cheese. A cocktail spiked with Doña Loca mezcal or tequila, Rodriguez’s line of agave spirits, should loosen up your crew enough to inspire some easy laughs. In short, Cantina Loca is a good time all around—without the sideshow. $$, 2890 Zuni St., 303-284-6738
DAUGHTER THAI
HIGHLAND Ounjit Hardacre knows she can’t dampen diners’ infatuations with pad thai, green curry, and other ubiquitous takeout staples. But the chef-owner of four-year-old Daughter Thai aims to at least expand their palates. With the help of business partner Dueanphen Rungrueang, Hardacre conjures up recipes based on specialties she craves from her homeland in western Thailand’s Kanchanaburi province and techniques she gleans from regular visits to the Land of Smiles. The results are revolving offerings that are difficult to find elsewhere in Denver, such as miang pla yang, a whole trout grilled in banana leaves and designed to be devoured in lettuce cups with a parade of accoutrements, including crunchy cashews, fried onions, and nam jim (a tangy-spicy dipping sauce of lime, fish sauce, and Thai chiles). Also look for inventive preparations of gyoza, such as the gin gyo—pork dumplings and egg noodles nestled in red curry—a nod to a trend that’s popping up all over Bangkok right now. The dishes play well with the restaurant’s tried-and-true favorites, such as larb and pineapple fried rice, which you won’t be able to get enough of. $$$, 1700 Platte St., Suite 140, 720-667-4652
FOX AND THE HEN
If there’s one Denver restaurant that’s making the case for breakfast being the most important meal of the day, it’s Fox and the Hen. In June, co-owners Michael Fox and Carrie Baird). A few homages to fast food, including the American-cheese-hollandaise-drizzled Le Big Mac Omelette, are evidence Baird and Fox don’t take themselves too seriously, yet the polished cooking techniques and balanced accompaniments prove that the self-proclaimed “egg cookery snobs” aren’t messing around, either. The combination of satire and savvy makes for early day eats that are breezy and delicious.
