Side Bets FAREWAYS
PHOTO BY JAMIE SCHWABEROW
BRING THE HEAT: Chili Verde’s Caldo Tlalpeño (right) and Pozole
Soup’s On, Baby! Bowls of brothy goodness from around the world own permanent slots on Denver’s restaurant menus. By John Lehndorff SOUP MAY BE THE most social dish we eat—yes, even more social than nachos. We lean forward over our bowls to eat soup, our faces close together as we inhale the steam and sip that first boiling hot spoonful… Soup is also the noisiest food around. We may chew our sandwiches quietly, but we openly and loudly slurp our noodles. Slurping cools and aerates soup; in many nations it’s expected in public. That’s the sound of satisfaction. From Thailand to Italy, every great cuisine on the planet serves a much-loved hot soup—and that’s true even in the muggiest tropical regions. Thankfully, when people migrated to Colorado, they brought along their soul-satisfying meals in a bowl—everything from pho (“phuh”) to chicken matzo ball soup. Unlike pumpkin-spice pancakes and seasonal salads, the following broth-based COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | Winter 2021
icons take up permanent residency on Denver restaurant menus. These are the soups we turn to when we need to melt the midwinter frost off our faces. CHILI VERDE’S CALDO TLALPEÑO
Chicken and vegetable soup is pretty simple, right? Not when it’s a great soup. At North Denver’s Chili Verde restaurant, Caldo Tlalpeño is layers of flavor built around a red-hued, broth that simmers for days. The perfume that wafts from the spicy soup is downright charismatic. The broth is packed chunks of potatoes, sweet carrots and onions that aren’t mushy, plus pulled chicken breast and a topping of sliced avocado. A squeeze of lime on top harmonizes nicely with the chipotle kick. Walk in shivering and this soup will send you out the door with a
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warm afterglow. Chili Verde’s authenticity is maintained by Puebla, Mexico-raised brothers and owners Eder and Hanzel Yanez-Mota. The tables at the spacious, airy eatery are set with cloth napkins. The menu shines a culinary light on regional dishes not always available in the city’s other taquerias. Chili Verde also offers a stellar Pozole Poblano with chunks of pork, real hominy and red salsa. 2311 Federal Blvd., Denver chiliverdedenver.com RAMEN STAR’S SPICY MISO RAMEN
You can tell when a restaurant takes its soup seriously. Denver’s Ramen Star slow cooks a rich, meaty broth and makes its own authentic Japanese noodles. Our favorite, the spicy miso ramen, is all about umami, the lip-smacking coloradoavidgolfer.com
