La Mariposa is a long-standing, family-run chain of Colorado Mexican restaurants.
Its Denver outpost sports many of the trappings of a classic green-chile joint: cheap beer; addictive chips and salsa; and Spanish-speaking cooks hollering at televised soccer games in the kitchen.
Add to that the fact that the menu features the portrait and story behind founders Rene and Maria Cervantes, who moved from Mexico to Colorado in the 1970s, married, and for three decades have run these kitchens with their family. That back-of-the-menu tale is a sweet, down-home touch sure to warm the heart of any fan of local cooking.
But this goes without saying: Round these parts, Tex-Mex is no joke. Those who enter the crowded field better come with their best secret recipes or risk being crushed by the Hatch-fueled prowess of such local mainstays as Brewery Bar II, El Taco de Mexico, Benny’s, Taqueria Patzcuaro and so many others.
When viewed in that context, La Mariposa is hit and miss.
First of all, there’s one thing this green chile lover looks for upon entering any Mexican spot for the first time, and that’s actual Mexican people eating the food.
Denver’s La Mariposa is consistently full of Anglos, and that seems telling.
Because while this menu is vast and its food photography alluring, the food itself fails to live up to Colorado’s high bar for Tex-Mex flavor.
This food is good, not great.
Fajitas — chicken, beef, shrimp and vegetarian — are La Mariposa’s specialty. They are ordered often, and always served sizzling and with all the essential sides. And all of the dishes at La Mariposa boast large portions at fair prices. Yet fresher meat and produce are easily found elsewhere, not to mention bolder flavors.
With La Mariposa’s aqua and maroon color scheme, silk plants, floral carpeting and frosted glass vase collection, it is easy to imagine the cast of “The Office,” or any circle of pent-up cubicle-dwellers, dropping into La Mariposa for a cheap after-work drink. The restaurant is ideal for that, but far from a hot spot for green chile-loving foodies.
La Mariposa
Mexican. 2845 28th St., Boulder, 303-444-2922; 3601 Quebec St., Denver, 303-321-4711 (attached to the Guest House Hotel); 1240 Ken Pratt Blvd., Longmont, 303-772-6288; 112 E. Main St., Lyons, 303-823-5595. $1.95-$13.45. Open daily 11 a.m.- 9 p.m.
Front burner: Daily specials on Mexican beer, warm, crisp tortilla chips and tasty, evenly spiced salsa.
Back burner: Bland green chile, uninterested servers, and weathered decor. (Based on two visits to the Denver location.)
Elana Ashanti Jefferson: 303-954-1957 or ejefferson@denverpost.com
