Metro Denver’s food scene has never been as vibrant as it is today, something The Denver Postap food writers understand. Thatap why we’re out on the town as much as possible. Each month, we’ll provide you with recommendations about a few of the dishes we’ve tried. Want to hear about them early? Subscribe to the Stuffed newsletter, where we introduce one each Wednesday.
Arty Express
Cardboard-thin burger patties weren’t a thing a decade ago — at least as far as I knew. In fact, the best hamburgers in town were the thickest and juiciest ones. But smashburgers — all beefy flavor, crispy-singed edges and multiple layers — have exploded in popularity, and there is a pretty well-established pantheon of the tastiest in metro Denver. One of the newer entries on that list would have to be Arty Express (also called Arty’s Burger), which shares space with New Image Brewing’s original taproom in Olde Town Arvada.
Owned by AJ Shreffler, the same chef who runs Little Arthur’s Hoagies on East 7th Avenue in Denver, Arty’s features half a dozen smash burgers on its menu. I tried the most straightforward one: a double American wit, made with Cooper sharp American cheese and caramelized onion on a house-made potato bun. ($16, although a single is $10). The burger was miraculous, but the fries ($4.50) also took me by surprise, as I’ve been in a French fry desert lately. Of course, a meal here isn’t complete without a beer, and New Image makes some of the best in the state. One of its oldest, and still my favorite of theirs, is Coriolis Effect, a hazy IPA made with tropically flavored hops from New Zealand. It’s possible I had two.
5614 Olde Wadsworth Blvd., Arvada;
Noodles by Nina
I know that we recently featured another dish from Noodles by Nina in this space, but I just couldn’t help myself because the Mongolia Beef Sliced Noodle Stir-Fry ($18) is just that good. Opened in December, Noodles by Nina (originally called Magic Noodle House) is part of a small but absolutely fantastic trend in metro Denver of restaurants using hand-pulling techniques to make their noodles. But even better, this particular dish is made with wide, rough-cut noodles, which help them hold more sauce and give them a chewy, rich feel and a comforting texture.
I’ve always been a wide-noodle guy, whether it’s Italian pappardelle, Chinese biang biang or the sen yai used in Thai dishes like pad kee mao. Wide noodles can be harder to wind around a chopstick or a fork, and much more awkward to slurp than thin, round ramen-style noodles, but they offer delights I simply can’t ignore. The Mongolia dish also includes onion, chile pepper and big chunks of well-flavored beef. Noodles by Nina has at least two other menu items made with wide noodles that I have tried: a tofu stir-fry and a signature tomato and egg knife-sliced plate — but it’s the beef dish I keep thinking about.
1400 E. 17th Ave., Denver;
Florence Supper Club
Many of the dishes at Florence Supper Club are meant to be shared. I say that to say this: the Chicken Parm is $28 while a single giant meatball rolls in at $9. Which sounds high — but actually isn’t compared to what similar restaurants charge throughout the metro area. But whatever your feelings are about the cost of dining out — and what makes something worth the money — the food here was certainly worth it to me: straightforward and stunning. But also somewhat hard to get. Why hard to get? Well, it’s nearly impossible to score a reservation in the small space in Washington Park. To get in, my group of 4 showed up when Florence Supper Club opened at 5 p.m. on a weekday, stood in line to put our names on a list, and then waited nearly two hours for spots at the bar.
The Candlelight Tavern is conveniently located next door, however, and although the wine list doesn’t quite compare, the dive bar’s patio is a great place to sit and chill with a cold beverage, whether it’s a beer, a gin and tonic, or a glass of Chardonnay. It was worth the wait. That $9 meatball was a melt-in-your-mouth standout. The fish special rocked, and even the salad delivered. But the chicken parm, as big as the plate and bathed in a rich, layered red sauce, was close-your-eyes good. The filet itself was perfectly cooked on the inside and carried a thick crust of breading on the outside — enough to make an East Coast transplant weep with joy.
375 S. Pearl St., Denver,
Khan Toke
This family-owned business got its start in 2021, at the height of the restaurant industry’s shift toward more — much more — delivery and take-out options. It still operates as a “virtual” or ghost kitchen, out of a Chef Ready commercial kitchen space, where people can also pick up orders to go. I discovered Khan Toke at some point during the hazy pandemic years, and it has been a go-to ever since. Although its menu has changed and evolved over that time, mainstays like pad thai, kee mao (drunken noodles) and kua gai have stayed on the menu.
The Kua Gai, which consists of wide rice noodles, minced chicken, scrambled eggs, onion and garlic, is one of my favorites. Made with a lighter sauce, it has a sweet and savory element that works better for me with a mild spice level, making it a gentle but tasty dish. I typically order it via DoorDash, which I know is controversial to some people, but works for me — and after reading Denver Post food columnist Allyson Reedy’s first-person account of being a DoorDash driver — I make sure to tip a little extra. Can a virtual kitchen get respect in the same way as a sit-down restaurant? I don’t know, but they have mine.
Inside Chefready, 1468 S. Cherokee St., Unit 101, Denver;
