Doug "less is more" Y.'s Profile

A very generous friend of mine took another friend of ours and I out to dinner for helping him out. That said, I almost feel obligated to give them a better review than I would if I ate on my dime.....   But homey don't play that. Don't get me wrong, I very much enjoyed the meal and the service bordered on being stellar but I didin't die and go to heaven from the experience.
We all went with the rec'd Quattro Piatti. For appetizers we had the salumi and the frico caldo. My friend with the highly discerning palate decided that the salumi (eaten by wrapping it around the thin breadstick and dipping it into the wasabi/horseradish sauce) reminded him of eating Arby's 'horsey" sauce and beef? I thoroughly enjoyed the salumi but thought the frico instead of being deliciously cheesy was decidedly hash brown-ish and not as crisp as I would have liked. Okay now I'm getting too wordy....  Instead of a blow by blow of each dish, let me just say:
the zuppa di zucca over the overpowered by onion hamachi crudo
pasta ala chitarra over the overcooked gnocchi
nice chunk of red snapper over the the wagyu beef
and damn, why didn't I get the chocolates or cheese instead of this dry pear tart?
Not a perfect meal but a great one.  Oh, and the half glass wine pairings were great and just the right amount of feel good to keep a smile on my face at work that night without it causing a sardonic smile to appear on the boss' face. Thanks D! That makes at least two of my most memorable meals bought by you. Arby's! really?

This review was written for "Denver Yelp" but has been moved to the generic Yelp/SanFran. It only applies to Denver since that's where I've done most of my sharing.

No matter how you come to be a "yelper", this version of the nationwide phenomenon will welcome you to their fold. There may be the errant "troll" lurking on the talk threads just as there are on any popular public forum but don't let that deter you from sharing whatever size slice of the pie that is your life with others. The risk is worth it to find people who appreciate what you have to offer as much as you reciprocate that feeling for all that they bring to the table. Led by the fresh and fun community manager Laura L, I would encourage you to take advantage of all that yelp has to offer including the badge of being "elite" that grants you the advantage of access to events that are sponsored and therefor FREE. Great people, great food, great drink, what else could you ask for?

I haven't been to this taqueria before even though I've tried several times. It was always due to the number of cars parked in the tiny lot out front. Well, I now know that the restaurant fronts a medium sized mex-grocery and panaderia and that you can also park at the rear. Of the three Taco Juniors I have been to, this is by far the smallest with the smallest menu too. Being too full from eating at the other two taquerias on the Eastside taco tour we already had been to, I went with an ear of corn or elote, dipped in crema and covered with queso fresco and lightly dusted with chile powder. It was sooo tasty and I couldn't help but gnaw on it like a ravenous beaver. Probably due to food intoxication, I without thinking broke of chunks of it that I had gnawed and pushed it on anyone near me. Mmm, oh good, you must eat, never mind my gnaw marks, sorry guys. It was the heat of the moment and I was faced with certain agony for not being able to finish such deliciousnes. Next time, elotes for all us touristas on...    Carrie!

Kidding aside, maybe not the best Junior but decent and hey, it has a market and mex bakery in the same damn building! Just beware the bumper car parking lot....

Ahemmm. I'd like to call to order this meeting of the AACBT. Our first order of business is.... what? no Tecate? okay, I'll have a Dos Equis. huh? no Dos Equis?  Chinga la ma....   it's okay, no thanks, nothing for me.
Hmm, what to eat, what to eat. Huh? No I haven't tried the menudo or have I? Maybe I did but I don't remember. What are you getting?

Menudo please, with bread, yes bolillo and an extra bowl, yes an empty one. Thanks.
Good bowl, good bolillo, no T or DE cervezas! MINUS ONE STAR!  We DO need a steenkin' beer!

Well as one of the members of the AACBT I must say that of the three taquerias we managed to make it to, this was my fav taco (what do you mean they were the only tacos I ate? Oh yeah, I had a bowl of menudo that I split with Hans at Los Carb's and an elote "ear" of corn at Taco Jr. So, actually that means I'm speaking the truth! Right?). The taco de discada or the "kitchen sink taco"  aka "look, there's a hot dog in my taco" was very tasty and the tinga or chipotle spice chicken taco was good too. Great find Thomas. I'm letting my Aurora folk know about this place for sure.

I was this close....

Well we couldn't decide where to grab a quick bite and then I remembered Dorian and the W's had put this blip on my radar. This place is so close to home I think the directionally challenged GPS enhanced members of my fam could make it here without even a single "recalculating" being heard.
Got there at 10:00am but I noted that they open at 9:30am which could prove useful. We were the only people there and I had to cough out loud a couple times to get someone's attention from the kitchen. Once seated and watered,  I ordered the Pho Dac Biet or a "the works" bowl and the kid ordered the egg roll and pork bun noodle bowl. It took a good ten minutes if not longer for the bowls to come out but they both looked good when they finally arrived.
My daughter was bummed that instead of cilantro in the noodle salad, they used basil and it was too overpowering. I inhaled over the top of my bowl but wasn't getting much aroma...   the sip......  bummer....   cardinal sin....   broth's not hot,    another sip.... the spice is a good blend but there is wayyy too much sugar in here!  a healthy squeeze of lime....  nope that didn't help, I finally just go through my usual pho ritual. I hit it with siracha (which is sweet) and a touch of hoisin (sweeter) pile on the culantro, basil, and some sprouts, and then some more lime. The meats are pretty good and they even toss in some of their sliced meatball which is cool but I ended up just eating the noodles and meats. In the end, with three limes squeezed into it it was tasting like a sweet and sour soup.
Damn....    I was this close.....

On this fourth installment of the tour for the ever elusive perfect taco, it becomes apparent that every taco is perfect when enjoyed with people of like tastes and that are very likeable to be sharing food with. Thomas made some great choices of taquerias to sample. Kudos to Thomas for his unrelenting and fearless search for that bite that we all know will surely make your head explode once found.
From the very good bowl of menudo at los Carboncitos, to the excellent taco de discada and tasty chipotle chicken taco at Taco Bronco, to the monstrously delicious slathered with crema, queso fresca, and chile'd elote on a stick at Tacos Jr, that was one of my best days of eating ever (I would have gone to try the comal de David S'  at Taco Mex but... I was late for a dinner.).
I'm glad someone has taken over the helm of the Tour de Tacos, my work is done....

Another review long overdue. Dr. Christenses has been my primary care physician since my old doc retired. She was an internist at a clinic in Denver before moving up to Boulder and I followed her there because of the quality of care I receive from her. She's very intelligent, insightful, and shows actual concern for her patients. The planet needs more doctors like her. If your in need of a PCP (and she has any openings) I believe you couldn't find a better doc.

After reading Mark L's review, I knew I had to try this little converted Taco Bell building turned pizzeria that I have driven by and wondered about for years. The reason I kept driving was because there was never more than one or two cars in it's lot. Even at lunch hour across the street from a high school it wasn't ever slammed. Well my rule #3 (full parking lot = good joint) is far from foolproof. While the pie has little to do with the thin crusted version of a napoletana pizza from it's namesake's city (I read okay?) it is a decent medium thick crusted, well cooked and stringy with cheese pie. I wish I had a third hand to take a pic of the pie as I pried a slice loose from the cheese grasp. Now I see why they give you a pie slicer/server with your pie. Just tried the cheese but I bet  the combos are even better. Really nice people working there, they serve beers and wine, slices at lunch time, semi covered patio (but ashtrays all 'round),  I'll probably be back. Oh and like Mark L noticed, they might be well served to up the cfm's on their exhaust fans 'cause it was too burnt flour smoky to sit inside on my visit and winter is coming. For you reallllly lazy types cruising Arvada....   three words.  Drive up window

My quest is over....

tbc...