Tacos in Denver

I am looking for a taco place in Denver that is not in a run down neighborhood. Any recs for a taco restaurant that is not a dive bar? My husband does not want to go to a hole-in-the-wall. Thanks for any recommendations.

I am making a stop in Nebraska at Taqueria Rosario Food in Nebraska since it is near I-80. I would still like to try a fried taco in Denver.

I assume you are seeking Indian tacos. I know nothing of the area or just about anything else. I post it for your review, because it sounds intriguing.

If yes:

Tocabe, An American Indian Eatery
3536 W 44th Ave
(720) 524-8282
Open ⋅ Closes 9PM
Lofty, counter-serve Native American spot with build-your-own tacos, bison ribs & nachos.

Tocabe, An American Indian Eatery
8181 E Arapahoe Rd C
(720) 485-6738
Open ⋅ Closes 9PM
Contemporary, counter-serve Native American spot with build-your-own tacos, bison ribs & nachos.

Other sources from Denver residents:

Mexico City Lounge, 2115 Larimer, downtown Denver
Menu indicates they have deep fried tacos

Torchy's Tacos (Greenwood Village)
8505 E. Arapahoe Rd., Greenwood Village, CO
Their menu does not appear to have fried tacos

Good luck, please let us know what happened.

CAthy2

Cathy2 wrote:I assume you are seeking Indian tacos.

C2, why do you assume this? Is there something we don't know that wasn't in the OP? Just curious why tacos would indicate anything, by default, other than Mexican.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:

Cathy2 wrote:I assume you are seeking Indian tacos.

C2, why do you assume this? Is there something we don't know that wasn't in the OP? Just curious why tacos would indicate anything, by default, other than Mexican.

=R=

When I go west, that is what I seek. I also went to the trouble of asking other people who don't always read this board what they could suggest. One came up with deep fried tacos.

Shorty is welcome to use or ignore any and all information provided.

Regards,
Cathy2

Cathy2 wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:

Cathy2 wrote:I assume you are seeking Indian tacos.

C2, why do you assume this? Is there something we don't know that wasn't in the OP? Just curious why tacos would indicate anything, by default, other than Mexican.

=R=

When I go west, that is what I seek. I also went to the trouble of asking other people who don't always read this board what they could suggest. One came up with deep fried tacos.

Shorty is welcome to use or ignore any and all information provided.

Regards,
Cathy2

Ah, ok. I was very confused and figured you might have been referencing a previous discussion.

Thanks,

=R=

Per Wikipedia.org:

The racial makeup of Denver is 77.5% White, 11.1% Black or African American, 2.3% American Indian, 4.5% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander and 4.4% other race. 31.2% of the population is Hispanic or Latino of any race, giving Denver one of the highest populations of Hispanics or Latinos in the U.S.

I hope this helps explain why your comment was initially confusing to me.

I have several contacts in the Denver but none are too into food, so unfortunately, I can't provide much help here. Eater has a list that might be perfect for shorty's husband, though.

=R=

Hi,

Chicago has 0.5% American Indian, whereas Denver has relatively 9X more and can support two locations of 'Tocabe, An American Indian Eatery.'

You can get deep fried tacos in Racine, WI and thereabouts, though I would take the Indian Eatery because it is pretty rare offering here.

I contacted all the Denver people I know: Jared, Mel, my cousin and Adrian Miller, who is writing a book on BBQ presently.

Regards,
CAthy2

Deep fried tacos are very much a Denver tradition and seem to have nothing to do with Indian fry bread. Some interesting history on the former here.

Second the Torchy's rec. Just arrived home from a Denver visit. Torchy's is a chain based in Austin TX. It's a fast casual order type place but it also has a full bar. The tacos are really really good. Its Chipotle crossed with Big Star (kind of).

In terms of Denver, there is also a Torchy's at 1085 N. Broadway in the Denver Capitol Hill neighborhood.

http://www.torchystacos.com

MarlaCollins'Husband wrote:Deep fried tacos are very much a Denver tradition and seem to have nothing to do with Indian fry bread. Some interesting history on the former here.

Thanks! Always great to learn something new.

Cathy, the Indian taco place looked interesting, but my husband does not like Indian Fry Bread.

We'll try Torchy's Taco on the way back.

Thanks to everyone who responded.

MarlaCollins'Husband wrote:Deep fried tacos are very much a Denver tradition and seem to have nothing to do with Indian fry bread. Some interesting history on the former here.

The link takes me to a best of 2018 Denver list. But yes deep fried tacos are indeed a Denver thing. One of a few things that makes up "Den-Mex" cuisine which you can read about HERE. Yes you can get deep fried tacos all over in places like Racine, Orange County, Kansas City, NW Indiana, and more but what makes Denver's unique is the addition of cheese when being deep fried.

I haven't been to Denver since my youth but I was supposed to go last year and did a bit of research on my ultimate guilty pleasure - the deep fried taco. Mexico City Lounge is the most famous place. I know it's been doc'd somewhere on here. Two other spots I found are Phil's Place which is now gone due to Denver's rapid redevelopment and also El Toro which seems to still be around. I cant help you as far as finding one in a spiffy clean space as deep fried tacos are a thing of the past and the places that still serve them are not necessarily seedy but definitely run down and blue collar. The only hipster/yuppie type spot I know of that serves deep fried tacos is the Moonlighter here in Chicago.

Da Beef wrote:

MarlaCollins'Husband wrote:Deep fried tacos are very much a Denver tradition and seem to have nothing to do with Indian fry bread. Some interesting history on the former here.

The link takes me to a best of 2018 Denver list. But yes deep fried tacos are indeed a Denver thing.

My bad. Good catch and thanks for the other article. The link I meant to use is here.

=R=

I am doing the Coors brewery tour in Golden, CO. I highly recommend it. I am in line getting one of three free beer samples at the end of the tour. We will probably do the Hammond candy factory tour in Denver after we finish skiing. It might be fun for the kids.

I am getting the impression that a lot of the better Mexican restaurants are in dives.

Tocabe, An American Indian Eatery
8181 E Arapahoe Rd C
(720) 485-6738
Open ⋅ Closes 9PM

Torchy's Tacos (Greenwood Village)
8505 E. Arapahoe Rd., Greenwood Village, CO
Their menu does not appear to have fried tacos



these places are in the same block!

I live 3 miles away

I ended up at Tamales by La Casita in Denver since it was closer to the candy factory tour. They have a lot of green chile dishes.

shorty wrote:They have a lot of green chile dishes.

Dishes smothered in Green Chile would be at the top of my list of Denver food if I ever go back. Probably something like stacked enchiladas, or smothered adovada burritos.

Chubby's breakfast burritos with green chile would be almost at the top. A 1, and 1a, if you will.

seebee wrote:

shorty wrote:They have a lot of green chile dishes.

Dishes smothered in Green Chile would be at the top of my list of Denver food if I ever go back. Probably something like stacked enchiladas, or smothered adovada burritos.

Chubby's breakfast burritos with green chile would be almost at the top. A 1, and 1a, if you will.

We had tamales smothered in green chile. Very tasty.

It's been a while but I've been to Mexico City Lounge - pretty decent place, nothing remarkable. But I enjoyed it and the atmosphere and would recommend a visit.

shorty wrote:We had tamales smothered in green chile. Very tasty.

So... You never had the fried tacos?