Denver Restaurant Review: Tamayo

July 1st through September 30th marks Tamayo's annual Guacamole Festival here in Denver. Come taste Chef Richard Sandoval's guacamole creations inspired by the diverse regions of Mexico. Flavors from Yucatan, Baja, Sur, Norteno, and Pacifico work to create this unique series of guacamole tasters that are only around for a limited time.

Last night, I was lucky enough to help kick off this year's Guacamole Festival (see menu here). Both a guest and myself were treated to a platter of guacamole samplers including: The Baja, Sur, Pacifico, Traditional, Bacon, Tuna Tartare, and the Spicy Crab. The samplers came on mini tostadas, piled high with each guacamole flavor alongside habanero and tomatillo salsas.

The Sur featured cotija cheese, cilantro, lime, tomatillo, onion and GRASSHOPPERS! I consider myself to be a fairly adventurous eater, but I wouldn't last a week on Survivor. I'm not about to eat any bugs. However, those who ate it said it was surprisingly delicious. 

My two favorites were the Baja featuring kiwi, strawberry, mango and mint and the Pacifico with grilled beats, walnuts, orange and lime.

Tamayo has always been one of my favorite restaurants in Denver and it's always fun to try something new. Make sure you venture down to Tamayo this summer for some one of a kind guacamole or at least a margarita or two!

Denver Restaurant Review: Zengo

With the arrival of Spring, Zengo has introduced its seventh Test Kitchen series. Every few months Zengo and Chef Richard Sandoval work together to develop new Test Kitchen cocktails and plates that are influenced by flavors from Latin and Asian cuisines. Located on Riverfront park, Zengo blends Latin-Asian flavors to create a truly unique dining experience. (See full menu here) 

This month's Test Kitchen series features an array of dishes including: 

• Mojo Grilled Pork Chop with Massaman Curry, Boniato Puree and avocado-tomato salad. 
• Curry Bacalao-Shrimp Spring Rolls with potato and sweet chili mojo
• The Daiquiri Kaffir is full of flavor with bacardi castillo, kaffir lime simple syrup and fresh lime juice
• Chilled Lemongrass coconut soup for dessert - This includes water-chestnuts, mango, litchi and passion fruit granite

Both a guest and I were lucky enough to try a few items off of the Test Kitchen menu this past Tuesday night and were more than impressed by this ever evolving trendy hub.

Curry Bacalao-Shrimp Spring Rolls with potato and sweet chili mojo

Thai Style Snapper "Escabeche" with chili, onion, citrus, pineapple, and thai fish sauce

The featured cocktails included a Spicy Siam with Thai Chili and a Daiquiri Kaffir

For dessert we had the Modern Mexican Bar Peanut Nougat and salted Caramel ice cream

Chilled Lemongrass Coconut Soup with Water-Chestnuts and Mango

Denver Restaurant Review- The 9th Door

Last night we tried The 9^th Door on Blake Street in down town. It is a gourmet tapas restaurant with great happy hour prices and atmosphere. We ordered about three tapas each, and shared them all. My favorite was the goat cheese stuffed roasted pepper and the cheese plate. It satisfies both the vegetarian and the carnivore, with plentiful options on both sides. See menu here!