Denver Dining Super Mega Bien
Possibly worth reading even if you don't dine in Denver if you like Mexican wrestling.
On Thursdays I share a throw back post from an old blog or publication. Until I run out. This post was previously published on Denverb.co
Are you into Mexican wrestling? Or Mexican wrestlers? Or Mexican wrestling dolls? Supermegabien is here to introduce you to the last one. As well as incredible Latin American food.
I've always been a fan of Dim Sum. Carts of delicacies roll by producing a pavlovian response and encouraging the kind of experimentation with flavors that seem risky with an entree.
What is Latin American Dim Sum?
It is Latin American Dim Sum.
Perhaps there a more robust explanation but I ignore the fine print.
When we arrived at 6:00 on a Tuesday (lets pretend the early hour was because we were dining with a three year old and not that I roll into restaurants with the octogenarians) every table was full except the corner booth. The host showed us right to the four top and happily added a fifth setting although he had not yet laid eyes on our pint sized diner. Some restaurants are picky about that, but the staff's attitude matched the vibe...buzzy and upbeat.
The menu featured many dim sum options as well as entrees which come in half and full portions. It is hard to ignore the carts. We tried everything on them including the special...which turns out to be buns on Tuesday. Their doughy wrapping was the closet to the sticky buns of traditional Aisan dim sum, but these were stuff with succulent savory meat rather than strange plum-like paste. My favorite was the curry shrimp soup.
A little game for you: which of the above is the soup?
Despite already feeling satisfied it was time for us to try entrees. We chose the mole lamb wrapped in banana leaf and pork with slaw and home made...lets call them rolls but its possible the description was in the fine print.
Here is another game: Which entree are you looking at? Alternatively: Who can't hold still while using her new iPhone's low-light photography mode?
The slaw was incredible. I asked the server about the acid in it and she said it was lemon juice. Simple. Bright. Cuts through the pork. Wait...I gave away the entree.
After trying bites of things that would have sent me screeching to the bathroom at his age the little guy took to examining the decor. He too seemed uninterested in the tiny type and instead featured a Mexican wrestling doll (you knew we were going to get there) high on a perch. Our server agreed to get him down to play with (lets assume gender here, but maybe I shouldn't because his breasts are a prominent feature.) I thought he looked like a voodoo doll monster but the kid seemed to feel pretty comfortable with him.
The kindness of the server, the interactivity of the place (carts! toys!), and the combination of tastes pushed SMB to the top of my return list.
We eat on the later side, 7:00 or 7:30. It started due to work schedule and daycare pick up times -- we were not usually home before 6:30pm. Then the move to Vermont, the later school release, bus drop off, after school snack, downtime, maybe homework...eating later just made sense and now it is our habit.
My sister has always teased me, with the "you eat like the gentry" with our schedule, but our schedule became our routine and now habit keeps me locked into the later time. I have stopped worrying and apologizing about the lateness and just kind of go with it now, it is what it is.
I would love to try Mexican Dim Sum
We eat dinner at 5PM. For years we'd sheepishly mumble some sort of defense. But now, I just come straight out with it. It doesn't mean that's then my work ends, just that's when I eat. We get looks when we say this piece of information. I've had to work on my "I'm too old to care, deal with it" look to send right back at them. I'm not inflexible- we can eat on other schedules too, when we're with friends/family/coworkers. But it's just one of those things that is just a weird urge/reflex/trait, downplaying it, like when someone catches you napping and you deny it by instinct.