WHAT’S HOT

The cielo mar y tierra molcajete bowl with chicken, shrimp, and steak

& EAT DRINK

Hot Spot

Ni Tuyo’s molcajetes are spicing up Denver’s Mexican food scene.

Pho. Gumbo. Chicken pot pie. This deep into winter, Coloradans are likely getting tired of the same old belly-warmers—making it a perfect time to visit Ni Tuyo in Bonnie Brae. In July, chef Silvia Andaya and the team behind South Broadway’s Adelitas Cocina y Cantina and La Doña Mezcaleria opened the chic eatery and mezcaleria, which specializes in meats and veggies stewed in flavor-packed sauces and served in piping hot volcanicrock molcajetes, aka mortars. Start with Mexican comforts such as tlacoyos—corn-based flatbreads topped with black beans, chorizo, a nopales (prickly pear cactus) salad, and queso fresco—then share one of the bubbling cauldrons (each feeds two to three). We’re partial to the mariscos, which marries a blend of mussels, tilapia, and shrimp with a rich butter and white wine sauce spiced with red pepper flakes, and the Ni Tuyo, whose rib-eye steak, chicken, longaniza (Spanish-style sausage), nopales, and melty panela cheese swim in a roasted tomatillo sauce. Any one of the five varieties, however, is sure to enliven your cold-weather cuisine routine. —RIANE MENARDI MORRISON