It was a chilly Saturday afternoon in Aurora. We were hungry for something warming, so it was the perfect time to visit Aurora’s new menuderia. While many local Mexican eateries serve menudo, El Rico Dicho Menuderia and Taqueria seems to be the first restaurant to actually bill itself as a place specializing in menudo.
Menudo, a rich broth thick with with tripe, hominy, chiles and tripe (stomach), is a classic Mexican preparation reputed for its power to cure hangovers. That explains how it has become a weekend brunch favorite.
We weren’t in a tripe mood, so we opted for a bowl of caldillo carne seca and a chile con carne colorado burrito. Corn chips came out with a good salsa that had a definite bite to it.
The caldillo was a wonderful thick stew — almost an Irish stew — with potatoes, carrots, onions, green chiles and dried beef that lent it a great chew. It arrived with warm corn tortillas and a side of chopped onions and lime wedges.
The burrito was a simple, beautiful creation, just a homemade flour tortilla stretched around soft pork chunks in thick, hot gravy thick with ground red chile — no rice, no beans, no sour cream. It was topped with red enchilada sauce. My guest deemed it “the best burrito I’ve had in ages.”
Since the restaurant is waiting for its liquor license, I tempered the heat with a big glass of jamaica aquas frescas, essentially a cold, sweetened drink flavored with tart, berry-like hibiscus flowers.
The menu also includes huevos rancheros, gorditas, taco, tortas, pozole and flan.
I had eaten at the same table twice at this location, 10400 E. 6th Ave., when it was Tao Tao Noodle House and Chef’s Noodle House. With new decor from Northern Mexico, maybe the third time will be a charm with El Rico Dicho.
And yes, I’ll go back some Saturday when I’m in a menudo mood.
LOCAL FOOD GIFTS
The debut Colorado Craft Beer Calendar 2013 features 12 notable breweries including Oskar Blues (Longmont), Great Divide (Denver), Pug Ryans (Dillon), Ska Brewing (Durango), Golden City Brewery (Golden) and Pagosa Springs Brewing Company (Pagosa Springs). Details at: pitchforkpinups.com. … Summit Mesa Publishing has released Paula Mitchell’s “Exploring Colorado Wineries – Guidebook and Journal” that details 125 wineries in the state in six wine regions. Ordering information at: exploringcoloradowineries.com. … Hot off the press, “The Sweet Basil Cookbook” celebrates the 35th anniversary of that acclaimed Vail eatery. Featured recipes include Saffron Angel Hair Pasta, Hot Sticky Toffee Pudding, Colorado Lamb T-bones, Herb Crusted Rocky Mountain Trout, and Shrimp and Calamari. For cookbook information: sweetbasil-vail.com. … Denver’s Infinite Monkey Theorem winery is offering a distinctive gift for foodies: One bottle each of red and white Blind Watchmaker wine with a pound of Colorado’s Tender Belly maple dry-cured bacon. Details at: theinfinitemonkeytheorem.com.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
“On Sunday mornings I clearly remember the aroma of a rich ragu cooking slowly to be eaten later that day with pasta (rigatoni or ziti), and delicate meatballs, which were always served separately, never on the same plate, and falling off the bone beef or pork ribs that had been stewing in that same ragu for hours.” – Actor and cookbook author Stanley Tucci at gourmet.com.
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