Beyond burritos and burgers
Foodie ‘fanboy’ vows to debunk myths, uplift Durango’s restaurant scene
This article was originally posted in the Durango Telegraph (10/7/21,) the first installment in my new column called Let’s Dig In.
Since moving to Durango from Denver in 2013, I have often overheard comments like “the only good food you can get in Durango is either a burrito or a burger,” which has always surprised me, since from where I sit, Durango has quite the vibrant restaurant and local food scene. Even through the turmoil of the past 18 months, it continues to thrive and grow and evolve, especially when factoring in the challenges of shutdowns and social distancing practices and the increasingly difficult struggle to find and retain willing, reliable employees. These shifts have impacted both tourists and local residents alike, and the restaurants have far and away taken the brunt of these impacts.
When I left Denver, the city’s restaurant and cocktail scene was bustling, and I was fortunate to have had access to abundant knowledge around classic cocktails and spirits from people like Sean Kenyon of Williams & Graham, Bryan Dayton of Oak at Fourteenth in Boulder, Randy Layman of Steubens, and Kevin Burke of Colt & Gray. And through their patient guidance and expertise, I learned about cocktail history, flavor combinations and profiles of spirits, the best techniques to make better and more reliable cocktails, how fewer yet higher quality ingredients make a better drink, and most importantly, how being grounded in the classics and knowing the basics behind drinks like the Manhattan or Negroni or Daiquiri can a launching pad to create new and interesting creations grounded in real knowledge and experience. But maybe the most important lesson those mentors taught me was about balance, which also relates to the food side of hospitality as well. Balance around what local farms and ranches and foragers can provide, and what will need to be sourced from afar for a culinary scene like ours.
In recipes, if something is too sweet, balance it with a bit of acid. If something is spicy hot, cool it down with a cream or fat like sour cream or yogurt. If a steak or vegetables hit too salty, those elements may be toned down with a savory pesto or pistou to tone down that bright and briny punch. This is what makes food exciting — unexpected combinations of ingredients and sides and purees and accents that are more than just a simple trio of piles on a plate, but a framed, composed, well-executed meal that brings joy and excitement from the first bite to the last. And let’s not overlook the pairings — a well-chosen, classic cocktail is a perfect prelude with a round of appetizers, the right wine to assist and support your main dish, and a dessert sipper or amaro to finish, rounds out all the elements of a great dinner out on the town.
Now that may all sound a bit high-brow, but what is also in balance is the blend of restaurants across Durango — from cheap to chic. I have often heard that Durango has more restaurants per capita than San Francisco. So no doubt, we got options for burgers and burritos (and let’s not forget the brews, with how many local breweries now? Six? Seven?) We also have at least a half dozen sit-down breakfast spots, foods from Asia and the Far East, multiple pizza joints, a selection of Mexican and tacos places, handmade pasta at extremely reasonable prices, multiple sushi options, a speakeasy behind a barber shop, an old gas station packed with food trucks, and fine dining that provides upscale choices for celebrations, special events, or a fancy date night. Does Telluride have this much diversity?? Not a chance.
Back to the pandemic, while the restaurant industry from top to bottom was simply hammered in the depths of shutdowns and new & shifting regulations, for the most part Durango restaurateurs came together to figure out a path forward where the local industry could survive. Federal support for restaurants took a long time to get authorized, so restaurants across the country were pretty well hung out to dry longer than many other industries, and they suffered because of it. With some creativity, support from the city, and locals coming out of the woodwork to pledge their dollars to local restaurants, most places came out of those depths with maybe a few scratches and scars, but for the most part they made it. Yet in other ways, it forced some new thinking about restaurants, shifted priorities, and created opportunities for what locals and tourists alike seek from our local food scene. We should be proud and lift the people who worked so hard to make that happen.
As you can likely guess, this is a new column for The Telegraph — a new take on Durango’s food and restaurant scene, and also my first column. Am I a fanboy for the Durango culinary scene? Guilty as charged! And where this column goes is anybody’s best guess, but I can certainly tell you what it won’t be — it won’t be condescendingly critical reviews of individual establishments or chefs. It won’t have recipes or detailed instruction, unless given as an example of what some place is doing that is new or different to advance our food culture. It might be critical now and then of opportunities we might be missing, or a gap in our food & wine & cocktail culture, but this column is intended to elevate and spotlight the restaurant community that works so hard and gives back so much to help make Durango the best place ever.
In my day job, I am the Communications Director in the Southwest with a national, non-profit river conservation organization called American Rivers. While the organization is based in Washington, D.C., we have quite a presence in the west, most notably working to protect and restore big rivers like the Colorado and the Rio Grande, but also tributary streams like the Gila, the Chama, the Arizona’s Little Colorado, and the Crystal. But I also am a mountain biker, rafter, hiker, backpacker, and yes, a bit of a food and wine and cocktail junkie. Hence my enthusiasm for this new column.
Join me in exploring our community through these pages, and tell me what interests you, what is missing, what you wish we had, and who is doing it better. How do we stack up against other cities and mountain towns? All of that is fair game in my mind. I am stoked about where Durango is headed, the trends, and what is coming along with what everyone around here knows is a growing and evolving Durango. You can bet your Bellini on that.
We have so much to talk about, so let’s pull up a chair, shake out our napkins, take a sip of wine, and dig in.
