Atomic Tamale landed on the list of our top ten vegetarian meals of 2011, and the tiny spot on Santa Fe Drive was always packed (especially on Sundays, when free vegan menudo was offered up with entrees), selling tamales by the singles and dozens. But as with Denver Seitan Company, while the product was premium, the permitting wasn't quite 100 percent. And Atomic closed in January when the city rejected a permit application.

But get ready for Atomic to explode on the scene again.

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The Downtown Denver Partnership has been working hard to increase the mix of menu options on the 16th Street Mall, expanding hours as well as offerings. "One of the things we've been striving for for the last couple of years is to increase the quality, predictability and overall appearance and image of the vending program on the 16th Street Mall," says the DDP's John Desmond. But some old vendors don't like the new rules. "We're independent vendors who are limited in budget and resources," says Mohammed Elaemi, who runs Shondiz, a kebab stand. "Who can really do six or seven days a week as individuals? We'll wear out in a couple of months."

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The Food Truck Renegade posse will host its first gathering of the season tonight in the parking lot at Ninth and Bannock, in the heart of the Golden Triangle. The party starts at 4 p.m. and will feature food from The Crock Spot, Street Eats, NZ Smoking Guns, Mikes2Kitchen, Sweetness, Brava! Pizzeria, Stick it to Me, Mythos Greek, Biscuit Bus, Steuben's, Chef Driven and Coaches Scoop.

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A gluten-free food cart is coming to the 16th Street Mall.

When Nancy Weagant gave up her three-decade dental career five years ago, she decided to head into the kitchen. "I grew up in San Francisco, and I watched my mom cook forever," she says. "And I studied abroad in France and Italy. I just knew this is what I wanted to do." And so she enrolled at Cook Street School of Fine Cooking, where she studied "fast and hard" in anticipation of working the burners after graduation.

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An old-school growler.

Just because you walk out the door of your favorite brewery doesn't mean you can't take the good times with you. The majority of Colorado's craft brewers sell growlers -- 64-ounce brown glass bottles, for the most part, topped with a screw-off cap. Most will sell you the vessel for anywhere from $5 to$10, which you can then bring back for a fill, usually around $8 to $18, depending on the beer. But as great as growlers are, most don't keep beer fresh for very long. In fact, those screw-top caps mean your beer will likely be flat within a day or so.

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The Justice League of Street Food hosted its first bash of the season last weekend, and on Friday, the Food Truck Renegades will follow up with a street-food party of their own.

Twelves trucks and carts -- Crock Spot, Street Eats, NZ Smoking Guns, Mikes2Kitchen, Sweetness, Brava! Pizzeria, Stick it to Me, Mythos Greek, the Biscuit Bus, Steuben's, Chef Driven and Coaches Scoop -- plan on planting their wheels in the parking lot at Ninth and Bannock beginning at 4 p.m.

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Gabrielle Hamilton has been on top of the culinary world for the past couple of years. In 2011, she landed a James Beard Award for Best Chef in New York City for her simple fare at Prune, besting April Bloomfield, Wylie Dufresne, Michael Anthony and Michael White and quipping, charmingly, when she accepted the award, "All you have to do is open a can of sardines and a box of Triscuits, call it a signature dish, and you get Best Chef New York City."

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Courtesy Denver Seitan Company

Best of Denver award-winner Denver Seitan Company has been mysteriously absent as of late: no presence at this past Sunday's Neat Market, no Denver Seitan pizza at the Marquis -- and we just found out why: The health department embargoed and confiscated all DSC wheat meat due to permitting issues. But it's a good thing -- really!

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Lori Midson

While Oaxaca has a different mole for every day of the week, this Mexican restaurant in Denver has a different salsa for nearly every dish on its menu -- and they're all terrific.

Can you guess where I'm eating?

Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct answer to the week's Guess Where posts is entered into a pool -- and every Monday, we select one lucky winner who'll receive an EatDenver dining deck, worth up to $520 in discounts at independent restaurants. Read all about EatDenver dining decks here.

Lori Midson

Serena Romeo
Comida Cantina
721 Confidence Drive, Longmont
720-204-6455
www.eatcomida.com

This is part two of my interview with Serena Romeo, exec chef of Comida Cantina. Read part one of my interview with Romeo.

What's your best piece of advice to culinary-school grads? Be open to learning things beyond what you learned in school and always clean up after yourself, because it really is important. And don't say "I know" when you're being corrected -- you don't know, or you wouldn't have done it to start with. Respect everyone you work with, especially the dishwasher, and be prepared to work the hardest you ever have.

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