Reader: Best new restaurant list doesn't show well for Denver

Mark Manger

Pinche Taqueria, Denver's best new restaurant.

Close to 300 restaurants opened in the metro area last year, which made choosing the best for the Best of Denver 2012 was a daunting task. But in the end, Pinche Taqueria was the clear choice for Best New Restaurant.

But many other worthy spots opened in 2011, and Laura Shunk served up nine more in her updated list of "Denver's ten best new restaurants," which included not just some of the much-hyped hip new eateries, but also some unsung ethnic joints.

And that inspired this from IG:

Some of this list is justified but much of it is comprised of restaurants that share the distinction of being cheap, heavy on braising (which hides protein quality and imperfections) and slightly obscure. Please consider as you read this that I agree that they are all 'good' and at least one is great.

Shunk is making her own good name (besides her fiasco of an original review of Barolo) but this list looks too similar to her predecessor's efforts, Sheehan. Jason at times disappeared down a rabbit hole of Aurora hole in the wall joints for weeks on end. His efforts were magnanimous as they tried to help out the little guy; but many of us found it boring and outside the role of the writer. Here is to hoping that Shunk sticks to her knitting and only dabbles in the obscure, braised, hole in the wall restaurants. It's not politically correct to say, but approximately half this list is irrelevant and doesn't help the Denver eater. It's fun to find the diamonds in the rough, but vanity seems more on display here than a comprehensive list of Denver's best new restaurants. I hope this list doesn't make it outside our geographic boundaries. It doesn't show well for Denver - even with a few solid restaurants included.

Anyone want to guess which restaurant IG considers "great"? Post it in the comments section below, where you can also offer your own list of the town's best new restaurants. For a crib sheet, see our Restaurant roll call for 2011.