Good gets on Garden of the Gods 🍽
Mexican favorites at Don Turi's Tacos y Tortas; Afghan rice at Juicy Kebab; a fanciful beer flight at 105 West Brewing; and a Gunnar's Deli sandwich at Red Leg Brewing
Don Turi’s Tacos y Tortas
Don Turi’s opened around the new year at 4423 Centennial Blvd. Its Chef and Kitchen Manager Alvar Arias says the spot’s owned by his uncle Arturo Gonzales, who’s a horse breeder in Mexico. More relevant: Gonzales also owns 3 Margaritas in Fountain and formerly owned the location in Monument that’s now Tequila Village — Arias worked for him there as well.
The chef tells me the menu’s inspired by street food and popular items from Guadalajara, Mexico. They make tortillas fresh in-house, and they stock a pretty fantastic salsa bar with house-pickled items. The three key salsas are a mild roasted tomato-jalapeño, a medium roasted tomatillo-habanero-serrano and a (not too) hot chile de árbol-roasted tomato.
In for breakfast we put all the condiments to good use on our Beast breakfast burrito and Chilaquiles Suizos, made with tomatillo sauce. We add birria and pair the meal with a couple decent coffees from a self-serve station. The Beast wraps beans, potato, and chorizo with green chile in a thin (but sturdy), chewy, lightly browned flour tortilla. I like my bites with the bright orange-colored chile de árbol sauce best, as its sharply acidic with vegetal undertones that lighten the heavy fillings. The chilaquiles come with a side of better-than-average refried beans, and the birria on its own has a pot roasty vibe with just a little clove essence on the back end. Thick tortilla chips are well coated in the tart sauce without being soggy, and dressed in cotija crumble and a cooling drizzle of crema. Extra pickled onions and lime juice serve the dish well and I prefer the medium salsa with it for redundant tomatillo punch.
Back in for dinner, we order several tacos plus Salchipulpos, which are segments of hotdogs sliced to make octopus-like tentacles (hence the “pulpo” part). A dip in the fryer curls the ends up to complete the effect, while adding crispness to the exterior. A dip in mayo, and done. Easy and fun even if you’re not a kid. Arias tells me that in Guadalajara they often wrap hotdogs with bacon on a street dog that gets grilled onion and jalapeño garnish.
The tacos ($4-$5 each) are roundly good. Interestingly, the chicken gets treated like the pork pastor, tenderized with pineapple and marinated with guajillo chiles and achiote. That spice shows up nicely prominent in the final flavor. Lengua tacos lend authenticity to the menu, as not all gringos go for beef tongue, but I’ve always liked it, loaded up with condiments typically. Beer battered fish tacos hold a little crunch and are light with topping coleslaw and pico. Lastly, rajas, if you aren’t familiar, are strips of poblano peppers mixed here with creamy corn and Mexican panela cheese crumbles; it’s a good vegetarian option that’s rich in its own way.
We wash all this down with a satisfying Modelo Michelada and a tall cup of house jamaica (hibiscus agua fresca), not-too-sweet and pleasantly tart/tannic to clean the palate between disparate bites. And we finish with both of Don Turi’s desserts: churros and “apple-nadas.” The churros are exceptional, crispy with ample cinnamon-sugar clinging to them, and served with a dulce de leche-like house dip that’s also usable with the pillowy puffs of small apple fritters, empanada-esque with spiced apple filling, warm and comforting.
Juicy Kebab
Opened at the beginning of the new year, Juicy Kebab — totally unrelated to near-neighboring The Juicy Seafood — is the effort of Owner/Chef Shah Ghulam. This is his first restaurant, which he describes to me as a mix of Afghan and Indo-Pakistani cuisines.
On our first stop by, we order a chicken shawarma and the lamb & chicken combo over rice. The chicken holds a nice, zesty seasoning on both items and the lamb is something I’ll return later for in another dish I’ll describe below. We like the pita on the shawarma in that it’s less thick and bready and more crepe-like and thinner, letting the filling stand out more. Those fillings are: fries, tomatoes, onions, pickled turnips, tomatoes, tahini and a “touch of pomegranate molasses” for punctuation. All good stuff.
The combo is composed of a bed of basmati rice topped with grilled chicken chunks, lamb gyro shavings, a tangy “white sauce” plus house hot sauce and a simple side salad and commercial crinkle fries. It’s a lot of food for just under $13, and satisfies.
Upon return another evening, I pick up the Kabuli Pulao to go. It had been sold out on the prior visit and at early evening this night I’ve ordered the last portion available. Which is to point out that they make a limited amount each day (around 20 portions says Ghulam) and when it’s gone it’s gone, so perhaps go for lunch to try it.
Kabuli Pulao is Afghanistan’s national dish, featuring a slow-cooked lamb shank, its tenderized meat sliding easily from the bone. That comes over a bed of savory-sweet, long-grain basmati rice pilaf — vibrant with aromatic spices and colored by shreds of carrots and soft raisins. I quiz Ghulam about what spices he uses, and he notes cardamom, black pepper and cumin among them (and I later see cinnamon and cloves as commonly listed in online recipes). He says the most important part of perfecting the dish is the right ratios of each spice and ingredient to achieve flavor harmony and balance. His rendition holds up in my estimation.
105 West Brewing Co.
As you’ll hopefully recall from my reporting late last year, 105 West has expanded into Colorado Springs from a bustling spot in Castle Rock to take over the former Trinity Brewing space. Much of the Trinity vibe remains, decor wise, but 105 has opened a sizable kitchen in a connecting storefront that serves a fairly robust pub menu: pizzas, burgers, wings, pretzels, cheese curds, brats and sausages, plus a Greek salad.
We aren’t in to dine this evening, with limited time before another engagement nearby, so we nab a tasting paddle to dip a toe (or tongue, more accurately) into 105’s beer offerings. Here’s what we sampled, with some notes on each:
• Blood Orange Ultralite: super sessionable at 3.6 percent ABV. Orangina in the aroma. The flavor unfolds in an interesting way across the palate, which we describe as Korean corn tea-like, challenging notes up front, followed by a smooth and citrusy middle and light finish that falls off sharply.
• Mystery Machine American IPA: strong at 7.1 percent ABV. Lightly bitter with a delightful grapefruit juiciness and rich body. We’re told it’s the owner’s favorite beer. Note: Online the brewery lists it as a New England IPA, but the digital menu at the brewery says “American IPA.” Those styles deviate pretty drastically, but for the average drinker and fan of IPAs, just know it’s a damn good IPA.
• Deez Nutz Hazelnut & Peanut Butter Ale: what you wished all the other peanut butter beers from other breweries that you wasted money on in the past tasted like. It defies its candy-invoking aroma by not tasting cloying or synthetic. There’s a natural-tasting nuttiness to it and almost English bitter vibe to the amber body. Call it a dessert beer that’s not too heavy and can play well with other food pairings, too.
• Pistachio Almond Stout: a small-batch release that we happen to catch before the single keg is gone. It leads with a roasty coffee aroma and has some bitter dark chocolate undertones and a fairly dry finish in which we struggle to discern the intended pistachio sweetness that’s described. Still, we enjoy drinking it.
Overall, we felt this sampler showed high quality throughout and a grasp of non-traditional ingredients handled well. 105 wouldn’t be expanding if they’d failed to make a good impression in Castle Rock over the past decade. Remember that they’ve won GABF awards too, so they’re time- and professional judge-tested.
Of note: all the beers we sample except the stout are gluten-reduced. In a past online post, 105 explains: “We use Clarity Ferm in most of our beers as a clarifying agent to make our beer crystal clear. It also reduces the gluten in our beers to under 20 parts per million. While our beers are not gluten free like Holidaily Brewing Company, it does mean our beers are gluten reduced.”
Gunnar’s Deli
By Lauren Hug
Gunnar’s Deli, the newest food business at Red Leg Brewing Co., serves a curated selection of six signature sandwiches and a few sides and drinks. Two of the sandwiches come on new-to-me Dutch crunch bread, a crackled, tiger-style crust bread that doesn’t disintegrate when filled with hearty, wet ingredients.
When I asked the staff member at the walk-up window which sandwich is his favorite, he answered without hesitation: the Reuben, a classic execution on house-made rye bread. He also called out The Billy Crunch (deli chicken breast, Swiss and cheddar, mayo, chipotle aioli and potato chips on Dutch crunch), and the Mom’s Caprese (fresh mozzarella, tomato, pesto and balsamic on ciabatta). He admitted as a meat-lover, he was surprised by how much he liked the Caprese, the vegetarian option. That recommendation almost swayed me to give it a try, but I was intrigued by The Billy Crunch because of its combination of ingredients I don’t see regularly.
The employee suggested adding pickled jalapeños for an extra flavor punch. He assured me they weren’t overly spicy and offered a sample. They were bright and flavorful, so I opted in. Wow! They’re so good and they add such a texture and flavor pop, I’d advise Gunnar’s to add them to the standard description of the sandwich and let people omit them if that’s not their thing.
I don’t usually rave about sandwiches (other than the Super Bacon Sandwich at The Exchange downtown), but this one deserves praise. The seasoning and flavors work well together and the double crunch of the bread and potato chips add an unusual texture element. Serving it warm makes it feel cozy. And the portion is substantial. We split one and felt satisfied. The sandwich paired perfectly with the Red Leg Llorona Mexican Lager I was sipping.
