Koko Lists
Start a new list
Log in
Sign up
← New random battle
Koko Battle
Tap your pick.
Los Chingones
Los Chingones is chef Troy Guard's take on Mexican food, built around a self-described "badass" sensibility — sassy, spicy, and deliberately irreverent rather than a strictly traditional taquería. Guard, a well-known figure in Denver's restaurant scene through his broader TAG Restaurant Group, opened the RiNo location as a bi-level space with a 90-seat rooftop bar looking out over the neighborhood, a genuinely different physical footprint than most of the city's taco spots. The food leans into creative reworkings of familiar formats — handmade tacos and bold, sometimes unexpected flavor combinations built to keep the soul of classic Mexican cooking while pushing past strict tradition — served alongside a serious tapas-style small-plates menu and a cocktail program built specifically around margaritas. That combination of rooftop bar, tapas format, and inventive tacos has made Los Chingones as much a destination for the scene as for any single dish. RiNo itself has become one of Denver's most concentrated dining and nightlife districts over the past decade, and Los Chingones' rooftop has become one of the more recognizable gathering spots in that stretch — the kind of place regulars go as much for the view and the margaritas as for a specific order off the menu. The concept has since expanded to a second location in the Denver Tech Center, extending Guard's format beyond its original RiNo home. For a Denver taco list, Los Chingones is the essential "tacos as part of a bigger scene" entry — a chef-driven, rooftop-bar taquería in the heart of RiNo, proof that Denver's taco scene has real room for kitchens built around spectacle and creativity rather than strict tradition.
VS
Adelitas Cocina y Cantina
Adelitas Cocina y Cantina opened on April 29, 2013, in Denver's Platt Park neighborhood, built as a dual family-owned operation — Victor Ayala connected his mother, Silvia Andaya, with restaurateur Brian Rossi as he was planning the concept, and the resulting partnership has run the restaurant together ever since. That two-family structure has given the kitchen a genuine home-cooking backbone rather than a single chef's individual vision. The menu centers on traditional Mexican cooking specifically from the state of Michoacán, served across brunch, lunch, dinner, and a late-night menu that runs seven days a week — a broader daily footprint than most of the traditional taquerías elsewhere on this list, which tend to keep more limited hours. Tacos and tequila cocktails sit at the center of that menu, with a bar program built to match the food rather than function as an afterthought. That Michoacán focus places Adelitas in direct company with a small number of other well-regarded Denver kitchens working the same regional tradition, but its South Broadway location and extended service hours have carved out a distinct role — a place regulars can count on for a proper sit-down meal well outside standard taquería hours, rather than a counter-service stop. For a Denver taco list, Adelitas Cocina y Cantina is the essential "traditional Michoacán cooking, extended hours" entry — a family-partnership restaurant built around regional Mexican tradition and a serious tequila program, open across brunch, lunch, dinner, and late night on South Broadway since 2013.
Next battle
Full comparison
About Los Chingones
About Adelitas Cocina y Cantina
Popular Battles
1984 vs. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
1 votes
Friends vs. Curb Your Enthusiasm
1 votes
Ideogram vs. Sora
1 votes
Navy Pier vs. Bishop Museum
1 votes
Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree vs. Skittles
1 votes
George Carlin vs. Oprah Winfrey
1 votes
