Despite having a short growing season, an unpredictable climate and challenging terrain, Colorado is a cornucopia of ingredients from wild game to fresh produce. Cowboy culture and the flavors of the U.S. Southwest are part of the vernacular here, even as chefs approach tradition through a modern lens. Colorado’s MICHELIN Guide restaurants proudly incorporate the flavors found in their own backyards to create some of the state’s most memorable dishes.
Discover nine must-try dishes below.
Bison
Bison no longer roam free in Colorado, but the roots of these hefty animals run deep — they’re both culturally significant to the state’s heritage and are featured widely on menus from burger joints to fine dining establishments. Bison has a similar flavor profile to beef, and while it is much leaner, it doesn’t have the muskiness associated with some game meats.
Located at Union Station in the heart of downtown Denver, Tavernetta is known for its stand-out hospitality team led by Bobby Stuckey and its regional Italian fare, but that doesn’t stop their chefs from taking a little local inspiration in the form of Colorado bison shank osso buco with sunchoke, pomegranate and pistachio gremolata.
In Aspen, Chef Mawa McQueen takes inspiration from her Ivory Coast and Paris upbringing at her eponymous eatery, Mawa’s Kitchen. Her hachis Parmentier, the French equivalent of a shepherd’s pie, features bison instead of ground beef, plus Yukon gold potato mousseline and a blend of Gruyère and other Swiss cheeses.
Bison hachis parmentier at Mawa’s Kitchen. © Mawa’s Kitchen
Rocky Mountain TroutColorado’s state fish draws anglers from around the world for fishing excursions to local rivers, but it also graces the menus of MICHELIN Guide restaurants, where it is incorporated into appetizers or served as an entree. Rocky Mountain Trout is a fresh-water fish with a mild, clean flavor and flaky texture. It can be compared to salmon but is much less oily and has a less fishy taste.
The menu at Boulder’s Bramble & Hare changes daily based on what Chef Eric Skokan’s nearby 425-acre farm has available. Rocky Mountain trout has appeared on the menu as a trout rillette appetizer and baked with a citrus-fennel salad.
At The Wolf’s Tailor in Denver, the trout, which is sourced from Frontier Ranch in the southern Colorado town of Saguache, is smoked in their wood-fired oven before being served.
Trout baked with a citrus-fennel salad. © Douglas Brown/Bramble&Hare
Palisade PeachesPalisade peaches, known for being exceptionally juicy and sweet, are grown in and around the western Colorado town of the same name, which is located in the Grand Valley. The Valley’s high desert climate is ideal for producing fruit that boast unmatched flavor, mainly due to the mix of hot sunny days, cool nights and dry air. The peaches are so ubiquitous in late summer, you’d be hard-pressed to find a restaurant that doesn’t have the seasonal delicacy on the menu.
The focus at Glo Noodle House in Denver is ramen, but Christopher and Ariana Teigland embrace local and seasonal with small plates like grilled Palisade peaches with pork belly and fish sauce. At one of the city’s long-standing Italian eateries, Barolo Grill, a late summer salad of grilled Palisade peaches, smoky speck, fennel ricotta, Esoterra farm greens, muesli and basil-peach vinaigrette make the insalata di pesche.
In Boulder, Frasca Food and Wine has an antipasti dish called pesche e barbabietole, with Palisade peaches, badger flame beets, summer treviso (a type of chicory), goat cheese and buckwheat.
Insalata di pesche. © Casey Wilson/Barolo Grill
Colorado LambColorado lamb is prized for its lack of gaminess thanks to a diet of foraged mountain plants. The high protein lean meat is sought after by chefs around the state, who serve it in culinary interpretations from Mexican to Israeli, Asian to contemporary American.
At Alteño in Denver, Chef Johnny Curiel serves a Colorado lamb shank as barbacoa tatemada, a Jalisco, Mexico-inspired dish accompanied by garbanzo consomme, escabeche and guacachile, a traditional green sauce from Mexico made with peppers (jalapeños and serranos in Chef Curiel’s case). Also in town, Hop Alley’s Chinese riff includes Buckner Family Farms lamb, turnip cake, lap cheong sausage and lamb jus.
Mountain resorts serve lamb in an elevated fashion: At Aspen’s Prospect in Hotel Jerome, Colorado lamb is served with grilled carrots, coriander, pomegranate and mint, while at Splendido at the Chateau in Beaver Creek, the Colorado rack of lamb comes with polenta, caponata, butternut squash, olive and pomegranate.
Lamb is deeply tied to Israel’s culinary history, which is why Israeli Chef Alon Shaya at Safta in Denver regularly uses it on his menu. He sources his Colorado lamb from Buckner Family Ranch, an ethical and sustainable producer in Boulder County’s Longmont. A perennial favorite is the much-lauded pomegranate-braised lamb shank slow-cooked in a tagine.
Colorado lamb shank as barbacoa tatemada. © Shawn Campbell/Alteno
Olathe Sweet CornThe town of Olathe, located in Colorado’s Western Slope, has a trademarked variety of corn created 40 years ago by John Harold of Tuxedo Corn Co. The region’s hot summer days and cool nights are what give each ear its signature sweetness. Olathe Sweet corn is world famous — it even has its own festival — and is only available from mid-July through early September.
At Denver’s Olivia, Chef Ty Leon makes a handmade Olathe Sweet corn tortelloni with a creamy filling in corn brodo (broth) topped with corn husk honey as soon as the seasonal corn is available.
Tucked inside the Gravity Haus hotel in the city’s LoHi district, Chef Aiden Tibbetts, recipient of MICHELIN’s 2025 Most Promising Chef Award, helms Wildflower, a jewelbox of a restaurant inspired by life in the Old West. Its twist on corn agnolotti is made with Olathe Sweet corn with PEI mussels, huitlacoche, Parmesan and ancho chiles in brodo.
Olathe sweet corn tortellini. © Joni Schrantz/Olivia
ElkColorado’s rugged high-altitude terrain is prime territory to spot some of the nearly 300,000 head of elk that roam the state, the largest population of elk in North America. Elk is prized for its rich, clean, subtly sweet flavor that lacks the gaminess associated with venison
Acclaimed Chef Joly has helmed Mirabelle in Beaver Creek since 1999. Apropos for a mountain resort, the roasted elk tenderloin is served with cauliflower cream, asparagus tip crudite and a black truffle reduction.
Roasted elk tenderloin. © Mirabelle
Rocky Ford MelonThe small town of Rocky Ford, located in Southeastern Colorado’s Arkansas Valley, experiences temperature swings that produce some of the world’s most beloved melons including cantaloupe, honey dew, yellow and pink watermelon, and dove melons.
At Mercantile in Denver, Chef Alex Seidel introduces a new way to enjoy Rocky Ford melon by turning it into a sweet-savory gazpacho with cucumber, tomato, bell peppers and fresh basil and mint.
Inspired by living in Asia, Chef Natascha Hess’ offerings at the city’s The Ginger Pig include a cooling seasonal Vietnamese Watermelon Salad combining Rocky Ford watermelons with Thai basil, mint, turmeric-pickled watermelon rind, cucumbers and nuoc cham (a Vietnamese mixture of fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, chiles and garlic).
Vietnamese watermelon salad. © Clytie Sadler/The Ginger Pig
BeefColorado is cowboy country and cattle is king. Beef is the state’s number one agricultural commodity with a history dating back over 150 years. One of the top producers in the country, Colorado has over 15,000 ranchers raising high-quality meat that’s sent all over the world — but for Coloradans, it’s locally sourced.
Element 47 in Aspen’s The Little Nell hotel sources its Wagyu beef from Cross Creek Ranch, a 2,800-acre family-owned outfit near Durango. Chef Keith Theodore presents the Wagyu as a steak with Bourguignonne sauce on the dinner menu and at lunch as a Wagyu burger with raclette, bacon jam and onions; or as Wagyu pastrami in a Reuben-style sandwich loaded with sauerkraut, Gruyère and housemade mustard on rye bread.
In Vail, Sweet Basil is a local dining staple that has been feeding the Vail Village for almost 50 years. Chef Will Edwards sources the beef for his dry aged strip steak with chestnut puree, roasted romanesco, cherry agrodolce and bordelaise sauce from Brunson Meat Company, operated by Chef/Restaurateur turned meat purveyor, Justin Brunson.
Dry aged strip steak. © Sara Ostrand/Sweet Basil
PozolePozole, also spelled posole, is a hearty, comforting soup enjoyed throughout Mexico and the U.S. Southwest. It’s typically made with braised pork or chicken and hominy, which is simmered in a rich broth until the kernels open and become tender. Variations include red, made with tomato and chiles, or green, made with tomatillos and poblano peppers. It is garnished with fresh shredded cabbage, onion and radish.
Chef Jose Avila has garnered accolades for bringing Mexico’s authentic, no frills culinary traditions stateside. The main attraction at La Diabla Pozole y Mezcal is pozole, a meaty hominy soup topped with cabbage, onion and radish in your choice of red, green, white, black or vegan broths.
Blackbelly Market’s Chef/owner Hosea Rosenberg’s takes his pozole inspiration from his home state of New Mexico. The restaurant sources the pork shoulder used in its posole (and its famed New Mexico-style green chile) from McDonald Family Farm in Brush, Colorado. The Boulder location serves its rich pozole most of the year, while the Denver location has it available by the quart from fall to spring.
Pozole Rojo. © La Diabla Pozole y Mezcal
Hero image: Roasted Elk Tenderloin. © Mirabelle
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Written by
Rebecca Treon
Rebecca Treon is a writer based in Denver, Colorado. She covers food, travel, culture and lifestyle, and has written about these topics in Colorado and beyond for two decades. Her work has been published in AFAR, BBC Travel, Travel + Leisure and many others.
Rebecca Treon is a writer based in Denver, Colorado. She covers food, travel, culture and lifestyle, and has written about these topics in Colorado and beyond for two decades. Her work has been published in AFAR, BBC Travel, Travel + Leisure and many others.
Dining and Cooking