At the end of the month, normally I would round up the best bites I’d had…but September wasn’t exactly a normal month. It marked my first few weeks back on the job after being out since April, following a breast cancer diagnosis.(Chemo and surgery, check! Radiation begins in October, and these days, I’m feeling great.)
A lot of new restaurants — over 150 — opened during my hiatus, so I’ve been dining out frequently as I try to catch up, and three spots have proven to be standouts. They’re all very different, but they have a few things in common: They come from talented locals who are cooking their own food in their own spots for the first time, and they’re all located in areas that need more independent eateries (yes, even RiNo, which has added a lot of chains in recent years). A round of applause for that!
And they all feature animals in their names, real or otherwise. I say, bring on the whole zoo if they’re as good as this trio!
The Restaurants
BearLeek: The Trendy Spot With Culinary Chops
Opened in July at 2611 Walnut Street (in the former RiNo home of Osaka Ramen).
Owned by Harrison Porter and Rema Maaliki, first-time restaurateurs who met while working at Mercantile in Union Station.
What does the name mean? It’s a nod to the English translation of the German word for “ramp,” and there are plenty of bear touches throughout.
Pig and Tiger: The Taiwanese Eatery With a Lot of Heart
Opened in August at 2200 California Street (in what was once part of its neighbor, Woods Boss Brewing Company)
Owned by former Uncle head chef and season eleven Top Chef contender Travis Massar, and Taiwanese American chef Darren Chang.
What does the name mean? It reflects the chefs’ Chinese zodiac signs — Chang was born in the year of the pig; Masar is a tiger.
Rougarou: Your Favorite Bartender’s Favorite Restaurant
Opened in August at 2844 Welton Street (in the former Five Points home of Dunbar Kitchen and Tap House and, most recently, Moods, Beats and Potions).
Owned by Mary Allison Wright and McLain Hedges, the duo behind Yacht Club (aka 2024’s best bar in the U.S.), with Wright’s brother, John David, heading up the kitchen.
What does the name mean? A rougarou is a mythical cryptid and shapeshifting creature in Cajun culture; it reflects Wright and Hedges’ own ever-evolving Southern story that began in Chattanooga before moving to Denver.
The Vibes
You start the BearLeek experience by going through a door (with a bear on it, of course) and down a set of stairs with a wall overhead covered with graffiti of various food-related words. The space is urban, edgy and energetic, fueled by a smartly curated hip-hop playlist and designed with dark walls and pops of neon lights (but, thankfully, no neon word signs — we’re over those).
Pig and Tiger, on the other hand, is an open and welcoming space, with simple design touches like the restaurant’s logo painted on an exposed brick wall. I can’t even recall what music was playing, which is just fine. Here, my focus was on the food. My favorite touch: the menu design, which is an homage to classic Chinese takeout menus.
Over at Rougarou, a mix of soulful Southern rock is the perfect backdrop for a space that has a lot of charm. The bar is front and center, fitting for a place owned and operated by bar pros, and it’s drawing a crowd of industry professionals, which gives it a certain kind of “I found the cool spot” buzz.
The Food
There are some interesting similarities between the menus at these three spots. Bread service, while no longer free at most places, is having a moment. At BearLeek, diners can (and should) start with the oh-so-fluffy brioche rolls, served with seasonal bear-shaped butter (mine was drizzled with hot honey). At Rougarou, you can order a pair of rolls topped with benne seeds, the ancestor of sesame seeds, which were brought to the South by enslaved West Africans.
Two tarts have become standouts. At BearLeek, it’s a French onion tartlet topped with taleggio fondue. But the top tart of the moment is the blue cheese tart at Rougarou. The blue cheese flavor itself is mild and nicely complemented by the green tomatoes on top. Is the small raw carrot that adorns it necessary? No. But it’s forgivable, because the dish tastes so good you’ll wish you ordered one to keep for yourself.
All three spots serve a variation on fried chicken. BearLeek’s comes bone-in, with a thick crust that’s dusted with fennel bonito nori salt; it’s served on a pool of subtly orange beurre blanc with dots of green Sichuan oil. It’s definitely a fine-dining spin on fried chicken that fell a bit flat — especially compared to Pig and Tiger’s bone-in fried chicken.
At the Taiwanese spot, the fried chicken seems more soulful. Everything on the menu at Pig and Tiger is tied to a memory, and those personal connections come through in the flavors. The fried chicken is dusted with Pig and Tiger’s signature spice mix and is accompanied by orange honey — in a bear-shaped jar! Plus a side of chicken fat rice that’s reminiscent of the bone marrow fried rice at Hop Alley.
Rougarou’s fried chicken comes on a stick and is an homage to a famous dish in Oxford, Mississippi. Topped with comeback sauce and served over pepper jelly, it’s a perfect fried snack. Just don’t order it if you’re also planning to get the hot and sour catfish — the flavor profiles are very similar.
Other must-order dishes: tomatoes and melon in Bear Cham (the team’s take on the fish sauce-based Vietnamese dipping sauce nước chấm) and the tuna crudo with labneh at BearLeek; charred broccoli, chili wontons and the saucy pork noodles (Chang’s grandmother’s recipe) at Pig and Tiger; and, well, everything at Rougarou.
The Drinks
Another common thread among these three spots is excellent cocktails.
BearLeek beverage director Carlos Hugo Meza has smartly split the options into two sections: light and refreshing, and boozy and spirit-forward. Drinks from the first lean largely fruity, like the Tropic Thunder with Tito’s, coconut, mango and lime, but my favorite was the Amari Palmer, which combines several amaros with lemon, demerara sugar and soda for a light, fizzy sipper with complex flavors. On the spirit-forward side of things, don’t skip the black garlic Old Fashioned.
Pig and Tiger takes pride in using a lot of kitchen ingredients in its cocktails, including an intriguing pair of martinis, which are made with far more than just vodka or gin and vermouth. The Taipei-Tini comes in a bright and floral “fine” version or a brined and savory “filthy” option, complete with a tiny mushroom floating in the drink. Both are worth a try. A nice place to start, though, is with the May Mei, a salted plum spritz named for Chang’s mother.
Unsurprisingly, Rougarou is crushing the cocktail game. After all, Wright and Hedges are pros through and through. Martinis star here as well — a trio of them, including the Muffaletta, complete with snacks on the garnish. There’s a “Tropical-ish” section on the drink menu as well — order the Champagne Killer, a mix of white rum, pisco, mango, coconut, buttermilk and bubbles that tastes like a vacation in a glass. The selection is rounded out with Southern classics like the Hurricane and a melon spin on a Sazerac.
Dessert
Do save room for dessert at all three restaurants. At BearLeek, the bear-shaped Bear Pop has been getting a lot of love on social media. Made with vanilla and passionfruit sweet cream semifreddo and topped with black garlic salsa matcha, it’s tasty but can’t actually be eaten like a popsicle because all the salsa matcha would fall off it you tried to pick it up by its stick. A little novelty is fun, but I preferred the perfect pavlova.
At Pig and Tiger, sorbet, currently available in jasmine green tea and peach (though that will be gone soon) flavors, is pleasant — but go for the shaved ice. It’s a fun mix of flavors and textures with almond panna cotta, pineapple, Thai basil, almond crunch and condensed almond milk.
After a filling meal at Rougarou, I still ordered all three desserts and had no regrets. The buttermilk pie has been the crowd favorite for good reason, but the sorgum sundae topped with salty popped sorgum caramel corn and the rice pudding, which just switched from peach to pumpkin spice, were also winners.
Here are some more photos from these three must-visit new restaurants: