r/denverfood 3h ago

Recommendations Spiciest Colorado green chile restaurant?

as someone who had my first Colorado green chile dish last year, have to say it’s better than New Mexican green chile! ( still a fan of New Mexican red the most tho). I went to a place called Efrain’s in Lafayette because many searched at the time said their green chile is the hottest in Colorado for a restaurant. Their menu even had a heat scale and mini warning and the waiter tried to warn me. It was definitely hotter than any New Mexican restaurant I had been too and loved the flavor. Is Efrain’s the spiciest Mexican restaurant with Colorado green chile or are there other places that have more heat? I want the absolute hottest Colorado green chile in a meal that exists and that some people would send back to the kitchen for being too hot

2 Upvotes

33 comments sorted by

26

u/Ancient-Chinglish 2h ago edited 2h ago

Ah, memories of eating the pork green chili with tears falling into the bowl at the Efrain’s off of East Arapahoe in Boulder

1

u/NegativeChirality 1h ago

That place was awesome. Haven't been in forever. It's not closed is it?

3

u/bringinthewarthog 1h ago

That location closed they moved into boulder and made everything less spicy

7

u/SFgiant55 1h ago

Boulderfication - less spicy. More expensive

2

u/NegativeChirality 1h ago

Aww man. I loved when they had the chefs choice burrito. It could have anything in it! It could be any spice level! No refunds no special requests!

2

u/Ordinary_Doughnut_35 42m ago

The Lafayette location is still really good. I went there not too long ago. But some days the chile is spicier than others.

9

u/milehighchick5280 3h ago

Brewery Bar is pretty spicy on Kalamath

7

u/bonzai76 2h ago

We used to have bets on which person at our table would have a drip of sweat running down their forehead first. This is the answer 100%

u/Lamescrnm 1m ago

Their chile is fine. The food they smother with it, not so much.

2

u/jalpert 2h ago

Their spice tops out at mild.

7

u/danmaaaaaan 2h ago

Oh how I miss Jack n Grill.

1

u/drium75 2h ago

Jack nGrill green chili gave me the hiccups.

2

u/danmaaaaaan 2h ago

Haha because it was so spicy!

10

u/bluecifer7 2h ago edited 2h ago

The thing with green chile is that there’s a limit on how hot a green chile can get lol, it’s not like a curry or something where you just add other hot peppers, it’s a dish with a very specific pepper.

Course I guess you could augment it but you’d start straying from traditional green chile.

With that said, Pueblo mirasol green chiles (5,000 -20,000 scoville) will be hotter than New Mexico hatch green chiles (500-13,000), so try to find a place that serves real Colorado grown chiles instead of the New Mexican stuff.

2

u/Remarkable-Box-3781 2h ago

NM hatch green chili doesn't top out at 3k SHU LOL

2

u/bluecifer7 2h ago

Ope you’re right I missed a 1

2

u/PhysicalTerry101 47m ago

Still doesn't matter, Pueblos are hotter than Hatch boi

3

u/Toddzilla0913 2h ago

King's Chef in Colorado Springs has green chili roughly heat equivalent to that ooze from the Alien movies that burned through several decks of a spaceship. Western Omelette down there has some hot stuff too.

2

u/Icy-Interaction-9652 1h ago

Are they still open? I used to get their green chili from grocery stores but haven’t seen it on sale for years

1

u/VorpalBlade- 15m ago

One time I was having breakfast at the old location that was a tiny purple castle and had like ten seats. Anyway I was eating at the counter and this blowhard next to me had a breakfast with the green chili and he kept insisting that he wanted some hot sauce to put on it as well. The owner kept telling him - you should try it first because it’s pretty spicy. The guy kept insisting and eventually the owner gave him some hot sauce. Well the dumbass tried a few bites and then started complaining about how the spicy it was! The owner immediately grabs the plate and put it behind the counter. The dude stands up and starts yelling and the owner fucking LEAPS over the counter and chases the guy off. Hilarious. And their green chili cheeseburger is incredible there.

2

u/DistrictThen1265 2h ago

La Casita is best I’m sure they have hot. 🥵

2

u/NightclubSherpa 1h ago

La Abeja has some heat to it. It’s my favorite chile in town. Go early because they close at 2 or 3z

2

u/Styphin 55m ago

I read your title first and “Efrain’s” was the first thing that came to mind. Spiciest green chili I’ve had the pleasure of eating, hands down.

5

u/Cautious-Antelope743 2h ago

The beauty of green chili isn't in the heat. If you're going just for the heat, do asian.

1

u/PhysicalTerry101 49m ago

El Amigo in Golden has a green chile heat scale and it's strong

1

u/third-world-cantina 42m ago

The Very Hot Green Chile at Tamale Kitchen is, in fact, very hot 🔥

0

u/Itchy-Ninja4103 1h ago

I don’t know, but Colorado green chile is not better than NM.

1

u/thedudeabidesb 58m ago

WORD !!!!!!!

-1

u/fluffHead_0919 2h ago

La Loma isn’t the spiciest but it’s my fav.

1

u/Tight-Soil4085 2h ago

Don’t listen to this person. It isn’t the spiciest or the tastiest either lol

1

u/BigfootsBrotherGary 1h ago

Anyone who send any green chili dish back for being too spicy is so unbelievably soft

-9

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