Ever want to just get away last minute, but your calendar is jam-packed with local events? Try taking your taste buds on a trip, just around the corner. The Highlands Ranch/Lone Tree area and surrounding neighborhoods have seen a welcome addition of international restaurants in recent years. No longer do you have to head to Capital Hill or Downtown Denver to try something other than good-ol' American continental. While not everything here requires you cross the pond, most would involve a long plane ride. Thanks to a few enterprising foodies, we can now enjoy far-away food, just next door.
Opened in Capital Hill in 2013, cousins Yousef (Joe) and Justin Khraim purchased, renovated the entire menu, and opened Byblos Express in Highlands Ranch. On the menu are family packs, lunch specials and catering options. Hard to find Greek specialties like Moussaka and Spinach pie can be found along side chicken shwarama and gyros
Travel just a touch north on University Blvd.to find this Jamaican gem, Reggae Pot. Proprietor and professional chef Tamara Nisbeth, originally from Montego Bay, has worked at luxury resorts in the Caribbean, and at The Broadmoor Hotel. Find the perfect balance of spice and flavor complexity in her Curry Chicken Roti or 1/2 Jerk Chicken for the Jamaican food newbies; the adventurous should try the Oxtail or Curry Goat.
Brian & Sonda Brewster have been serving up authentic New Orleans meals at Nono's Cafe since 1996. At the time, there weren't many Cajun food options around. In addition to staples like red beans & rice, Po-Boys, and beignets, unexpected options like their Crawfish Monica Sauce, which is found on everything from pasta to catfish, and blackened ribeye with Mayme's Mac 'n cheese . Finish with the strawberry cake.
If you are reminiscing your Italian vacation, visit Lone Tree's Via Baci Modern Italian Kitchen's. Contrasted with traditional Italian American cuisine, their menu tends towards lighter menu offerings and Neapolitan pizza style pizza. They have many wood fired options beyond just the pizza, salmon, brussels sprouts, chicken piccata, even mussels. Their wine list is well curated to match most preferences, without feeling overwhelming.
If you are looking for NYC Italian-American food, Carmines Pizza & Pasta is family run and operated, serving classic dishes using old family recipes. Known for their NY Style Pizza & award winning Buffalo Wings, (Buffalo is in New York after all), they also offer plenty of pasta dishes, hot hero sandwiches, calzone and stromboli. As they like to say "Don't forget the garlic knots."
The Perfect Landing at Centennial Airport is so unexpected, in all the good ways. They offer an extensive fine dining menu, where seafood and prime steaks dominate. Not to be missed though, is their Maine Lobster Roll. There isn't a better one to be found west of the Mississippi, some might even argue south of Maine itself. Big chunks of buttery lobster with just enough mayo to hold it together.