Hailing from Austin, Texas, Torchy’s Tacos represents the best of fast, casual Tex-Mex dining. The opening of three restaurants in Colorado, along with one location in Oklahoma, is the first expansion of the brand outside of its Texas home. Torchy’s newest location at 11th and Broadway is a welcoming beacon of deliciousness on Denver’s foremost strip of nightlife.

Torchy’s is easy to find, as the Broadway location is marked by a giant light up “Torchy’s” sign that welcomes and beacons like the North Star of Tex-Mex to anyone travelling down Broadway. Inside, Torchy’s is marked by impressive modern lighting and seating, as well as an aesthetically pleasing lit-up bar that lines the southward portion of the restaurant. The space is airy and, even on a crowded Friday night, spacious enough to not be claustrophobic. The most impressive factor of its atmosphere is its ability to take the wonderful, streetside atmospheric appeal of a taco truck and morph it into a large, friendly restaurant.

If there is one food staple Denver excels at, it’s probably Tex-Mex. As a city, we have an  impressive obsession with the idea of putting green chile on absolutely everything and finding excuses to have tacos at any point of the day. While the Mile High City might not share much love for Texas (no license plate gets more hate), we do share a culinary infatuation for the street-style taco. Torchy’s not only brings the two states together in our shared love of tortilla wrapped goodness, but also adds something new to the Denver taco scene.

Torchy’s mission is to not fall in line with the numerous other options for Tex-Mex that already exist in the city, but to expand beyond them and bring something unique and new to Denver tastebuds. In this way, all the tacos at Torchy’s are built around contrasting flavors, textures and fresh ingredients, as well as heaping portions. While three tacos at a Tex-Mex staple such as Illegal Pete’s might not be filling for the most intrepid eater, two of Torchy’s tacos can easily do the trick. Most of the tacos at Torchy’s are creative exercises in both name and actual flavor combinations.

For instance, there’s the Democrat ($4.00): shredded beef barbacoa topped with fresh avocado, queso fresco, cilantro, onions and a wedge of lime, all served on a corn tortilla with fresh tomatillo salsa. And for those on the right, there is the Republican ($3.25) with grilled jalapeno sausage, shredded cheese, pico de gallo and poblano sauce on a flour tortilla. Other options combine less thought-of as “normal” taco ingredients, such as the Brushfire ($3.75), with Jamaican jerk chicken, grilled jalapenos, sour cream and cilantro, served on a flour tortilla with diablo sauce. Torchy’s breakfast tacos, which are served all day, include awesome creations such as the Migas ($2.75): scrambled eggs, crisp corn tortilla strips, avocado, pico de gallo and shredded cheese.

Now, I don’t consider myself a taco connoisseur. I have friends who seem to have an entire library of the “best tacos” in seemingly any city memorized in their head. I’m much simpler, and it doesn’t take much for me to be impressed. However, Torchy’s surpassed my idea of just how good a taco can be. It might be hard for me to be satiated by simpler Illegal Pete’s tacos from now on. I had the Democrat at Torchy’s, and the two heaping tacos took my taste buds on a delightful south-of-the-border trip. The combination of the fresh avocado with the tomatillo salsa and incredibly pleasing queso fresca was a delightful new experience in the world of tacos. A great addition to the taco was one of the in-house drinks, a Prickly pear lemonade that continued the theme of unique flavors for the night.

Chipotle and Illegal Pete’s might be able to satisfy the average weeknight taco craving, but Torchy’s is the ideal spot for you if you want something a little more unique and, in my opinion, a lot better, not  to mention if you are pining for maybe the best breakfast tacos in town.

4/5 stars

Torchy’s is located at 1085 Broadway near the Denver Art Museum. Hours are 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sundays.

Suggestions: The Democrat, The Republican and the Independent taco political trifecta, as well as the chicken fajita and the Brushfire.