The only plan you need on Tuesdays July 15 and 29 is to head to this pop-up at Side Pony in the Sloan’s Lake neighborhood. Once there, expect to revel in chef Orlando Benavidez’s Smoked Beef Cheek tacos, a throw back from his food truck days.
Also on the pop-up menu, Chicken Adobado Negro tacos with escabeche, chorizo, salsa taquera, and queso fresco. For vegetarians and vegetable lovers, Benavidez said he’ll make his Peas and Carrots taco, which features summer pea pipian, charred and roasted carrots, hazelnut crumble, queso fresca, and salsa macha (can be made vegan). Each is served on a hand-pressed tortilla, which the chef plans on doing right in front of diners in a true Mexican street taco style. Prices range from $4 for one taco, and $11 for three in any combination you want.
“I don’t have to worry about maintenance cost, all the overhead, so tacos can be normal prices now,” said Benavidez, a New Mexico native. “Of course you can price it at $52 a plate for your blah blah blah, but with street food you can price much lower and sell more.”
Though known for tacos today, when Benavidez started cooking he became classically trained chef in French and Italian cuisine. Those days, he said, he focused on fine dining and “tweezer shit.”
“It wasn’t until I came to Colorado and opened a restaurant with Richard Sandoval in Avon that I started cooking Mexican food,” said Benavidez, whose family is from Oaxaca, Mexico. “I had completely forgotten about my food and the culture. I always ate it, but I never thought about cooking it for a living.”
Benavidez’s view on his ancestor’s cuisine changed after that, and by working with Sanoval he fell back in love with it. From there he moved to Denver and became the executive chef of what was then Prima at the Hotel Teatro in downtown. When the Four Seasons bought the hotel and the restaurant changed, the chef moved on to the now closed Parallel Seventeen in City Park. There he developed appreciation and the skills to make French-Vietnamese food.
Eventually he opened his food truck, dishing out elevated tacos with nods to the flavors and techniques he had picked up over the years. But, once COVID hit in 2020, the food truck scene became over saturated with options, and the outlets like concert venues and breweries weren’t open. So in 2021 he sold the truck, and has been working on specialty dinners and pop-ups ever since, often collaborating with other food creatives.
As for the July 15 and 29 events, expect Margarita specials at Side Pony too. The cafe also normally sells chips and salsa made by E-Jole Salsa, and for the event the brand will be there handing out salsa samples. Join the fun starting at 5 p.m. Happy hour runs until 7 p.m., and the tacos will be available until sold out.
Benavidez is also running a few special events with the Hispanic Restaurant Association (HRA). On August 9 he will be at The Colorado Beef Competition at Metro State University, along with chefs Michael Diaz de Leon (formally of BRUTO), Justin Brunson of Brunson Meat Co., Manny Barella of Riot BBQ, Justin Freeman of Somebody People, and others. Then on September 23 you can find the chef in downtown Littleton with the HRA, cooking for an epic dinner served on a mile-long table.
Another event Bits & Pieces is hosting is a cowboy dinner in Larkspur, though details including date and time have yet to be announced. So stay tuned and follow @bitsnpiecescc on Instagram to find out details.
