Experts around the country have been predicting 2025 will be the year of the sauce. But not just any sauce, tasty accoutrements from restaurants, chefs, and other people in the food game.
For example, famed cookbook author and breastfeeding advocate Molly Batz just released a line of enhanced mayonnaise called Ayoh! Foods. Celebrity chef and TV personality Guy Fieri sells a line of sauces named after his moniker, Flavortown. In Nashville, chef Tomasz Wosiak of TC Restaurant Group makes and sells an array of bottles from steak sauce to ketchup to hot sauce.
Based on recent offerings around Colorado, it’s nice to see we’re on trend. These local sauces are made by restaurants and chefs, and each is worth the hype. Think of it as an extension of dining out. Now, not only can you try the flavors in the restaurant, but you can bring them home too.
Discover the Secret Sauce at Ace Eat Serve
The Tiger Wings at Ace Eat Serve have constantly been on my top list of wings in Denver, especially when it comes to Asian-style. Chef Thach Tran, who predeceased the current chef, Khamla Vongsakoun, developed this sweet, slightly spicy, umami punch we find in one little drumlette. After some tweaks to make it shelf stable, that sauce can come home with anyone who wants it.
In fact, the Tiger Wing sauce comes in a three-pack for $20 sold at the restaurant. Also in the set you’ll find the spicy mayo Dragon Sauce that makes a sandwich sing, as well as the Asian Buffalo, a slightly spicy and sweet soy sauce perfect for roasted vegetables. Yes, you want all of them, though the eight-ounce bottles can be purchased solo for $7 each. As for trying ahead of time, the wing list on the menu feature each sauce. 501 E. 17th Ave., Denver, aceeatserve.com
BriDer Rotisserie & Kitchen’s Must-Have Wing Sauce
For years BriDer has been selling executive chef Chase Devitt’s addictive Secret Sauce, and it’s only $8 a bottle. Described as a cross between kung pao and Korean BBQ, the sweet, salty, and spicy umami bomb is great on just about anything. Try it in house on the happy hour chicken wings and Brussels sprouts.
The 9-year-old fast-casual spot also sells its homemade hot sauce for $6 a bottle. The unfermented, smoky, and spicy liquid offers notes of chipotle and sweet paprika. At BriDer the sauce is readily available, and Devitt recommends dipping the parmesan fries in some and adding it to the breakfast sandwich. 1644 Platte St., Denver, denverbrider.com
XO Chili Sauce Spicing Up MAKfam
Despite getting its name from XO Cognac, the spicy seafood sauce from Hong Kong doesn’t actually have booze in it. Instead, the XO part comes thanks to the high quality of ingredients, which certainly proves true at chef Kennith Wan’s Baker hot spot.
While the original product was created in the 1980s, Wan’s version has a more modern kick due to the recipe involving fried garlic, hybrid chilies, honey, dried scallops, shrimp, and more. The recipe comes from his wife Doris Yuen’s father, a chef from Hong Kong. Sample the intricate flavors on any dish at the restaurant, from noodles to crab rangoons to jian bing.
Now, you can also bring an eight-ounce jar of the XO Chili Sauce home for $13.50. The restaurant also serves Uncle Tony’s Chili Oil, another recipe based on a relative of theirs from Hong Kong. At MAKfam it comes with the Màlá Wings and Mozz Sticks, and Sizzling Spicy Noodles, and to-go for $11.50 a jar. 39 W. 1st Ave., Denver, makfam.co
Casa Bonita Iconic Sauces
Take home, or even order online, an authentic taste of Casa Bonita. All recipes were overseen by chef Dana Rodriguez, a Chihuahua, Mexico native and owner of RiNo’s Work & Class, Carne, and Super Mega Bien. Choose from Salsa Loca, Green Chili, and Muy Hot Sauce. Individually the price runs $9.95 for a five-ounce bottle, or get a three pack of two-ounce bottles for $14.95.
As for trying before you buy, well all the sauces come on dishes saved at the casa, including enchiladas and chicken mole. Plus, you get to see cliff divers while sampling. Make sure to buy it if you love it, for every purchase of a full-sized bottle of sauce or drink mix, Casa Bonita donates to the Food Bank of the Rockies and other community partners. 6715 W. Colfax Ave., Lakewood, casabonitadenver.com
Roll On Over To Cart-Driver RiNo For To-Go Hot Sauce
Each batch of hot sauce made and sold at Cart-Driver RiNo gets handcrafted with fresh ingredients. Because of the sourcing, the sauce isn’t always the same, but it does tend to match what’s on the table. When eating there, add it to pizza, tinned fish, and bread. Then take a bottle home and try it on everything else. The five-ounce bottlers run $7 each, and to get one simply ask for a bottle when ordering at the counter. 2500 Larimer St., Denver, cart-driver.com
Pig & Tiger Bringing Heat and Crunch
Chefs Darren Chang and Travis Masar slayed at Avanti Boulder with Pig & Tiger, which later turned into the more Japanese-focused concept Peko Peko last year. The spice level of the mapo tofu and other dishes at Pig & Tiger seared our hearts. So, while we wait for the team to open a new version of the restaurant in Denver this year, we can dive into the restaurant’s branded chili crunch.
The flagship sauce is the Chili Crisp by Pig and Tiger. It’s filled with fried shallots, fried garlic, chinese black beans, and lots of whole dried chilies. It’s great, said Masar, on hummus, as a dumpling sauce, and mixed with ketchup to top a meatloaf before being baked.
The team also has Black Label by Pig and Tiger, the spiciest version with a smoky finish thanks to the addition of chipotle and ghost peppers. On the sweeter side, the Hot Honey Crisp by Pig and Tiger was created for Eat’Ya Pizza, chef Nick Kayser’s Roman-style pizza joint on the 16th Street Mall. Aside from pizza, Masar suggests drizzling it on ice cream, mozzarella sticks, and even a hot toddy made with whiskey or rum.
Find the crisp at Mr B’s Wine and Spirits inside the Stanley MarketPlace, Carbon Knife Co., South Street Market in Louisville, Moxie Bread in North Boulder, and Peko Peko inside Avanti Boulder. You can also buy the chili crisp online here.
Leven Deli Co. Homestyle Mustard
To make the addictive mustard served at the deli, the team at Leven soaks two types of mustard seeds in vinegar with garlic, turmeric and paprika. The mixture sits overnight, and the next day it’s blended to a smooth texture. You may have had it already if you’ve ever ordered the Classic Pastrami.
That’s the only menu item it comes on by default, but you can add it to whatever you want. Further that desire to coat everything in mustard by taking some home. The deli sells it in eight-ounce and 16-ounce containers for $8 and $16 respectively. Add on a loaf of the amazing bread, and you’re ready to make all the sandwiches. You an also get the mustard the newly-opened Leven Supply. 123 W. 12th Ave. and 300 E. Alameda Ave., eatleven.com