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Denver In The Know: What's Heating Up Denver's Food Scene This Month

(HOODLINE) - As fans of cronuts and cake pops can attest, food trends come and go. So how can you tell which tastes are trending right this very moment? We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp to uncover which local businesses have been in the limelight this month.

To find out who made the list, we looked at Denver businesses on Yelp by category and counted how many reviews each received. Rather than compare them based on number of reviews alone, we calculated a percentage increase in reviews over the past month, and tracked businesses that consistently increased their volume of reviews to identify statistically significant outliers compared to past performance.

Read on to see which destinations are worth exploring this summer.

Woodie Fisher

This New American bistro is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "American (New)" on Yelp.

Citywide, New American restaurants saw a median 1.7% increase in new reviews over the past month, but Woodie Fisher saw a 41.7% increase, with a slight upward trend from a 3.5-star rating a month ago to four stars today.

It's not the only trending outlier in the New American category: Briar Common Brewery + Eatery has seen a 7.4% increase in reviews.

Located at 1999 Chestnut Place, Suite 100, in LoDo near Union Station, Woodie Fisher specializes in high-quality, seasonal, sustainable food served in an upscale dining atmosphere. Menu items include fire-roasted carrots, charred broccolini flatbread, Icelandic cod, smoked pork short rib and coconut rice pudding for dessert.

Los Carboncitos

Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Southwest Denver's Los Carboncitos, the well-established Mexican cantina, which offers desserts and seafood, is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.

While businesses categorized as "Seafood" on Yelp saw a median 2.2% increase in new reviews over the past month, Los Carboncitos bagged a 4.1% increase in new reviews within that timeframe, maintaining a convincing 4.5-star rating. It significantly outperformed the previous month by gaining 3.3 times more reviews than expected, based on its past performance.

Open at 722 Sheridan Blvd., Los Carboncitos features a sizable menu of authentic Mexican cuisine, with options ranging from assorted quesadillas and street tacos to queso fundido and specialty huarache plates.

Pony Up

LoDo's Pony Up is also making waves. Open at 1808 Blake St., the cocktail bar, which also serves sandwiches and other food items, has seen a 6.9% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 2% for all businesses tagged "Sandwiches" on Yelp.

Pony Up is known for its craft food and beverages, served in a welcoming neighborhood bar setting. Popular items to try include the French dip, smoked mushroom sandwich, chopped vegetable salad and karaage, a spiced Asian-style fried chicken. Over the past month, it's maintained a strong 4.5-star rating among Yelpers.

Super Mega Bien

Five Points' Super Mega Bien is the city's buzziest bar by the numbers.

The bar and Latin American establishment, which can be found at 1260 25th St., increased its new review count by 7.9% over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 2% for the Yelp category "Bars."

Super Mega Bien offers Latin American-inspired cuisine served on dim sum carts, allowing guests to sample small plates from the eatery's constantly changing menu. The restaurant also has a selection of larger family-style platters intended to satisfy at least three diners.

Article provided by Hoodline.

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