Christmas just isn’t Christmas without the festive foods we grew up with, and for many Mexican Americans in Colorado, that means a steaming pot of pozole.
“These are the foods that I grew up craving,” said Chef Jose Avila Vilchez, who runs La Diabla Pozole y Mezcal in Denver’s Ballpark District.
Chef Vilchez grew up eating pozole in Mexico City. Every Thursday, he went with his mom and brother to enjoy two-for-one specials on the traditional soup.
But when he moved to Denver more than a decade ago, the pozolerias of his childhood were nowhere to be found.
“Red posole is a thing. So, in 100% of the Mexican restaurants here, that’s what you would find, a red pozole, but it was more for as a filler than as a main dish,” he said.
So, he opened La Diabla to serve up flavors many Coloradans haven’t tasted before.