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 minute?
We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp to analyze 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 increase their volume of reviews to identify statistically significant outliers compared to past performance.
Read on to see which spots are sizzling hot, right now.
Lou’s Italian Specialties
Open since December, this deli and Italian spot, which offers salads and more, is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Italian" on Yelp.
Citywide, Italian spots saw review counts increase by a median of 3.3 percent over the past month, but Lou’s Italian Specialties saw a 61.3 percent increase, with a slight upward trend from a 3.5-star rating a month ago to four stars today.
Located at 3357 Downing St. in Five Points, Lou’s Italian Specialties offers signature Italian sandwiches like The Louie, a sandwich built with salami, capicola, cooked ham, provolone cheese, iceberg lettuce, tomato and red onion. The eatery also serves a variety of hearty soups and deli salads. (Check out the full menu here.)
Mario's Ocean Club
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Washington Park West's Mario's Ocean Club, the seafood spot is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Seafood" on Yelp increased their review count by a median of 1.8 percent over the past month, Mario's Ocean Club bagged a 15.7 percent increase in reviews within that timeframe, maintaining a sound 4.5-star rating. It significantly outperformed the previous month by gaining 3.2 times more reviews than expected based on its past performance.
There's more that's trending on Denver's seafood scene: Hungry Wolf BBQ has seen a 14.8 percent increase in reviews.
Open at 560 S. Broadway since June of last year, Mario's Ocean Club offers sustainable seafood dishes, alongside happy hour selections. The menu features items like the West Coast Crab Roll (crab, avocado and Louis dressing on a brioche bun), the shrimp scampi linguine (shrimp, butter, garlic, chili flakes and white wine) and the flaming cherries jubilee sundae.
Snooze, an A.M. Eatery
Snooze, an A.M. Eatery is also making waves. Open since May at 5073 S. Syracuse St., the popular breakfast and brunch spot has seen a 13.5 percent bump in reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 2.4 percent for all businesses tagged "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis review counts increased by more than 170 percent.
There's more than one hotspot trending in Denver's breakfast and brunch category: Rye Society has seen a 13.2 percent increase in reviews.
Snooze, an A.M. Eatery offers customizable morning eats including the breakfast pot pie, a puff pastry topped with eggs and sausage gravy. Guests may also dig into renditions of classic sandwiches, pancakes, french toast and more.
Over the past month, it's maintained a solid 4.5-star rating among Yelpers.
FNG Restaurant
West Highland's FNG Restaurant is the city's buzziest traditional American spot by the numbers.
The traditional American spot, which opened at 3940 W. 32nd Ave. since 2017, increased its review count by 11.3 percent over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median review increase of 3.1 percent for the Yelp category "American (Traditional)."
FNG Restaurant offers an eclectic menu of eats, including its funky hummus, made of chickpeas, smoky eggplant and za'atar. Also on the menu is the F'N burger topped with lettuce, grilled onion, FNG sauce and mayonnaise; red pepper pesto rotisserie lamb sliders; and a mac and cheese bar that features a slew of toppings, from hot dogs to tomato jam. (Check it out here.)
