A new taco stall is about to take over the upstairs corner of Denver's Avanti Food & Beverage, and it's bringing a five-milk cake that sounds almost too elaborate for a food hall counter. For Your Boca, the Mexican concept from husband-and-wife owners Kaitlyn Peot and Brandon Spain, opens Monday, October 12, inside the LoHi food hall at 3200 Pecos St.
The stall moves into the space previously occupied by Amá Modern Mexican, according to Westword. Peot and Spain already run Knockabout Burgers right next door, and the outlet reports they're leaning on executive chef Ricardo Avila to steer the new menu. Avila's family roots trace back to Chihuahua, Mexico, though he grew up in New Mexico, Westword notes.
Tacos, Bowls and a Menu Built for Sharing
The menu centers on à la carte tacos, bowls and shareable starters, with an emphasis on communal eating, per the same report. Beef, pork and chicken tacos come wrapped in a double corn tortilla with melted cheese, while the beef brisket barbacoa version adds slow-cooked brisket, red onion, cilantro and salsa on top of that same double tortilla and cheese base.
There's also a birria chicken taco served with a consomé dipping broth, a crispy fried shrimp taco topped with cilantro slaw, and shredded pork tacos rounding out the protein lineup. For vegetarians, or just the curious, a fried beet taco made from crispy, panko-covered beets is available either as a bowl or an appetizer. The à la carte tacos run $5 to $7 each, the station's report states.
Starters, Breakfast Options and That Headline Dessert
Beyond tacos, the menu covers queso, breakfast tacos, huevos rancheros and more of that beef brisket barbacoa, the outlet reports. Starters include queso, guacamole, chips and salsa, and taquitos described as rolled, deep-fried corn tortillas stuffed with carnitas and topped with chipotle crema.
Dessert comes in two forms: warm sopapillas with salted honey ice cream, and the cinco leches cake that gives the stall its signature sweet finish. The cake layers an airy sponge soaked in whole, evaporated and condensed milks, plus whipping cream and dulce de leche cream cheese, according to the report. Avila described developing the recipe as a culmination of techniques and persistent trial and error, per the same account.
Brandon Spain told the outlet the team is mostly just excited to finally open the doors. For Your Boca will run its website at foryourbocatacos.com once it launches, and hours are set for 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Inside a Food Hall That Keeps Reinventing Itself
Avanti Food & Beverage, located at 3200 N. Pecos St. in Lower Highland, opened back in July 2015 as one of Denver's earliest upscale food halls, and its shipping-container kitchens have rotated restaurants in and out every few years since, according to the Denver Post. As of last spring, Amá Modern Mexican and Knockabout Burgers were both operating as second-floor vendors there, with all food stalls opening at 11 a.m., the Post reported at the time.
That churn is part of what's made Avanti a testing ground for Denver's indie food scene. Back in 2019, the hall welcomed Meta Asian Kitchen, a stall from Kenneth and Doris Wan that served shareable Asian dishes like bao buns, fried calamari and Hong Kong street cake after the couple relocated from the New York area, where they'd first run the concept as a pop-up, per Eater Denver. That stall had also planned late-night hours starting at 10 p.m. on Thursdays through Saturdays, a sign that Avanti's rotating vendors have long tried to capture the neighborhood's after-dark crowd, much like For Your Boca's own Friday and Saturday service running until 11 p.m.
