Jose Avila’s new mezcal bar fuses Mexican and Japanese cuisine with music

The chef behind a few of Denver s majority of beloved modern Mexican food has opened a listening bar referencing the concept s Japanese origins on the menu and spotlighting mezcal and Latin music Malinche Audiobar Platte St is Jose Avila s long-awaited follow-up to La Diabla Pozole y Mezcal which opened near Coors Field in It s the first of several new concepts that Avila who has been repeatedly recognized by the Michelin Guide and the James Beard awards is working to open in the city Listening bars in Japan are places where people can sip whiskey smoke cigarettes and listen to jazz records on a high-fidelity sound system Like La Diabla Malinche is a den for lovers of Mexico City where Avila is from albeit smaller with a -person occupancy It takes reservations through Resy Its narrow hall located along Platte Street s strip of cocktail bars coffee shops and restaurants has barely enough room in the back for Avila s squad to prepare the food on the menu At the end of the day music and food and especially good mezcals bring people together Avila reported not long ago seated at a high top in his new space Soon he ll sell tacos from a trailer parked on the street to the nighttime crowd as well More of a snack bar than a full-on restaurant Avila s small menu is titled Nikkei-Mexa The word Nikkei refers to both immigrants from Japan and a style of food that mixes Japanese and Peruvian traditions In Malinche s circumstance Nikkei-Mexa means that instead of chips-and-dip he is serving the licorice-flavored plant hoja santa fried in tempura batter and topped with cream of huitlacoche a delectable corn fungus that is garnering attention in Denver The tamales made from nixtamalized corn masa corn that is ground into flour in a specific way and filled with rabbit meat braised in miso and pasilla pepper are wrapped in dark-green Mexican pepper leaves acuyo leaf And the crudo is a blanket of raw tuna with Spanish sausage underneath seasoned with a miso guajillo and yuzu sauce Spherical jugs of different mezcals dangle from a rope slung across the bar Bartenders pour from the jugs throughout the night whether that s for flights of mezcal or for bespoke cocktails which were developed by Dragan Milivojevic and range between and A server presents the Sabana de At n dish at Malinche Audiobar in downtown Denver on Oct Photo by RJ Sangosti The Denver Post Just as crucial though is the music Diego Andre s Martinelli who helped open the music venue General Records in New York City where specific of the world s best DJs grace state-of-the-art sound systems and sound engineer Darrien Williamson equipped the bar with its speakers amplifiers turntables and mixer On the night of the opening Williamson christened the turntable with Antonio Carlos Jobim s The Girl From Ipanema At other times Avila s streaming playlist of Latin rock cumbia and Andean music serenaded guests through the speakers Malinche s walls save for one made of red brick are splattered with a mixture of adobe clay and hay and the ceiling is covered with panels of brown curtains hanging at different heights The ideas came from bars in Mexico and Thailand respectively Avila explained It was only after designing the interior that he learned it also provides excellent sound insulation The mix table sits behind the bar at Malinche Audiobar in downtown Denver on Oct Photo by RJ Sangosti The Denver Post With Malinche s launch Avila s next anticipated openings are a restaurant next to Union Station a food hall adjacent to La Diabla and a permanent home for El Borrero Negro where he slowly barbecues animals in an underground pit Presently that operation is taking place behind La Diabla at Larimer St on weekends This is my first small restaurant that I opened and it s just so cool to see it definitely happening he reported Patrons belly up to the bar at Malinche Audiobar in downtown Denver on Oct Photo by RJ Sangosti The Denver Post Subscribe to our new food newsletter Stuffed to get Denver food and drink news sent straight to your inbox