A Secret Szechuan Gem and Our Other Asian Food Faves
While Denver’s dining scene has attracted top chefs from all over the world, it’s our mom-and-pop shops and holes in the wall that tell a deeper culinary story. Like Noodles Express, a nondescript eatery in a strip mall on Colorado Boulevard that happens to serve up some of the best Szechuan cuisine in town. We stopped by the recently a lo-fi feast of sweet, salty, and tongue-numbing spice with our fave gastro guide, Westword food editor Molly Martin. Today on the show, newsletter editor Peyton Garcia and host Bree Davies celebrate the last day of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month with Molly as they dine on mapo tofu and dish about their fave Asian restaurants across the Mile High.
Molly mentioned the Crazy Hungry Asians of Colorado group on Facebook, the Westword profile of Adam You, You’s Denver Chinese Source blog and the return of Mile High Asian Restaurant Week. Here’s Molly’s original review of Noodle Express, as well as her story on the restaurant bouncing back from the brink of closure.
All the great places we mentioned:
- Noodles Express (Colorado Blvd.)
- New China (Alameda & Pearl)
- Chada Thai (Uptown)
- 303 Ramen (Arvada)
- Szechuan Tasty House (College View)
- Meat and Eat Bistro (Hampden)
- Meta Asian Kitchen (Highland)
- Pho King Rapidos (Highland, for now)
- Yuan Wonton (Food Truck)
- CoArk Food Hall (Centennial)
- Tommy’s Thai (Congress Park)
- Pho Hong (Alameda & Federal)
- Tí Cafe (South Broadway)
Please take our listener survey!
We’re doing a survey to learn more about our listeners, so we can make City Cast Denver an even better, more useful podcast for you. We’d be grateful if you took the survey at citycast.fm/survey—it’s only 5 minutes long. You’ll be doing us a big favor. Plus, anyone who takes the survey will be eligible to win a $250 Visa gift card.
For even more news from around the city, subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver by texting “Denver” to 66866.
Follow us on Twitter: @citycastdenver
Or instagram: @citycastdenver
Chat with other listeners on reddit: r/CityCastDenver
Text or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (720) 500-5418
Learn more about the sponsor of this episode:
Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise
Subscribe To Our Newsletter

Stay connected to City Cast Denver and get ready to join the local conversation.
Latest Episodes
Denver State Senate Candidates Beef over Dark Money, Data Centers, and RTD's Budget
While there’s been plenty of coverage of the gubernatorial, congressional, and U.S. Senate primaries, smaller but equally important battl...

New Rules for City Council Lobbyists, Primary Ballot Conspiracies, and Winning Wontons
This week Denver City Council passed new lobbying rules aimed at increasing transparency and tracking who lobbyists work for, how much th...

Why Some Cherry Creek Trail Art Got 'The Landlord Special.' Plus, Downtown's Perception Problem and Our Summer Concert Picks
What makes a piece of public art “legitimate”? Denverite recently profiled artist Tom Dorsa, an appliance repairman by day who also insta...

Why Three Venues Cancelled on The Kiros/Piker Rally, a Conservative's Tour of Downtown, and Juneteenth Expands
Over the weekend, a rally featuring congressional candidate Melat Kiros and leftist political pundit Hasan Piker was booted from three lo...

How to Survive a Denver Summer
The National Weather Service and Climate Prediction Center are forecasting a warm and wet summer this year. So, how do you cope with incr...

'Your City Could Be Better': Why Every Region Needs A Park Map Tool Like Salt Lake’s — Presented By City Cast Denver
Do you know how many parks Denver has? Residents of Salt Lake County have wondered about their parks for years — that is, until City Cast...

Kyle Clark on GOP Exorcisms, CD-8 Switcheroos, and Tornado False Alarms
Can Victor Marx conduct exorcisms over the phone? The ordained minister and front-runner in the GOP primary for governor says so, and mad...

Senator Michael Bennet on Housing Affordability, Redistricting, and How He’s Different From Gov. Polis
Michael Bennet has represented Colorado in congress since 2009. Now, the U.S. senator is running for governor – and is in the midst of a...

Attorney General Phil Weiser on Data Center Moratoriums, Bike Lanes, and His Run for Governor
Governor Jared Polis is serving his final term and the Democratic primary race to replace him is heated. Attorney General Phil Weiser joi...

UMS or Blucifer's First Rodeo? Plus, Bike Fest, CD1 Primary Challengers, and More From the Mailbag!
Host Bree Davies and Producer Olivia Jewell Love are opening up the City Cast Denver mailbag to hear listeners’ thoughts on everything fr...

