After a two-year hiatus from writing about food halls in Denver, I’m now on the second one in two weeks. The last post detailed my trip to the southeast suburbs and Coark Collective, a Korean-centric eatery, which was a great concept, although other dishes might have been better options. Now I’m on to one that’s more conventional, Avanti, in LoHi.

Skirting along the north side of Interstate 25, the LoHi (Lower Highlands) neighborhood is more residential, but it does have its share of worthwhile eateries. The most interesting is Linger, which used to be a mortuary but now serves global cuisine (although I'm not sure if it's haunted). I personally love Little Man Ice Cream, a milk can-shaped structure that serves Denver’s best-frozen treats. Now, there is Avanti Food & Beverage, which has an eight-restaurant location in Denver. The two others are in Boulder and Vail.

Avanti Denver is a two-story structure that affords a killer view of downtown Denver from their outside deck. Two food stands are on the second level, while the other six are on the ground floor. When you enter, you can sit where you like and then order from the blocks with QR codes on your smartphone. The only problem is that you have to order from each place separately, which can be cumbersome. You then must pick up your food from each stand or order drinks from one of the bars on either level. Whether you choose to tip at each place is up to you.

Café Avanti

This place is the food hall’s coffee bar, which opens at 7 AM and serves a variety of coffee and tea-based beverages, as well as pastries and breakfast burritos. I didn’t buy anything from there, but there were three items that I would have tried: the tiramisu croissant knot, the cacio e pepe croissant, and the candied speck cheese bun.

Ama Modern Mexican

Having tried many Mexican places and with Mexican being my favorite ethnic food, I was looking forward to this eatery. But there wasn’t anything that was significantly extraordinary or innovative, except queso birria and papas rancheras (crispy smashed potatoes with salsa roja and pesto). We wanted to order the second dish, but they had already sold out. So, we decided to save this one for later, in case we should return.

Bowls by Ko

“Global bowls” is this eatery’s theme. If I had settled on a meal here, I probably would have chosen one of the poke bowls. You can also create your bowl with options for the base, protein, sides, and sauce. There are also shareable plates of hummus, fried Brussels sprouts and sweet potato fries. JRS and I decided on this plate, and it was thick and hand-cut, which made it slightly soft. The non-dairy ranch and honey mustard dip lent some depth.

Eloise American Bistro

I would describe this eatery as a French-inspired café, offering dishes such as mussels, chicken liver pâté, and steak frites. Other items are more American-oriented. I would probably choose the warm goat cheese salad because this is something I always love. This version offers mixed greens, sherry Dijon vinaigrette, beets and fried goat cheese. This eatery almost seems out of place in such a venue.

Farang Thai Kitchen

I’m starting to notice a theme at Avanti – fried Brussels sprout appetizers. This is the third stand with those veggie starters, but at least this place has a sweet and sour topping that distinguishes it from the others. There’s also a fair selection of noodle/rice dishes, curry plates and grilled items. We ordered a simple satay starter – two skewers with marinated grilled chicken and placed in a peanut-cilantro sauce base. These were savory, juicy and slightly spicy.

Knockabout Burgers

This was the place I truly wanted to try , as some of the options sounded the most interesting. The one that most intrigued me was the vegetarian goat cheese and caramelized onions, which JRS and I shared because of its expected massive size. For a plant-based burger, it was tasty and juicy, with honey balsamic vinaigrette that brought both tanginess and sweetness to the assertive goat cheese.

Quiero Arepas

When RAS worked in downtown Denver, a food truck fair was held every Wednesday in nearby Civic Center Park. We attended this several times, and my favorite was this Venezuelan eatery. Now, this place is in Avanti, and it still serves up the same stuffed corn patty dish with either meat, veggie, cheese and/or plantain fillings with avocado salsa (guasacaca). I didn’t go here because I naturally wanted to try other places.

The Pizza Bandit

Maybe it’s because we have pizza at home often, but I didn’t consider going to this place. After I looked at the menu before we visited, nothing again sounded interesting to either of us. However, if we had others in our group, we probably would have ordered a pie. I would have tried the sweet heat – pepperoni with jalapenos, hot honey, pickled red onions and cream cheese. It may have singed my mouth, but it was at least something different.