Bite It: Paella at Cafe Aion

Each week, Eater Denver will choose one dish from Denver's hot eateries that shines and is a must for local diners. 



Café Aion, the Spanish-inspired eatery on the hill in Boulder, does a lot of things right and it does paella great. In the former funky bookstore space that Café Aion calls home you will find the best paella in the state of Colorado and likely many others states.

This Spanish rice dish that bursts with saffron flavors, combines each week at Café Aion various elements that shine and keep each version new for the diner. Depending on when you go, your paella may feature house-made linguiça sausage, mussels, lamb or whatever else the owner and chef Dakota Soifer found to be the freshest and most appropriate element for that day's blazing-hot paella pan. Order it and be ready to fall in love. Tip: reach deep to the bottom of the pan when you serve yourself to get to the best part of this dish: the caramelized, crispy bottom crust that defines a good paella.

To sweeten up the deal, go for paella on Wednesdays when the restaurant runs a special serving the nightly paella and a bottle of wine to tables of two to four people for an mere $35. This weekly special is a tradition consistent with the restaurant’s philosophy of sharing Mediterranean plates and pairing them with simple soulful wines. A carefully selected and sometimes surprising bottle of wine, such as a Greek Skouras Red Blend, complements this traditional Spanish dish.

Café Aion, 1235 Pennsylvania Avenue, Boulder, 303-993-8131.