Chef Johnny Curiel opens Boulder Mexican restaurant with gluten-free menu

The restaurant: Cozobi Fonda Fina, 909 Walnut St., Boulder

About: Chef Johnny Curiel, who owns Alma Fonda Fina in LoHi, is opening his second Mexican concept in his old stomping grounds. He previously worked as executive chef for Centro Mexican Kitchen on Boulder’s popular Pearl Street. Cozobi, named after the Zapotec god of corn, will emphasize nixtamalization, a centuries-old masa-making tradition, and wood-fired cooking techniques.

“It’s important to me to show how much more you can do with masa than tortillas,” Curiel previously told The Denver Post. “I want to continue to share what I know, not for fame, not for money, not for anything like that, but because I truly want people to experience what Mexico is, and move away from just enchiladas and burritos and quesadillas.”

Curiel opened Alma Fonda Fina with his wife, Kasie, in LoHi last December, debuting upscale Mexican dishes inspired by his upbringing in Guadalajara, Mexico, where his parents still own a “fonda, a mom-and-pop place, where blue-collar workers go for lunch,” as Curiel previously described it.

Like Alma Fonda Fina, Cozobi is a fine-dining (“fina”) interpretation of a “fonda.” The 71-seat restaurant is centered around a large lava rock molino (grinder) and a wood-fired grill with hickory “to honor the way people in Mexico have cooked for centuries,” according to the press release. And there’s also an intimate, six-seat chef’s counter, similar to Alma Fonda Fina’s in LoHi.

What’s on the menu: Cozobi Fonda Fina’s menu is completely gluten-free and meant to be shared. Every dish will have a charred ingredient, like the guacamole with charred vegetables, inspired by Curiel’s family barbecues in Mexico. He’s also using his abuela’s recipe for tamales de rajas stuffed with creamy cheese, and took inspiration from his family gatherings with a 12-hour roasted lamb. The menu is divided into starters, like elote Caesar salad; seafood, including Japanese hamachi; nixtamal, like birria flautas; and wood-fired entrees for the whole table. Curiel and his team will make and grind masa for tlacoyos (thick corn tortillas), tetelas (triangular masa dough stuffed with a variety of fillings), and corundas (tamales wrapped in corn leaves).