Squeezing Lime
When I walked into the doors of the spiffy new Lime-xs, there was the faintest pang in my stomach. It erupted from the fact that I used to frequent Los Troncos, a shabby-ish neighborhood Mexican joint that used to occupy this space. Had I eaten more of their enchiladas, perhaps it’d still be here. Alas, the fact that I tried to keep my girth in check perhaps plays some small role in the fact that the space now houses something decidedly fresher.
The diminutive cousin of the original Lime in Larimer Square, the “xs” in Lime-xs stands for what you want it to: extra-small, extra special, or, well, make one up. The interior here consists of an angled bar that greets you at the entry (and seats a healthy half dozen) and two separate dining rooms clustered with white linen tables. It’s a spare space, almost cool in the emotional sense of the word, and it’ll be left to you and your guests (with help from the adequately cheerful staff) to warm things up.
The drinks—and they serve them by the dozen to the young cats who bounce between here and Don’s Mixed Drinks across the street—seem to have been concocted with someone who possesses a large stake in the cane sugar industry. From the house margarita ($6) to the pineapple-coconut mojito ($8), the cocktails repeatedly mask their ethanol behind a thick blanket of sweet. The mojito actually improved greatly as the ice melted—it quelled the sweetness and the coconut slowly became more pronounced. As for the frozen margs, they come in a base version (touched up with Grand Marnier) which is then colored with various shades of sugar: mango, pomegranate, Blue Curacao, etc.
While they don’t offer anything on draft (the two taps at the bar serve up the house sweet-and-sour mix), bottled Mexican beers runs from $4 for a Dos Equis to $6 for Negra Modelo. And while I find something perverse in paying six bones for a bottle of beer, some of the best things here thankfully come free: the chips paired with the house salsa are of the flour tortilla variety and are a crispy delight. They also serve the lime salut—particularly for dinner guests—which is an itty-bitty ration of Sauza Gold tequila served in a shelled out lime with a rim of salt. It’s more pucker-power than booze but for the price, it’s a nice piece of atmosphere.
Next best thing are the scorpions ($8.50), a wonderful appetizer that features four jumbo shrimp perched atop slabs of jalapeño pepper, smeared with chipotle cream cheese then flash fried. Served with a chipotle crème fraiche, they are a fiery pleaser. For any of you who had the good fortune to dine at Cielo during its brief but delicious existence in 2002, the recipe here comes from the same hands—and they are a piquant antidote to the drinks.
So is it worth a stop? Depends on how you like your cocktails. For the numerous families that stop here, it’s a casual dinner offering that won’t break the bank, with most entrees pegged between $9 and $12. For the cocktailer, I found the most manageable solution (save for ordering tequila up) is to take the house marg on the rocks—with salt and two limes—and squeeze them both in before you set to sipping.
The Word XS. As in extra sweet. There are leagues of people who fancy awfully sweet margs. If you count yourself among them, this place is for you.
Lime xs 730 E. 6th Ave. 303-722-5463
Happy Hour Mon - Fri 4-6 p.m.; $3 Dos Equis, wells, house margs and house wines.