A renowned culinary guide has given more nods to Colorado.

In their second year reviewing the state’s scene, Michelin Guide inspectors added four restaurants to the exclusive list built for foodies and worldwide travelers. That includes one restaurant that was awarded Michelin’s coveted, high-end One Star: Denver’s Alma Fonda Fina.

The Monday announcement continued a wave of fast praise for Chef Johnny Curiel, who opened the Mexican restaurant in the LoHi neighborhood less than a year ago. Born into a family of chefs and raised in Guadalajara, Michelin inspectors credited Curiel for “revisit(ing) dishes and flavors from his upbringing with creativity and finely honed technique.”

Chef Johnny also was won the 2024 Michelin Guide ‘Colorado Young Chef Award‘.

The results “are both satisfying and delicious,” inspectors wrote, specifically noting pork belly carnitas on a sourdough flour tortilla, agave-roasted sweet potato “with nutty salsa matcha and luxuriously creamy whipped requesón,” along with “vibrant seafood crudos like thinly sliced Maine diver scallop with tomatillo and apple aguachile.”

Alma Fonda Fina joins five other restaurants awarded the One Star from Colorado’s Michelin debut last year: Beckon, Brutø and the Wolf’s Tailor, all in Denver; Frasca Food and Wine in Boulder and Bosq in Aspen.

Michelin inspectors also added one restaurant to a list of nine Bib Gourmand recipients, those found to provide “good quality food for a good value.”

The nod went to MAKfam, which owners Doris Yuen and Kenneth Wan started as a pop-up in New York City before moving to a food hall in Denver and expanding from there to the full-service sit-down in the Baker neighborhood.

“The winsome, colorful space and the compact menu both celebrate (Yuen’s and Wan’s) Chinese American roots, both having been raised by immigrant families who worked in restaurants,” Michelin inspectors wrote. They noted grub “inspired by Chinatown favorites and takeout staples, made with particular care and big flavor.”

Inspectors finished with two more additions to Colorado’s recommended restaurants, now spanning 31 stops. Both additions are in Denver: Brasserie Brixton and Kawa Ni.

The French-inspired Brasserie Brixton continues RiNo’s strong representation in the Michelin Guide, while Kawa Ni has grown its “Japanese pub” concept in LoHi.

Denver has been the main focus of the Michelin Guide, which last year announced sending inspectors to Boulder, Aspen, Vail and Beaver Creek as well. Starting in France more than 100 years ago, guides are also maintained in New York, Chicago, California, Florida and Washington, D.C.

For a full look at Colorado’s Michelin-selected restaurants, go to: tinyurl.com/5n8bvfmu.