Uncle 2.0 Has a Must-Try Thai Curry Lineup

By the time the Speer location of Denver’s beloved Uncle ramen shop opened in July, executive sous chef Matt Dulin had tested the restaurant’s new green curry mussel dish about 100 times. “My heart definitely went into that recipe,” Dulin says. The balance in the broth had to be perfect: subtly sweet, bright and acidic, salty and spicy. To get there, Dulin created his own curry paste (in fact, each of the four new Thai-style curries, only available at Uncle 2.0, begins with a custom base) redolent of ginger, shallot, lemongrass, garlic, and fresh Thai chile; it gets briny depth from shrimp paste and dried, cured mussels. Coconut milk, fish sauce, wild lime leaves, and Thai basil bring richness and perfume to the broth, infusing the plump, steamed Maine mussels that go into it with intense flavor. Dulin finishes the bowl with fresh lime zest and juice, another handful of Thai basil, and a drizzle of wild lime leaf oil. Served with fragrant heirloom Kokuho Rose rice, it’s an addition worthy of Uncle’s spacious new outpost. Better yet: With more seats than the seven-year-old original LoHi location, the Speer Uncle affords shorter wait times and ample opportunities to taste-test the new curries yourself.