FOOD & DRINK

Best Chili Con Carne
Denver Buffalo Company
1109 Lincoln St.

With all those red and green chiles burning their way down our gullets, sometimes we forget what the rest of the country considers chili--the con carne model. One bite of the Denver Buffalo Company's chili will remind you of what you've been missing. The carne is key to this stew: Chunks of tender, lean buffalo dominate the mix of beans, sauce and assorted spices, for a taste that bowls you over. You'll never look at a can of Van de Kamp's the same way again.

Readers' choice: Chili's

Best Unconventional Mole
The Roundup Grill
28215 Hwy. 74, Evergreen

People are finally catching on that mole isn't just a chocolate sauce but a mixture of many ingredients that varies depending on who's doing the cooking. Most often it's a blend of onion, garlic, chiles, ground seeds such as pumpkin, and a tiny amount of Mexican chocolate. The Roundup ropes us in with a version that uses almonds in the place of seeds, Anaheim peppers for a mild bite and white chocolate for an incredibly rich, buttery flavor--and then pours it on top of a free-range chicken breast. Mole!

Best Huevos Rancheros
Bamboo Hut
2449 Larimer St.

Where's the fire? Right here. Sometimes you deserve an award merely for hauling yourself out of bed in the morning. Bamboo Hut, the oddly named Mexican restaurant tucked into a corner of Larimer Street, has just the prize. An order of its huevos rancheros comes overflowing with the hottest green chile in town (the owners grow their own chiles), which manages to pack plenty of flavor into the fire. Underneath are two eggs cooked eggzactly as you order them; alongside come spicy rice and excellent frijoles, in which the beans have not been pounded to the consistency of baby food. (Occasionally the eggs come with a side of spaghetti, which makes about as much sense as the restaurant's name. Don't bother trying to figure out why--just enjoy.) If your circumstances are particularly dire--read: hung over--squeeze on extra hot-hot salsa and order a few beers to put out the blaze. At $1.50 per, the Coronas are a real reason to rise and shine.

Readers' choice: Gregorio's
end of part 4