For reasons that have never been entirely clear, Denver -- a city 2,000 miles removed from the front lines of the Pat's-versus-Geno's sandwich war -- has always been a battleground fought over by rival cheesesteak operations. There's east side versus west side, foothills against flatlands, and that competition is all good for cheesesteak consumers. But Pat's #1 is the winner, edging out all comers with a sublime, authentic Philly cheesesteak that's a perfect combination of shredded, flat-grilled beef gummed together with melted cheese and an easy dose of fried onions, all mounded up inside a soft, chewy bun that's just dense enough to soak up the excess grease. Despite the obvious handicap of doing its best work half a continent away from the center of the cheesesteak universe -- and for a crowd that still sometimes labors under the ridiculous delusion that a cheesesteak ain't proper without green peppers and mushrooms -- Pat's stays true to its school.