The Bagel Deli & Restaurant

A certain spiky-haired television personality may have been the one to turn a lot of people on to this strip-mall eatery in southeast Denver when he stopped by in 2011, but now 55 years old, the Bagel Deli was a favorite with fans of Jewish deli fare long before that. One part of the space is a bare-bones deli where you can get black-and-white cookies, celery-flavored Dr. Brown's sodas and scoops of egg salad to go. The other is a dining room with walls covered in family photos and other memorabilia. Matzo ball soup and knishes are some of the menu staples, but sandwiches are the real stars, whether it's a breakfast sandwich on a bagel, a Reuben made with latkes instead of bread, or a simple but classic pastrami on rye, with the thin-sliced meat piled high. Up next for this longtime Denver staple: an outpost at DIA, expected to open in 2023.