Best Tapas 2002 | Nicois | Best of Denver® | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Denver | Westword
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Best Tapas

Nicois

Finally, a place that knows how to do tapas right. These little Spanish-style starters aren't supposed to be full-fledged plates, nor are they supposed to be priced like them. Nicois recognizes this and offers more than a dozen ways to sample delightful combinations of full-flavored Mediterranean ingredients, including squid stuffed with roasted shrimp, seared foie gras, serrano ham with manchego cheese, and crispy-fried salt-cod fritters. The price is particularly appealing: Each taste treat is $3.50, which means you can snack on one or two as a starter, or put together a half-dozen and make a meal out them. Spring for a cava, Spain's answer to Champagne, while you're at it. Nice.

Best Starters

Vasil's Euro-Grille

So many restaurants are hell-bent on putting all those newfangled, exciting ingredients on their appetizer lists that they forget all about the old-school classics, such as escargots bourguignonne and jumbo shrimp cocktail. Vasil's Euro-Grille, however, remembers to pay homage to the past even as it celebrates the new. The shrimp, for example, comes with that traditional cocktail sauce -- here a tangy homemade version -- as well as a salsa of pickled asparagus, endives and apples that's a savvy, zesty counterpoint to the sweet shrimp meat. And while the standby of oysters Rockefeller gets the usual treatment of creamy spinach and a splash of Pernod, the dish also features tomato-pumped hollandaise and shaved Asiago for a nutty twist. But wait, there's more: honey-baked goat cheese with roasted tomatoes, kalamatas and balsamic; seared foie gras on a slice of "crème brûlée" French toast with a raspberry reduction; and wild-mushroom risotto finished with white-truffle oil. If Vasil's wants to start something, we're ready.

Best Finishers

Micole

We're sweet on Micole's pastry chef, Steven Fling, who continues to makes some of the most interesting, appealing desserts around. His eight-item roster includes such wonders as smoked golden pineapple in a coconut mousse with Myers's rum ice cream; a white-chocolate timbale surrounded by a basil-strewn apricot salad and apricot soup; and a "study" of three pears (pear tart, port-poached pear and pear sorbet). But the real icing on the cake is the creamy-textured apple-and-cheddar "crème brûlée" in a calvados syrup that's like nothing you've tasted before. Thanks to Fling, Micole finishes in first place.

Best Slacker Oasis

Paris on the Platte

Okay, so Paris on the Platte is not for everyone. If you don't like loud music or cigarette smoke, or you feel uncomfortable in the presence of artists, goths, ravers, punks, indie rockers, computer-game players, Lord of the Rings enthusiasts, writers and unabashed readers, you might want to stick to Starbucks. But for those who prefer their caffeine with a little character, this charmingly imperfect cafe is a temporary refuge from the world of corporate aggression. With an ever-changing assortment of works by local artists hanging from the brick walls and an equally colorful cast of regulars, Paris is an unassuming piece of pseudo-bohemian heaven. Check the adjoining bookstore for good deals on used titles and exotic smokes, or try one of the kitchen's tasty specialty sandwiches; thanks to liberal hours, you can eat as late as 2 a.m. on the weekend. We can only hope we'll always have Paris.

Best Tea

Tea Train

If you're the sort who prefers -- no, aches -- to linger over your cozy cuppa, log on to Longmont-based Tea Train's comprehensive Web site immediately: You'll find yourself immersed in heady choices. The offerings include fine versions of all the classic black darjeelings, assams and keemuns, some with such intriguing designations as "Midnight Kiss" (a subtly perfumy Chinese brew) and "Dark and Stormy Night" (smoky and strong), as well as sprightly greens, whites and oolongs and some unusual and healthy herbal mixes featuring rooibos and yerba maté from South America. But don't miss the chance to visit the tea merchant's retail store: While purchasing your leaves for home brewing -- with assistance from a very able staff -- you'll also be treated to a delightful seasonal menu of brews served in tummy-tingling steamed, iced or traditionally steeped combinations. Our favorites? There are too many to list, but don't miss the Chocolate River and Vanilla Bean chai mixes. Chai cha cha!

Best Online Potica

Orbit Corporation

Hailed as a national treasure in Slovenia, potica is a European sweetbread that's time-honored -- and very time-consuming to make. Fine bread dough is rolled extremely flat and then sprinkled with cinnamon, sugar, raisins, walnuts and many other ambrosial additions; it's then "primed" in a special, temperature-controlled box and baked. Robert and Frank Mauro started making potica in their kitchen when they needed a little extra money for the holidays; when the demand became overwhelming, Nancy Fognani joined the team, and their home-based potica business became Orbit Corporation, Inc. Your grandma Mirjana would have toiled for hours over this holiday treat, but you can order the tasty pastry with a simple click of your mouse.

Best Square Deal

Bump & Grind

Among Bump & Grind's many post-meal wonders is a dreamy apricot-walnut bar, a square block of sweet sustenance. The Bump's pastry ace starts with a sticky, crumbly crust, then tops it with a blend of flour, apricots, sugar and walnuts. The baked result is a dense mouthful of whole-earth goodness that doubles as a supreme breakfast bar.

Best Wholesome Whole-Milk Tour

Karl's Farm Dairy

It's surrounded by sprawling suburbs, but Karl's Farm Dairy, a family-owned operation, hangs on to its cow-powered past. The dairy's new retail outlet, just down the road on 120th, serves up the best milk in Colorado, fresh-squeezed stuff made by the herd of Guernseys that roam the pasture out back. And tours of the dairy are an udderly amazing experience that puts you face-to-face with the four-legged artisans. Take the kids for a quick lesson in where that non-fat, pasteurized stuff got its start.

Best Three-Drink Maximum

Coors Brewery Tour

Those in need of a free buzz need look no further than Golden's Coors Brewery. The standard tour of the facility lasts only 45 minutes, and midway through, drinking-age guests are given a Dixie-cup-sized gulp of brew, under the apparent assumption that they might not be able to complete the journey without one. Even better, the circuit winds up at a bar where each person is allowed three full-sized drafts of his choice, gratis. Teetotalers get three sodas -- or can order beers and just pass them to their suds-loving buddies (another good reason to bring along a designated driver). Make ours a triple.

Best Liquor Is Quicker but Candy Is Dandy Tour

Hammond's Candies

When you're suddenly overcome by a craving for sweets -- you know, that sudden unstoppable need for sugar -- Hammond's Candies satisfies. Before you sink your sweet tooth into a gooey strawberry caramel or break off a piece of the company's famous ribbon candy, though, you might want to take a free tour of the factory. After all, the buildup is half the fun. During the thirty-minute tour, you'll see how the edible ribbons are hand-pulled and crimped to produce the wavy candy for which Hammond's is so well known. You'll drool at the vat of butter into which nuts and sugar are stirred for toffee production. And you'll feel like a kid awaiting Christmas as you watch the candy makers form long ropes of confection into lollipops and candy canes. Although you'll get samples along the way, you can't fully indulge until after the tour, which ends with a trip to the gift shop, where your patience will be amply rewarded.

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