Best Italian Restaurant 2003 | Venice | Best of Denver® | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Denver | Westword
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Best Italian Restaurant

Venice

There's just one problem with Venice: So many people came to love this place so fiercely and so soon after it opened that it outgrew its modest, twenty-table location just days after opening. Since Venice has no lobby or bar, would-be diners had to gather in the parking lot and wait for a table to open up. And if they had to wait an hour? That was just fine. Once people tasted the authentic, high-class Italian cuisine being put out by Alessandro Carollo (who trained at the Grand Hotel in Florence and the Italian Culinary School in Venice) and his kitchen, they'd set up tents if they had to, waiting all night like Star Wars fans for Venice to open its doors. Such rabid loyalty was inspired not by one dish, but by whole menu: pasta fruiti di mare, beautiful pale-pink carpaccio drizzled with olive oil and buried under a mountain of parmesan Reggiano, even just a simple plate of spaghetti in an honest, slow-cooked sauce. No matter what you tried, you were hooked. This spring, the best will get even better when Venice opens a second spot. Until then, show up early or pack a sleeping bag.

Best Italian Lunch Specials

Parisi

Simone Parisi, a native of Florence, and his wife, Christine, a native of Boulder, always wanted to open an authentic pizzeria in Denver, and that's exactly what they did a few years ago. But Parisi, a charming neighborhood spot in northwest Denver, is much more than a pizzeria: It's also an Italian market and deli that cooks up great lunch specials. The offerings change daily and range from salmon salad to steak to numerous pasta dishes, all with a very authentic Italian accent.

Best Italian Lunch Specials

Parisi

Molly Martin
Simone Parisi, a native of Florence, and his wife, Christine, a native of Boulder, always wanted to open an authentic pizzeria in Denver, and that's exactly what they did a few years ago. But Parisi, a charming neighborhood spot in northwest Denver, is much more than a pizzeria: It's also an Italian market and deli that cooks up great lunch specials. The offerings change daily and range from salmon salad to steak to numerous pasta dishes, all with a very authentic Italian accent.

Best Deli Sandwich

Salvaggio's Deli

Yes, there's a place for deli favorites named after Hollywood stars and sandwiches stacked so high you've got to unhinge your jaw like a python just to take a bite -- but this isn't that place. Salvaggio's depends on quality rather than gimmicks to keep people coming back, and its sandwich of red bells and mozz is a great example. For this sandwich, the kitchen takes slices of fresh milk mozzarella, layers them on a soft, chewy sandwich roll, adds strips of roasted red bell pepper -- and that's it. Ask the counterman to add a couple slices of tomato, some olive oil and a shake of salt and pepper, and you've got yourself one of the best sandwiches this side of Sardi's.

Best Deli Sandwich

Salvaggio's Deli

Yes, there's a place for deli favorites named after Hollywood stars and sandwiches stacked so high you've got to unhinge your jaw like a python just to take a bite -- but this isn't that place. Salvaggio's depends on quality rather than gimmicks to keep people coming back, and its sandwich of red bells and mozz is a great example. For this sandwich, the kitchen takes slices of fresh milk mozzarella, layers them on a soft, chewy sandwich roll, adds strips of roasted red bell pepper -- and that's it. Ask the counterman to add a couple slices of tomato, some olive oil and a shake of salt and pepper, and you've got yourself one of the best sandwiches this side of Sardi's.

Best Vegetarian Restaurant

WaterCourse Foods

Don't worry, folks: No animals were harmed in the making of your barbecue at WaterCourse Foods. While everyone probably expects the casual coifs and generalized ennui that pervade this funky collegiate hangout, what comes as a surprise are the big-ass helpings of honestly good food that's good for you, too. WaterCourse has veggie stir-fries and a half-dozen breakfast offerings all involving scrambled tofu. The kitchen makes its own granola and slaps together one mean stack of buckwheat pancakes -- and even though sunflower seeds abound and the dress code is BYOB (bring your own bandanna), WaterCourse can make even tempeh taste decadent. And that's saying something.

Best Vegetarian Restaurant

WaterCourse Foods

Don't worry, folks: No animals were harmed in the making of your barbecue at WaterCourse Foods. While everyone probably expects the casual coifs and generalized ennui that pervade this funky collegiate hangout, what comes as a surprise are the big-ass helpings of honestly good food that's good for you, too. WaterCourse has veggie stir-fries and a half-dozen breakfast offerings all involving scrambled tofu. The kitchen makes its own granola and slaps together one mean stack of buckwheat pancakes -- and even though sunflower seeds abound and the dress code is BYOB (bring your own bandanna), WaterCourse can make even tempeh taste decadent. And that's saying something.

Best Fluffernutter Sandwich

Pour House Pub

Elvis used to send his private plane to Denver to pick up his favorite food: fried peanut-butter-and-banana sandwiches. When it opened last year, the Pour House Pub, a great spot for beer guzzling and shooting pool, honored the King with its own peanut-butter-and-banana concoction. But you can't stop progress. The Pour House recently replaced the brewski-soaking treat with an even greater homage to the '70s: a grilled fluffernutter sandwich so gooey and sweet it'll make your teeth squeak.

Best Fluffernutter Sandwich

Pour House Pub

Elvis used to send his private plane to Denver to pick up his favorite food: fried peanut-butter-and-banana sandwiches. When it opened last year, the Pour House Pub, a great spot for beer guzzling and shooting pool, honored the King with its own peanut-butter-and-banana concoction. But you can't stop progress. The Pour House recently replaced the brewski-soaking treat with an even greater homage to the '70s: a grilled fluffernutter sandwich so gooey and sweet it'll make your teeth squeak.

Best Place to Go When You're Waiting to Be Seated Somewhere Else

Hanson's Grill and Tavern

Single-handedly saving South Pearl from the yuppie invasion, Hanson's Grill and Tavern offers a comfortable oasis amid all the SUVs and boob jobs. After its opening last summer (in the former home of the beloved Oak Alley Inn), this mellow neighborhood eatery quickly became a favorite of construction workers and corporate types, frat boys and professors on hiatus, drunken poets and families out for a night on the town at a place where they don't have to show off their new nipple piercings just to get through the door. With its deep, snug booths and dark-wood tables, its rough brickwork and exposed pipes, Hanson's has the feel of a perfect post-grad college bar -- the kind of place you want to become a regular at in your twenties and still be a regular at twenty years later. The food is surprisingly good, too, with a fairly creative menu offering everything from simple pastas and burgers to herb-rubbed grilled salmon steaks, green-lip mussels and po' boys, at prices even a po' boy can handle.

Best Of Denver®

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