No. 40: Rail Yard cheddar soup from Ghost Plate & Tap
Even if your palate favors foie gras, champagne cocktails, French belons and caviar, most of you -- even those of you who claim to be be fierce food snobs -- can admit that there's nothing on the observable planet quite like the discovery of a mind-altering soup. Whether your crack is mulligatawny or minestrone, there's a reason why a simmering pot of soup on the stove make us feel all warm and fuzzy. And while Chris Cina, the executive chef of Ghost Plate & Tap, is fully capable of creating an elegant chicken liver pâté -- which is also on his menu at Ghost -- it's his beer-and-cheddar soup that's my current "real people, real food" fixation. It's ridiculously simple -- even by Cina's own admission -- but peasant or not, the soup benefits from a full-flavored stock that's further bolstered by sharp Wisconsin cheddar, chives and the addition of Rail Yard Ale, a Oktoberfest/Märzen-style amber that's brewed at the Wynkoop. For his final trick, Cina blesses it with swipes of smoked red pepper harissa. And glutton that I am, I can't limit myself to just one cup, so more often than not, a full container follows me home.
Hungry for more? All the dishes in our countdown are linked below:
No. 100: Italian wedding soup from the Squeaky Bean No. 99: American Classic Burger (and fries) from Tarbell's No. 98: E's clam linguini from Mangiamo Pronto No. 97: Queso a la plancha taco from the Pinche Tacos wagon No. 96: Prosciutto-wrapped jalapeño poppers from Tony's Market No. 95: Fried chicken from the Pinyon No. 94: Seafood soup from Farro No. 93: Posole from The Porker No. 92: Breakfast Burrito from the Taco Wagon in Lafayette No. 91: Hummus from Shish Kabob Grill No. 90: Albondigas meatballs from Solera No. 89: Lemon-ricotta doughnuts from Olivéa No. 88: Döner kabob from Shondiz No. 87: Roasted cauliflower salad from Euclid Hall No. 86: Beef cheek enchiladas from El Diablo No. 85: Fried Brussels sprouts from Panzano No. 84: Pork osso buco from Osteria Marco No. 83: Cazuela Colombiana from Cafe Brazil No. 82: Chicken potpie from Devil's Food No. 81: Sichuan braised beef noodle soup from Zoe Ma Ma No. 80: Larb nua from Taste of Thailand No. 79: Pork shank from Argyll No. 78: Truffo panino from Shangri-La Cafe No. 77: Pig-snout tacos from Guadalajara Authentic Mexican Buffet No. 76: Speck and maple ice cream from Pizzeria Basta No. 75: Tom yum goong from Thai Flavor No. 74: South African black ruff from TAG No. 73: Gumbo from Bistro One No. 72: New England clam chowder from Bittersweet No. 71: Celery and lime popsicle from Spuntino No. 70: Curried split pea soup from Modmarket No. 69: Mais pizza from Pizzeria Locale No. 68: Risotto frutti di mare from Firenze a Tavola No. 67: Frico caldo from Frasca Food & Wine No. 66: Sea scallop and rock shrimp noodle bowl from Bones No. 65: Luther Burger from Crave No. 64: Chongqing Chicken from East Asia Garden No. 63: Bouillabaisse from Deluxe No. 62: Crue fries from D Bar Desserts No. 61: Chili gobi from Jai Ho No. 60: New Mexican eggs Benedict from DJ's Berkley Cafe No. 59: Lamb vindaloo from Cuisine of the Himalayas No. 58: Gazpacho verde from Zolo Grill No. 57: Hama Hama oyster from Jax Fish House-Denver No. 56: Mixiote de borrego from El Trompito Taqueria No. 55: Samosas from the British Bulldog No. 54: Mole verde with carnitas from Tarasco's No. 53: Pork chop from Le Grand Bistro & Oyster Bar No. 52: Santa Fe skillet from Hits the Spot Diner No. 51: Pork tenderloin with bread pudding and green split peas from the Wooden Table No. 50: Noodle jelly salad from Thai Street Food No. 49: Telluride jalapeno poppers from Encore No. 48: Carnitas from Araujo's No. 47: Croque Madame from Pierre Michel Organic French Bakery Cafe No. 46 Xiao Long Bao from Lao Wang Noodle House No. 45: Pasta puttanesca from Sketch No. 44: Chimayo-chile flank steak and posole at Village Cork No. 43: Sobrebarriga from La Cocina de Paula No. 42: Raw carrot salad from Ambria No. 41: Goat curry from Phat Thai
In late 2009, we embarked on a culinary journey that took us through our favorite dishes in the Mile High City -- one hundred, to be exact. Now we're back with round two, counting down (in no particular order) a hundred more of our favorite Denver dishes in a list that, by our imperfect calculations, should be wrapped up...before Best of Denver® 2012. If there's a dish you think we need to try, tell us about it in the comments section below, or shoot us an e-mail at [email protected].
