Food & Drink

La Chiva is one of only a handful of Colombian restaurants in the entire metro area, and its central location on South Broadway makes it an easy destination for trying out some of the South American country’s signature dishes. Corn-flour empanadas are a good bet, fried to a golden crisp, but if you’re new to Colombian cooking, the Chiva Picada sampler plate is a great way to tour the menu without over-ordering. The platter comes with enough food for at least two hungry customers: There’s Colombian-style chorizo, fried yuca, patacones (smashed and fried green plantain disks), rellenas (similar to croquettes), papas criollas (little Andean potatoes), sweet plantains, pork ribs, chicharrones and arepas. You’ll leave knowing just a little more about Colombia — that the food is delicious, for example — than when you arrived.

Señor Bear draws influence from several cuisines across South and Central America and the Caribbean, but it’s not overly concerned with authenticity: Ambition and whimsy mark chef Blake Edmunds’s approach to the food here, and his kitchen is clearly more concerned with putting out a delicious plate than with strictly observing tradition. While the restaurant debuted to immediate acclaim last year, the team has steadily ramped up its game since then, tightening the menu while expanding the inspiration to more regions. The current menu channels everything from Puerto Rican mofongo to Peruvian Chinese food to Oaxacan mole; crispy pig tail and French fry-topped broccoli get equal billing with more recognizable chimichurri-topped steak and rice and beans. Start your meal with a rotating frozen cocktail, and don’t miss the soft-serve ice cream or the churros. And if you find yourself at Señor Bear during happy hour, two words: Gordo Crunch.

Readers’ Choice: Cafe Brazil

Cracovia celebrates a decade of serving great Polish and Eastern European cuisine this year, but its menu has always been worthy of celebration for those seeking out traditional soups, sausages, peirogi and other hearty and heart-warming dishes. Beets and cabbage play big parts, whether in tightly rolled golabki (cabbage rolls) stuffed with pork and rice, deep-red barszcz soup or a side of braised sauerkraut. Peruse the special connoisseur’s menu for more unusual offerings, like duck-blood soup, kiszka (blood-and-buckwheat sausage) or golonka — a pork hock roasted to a crackly finish. Evening entertainment adds a touch of goofy, old-world charm, and Polish beers add to the good cheer. Raise a glass and say “Na zdrowie!” to another ten years of Cracovia.

Readers’ Choice: Rhein Haus

Defining Biju’s Little Curry Shop as fast-casual Indian almost does it a disservice. Sure, it operates on a fast-casual counter model, with diners ordering their coconut curry, vindaloo or Masala beef, and then directing the addition of chutneys, yogurt and extra spice to taste. And yes, it’s an easily replicated model, proven by its expansion into a second outlet. But to focus on the fast-casual aspect underplays the Indian cuisine itself — and that’s what really makes Biju’s unique. Founder Biju Thomas built his restaurant on the flavors of southern India, incorporating recipes from his native Kerala, relying on fresh ingredients and highlighting the lighter preparations. The dishes you find at Biju’s, which do not shy away from heat or nuance, are hard to find elsewhere in the Mile High. That alone should entice you, whether you’re looking for a quick lunch-counter meal or not. What you find at Biju’s, though, will make you want to return again and again…or simply stay.

Readers’ Choice: Little India

Barbecue is the focal point at Shin Myung Gwan: Tabletop grills cook up short ribs, bulgogi, pork neck and cow’s tongue. Combo sets let you sample a variety of those offerings; as a bonus, they come with a stone bowl of spicy kimchi stew, a veggie pancake and a free bottle of beer. Spend some time perusing the hot pots that adorn most tables; we’re fans of the octopus and bulgogi, built on a light, clear and deeply savory broth seasoned with green onions. You also won’t want to miss the peppery and slightly sweet stir-fried rice cake, which you might also know as tteok-bokki. The version here, supplemented by thin slices of fish cake, is spicier than other renditions in the neighborhood, and it comes floating with a brick of ramen noodles, which melts into the broth as it bubbles.

Readers’ Choice: Dae Gee Korean BBQ

We can’t say we exactly miss the American-Chinese takeout dishes that defined this country’s perception of Chinese cooking for at least a generation — it’s hard to go back to mu shu when you’ve had real Beijing duck, and wonton soup is much less interesting than fiery Sichuan dumplings (or chao shou). That said, we do occasionally feel nostalgic for the egg drop soup, sesame chicken and General Tsos of a different era. When we get that feeling, we head to Peter’s, which has been serving the metro area well-executed versions of American-Chinese classics since the ’80s. Highlights here include the shatter-crisp sesame chicken, sticky with caramelization, and the thick-set, burnished scallion pancake, served with a savory ginger-soy dipping sauce. Go at lunch, and your meal comes with fried rice and a delicate egg roll, sided with sweet-and-sour sauce and hot mustard.

Of all the dim sum parlors that dot this part of town, the most consistently excellent is Super Star Asian, a bare-bones cavern whose back wall is lined with seafood tanks. Cart-pushers traverse the dining room, which is full even on weekdays, offering such standards as barbecued-pork buns and shu mai, shrimp har gow and chicken feet. Selections are most plentiful on the weekend, but if you don’t see what you want from the extensive list of dumplings and snacks, you can ask for it. We always make sure to get the turnip cakes, crisp-edged and sided with plummy hoisin, and custard tarts, our favorite dessert. Nighttime at Super Star gives way to feasts: XO crab or lobster, cod in black-bean sauce, pork belly with preserved cabbage, and roasted duck, which should be ordered in advance.

Readers’ Choice: Star Kitchen

Little Chengdu’s English sign reads “Blue Ocean,” a generic name befitting the generic American-Chinese menu that the restaurant offers its non-Chinese patrons by default. But don’t settle: Ask for the Chinese menu, which has been translated into English. Here you’ll access a raft of regional Chinese specialties, including two main highlights. The first is an all-you-can-eat hot-pot experience; order your soup spicy or not (we prefer spicy), and eat your fill of shaved beef, meatballs, mushrooms and greens, cooked fondue-style and then swiped through a dipping sauce you assemble from the condiment bar (our perfect mix includes sesame oil, sesame paste and garlic). The second is the list of hand-pulled and Shaanxi-style knife-shaved noodles, which get pooled with chili oil or dropped into heady Lanzhou-style beef soup. You’ll need to go at night if you want to catch the noodle-stretcher in action.

Readers’ Choice: Hop Alley

There’s no place to sit and eat at Zamzam, an international market specializing in Iraqi and other Middle Eastern foods, but you can build a great meal with enormous, chewy rounds of fresh-baked Iraqi flatbread, sold in four-packs still warm from the oven, and a pan of chicken or lamb-and-beef kebabs (call ahead to ensure there’s an order waiting for you). Add some pickled wild cucumbers from the pickle bar and you’ve got a picnic that will serve several friends.

Wait, Comal is a Mexican restaurant, right? It is — every day but Friday, when Syrian women from the Globeville and Elyria-Swansea neighborhoods take over the kitchen and serve the creamiest hummus and the most pillowy housemade pita in town, along with other hard-to-find dishes such as stuffed artichoke hearts, bulgur salad and roast chicken with basmati rice. Many of the main offerings change weekly, so there’s always something new and wondrous to sample. If you can’t make it down for Friday lunch, Comal also has a new space at Zeppelin Station (3501 Wazee Street), where the same great Syrian cuisine will be served every Saturday through Monday into June.

Readers’ Choice: Jerusalem Restaurant

Some Ethiopian restaurants in Denver are intimate and cozy — great for getting to know a cuisine without distraction. Then there’s the Nile, which is so raucous on weekends, you almost feel like you stumbled into a family wedding. But with big sampler platters that arrive as a mosaic of colorful stews atop spongy injera bread (the deep color is a sign that Ethiopian teff flour is the main ingredient), you can explore the vegetarian choices made with lentils or soft-cooked vegetables while still getting your fill of beef, lamb and chicken dishes like spicy, buttery kitfo (similar to tartare); complex, brick-red doro wot complete with hard-boiled eggs; and fiery lamb awaze, with tender cubes of meat in chili-like sauce. The Nile is a celebration of Ethiopia you won’t want to miss.

Readers’ Choice: Axum Restaurant

You can test a restaurant by its simplest dishes to see how the kitchen respects ingredients. Bangkok Thai Food excels with well-executed satay, pungent larb and papaya salad zingy with tamarind. Or you can look for deep dives into a country’s culinary landscape. Here, too, Bangkok Thai comes through with Isaan-style lemongrass sausage and lovely khow soi from the northern city of Chiang Mai. After exploring, though, you might want to return to old standbys, which is when this family-run restaurant delivers both comfort and pleasure with pad Thai, fried rice and colorful curries, among many other Thai favorites. Lakewood is lucky to have Bangkok — a bright, lively and welcoming slice of Thailand’s finest offerings.

Readers’ Choice: Taste of Thailand

Some Vietnamese restaurants offer phonebook-sized menus with every possible combo of protein, noodle, rice and sauce, while others are specialists. New Saigon Bakery, an offshoot of longtime favorite New Saigon, draws in the crowds with super-sized banh mi on house-baked French baguettes. Salty-sweet barbecued pork, luscious pâté and generous stacks of deli meats make for stellar sandwiches, but once you’ve eaten your way through the banh mi roster, there’s plenty more to explore. Try the tightly wrapped spring rolls, fresh salads topped with grilled meats, refreshing beverages (our favorite is the pressed sugar-cane juice) and pandan waffles. And if you haven’t had dessert here, you haven’t experienced the bakery at its best. Multi-layered crepe cakes come in flavors like mocha and matcha green tea, both just the right sweetness. At this bakery, there’s always a line and seldom an empty seat…with good reason.

Readers’ Choice: New Saigon

The light broth filling the bowls at Golden Pho doesn’t look like it could hold much flavor, but delicate and subtle tops strong and bold when it comes to Denver’s best pho. The meats are always fresh-tasting and plentiful, and the springy meatballs are especially worthy of a detour into one of Federal Boulevard’s most bustling Vietnamese shopping centers. Noodle soups are the house specialty, so if you’re in the mood for something more potent, the pork-rich bun bo Hue is second to none.

Readers’ Choice: Pho 95

Bright, fun and super-colorful, the poke bowls at this Capitol Hill spot not only look good, they taste good, too. Unlike the suddenly trendy spots that are all poke, all the time, Sushi Cup offers not just Hawaiian cuisine, but Japanese and Korean, too; the various influences prove a perfect match for poke. Sit at one of the tall wooden tables and dive into Off the Shore, a dish filled with tuna, pineapple, mango, Fuji apple, nori and a bright splash of ponzu. The shrimp tempura is an unusual but winning combination of shrimp tempura, crab salad, cream cheese and sweet-spicy sauce. And if you feel like eating your poke with one hand, any of the bowls can also be made into a sushi burrito.

Readers’ Choice: Ohana Island Kitchen

Entering this bi-level restaurant in the Ballpark neighborhood, you feel a little like you’ve stumbled upon a hip ramen joint in Japan, one that caters to younger people who like to drink booze as much as they like to slurp ramen. That’s part of its charm. But if you want to avoid the crowd and simply enjoy a quiet Japanese meal of sushi, grilled meats and veggies and bowls of tasty ramen, come here early. No matter your preference, in time you’ll want to get ramen: the spicy and creamy diablo ramen, a clean and hearty shio broth ramen, a broth-less ramen laden with cha syu pork and vegetables, or one of many more options.

Readers’ Choice: Uncle

At the massive Que Bueno Suerte!, tamales don’t come by the dozen — and they don’t come wrapped in corn husks. Instead, the tender pillows of corn masa are served Yucatán-style, swaddled and steamed in a banana leaf, which adds a unique vegetal flavor. Stuffed with shredded pork in warming adobo sauce and served with chile verde and epazote-infused black beans, this dish captures a more tropical side of tamales, making them worthy of starring on an entree-priced platter.

Readers’ Choice: Tamale Kitchen

Tacos are first and foremost street food, so carts, trucks and trailers are obvious candidates for where to seek out the amazing antojitos. But in the Athmar Park neighborhood, people are beginning to figure out that a brightly painted shipping container festooned with sparkling lights is home to some of the best tacos around. TacoBlock sits solidly in a warehouse parking lot, where owners Brenda and Adrian Bonilla cook up beef, pork and chicken tacos along with Mexican burgers and — surprisingly — Brazilian fare courtesy of a new chef/partner. When you go, be sure to ask for your tacos “mamalones style,” which will land you a mountain of grilled onions, nopales, pineapple and corn.

Great tacos start with the meat, and you know you’re getting great meat at Beltran’s because the butcher counter is right next to the grill. Whether quick-grilled specialties like carne asada, beef fajitas or alambres (beef with bacon and vegetables) or slow-roasted pastor and barbacoa, the tacos come out with the perfect flavor and texture. Several house salsas add a blast of chile heat, and corn tortillas come from a nearby tortilleria run by a family friend. Beltran’s kitchen cooks up a wide range of Mexican specialties, so you can explore the menu of burritos, tortas and soups at breakfast, lunch and dinner; just make sure any meal includes an order of tacos.

Readers’ Choice: Tacos Tequila Whiskey

Federal Boulevard is a taco hunter’s dreamscape, but it’s rare to find a good, old-fashioned smothered burrito made in true Den-Mex style. Cafe Chihuahua knows what this city wants, though, and it delivers a beast on a platter: the pregnant burrito, which is really two meals in one. On the outside, there’s a fluffy flour tortilla drenched in the house green chile, which comes in mild, hot or half-and-half (trust us and get it hot for extra green-chile flavor). Studded with plenty of pork, the chile could be a meal in itself, but what makes this burrito pregnant is a beef enchilada soaked in red sauce and surrounded by a layer of refried beans — all hidden inside the flour-tortilla blanket. Each component is worthy of praise on its own, but taken together, this is one delicious burrito, baby.

Rather than rely on pork in his green chile, New Mexico native Hosea Rosenberg builds layers of flavor by oven-roasting all of his vegetables before they go in the pot. Still, Hatch green chiles — which the chef brings up from New Mexico every fall — are the star of the sauce at this Boulder cantina devoted to all things Southwestern. You can get a bowl of Santo’s green chile on its own, try it in a stew augmented with pork and potatoes or have it slathered over stacked blue-corn enchiladas. Better yet, swing by in the morning for a weighty breakfast burrito charged with chile: It’s guaranteed to awaken both you and your tastebuds.

Readers’ Choice: Adelitas Cocina y Cantina

There are two sure bets at this downtown Mexican eatery: The joint will always be packed, and the green chile will always be rich, hearty and satisfying. D’Corazon makes its chile the way God intended, at least here in Colorado: brownish-orange, thick like gravy, and hot enough to grab your attention. Newcomers to Denver are likely to be confused and New Mexicans will be outraged, but after a spoonful or two, all will be converted. The pork-laden original gets top billing, but vegetarians won’t be disappointed by the meatless version. Not only do ravenous lunch-goers queue up daily for a taste of this green chile, but burritos and rellenos await the privilege of being anointed in the delicious sauce, as well.

Readers’ Choice: Santiago’s

We’ve never been to New Haven, Connecticut, but folks from that neck of the wood-fired woods swear by the super-thin crusts, the sauceless clam pies and the slightly charred edges that give New Haven-style pizzas their distinct look and flavor. Thankfully, brothers Kris and Jason Wallenta, the owners of White Pie, are a little more familiar with New Haven than we are; in fact, they grew up there eating the Italian-American creations of Sally’s Apizza, famous for its enormous, misshapen pies. The brothers’ version of the obscure style is a little more manageable for one or two diners, coming in classic combinations of spicy cured meats, fennel-imbued sausage, fresh vegetables and authentic cheeses — whether slathered in thick red sauce or not. White Pie gives us one more reason to celebrate the diverse realm of American pizza.

Detroit and Denver may not have much in common, but Blue Pan has built a friendship bridge paved with pepperoni between the two cities. Detroit-style pie, as executed at these two saucy outposts, is rectangular, high-sided and overflowing with sauce and cheese. Tangy Wisconsin brick cheese snuggles against the steel pan as the pizza cooks, creating a crusty, caramelized edge. Classic cupping pepperoni is a wise choice for a topping, but Blue Pan furthers the Michigan-Colorado connection with the Prospector, a bold combo of Italian sausage, green chiles, mushrooms and fresh garlic. One bite will leave you with deep feelings for the Motor City.

Readers’ Choice: Blue Pan Pizza

Owner Charlie Calogero Puma opened Enzo’s End back in 1996, when this part of Colfax Avenue was still sketchy. It’s been around so long, it’s often overshadowed by the new pizza spots that have popped up. And that’s a shame, because Enzo’s End is really the living end when it comes to thin-crust pies. On top of that crust, you add your choice of homemade red sauce or a garlic-and-olive-oil white sauce, then layer on any of the thirty-plus toppings, ranging from pepperoni, meatballs and prosciutto to Sicilian green olives, green chiles and feta. (You can also pick from one of the many combos suggested on the menu.) Delivery in a select zone is free, though you can always dine in and enjoy the passing parade on Colfax along with your pizza.

Readers’ Choice: Pizzeria Locale

Though this Lakewood pizza joint doesn’t have many bells and whistles, what’s coming out of the oven makes you want to celebrate. Choose between Pizzeria Lui’s red and white pies; offerings range from the kale — a red pie with kale, homemade sausage, red onion, fresh mozzarella, mushroom, garlic and parmesan — to the potato, a white pizza with Colorado-grown Yukon golds, homemade chorizo, roasted red pepper, mozzarella, garlic, green onion and a farm-fresh egg. Each pizza is cooked in a 900-degree wood-burning oven, which does the job quickly and very well. The thin crust emerges with a slight char and bubbling cheese so alluring that you’ll want to take a bite even when it’s still molten. Avoid the urge: There’s plenty to savor here, and you don’t want to singe your tastebuds before you have a chance to do so.

Readers’ Choice: Blue Pan Pizza

Every bite of barbecue at Roaming Buffalo is a blissful experience, whether you choose Colorado-themed meats like smoked bison ribs or pulled lamb shoulder, or wallow in smokehouse classics like brisket, ribs and spicy sausage. On top of the regular roster, owners Coy and Rachael Webb cook up something special each weekday, from barbecue tacos to smoked and loaded baked potatoes. And come Friday, a treat emerges from the smoker that you’ve likely never tried before: burnt ends made with pork belly instead of beef brisket. Burnt ends are usually sliced from the fattiest section of the brisket, so using equally fatty pork belly proves an appropriate stroke of genius. Juicy, smoky and just barely sweet, these piggy nuggets make every Friday just a little bit better.

Cruise along Littleton Boulevard until you see the Pyramid Liquors sign, then pull into the parking lot for a smoky surprise. TRU owner and pit master James Diaz fires up the mesquite and hits ribs, chicken thighs, pork loin, brisket and beef tri-tip with a powerful dose of smoke, as is appropriate for his Tex-Mex style of barbecue. The menu changes daily, but there’s always something good. If you can keep from gorging on too much meat, save room for homemade flour tortillas, charro beans and smoked baked potatoes.

“Championship” is just the right word to describe pit master Jason Ganahl’s Westminster smokehouse, where you can chow down on pleasing pig in pulled pork or rib form, salivate over slices of brisket or try out the tempting turkey. Fans of Kansas City-style ‘cue will find lots to love here, though this is really competition-class cooking, which means Ganahl takes every opportunity to amp up the flavor. Even-keeled smoking, a powerful rub and tangy sauces that don’t overpower the meats are the hallmarks of this true Front Range BBQ champ.

Readers’ Choice: Roaming Buffalo Bar-B-Que

Natascha Hess, who runs the Ginger Pig food truck with her husband, Steve, lived in China for a year while in college; her “Chinese mom” taught her the ins and outs of traditional cooking during that time. The result of her immersion is obvious in the food at the Ginger Pig, especially Hess’s Chinese fried chicken, a take on a dish called la zi ji that’s perfumed with five-spice and given a hint of heat with ringlets of pickled Fresno chiles. The menu offers a tour of other Asian countries, too, with deep-fried spheres of rice called Bangkok Balls topped with Thai red curry, a banh mi bowl that takes the best of the Vietnamese sandwich and serves it over rice, and pork char siu that’s spicy-sweet and respectful of the dish’s Chinese origins. Catch that pig at Boulder’s Rayback Collective or this summer at the Boulder County Farmers’ Market.

Readers’ Choice: King of Wings

You’ve never seen an ice cream parlor like this one, and not just because a freezer door in the back leads to a bar. Unlike most ice cream shops, which buy and customize a pre-made base, Frozen Matter makes its own custard at its micro-dairy plant, so the owners/scoop-meisters can tailor each batch of rich, creamy custard to the ingredients lavished within. And what ingredients! Coffee picks up the fruitiness and nuttiness of cold-brew Huckleberry Roasters; butter pecan teems with salty, buttery pecans; chocolate is rich and deep, thanks to imported Valrhona chocolate. And the combos are pure genius: There’s Good Time Campfire, with bourbon custard, chocolate-covered graham crackers, bacon and marshmallows, and Stollen, a wintertime favorite with nuggets of dried-fruit-studded bread, made in-house from an authentic German recipe. If you don’t have time to pop in at the bar, you can still enjoy your dessert with a spirit, either in boozy shakes or ready-made ice cream flavors such as Nutella stout. Cheers!

Readers’ Choice: Little Man Ice Cream

High Point Creamery, which got its start in Hilltop, finally opened a second location last year, inside the Denver Central Market in RiNo. Being neighborly, owners Erika Thomas and Chad Stutz decided to collaborate with Izzio Artisan Bakery just across the market hall. The result of the teamwork is the Ice Kouign Sandwich, named for the French pastry, a kouign-amann, that it’s built on. Say “queen” and you’re close enough, and say it close enough to the counter so that an ice cream clerk will hear you and make one for you. The pastry itself is like a salty-sweet version of a croissant in circular form; it’s cut in half and layered with your choice of ice cream. Good fences make good neighbors, but in this case, good neighbors make great desserts.

Improving on the ice cream sandwich is a daunting proposition. How much better can it get than ice cream smashed between two cookies? Sweet Cooie’s tackles the problem with aplomb, using a fresh doughnut made in-house to engulf a scoop of your choice of ice cream flavors. This Congress Park shop comes from the same team that brought Little Man Ice Cream to LoHi, so you know the frozen stuff is going to be good; we recommend the salted Oreo cookie ice cream. The doughnut is briefly warmed in a sandwich press before being drizzled in doughnut glaze and handed to you in a paper sleeve. A sweeter, messier, more wonderful sandwich will never be found in Denver. And it’s hard to imagine a sweeter place to enjoy it than Sweet Cooie’s, named after owner Paul Tamburello’s mother.

When a sandwich is as perfect as The Italian at Berkeley hot spot Hops & Pie, you pray it will never leave the menu. Given that this particular goodie has been on the roster since the restaurant opened, though, fans are probably safe. The sandwich comes layered with thinly sliced salami, mortadella, prosciutto, provolone, crisp lettuce, a pile of housemade pickles, crunchy banana peppers, tomato and a red wine vinegar aioli. The combination creates a mouthful of meaty wonder and a richness that’s cut by the bright pickles and crunchy vegetables. The bread is a marvel, too, a fresh hoagie that Hops & Pie makes with IPA beer. The result is a pliable little loaf that easily holds the contents while giving way when you bite in.

A decade in and the master still reigns supreme as the king of Denver sandwich shops. At Masterpiece Deli, you can’t go wrong with properly made classics like the Reuben, Cubano or Italian, but you can also step it up with originals like the braised beef brisket with Taleggio fondue (a better Philly cheesesteak), or the seared ahi tuna wedged into, of all things, an English muffin (which somehow works). Founder Justin Brunson does fancier things at Old Major just a few blocks away, but Masterpiece still lives up to its tagline: “Fine dining between bread.” And not just for lunch and dinner; breakfast sandwiches here are equally stellar, especially if you include house-cured bacon in your stack.

Readers’ Choice: Stack’s Subs

Even in Aurora, where Korean restaurants are more common than a Fourteener in Colorado, DMZ is a well-kept secret, offering a menu of drinking food in the “hof” (or beer hall) tradition. After you’ve had a chance to order a round of beers, peruse the menu for something fun like tteok-bokki (fat rice cakes in a slick chili sauce) or cheesy corn; just be sure to start with an order of Korean fried chicken wings and an extra stack of napkins. Somehow simultaneously sticky and crunchy, DMZ’s wings come in multiple heat levels; the hottest could kick off a nuclear reaction. Stay one step ahead of Trump by hitting Aurora’s DMZ before the president visits Kim Jong Un and triggers a meltdown of his own.

Readers’ Choice: Fire on the Mountain

In Spain, potatoes are cut into cubes, not strips, for a dish called patatas bravas. There…, a LoHi bar and eatery where international small plates are served with a sense of whimsy and a set of chopsticks, patatas bravas stand in for French fries when something starchy is in order. These potatoes maintain their crunch under a robe of mouth-watering, slightly spicy sauce akin to another Spanish classic, romesco. Up the messiness factor with a sunnyside-up egg for the equivalent of a late-night breakfast, especially when sided with a jam cocktail.

When a French fry is cooked properly, you almost don’t need to eat it to know how good it will be; appearance alone gives away a kitchen’s expertise. At the Pig & the Sprout, fries come out a golden hue that conveys crunchy from the get-go — and they stay that way to the final bite. You could eat them plain, but why not make the best better? Go hog-wild with Cheddah Pig Fries — a savory combo of Old Bay seasoning, bacon and cheesy fondue, or pig out on a gravy-soaked poutine loaded with the house-smoked brisket.

We discovered the best French fries in Denver when we ordered the brocoli saltado at Señor Bear, the LoHi paean to Central and South American food. These are not traditional French fries: The crispy potato strands top a dish that’s a vegetarian play on a traditional Peruvian stir-fried steak-and-fries dish. While the fries are fabulous on their own (and, in fact, you can order the spuds as a side), we’d be loath to give up the deeply umami-rich, stir-fried oyster mushrooms and broccoli that anchor this plate, nor would we want to part with the chile-sesame glaze finisher. So instead, we savor a few of these fries naked, then drag a few more through the pooled sauce on the cast-iron skillet in which the dish is served, and finally polish off the rest in bites combined with the vegetables.

Readers’ Choice: BurgerFi

Chef Dana Rodriguez is known for a lot of delicious things, but the fried chicken she makes every Sunday flies to the top of the list. Inside a crust boasting classic spices (garlic, thyme and smoked paprika), the bird is impossibly tender and tasty; you get three pieces for $10. Rodriguez started the Sunday night fried chicken extravaganza as a way to counteract football and bring in more traffic; it proved so popular, Rodriguez continued the special long after the last kick. Those in the know head to Work & Class early to get a table and make sure they can score at least one plate of chicken, which often sells out by 7 p.m.

Readers’ Choice: Low Country Kitchen

A hot dog in its purest form is little more than tube steak and bun, but you can handle that at home with nothing more than a microwave. For something more inspiring, a frankfurter can also come dressed to kill — and that’s when you head to Los Mangos on South Federal Boulevard. The Sonoran hot dog here is as intimidating as it is delicious, with a bacon-wrapped wiener, a mountain of Mexican toppings and a side of salsa verde hot enough to melt your molars. Don’t even try to pick this one up with your hands, or you’ll be wearing dinner home on your shirt.

Readers’ Choice: Biker Jim’s Gourmet Dogs

A chicken thigh is a wise choice when building a better fried-chicken sandwich; the dark meat has more fat and flavor than the breast, so it cooks up juicy and rich, not dry and boring. The thigh is the sturdy foundation of Old Major’s craveable and crunchy sandwiches, served as part of chef/owner Justin Brunson’s Royal Rooster lunch. Keep it simple with a squishy potato bun, pickles, lettuce and mayo, or go bold with the Korean Rooster, amped up with spicy kimchi and Kewpie mayo. Then there’s the French Rooster with ham, Swiss and thyme, if you’re in a Cordon Bleu mood. Old Major may be hog heaven for some, but we’re calling fowl at this LoHi eatery — at least when it comes to lunch.

The Mexican hamburger is a Denver original — not a regular hamburger with Mexican toppings, but a burrito stuffed with a burger patty, refried beans and cheese. A blanket of green chile is also a must, and La Fiesta gets it right on all counts. A char-grilled beef patty lends the unmistakable essence of a hamburger, while the house green chile — a neighborhood favorite since the early 1960s — adds warmth without the three-alarm fire. Everything about this Curtis Park eatery feels frozen in time, but the Mexican hamburger is a timeless classic that still holds up.

We wouldn’t steer you the wrong way when it comes to veggie burgers, but do beef-loving Texans really know how to pull off a great meatless meal? Austin-based Hopdoddy does. In fact, the burger bar — located alongside Union Station — offers two distinctly different plant-based patties. The first is La Bandita, made with black beans and corn and topped with avocado, arugula pesto and lots of other wholesome stuff. But for a mind-blowing experience, try the Impossible, which boasts an uncanny appearance and texture — pink, juicy and tender. You’re not being served the wrong burger, though; Impossible is a California company dedicated to changing to the way modern food is produced, starting with plant-based proteins. No matter which veggie burger you pick, though, you won’t have a beef with Hopdoddy.

Readers’ Choice: BurgerFi

Denver’s best hamburger isn’t a hamburger; it’s a patty melt. We know that’s just splitting hairs: The difference is really only in the bread. Because otherwise, the Jalapeño Mojo Melt at the Royal checks all the right boxes for a delicious burger — juicy, gooey, spicy, beefy and messy — while adding crunch and flavor with grilled marble rye bread. Mojo sauce, cream cheese aioli and grilled peppers and onions are piled on with abandon, but the just-pink patty is still the star. You can find other melts at this Berkeley burger bar, too, or stick with a plain-Jane bun for something a little more standard.

Readers’ Choice: Park Burger

Romero’s is serious about pleasing your pooch while providing a safe and clean atmosphere for humans. Some restaurants allow dogs on the patio, but this Lafayette beer bar takes the time to register dogs before they’re allowed in the leash-free outdoor beer garden. It really is a club, with passes that can be purchased for a day, month or year, and there’s also a temperature-controlled pavilion for on-leash furry friends. Even better, you’ll find a stellar craft-beer list and bar snacks for both you and your faithful companion. Don’t leave your labradoodle behind next time you’re in the mood for a sudsy excursion.

Readers’ Choice: Denver Beer Co.

When a new building usurped the view from Linger’s rooftop patio, owner Justin Cucci made a logical move: He signed a lease for the fifth floor of that building, regaining his overlook for all time, since Denver zoning codes won’t allow construction to rise any higher. We support the move, for it brought us El Five, a sultry homage to European and Middle Eastern Mediterranean cuisine. As at all of Cucci’s restaurants, the dining room is a glamorous place to be. But when the weather’s nice, that space doesn’t hold a candle to the patio, which looks down on Denver’s skyline and backs into the bar. Not surprisingly, that outdoor space is so popular, you’ll need to get there early to score real estate, or be prepared for a long wait.

Readers’ Choice: Avanti Food & Beverage

Don’t hold populism’s Trump-era political association against the Populist: This ode to the common man is the polar opposite of abrasive or garish. In fact, it’s so subtle, it’s easy to miss entirely: The low-key signage and facade melt innocuously into more industrial surroundings. Come in the winter, for instance, and you might not even notice the twinkling patio. And that’s a shame, because in warmer weather, this lush oasis, sequestered from the outside by verdant walls and glittering under strands of lights, is one of the best places in town for a glass of wine and a snack. It’s a good spot to meet your neighbors, too, since community tables facilitate conversation among new friends. In keeping with its demure exterior, the restaurant itself yields its delights slowly, which is why we continue to fall in love anew with the place.

Readers’ Choice: Low Country Kitchen

Cart-Driver’s tiny shipping-container space ensures that the wood-fired pizzeria always feels full, but never is it more lively than between 10 p.m. and midnight. That’s when it puts out a roster of late-night happy-hour deals that lure in a thrumming crowd, composed heavily of industry types getting off shifts at nearby eateries. During these hours, you can score a $5 Daisy (Cart-Driver’s answer to the Napolitano-style margherita), a $5 rye Manhattan and a $5 pilsner plus a shot of Fernet. But don’t miss the $5 plate of sardines and freshly baked bread, served with butter and sambal. For us, that’s the ultimate late-night snack.

Readers’ Choice: Adelitas Cocina y Cantina

Annette began garnering acclaim the moment it opened its doors, as fans flocked to Stanley Marketplace for chef Caroline Glover’s inventive flavors and wood-fired cooking, served in a warm space with a homey vibe. Her pursuit of excellence extends to happy hour, which runs from 3 to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Afternoons see Glover serving a beefed-up menu of snacks not available during dinner service. Recent seasonal highlights include the grilled cheese, which layers grilled mild rye with sharp cheddar, sweet apples and caramelized onions; and the egg salad toast, a deli-style lunch offering that Glover improves with the toasty notes of the bread and a layer of paper-thin radishes that add a crisp bite. The centerpiece of the menu, though, is one of the best steak frites in town, built on a generous heap of addictive and crispy pencil-thin fries, then topped with a refreshing arugula salad.

Readers’ Choice: There…

With its hip-hop vibe and tricked-out Chinese food, Hop Alley immediately strikes you as more of a cocktail-and-beer joint. But it’s the wine list — with an assist from the well-rounded cider program — that keeps us bellying up to the bar. Juicy high-acid whites like riesling and chenin blanc, bold Rhône varietals like syrah, and a robust list of sparkling options are ideal partners for the spicy-sour-sweet dishes coming out of the kitchen, and they make up nearly half of the offerings. But Hop Alley has also given the hip-hop treatment to its vinous offerings, offering plenty of interesting finds: orange wine, large-format stunners, odd varietals, even a white Zinfandel. We keep plumbing the depths of this list and have yet to hit even a mediocre bottle.

Yes, Locale Boulder’s older sibling, Frasca Food and Wine, has an indomitable cellar, lovingly tended by master sommelier and owner Bobby Stuckey, with the help of a sizable wine team. But Locale’s list gets the nod because it shows off how well this crew can edit. The Italian-heavy roster was built with pizza in mind, traversing both classics and palate-expanding rarities at price points befitting a pie parlor. There’s plenty to explore in the by-the-glass offerings, some of which are poured on tap; half-glass serving sizes enable a wander through the breadth. The bottle list offers further variety and great value; several options ring in below $50. And, as at Frasca, obsessive attention has gone toward ensuring that wines are served at the proper temperature and in good glassware, making it all the more pleasurable to drink. The kicker: If you ask nicely, you can access Frasca’s cellar at Locale, too.

Readers’ Choice: Mercantile Dining & Provision

When the Family Jones rolled into LoHi, it gave Denver a unique offering: a high-end bar program built entirely on spirits made in-house. The ambitious endeavor is only possible because of the staffing: Rob Masters, a top talent in Colorado distilling, runs the still, while Nick Touch, who cut his teeth at Williams & Graham, oversees the bar. The duo collaborates on what’s coming off the line, with Touch giving real-time feedback on how spirits work in cocktails as well as driving the development of such staples as triple sec and a substitute for vermouth. You don’t have to be a geek to enjoy the creative cocktails and twists on classics that serve as a showcase for the results; just settle into a plush booth, order something from the creative food menu to go with your cocktails, and join the family.

In a cavernous brick building that was once a factory, Chad and Marla Yetka built a winery and wine bar named after their departed golden retriever, Bigsby. The wine list at Bigsby’s Folly isn’t lengthy or built on big-name vintages; instead, you’ll find a selection of varietals made from California-grown grapes, some created on site and some crafted at the company’s satellite winery in the San Francisco Bay area. A slate of wine-friendly dishes, including flatbreads, sandwiches and antipasto boards, helps round out the experience, so you can judge your favorite food-and-wine pairings before taking home a vintage-labeled bottle or growler filled from the wine tap.

Readers’ Choice: LaLa’s Wine Bar + Pizzeria

Laws Whiskey House bills itself as a grain-to-glass distillery, a phrase you might be tempted to deride as meaningless, given that all distilled spirits start with grain. But pop into the tasting room, and you’ll hear the lore behind the whiskeys, down to the names of the farmers who grow the wheat, corn, barley and rye. The operation even gives a nod to its growers with the Farmers Select Single Barrel, a run managed by the farmers who grow and malt Laws’s rye. Much of what goes into these whiskeys is grown in Colorado, helping to create an award-winning core line as well as one-off experiments.

Readers’ Choice: Leopold Bros.

Just a few years ago, most beer drinkers would have thought their beer had gone bad if they tasted something sour, but these days many craft breweries are fermenting sour and funky batches based on such classic European styles as lambic, oud bruin, Flanders red, gose, Berlinerweisse and others. You can tour the state’s breweries hoping to find something special, or you can pull up a bar stool at this Five Points quencher, whose name is Dutch for “good acid.” Goed Zuur has one of the most complete lineups of sour beers anywhere in the world, so you can sample bottles of rare originals from Belgium, Germany and Italy or try pours of newer, more experimental brews from Colorado and other U.S. makers. Offset the sour with housemade baguettes and a sampler flight of butters, then pucker up for another round of tart, refreshing and straight-up oddball beers.

Kent and Greg Dawson opened their two-story Jefferson Park brewpub in 2016, serving spot-on beers and an ambitious menu of small plates that may have been a bit much for the neighborhood. But over time, the food roster has solidified into something a little more approachable without getting too close to boring alehouse standards. Don’t come looking for bangers and mash or shepherd’s pie; instead, be ready for shrimp corndogs, a brined-and-smoked pork cut dubbed the “ham-chop,” and a surprising vegetarian bibimbap, with Korean flavors that play well with the house brews. Of those, a Belgian-style dubbel is a rare find, while Sour Seoul — made with Asian pear and a hint of chiles — is one of the most unusual yet food-friendly beers around.

Readers’ Choice: 10 Barrel Brewing

When it comes to house parties, there are mellow kickbacks that all blend together and the ragers that make for unforgettable stories. Brewery parties divide much the same way, and Ratio knows how to do both right. The gorgeously decorated brewery oozes a vital, electric vibe, even on a slow day…but there aren’t many of those. In a rare quiet time, Ratio is a good spot to gather with friends. But the brewery also hosts concerts, comedy and beer parties, like the Cool Beans Beer and Coffee Fest and the Genius Wizard Release, which give a new meaning to the term “beer bash.” Careful planning, a smart staff and great beer make Ratio’s events can’t-miss dates on your craft-beer calendar.

Strange Craft Beer Company and Wit’s End Brewing — which opened in 2010 and 2011, respectively — pioneered the taproom explosion that has taken place over the past eight years, and Strange owner Tim Myers and Wit’s End owner Scott Witsoe, two of the nicest guys in the industry, have been friends ever since. So it made sense that when Witsoe decided to step away from his own space last October, he’d move his business in with Strange. Now the dynamic duo hopes that the co-taproom will offer small breweries a new model to emulate in a very competitive industry, and they’ll have twice as many good beers to do it with.

Take one part industrial chic and toss in a few ounces of hipster cool, a few ounces of your British uncle’s library and carefully planned nonchalance, and you’ve got the design style of Our Mutual Friend, which was founded in 2012 and is now one of the oldest breweries in RiNo. But Our Mutual Friend doesn’t rely on its reputation; it pays attention to little things, too, like the planter pots on the bar and the lights hanging outdoors that make you feel like summer will never end. Our Mutual Friend not only brings the beer — it won two Great American Beer Festival awards in three years — but an ideal, comfortable atmosphere for enjoying its brews.

With more than seventy breweries in Denver alone, competition is getting tough, so any new kids on the block need to go big when they open — or go home. And big is just where Jordan Fink and Chad Moore went when they opened Woods Boss in August 2017. The spacious taproom is centered around three massive slabs of redwood; two make up a stunning 21-foot-long bar, while the third, beautifully finished and sided by couches, serves as a long communal table. But the decor isn’t the only thing that sets Woods Boss apart. From the beginning, the brewery has been serving a wide variety of high-quality brews that range from such classics as an amber, a porter and a brown to more creative styles, like a Belgian tripel, a New England-style IPA and a sour.

Readers’ Choice: Denver Beer Co. Arvada

Even with all of its breweries, Denver needed a place that was cultured but unpretentious, intellectual but neighborhood-focused, nerdy but not condescending, something…cerebral. Oh, and with fantastic beer. That’s what it got with Cerebral Brewing, a mellow spot just off Colfax Avenue that is making some of Denver’s best beer and presenting it in a fun, relaxed taproom. From its hop-bombs to its luscious stouts and sophisticated saisons, Cerebral has a menu that has been gathering national accolades from magazines, fellow breweries and craft-beer fans. But Cerebral and head brewer Sean Buchan are probably best known for their hazy, hoppy offerings. Although that style of beer is trendy right now, it was Cerebral’s style from the get-go, when the brewery opened back in 2015. The flagship IPA, Rare Trait, is a luscious, tropical showpiece with very little bitterness and plenty of balance.

Readers’ Choice: 105 West Brewing

We’ve long lauded the Adelitas house margarita, proof positive that owner Brian Rossi is tequila- and mezcal-obsessed. But last year Rossi changed his house margarita formula dramatically, extending his high standards for tequila production to all the ingredients behind his bar. As a result, Adelitas ditched the processed sugar and agave syrup, which meant that the house marg and all of the other margaritas and cocktails served at Adelitas and sibling mezcal bar Palenque were fundamentally reimagined. The current iteration of the house marg at Adelitas blends Arette tequila blanco, a house simple syrup made from beet sugar and oranges, and an organic orange liqueur from Fruitlab into a beautiful drink, with the ideal sweet-tart balance to highlight the delicate Arette.

Readers’ Choice: Adelitas Cocina y Cantina

What is a cocktail? Union Lodge No. 1 answers the question by stirring up drinks inspired by bartenders of the nineteenth century, before the art of mixing drinks was killed by Prohibition. Showmanship, knowledge and skill are all evident as this downtown bar’s crew re-creates some of the classics, modernizes others and builds new libations based on traditional ingredients and techniques. Watch as a blue flame is juggled between two mugs to make a Red, White and Blue Blazer, or enjoy a rising column of foam as it defies gravity atop your Ramos Gin Fizz. Ultimately, though, a cocktail is a catalyst for socializing, and Union Lodge proves just the right spot for a gathering of friends or an intimate evening at the bar.

Readers’ Choice: Williams & Graham

The Lakeview Lounge is one of the few classic dives left in metro Denver. After getting its start as a dairy, then a drive-in, the building turned into a saloon in 1957, and through the years (and several name changes — it became the Lakeview in 1975), generations of elbows have made their marks in the worn linoleum on the bar; signs behind the bartender promise cheap drinks and no children after 7 p.m. There’s no formal entertainment beyond a pinball machine and a classic jukebox, but twice a year the Lakeview is the site of a unique ritual: On the last day of Daylight Saving Time in November, and again on the first day of Daylight Saving Time in March, you can come in when the bar opens at 7 a.m., grab a drink, and consume it while you watch the sun pop through the distant Denver skyline to the east and reflect off the cranes that mark the construction now under way on West Colfax Avenue. But so far, that boom hasn’t touched the Lakeview, a watering hole in the very best sense.

Readers’ Choice: Don’s Club Tavern

Bar Helix owner Kendra Anderson, aka Swirl Girl Denver, has been educating the Mile High on the magic of food-and-wine pairings — and unsung wine varietals — on social media for years. But with Bar Helix, she’s taking education to an experiential level. The sultry spot combines a high-echelon wine list with a top-notch cocktail program and drinking munchies that whimsically match highbrow to lowbrow flourishes — Pop Tarts with foie gras, for instance, and Pringles with caviar. Through her menu, Anderson touts a few pet causes: “soulmate” pairings of food and drink, Negronis, Champagne and wines from unusual regions. The quirky mix makes Bar Helix an easy stop for any drinker, and an exhilarating one for those looking to expand their palates and horizons.

Readers’ Choice: The Brutal Poodle

Under owner Ron Robinson, this longtime north Denver eatery — once owned by the Smaldones, a famous Mob family, then by the Wynkoop Group, a family of a different sort — has become a neighborhood hangout, a go-to spot for people who want a satisfying Italian meal in an intimate spot that hints of history and decades of red sauce. But on Sunday mornings, Gaetano’s has an offer you really can’t refuse: the town’s best Bloody Mary bar. Three different tomato blends are offered for the base — a house mix heavy with Italian seasonings, a Clamato version and one with V8 — which can be spiced up further with your choice from dozens of hot sauces and seasoning mixes, not to mention infused, spicy vodka. Adorn your drink with plenty of pickled vegetables, cheese, shrimp, jerky and maple-edged bacon, and you’ve got your morning meal in a glass.

Readers’ Choice: Esters Neighborhood Pub

On a bleary-eyed morning when you just need a little hair of the dog (but nothing too strong), stumble into Barricuda’s, which starts serving bottomless mimosas at 10 a.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. on weekends. For just $10, you can keep the bubbly and OJ coming until 3 p.m., as long as you spring for an entree to go with it. But you’ll want something to settle your stomach anyway, and Barricuda’s has just the right build-your-own omelet menu to fuel you for another long day. By the time you leave, you’ll feel as good as new — or at least as good as you did yesterday.

Readers’ Choice: The Lobby

Avelina is a stylish downtown grotto that does a fine job catering to the business set at lunch and dinner, with wood-fired specialties that skew Mediterranean. But when the weekend rolls around and this part of downtown gets to feeling a bit deserted, Avelina serves up a stellar brunch that should draw the crowds. On the sweet side, you’ll find beignets with a creamy filling along with lovely scones, crepes and breakfast cakes. The savory slate is full of familiar favorites ranging from pork green chile to steak and eggs, but try the breakfast tacos or duck hash for something just a little different. The kicker, though, is the Bloody Mary bar, which lets you go to work on your own boozy breakfast concoction.

Readers’ Choice: Low Country Kitchen

You’ll do a double take when a steaming latte is set on your table at Concourse. You didn’t ask for a coffee drink — and where’s that bowl of soup you ordered? The surprise from chef Luke Bergman’s kitchen is a savory, creamy vegetable soup topped with foam and served in a coffee cup. The particulars of the creation change with the seasons; a wintertime celery root soup with a cider-maple foam topper has morphed into a creamy spring-pea base with Parmesan foam. The trompe l’oeil is equally delightful either way — and Bergman’s skill with surprising flavor combinations ensures that future iterations will continue to please.

Are you meeting a friend for coffee, but aren’t a fan of coffee itself? Lots of shops offer alternatives, such as various teas, chai and hot cocoa. But Joe Maxx, right in the heart of the Art District on Santa Fe, goes a step further, using housemade syrups to liven up tea lattes. Lavender tea latte is made with Earl Grey and lavender syrup, rose tea latte with English breakfast and rose syrup. There’s kombucha on tap, too, or you can just skip the drink altogether and order a slice of crepe pie, fancy toast or quiche.

Overt is the coffee-shop counter sibling of Vert, the sandwich shop just a couple of doors down. Overt doesn’t offer any indoor seating, but tucked behind the building is a patio that you’ll wish was behind your home. The secluded space is full of benches and tables with umbrellas, and on a nice day, it’s the ideal spot to read a book, enjoy your coffee or a cold beverage with a Vert grab-and-go salad, meet a friend or just work on your tan.

When you think like a bartender, even your coffee comes out like a mixologist’s masterpiece. Hudson Hill owner Jake Soffes applies his skill at blending complementary flavors to a morning menu of espresso drinks that will make you set aside your plain old latte for something a little more uplifting. Starting with beans from Denver’s Commonwealth Coffee, Hudson Hill turns out stellar staples — cappuccinos, cortados and macchiatos, for example — and weekly specials in which you’ll find rooibos or Earl Grey tea mingling with coffee, a brûléed sugar crust atop your caramel latte, or a shaken iced coffee punctuated with housemade ginger and hawthorn syrups. When life is bitter, Hudson Hill adds just the right hint of sweet.

Amethyst Coffee Co. isn’t just a cool spot to grab a cup of coffee; it’s also got all the fixin’s of a cocktail bar, including a beer menu. And while there’s no specialty cocktail menu to order from, barista-bartenders can whip up anything you desire, including the classics. Our favorite coffee-inspired beverage is “If You Can Dodge a Wrench,” made with vodka, fresh orange juice, Dimmi Liquore di Milano and Marble Moonlight Espresso liqueur and topped with a cold-brew float. It combines two of our favorite brunch drinks into one, effectively killing two birds — and hopefully your hangover — with one stone.

Being a new coffee shop inside the Stanley Marketplace has its advantages and disadvantages. You have a captive audience of market-goers and looky-loos venturing into the cavernous space for shopping, dining and satisfying their curiosity; surely some of them will need a caffeine kick. But hanging out in what’s essentially a mall (a really cool reinvention of a mall, to be sure) may not be the standard cafe cool cat’s idea of a good time. Still, Logan House has won over suburbanites and hipsters alike with one simple thing: great coffee. While not as bright and acidic as some modern city-roast specialists, the beans are just roasty enough to appeal to those who prefer a mellower cup. Enjoy this great coffee in a sunny, inviting shop where you can spread out to study, work or people-watch, an ideal urban, industrial-chic environment — even if it’s miles from the city center.

Readers’ Choice: Dandy Lion Coffee

Whether you drop by Hotbox Roasters Cafe for a shot of caffeine or a beer (taps open weekdays at 7 a.m.), you’ll definitely want a doughnut with that. This triple-concept cafe, part of Oskar Blues Fooderies, cranks out roughly twenty hand-cut varieties while you’re sleeping, so doughnuts are fresh every morning. Don’t miss the glazed, a ring of yeast-raised yumminess that takes two hours to make and is full-bodied thanks to high-protein bread flour. And by all means, venture out of your comfort zone with the Earl Grey-lavender (trust us), with a colorful drizzle of naturally flavored frosting. If you’re a cake purist, you’ll be hot for Hotbox’s cake doughnuts, which are tender but never oily. The blueberry is a fan fave, but we can’t resist the vanilla-scented old-fashioned and the chocolate glazed. So don’t kid yourself when you’re at the front of the line: You’ll want a box, not a bag, and whichever side of the raised/cake divide you fall on, you can go home with plenty of both.

Readers’ Choice: Voodoo Doughnut

Steven Roland, owner of the Boulangerie, is best known for his baguettes and other crusty French and Italian loaves. But leave it to a guy who once worked as a private chef at the British Embassy in Oslo to put out the best scone in town. These golden, fruit-filled treats are so impossibly tender, you know they’re filled with plenty of butter, buttermilk and cream. Flavors vary, so you can drop by for blueberry-almond one day and cherry the next. Settle into the sunny space with something to read and a piping hot Americano and be glad that Roland, a recent transplant, chose to make Denver home.

David Kaminer’s bakery isn’t an efficient, commercial facility with gleaming ovens and mixers, nor is it an artisan storefront in a trendy neighborhood or market hall. Instead, Raleigh Street Bakery is in Kaminer’s garage, behind his house on a quiet residential block in northwest Denver. He built his wood-burning oven with the help of friends and family, got approval under Denver’s cottage-industry regulations, and in 2014 began turning out some of the city’s most beautiful rustic breads. The baker relies on the time-honored pain au levain method to proof his dough naturally over several days, using heritage grains such as einkorn and blue tinge emmer to build layers of flavor. You can track down his crusty baguettes, dense rye loaves and other creations on Raleigh Street every Friday, at Call to Arms Brewing on Mondays, and at select farmers’ markets during summer months.

Denver’s artisan bread scene is thriving, with many a boule and baguette coming straight from the oven. But not all of these items rise to the occasion. Bread dough is tricky and temperamental, but baker John Hinman gets it right, especially in burger buns found on some of the city’s best burgers. Pie dough is an equally tricky proposition, though, and it’s here that Hinman excels, cooking up whole pies and hand pies — both savory and sweet — whose perfect buttery, flaky crusts ensconce and augment fillings that range from a simple yet extraordinary cherry to whiskey pecan to flights of fancy that reference green chile or biscuits and gravy. Whether you track down his baked goods at this hidden Park Hill bakery or at a Front Range farmers’ market, Hinman makes every day Pi Day.

Readers’ Choice: Grateful Bread Company

Eggs Benedict were almost invented to be messed with. The basic construction of English muffin, Canadian bacon, a poached egg and some Hollandaise sauce cries out for variations; nearly every one of the ingredients — except the egg itself — can be swapped out for an upgrade from the stodgy breakfast-buffet original. Chef/restaurateur Troy Guard gives tradition its due with a properly executed Benny at his new Stapleton breakfast joint, but he also dashes decorum with a lamb-neck Benedict with Latin flair. Shreds of slow-cooked lamb soak up an almost impossible amount of braising liquid, further augmented by a ladleful of green chile. Purists will be pleased at the sight of sunny-yellow Hollandaise, with some greens peeking out for good measure. Guard stuck his (lamb) neck out for something unique, and the risk paid off.

Readers’ Choice: Snooze

When you’re hoofin’ it to work on a brisk morning downtown, you don’t have time for a sit-down breakfast. Asada Rico, one of many street-food kiosks on the 16th Street Mall, has just what you need: express breakfast burritos stuffed with scrambled eggs, potatoes, green chile, cheese and a choice of meats. They’re a speedy silver bullet that will fuel your tank, but if you’ve got an extra 75 cents and a couple of minutes to spare, you can get your breakfast burrito made to order, with added ingredients to satisfy every craving. Hunger — foiled again!

Readers’ Choice: Santiago’s

Who wouldn’t want breakfast cooked by a guy named Fred? The Fred in this case previously owned La Fuente (already known for its foil-wrapped favorites), but his namesake eatery has been turning out morning magic since late last summer in far north Denver. Take a load off and stay for a fork-and-knife breakfast burrito smothered in a gravy-like green chile and stuffed with just-right scrambled eggs, molten cheese, potatoes and a choice of chorizo, ham, beans, bacon or sausage. But get this: Fred’s also doubles down with a breakfast burrito jammed with all the usual goodies — plus a whole tamale thrown in for good measure. That’s a stroke of genius that lifts this tiny shop above the competition.

Readers’ Choice: Santiago’s

The folks at Bacon Social House call their morning meal brunch, mostly because the menu is full of meaty entrees and dishes not normally associated with a modest breakfast. But you’ll also find omelets, Benedicts, waffles, pancakes and French toast, most of them accented by bacon, of course. From light to hearty, classic to modern, there’s something for every taste. Want a breakfast salad? Bacon has one, complete with a poached egg. And there’s hipster chow, too, in the form of avocado toast topped with scrambled eggs and a nest of arugula. You can even get a burger at 7:30 a.m. if that’s your thing. No matter what you order, every bite is made with care — because Bacon is first and foremost a neighborhood spot, where friends and family gather to chew the fat. And everything else.

Readers’ Choice: Snooze

When is an all-night diner ever about the food? What night owls yearn for is someplace in the heart of the action, where the freaks come out and the lights never dim, making a corner booth the prime spot for crafting the next chapter of a noir thriller over bottomless cups of java. Pete’s Kitchen has been providing pulp-fiction fodder for sixty-some years, all night, every night. Oh, and those hash browns, gyros omelets and breakfast burritos: They still do the trick, soaking up a bellyful of booze and providing sustenance for another red-eyed all-nighter.

Readers’ Choice: Pete’s Kitchen

We held our collective breath when Pizzeria Locale expanded out of state, moving beyond Colorado into Kansas, Missouri and Ohio. What would expansion do to one of our homegrown faves? Turns out there was no need to worry: The only thing that expansion has done is put more people in reach of these dynamite, reasonably priced pies. Pizzas come in red or white, with toppings you expect on Neapolitan pies (basil, prosciutto) and some that you don’t (barbecue chicken). Whichever you choose, you’ll love every bite, thanks to dough that gets its complexity from a 24-hour cold fermentation, then goes into a very hot oven. Bubbled and puffy on the edges, with a pleasant chew and just enough char, these pizzas are everything you want from Neapolitan pie, minus the typical high price tag. Round out your meal with butterscotch budino, then go home happy.

Readers’ Choice: Illegal Pete’s

It’s easy to dumb-down kids’ food, which is why the team behind Next Door American Eatery strives to make sure that children are offered not just tasty dishes, but healthy ones, too. This isn’t surprising, given that the five-location chain was started by Hugo Matheson and Kimbal Musk of the Kitchen Restaurant Group (which owns several outposts of the Kitchen as well as Hedge Row), who also teach childhood nutrition through their Learning Gardens at elementary schools. Their dedication is reflected on the kids’ menu, which includes grilled cheese, mac ‘n’ cheese and cheeseburgers, as well as a beet burger, grilled chicken and a bowl full of rice, beans, chicken, cheddar and tortilla chips. Save for the latter, each comes with a tasty side, be it kale chips, tomato soup, crispy smashed potatoes or a salad. In a nice touch, kids can play with an Etch A Sketch while they wait for their meals.

Readers’ Choice: ClusterTruck

Many restaurants offer tempting gluten-free menus, but celiac sufferers and other diners who can’t eat gluten still worry about cross-contamination, lack of staff training or kitchen slip-ups. At Just Be Kitchen, though, there’s no wheat, barley or rye in the house, nor are there bottled sauces or other condiments that often contain hidden gluten. The restaurant is entirely gluten-free (and grain-free, too), which means you can order anything on the menu without concern. Roasted veggies, pork green chile and a bone-broth bar add comforting warmth, while lighter fare such as grainless granola and beautifully composed salads make for a guilt-free lunch choice. Don’t miss the bullet coffee, rich with butter, for a morning pick-me-up that will keep you fueled all day.

Readers’ Choice: Just Be Kitchen

Once a bleak landscape of sad takeout and fast food, Denver International Airport is offering increasingly tasty options for travelers. One airport restaurant is even a destination in its own right: Root Down, which beckons visitors to Concourse C, even if their gates are elsewhere. That’s thanks in large part to inventive cocktails and a menu of bright farm-to-table American fare inspired by the offerings at the original Root Down. It helps, too, that Root Down is a sure bet for gluten-free diners and vegetarians, who’ll have no trouble finding a pre-flight meal on this menu. And, like all Justin Cucci ventures, Root Down is also a pleasant place to sit: The decor here takes inspiration from the glamorous age of air travel, and elements coalesce into a soothing lounge. Give yourself enough time to enjoy your meal; after that, your flight will be a breeze.

Readers’ Choice: Root Down

The strength of Tavernetta lies in the details; everything — food, decor, service — lives up to the reputation of owners Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson and Bobby Stuckey, who shot to stardom more than a decade ago with their fine-dining restaurant, Frasca Food and Wine. Tavernetta doesn’t have Frasca’s tablecloths or price point, but it does whisk you to Italy with every aperol spritz, every plate of ruby-hued carpaccio, every bowl of filled pasta lovingly twisted into edible origami. Under the supervision of executive chef Ian Wortham, who took multiple trips to Italy and staged in six restaurants over a two-year-period, the menu unfolds in a sophisticated and approachable manner, rooted in Italian traditions but subtly reframed. Whether you sit in the lounge for an aperitivo, enjoying the views of Union Station over an assortment of reasonably priced snacks, or in one of the dining rooms for a multi-course feast with a bottle of red expertly chosen by the sommelier, you’ll always be well taken care of, with a level of service rarely seen these days.

Readers’ Choice: There…

Citizen Rail isn’t technically a steakhouse, since the menu at this Hotel Born restaurant ranges further afield than just steak, creamed spinach and a classic wedge. But when we want a great piece of beef, this is where we go, drawn by steaks that are hand-cut by an in-house butcher, then dry-aged for a month (or two or three). All of that patience pays off, resulting in wood-fired New York strips, bone-in ribeyes and hulking, 48-ounce tomahawks with deeply concentrated flavors and unparalleled tenderness. In true steakhouse style, you get your choice of sauce, from Béarnaise to bourbon peppercorn, but we recommend eating meat this good plain. The bar is nifty, too — a bonus when there’s a wait for a table.

Readers’ Choice: Guard and Grace

The Nickel had a hard act to follow: The prior tenant in its Hotel Teatro space was iconic Denver chef Kevin Taylor’s long-running Restaurant Kevin Taylor. But it’s risen admirably to the challenge, especially after Russell Stippich took control of the kitchen in the middle of last year. Stippich’s team pays homage to American classics and draws inspiration from the culinary memories of the kitchen staff; the resulting menu is at once familiar and exhilarating, making it an ideal middle ground for all types of palates. That suits it: In addition to serving a hotel full of guests, the Nickel’s location close to the Denver Center for the Performing Arts makes it a no-brainer for pre-theater dining. The power move, though, is to make a reservation for after the show starts: This place is strong enough to be the star of an evening (or brunch) devoted only to eating out.

Readers’ Choice: Hearth & Dram

Call isn’t a very evocative name for a restaurant, but it’s actually half of Beckon|Call, a dual-concept eatery located in two neighboring bungalows in the heart of the RiNo neighborhood. Beckon will be a seventeen-seat chef’s-counter eatery when it opens later this year, but Call opened at the end of last year, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner in its cozy space. A low counter separates customers from the kitchen, making you feel like you’re in someone’s home during an intimate dinner party. In the morning, coffee, housemade pastries and breads, breakfast sandwiches and tartines (open-faced toasts) are on offer, transitioning to salads, small plates, grab-and-go items and made-to-order entrees for lunch and dinner. Chef Duncan Holmes, whose culinary skills will be showcased at Beckon, orchestrates the action at Call, creating fare worthy of the best white-tablecloth dining rooms in a casual setting. Don’t miss sweet and savory takes on ebelskivers — like Danish doughnut holes.

You say potato, I say po-tah-to, but at Cattivella, all that matters is that you say crostata, even if you’re more familiar with galette, the French word for this rustic, fruit-filled tart. Chef-owner Elise Wiggins learned the recipe from a chef on the Amalfi Coast, and translates it beautifully at the restaurant she launched in Stapleton last spring. Typical crostatas resemble free-form, one-crust pies. Hers is far more satisfying, a mound of barely sweetened fruit tucked inside dough that curls upwards around it like petals. Fillings vary by season — perhaps berries, perhaps apples — but whatever’s inside, you’ll relish the flaky and buttery crust, with its light sprinkling of demerara sugar, every bit as much. Baked to order, each crostata is finished with a dollop of swoon-worthy amaretto mascarpone mousse.

During one visit to Emmerson shortly after the restaurant opened last year, a server told us that not every diner was ordering dessert. Big mistake. Chef Jeb Breakell, who co-manages the kitchen with Michael Gibney, came up working pastry in New York fine-dining establishments, and he treats dessert as a true final course, not a gut-busting palate blowout. His sweets, all eye-catching on the plate, boast unusual flavors that are nicely balanced, and they tend to please even the staunchest no-dessert people. With his malted-barley pavlova, you crack open the matcha tea-dusted airy puff only to find buckwheat cream, its nuanced earthiness playing foil to the sugar. The shiro miso flan with sudachi citrus-infused caramel and pear marries savory, tart and floral notes in each bite. As the seasons evolve, so will the dessert offerings…but it’s hard to imagine anything better than what’s served there now.

Villagran opened last spring as the brick-and-mortar version of popular west-side food truck Villa Real, serving a more upscale version of its original street-food menu. Thankfully, some of the food-truck favorites made the leap to dining-room status; one of those was the suegra, which takes its name from the Spanish word for mother-in-law. There are many explanations for how the quesadilla-like construction got its name; most involve descriptions that sound mean when applied to your spouse’s mom, but delicious when applied to food. At Villagran, two housemade corn tortillas are glued together with molten white cheese loaded with onion, cilantro and a choice of shredded beef, carne asada or carne al pastor. The lightly crisped handmade tortillas are what elevate the suegras above run-of-the-mill Mexican fare — and make you wonder why mothers-in-law have gotten such a bad rap for so long.

Angelo’s Taverna bills itself as Denver’s original pizza and oyster bar — and given that it’s been serving central Denver since the Nixon administration, it’s safe to say that it’s the longest-running restaurant of its ilk. While it was refurbished by new owners in 2013, Angelo’s is still all dark woods and stained-glass windows, with the kind of labyrinthine floor plan that suggests the restaurant was built before breezy, cavernous dining rooms became the norm. Oysters still anchor the menu here, and Angelo’s offers a rotating menu of mollusks that changes with what’s fresh. We’re half-shell people, but the restaurant makes a compelling argument for a char-grilled preparation: Your order of a half-dozen can be dressed up with garlic butter or bacon and Gorgonzola. Belly up to the bar during happy hour for $1 East Coast or West Coast oysters, or have them char-grilled for a dollar more.

Readers’ Choice: Jax Fish House

There may be many fish in Denver’s sea of seafood restaurants, but Stoic & Genuine is a real catch. Pull into this Union Station eatery for gleaming oysters, craveable crudos and fabulous fish. If you need a quick lunch, the seared albacore tuna melt on an English muffin or the fish and chips could be just the ticket, but make the return trip for dinner and spoil yourself with caviar service, a seafood tower (bring friends!), or one of Denver’s most decadent dishes: the “Surf in Turf,” a miraculous melding of New York strip and ahi tuna swathed in a silky black truffle Hollandaise. Don’t quite have your sea legs? Buck the trend as all around you slurp shellfish by tucking into S & G’s masterful double cheeseburger.

Readers’ Choice: Jax Fish House

Vibrant vegetarian cooking is about far more than tofu and seitan. Boulderites have long been focused on meat-free dining, so they’re a tough lot to impress. Leave it to Leaf to rise above the competition and provide modern, international and inventive dishes that folks actually crave. The restaurant has its own farm, so produce is at its best during Boulder County’s growing season, but the kitchen supplements locally grown goods with a worldly roster. Enchiladas are stuffed with jackfruit carnitas, fried chicken is reimagined with meaty king trumpet mushrooms, and sweet-potato gnocchi are dressed with jewels of fava beans, winter squash and nutty pesto. No matter what you order, every bite is alive with the seasons of Colorado.

Readers’ Choice: Vital Root

For a chef who’s been in the restaurant business as long as he has, Radek Cerny still manages to bring a sense of fun and whimsy to some seriously French cuisine. Papillon, for example, was a smash hit in Cherry Creek before many of today’s hot young culinary stars had tasted their first frites. The chef returned to Denver in 2017 after years of serving dinner in Boulder, putting Atelier in the original Il Posto location in the Uptown neighborhood. Here you can luxuriate in rotating classics like duck rillettes, escargot, foie gras and lobster, but Cerny also has a way with such Western favorites as elk (look for wapiti on the menu), Alaskan salmon and bison short ribs. Be sure to bring a few extra bucks for a bottle of wine; the list here is dazzling, and the food is built to match with the best of Burgundy and Bordeaux.

Readers’ Choice: Bistro Vendome

Romano’s is truly old, old-school Italian. Neil Romano moved to Denver from Manhattan (bringing some of mother Carmela’s recipes with him), and in 1967 founded a three-table pizzeria in Littleton with his wife, Ellie. Over the years the restaurant has expanded in both space and scope, adding liquor and many of those classic dishes, redolent with the garlic that was key to Carmela’s spaghetti sauce. Today a third generation of Romanos work the kitchen and the charming dining room, filled with regulars who consider themselves part of the family. That family’s motto: “Every day we are grateful for la dolce vita — the sweet life we have found here.” And we’re grateful they did.

Readers’ Choice: Gaetano’s

Cattivella means “naughty girl” in Italian, but the only naughty thing about chef-owner Elise Wiggins is that she didn’t open her own place sooner. With an approachable menu of shareable plates (think buffalo burrata and flatbread), wood-fired pizzas, entrees and scratch pastas, Cattivella captures the heart and soul of Italy, a country that Wiggins knows well. And since she’s a constant presence in the restaurant, no dish goes out without her stamp of approval. With a bustling open kitchen and wrap-around chef’s counter, Cattivella, which opened last year in Stapleton, has a convivial vibe, one that spills to the spacious patio when the weather is warm. This is a place where friends greet old friends and newcomers make new ones, all while savoring agnolotti and drinking great wine.

Readers’ Choice: Gaetano’s

When Bamboo Sushi first landed in Denver from Portland, it operated out of a stall at Avanti Food & Beverage, giving the city a tantalizing taste of its sushi. It initially garnered praise mostly for its sustainable sourcing; Bamboo’s deep commitment to good ocean stewardship is particularly admirable in a category that relies heavily on over-fished specimens. But that stall turned out to be a rather limited glimpse of the restaurant’s capabilities. Bamboo’s permanent LoHi location is sleek and modern, with a wide-ranging list of sushi served both traditionally and innovatively, a well-rounded sake list, and an array of izakaya fare that carries Bamboo’s sourcing commitment from water to land. Also worth noting is Bamboo’s omakase, for which you can set your own price. It feels like a steal, especially paired with the Wednesday night deal on sake, when every single bottle is half price.

Readers’ Choice: Sushi Den

Old South Pearl Street has the market cornered on Japanese cuisine. Here you’ll find three restaurants all owned by the Kizaki brothers, all devoted to absolutely quality ingredients and authentic dishes. Choose Sushi Den for seafood, Izakaya Den for stunning architecture and small plates or Ototo for a more intimate experience, not to mention robatayaki — skewered meats and vegetables grilled over charcoal. Our favorite of the three is Ototo, which is smaller in size but offers a little of everything on the menu, whether you’re in the mood for expertly sliced sashimi, a rich bowl of ramen, or Japanese specialties like whole grilled squid, skewered chicken gizzards and hearts, or hamachi collar perfumed with mesquite. With more than thirty years’ experience serving the food of their home country in Denver, Toshi and Yasu Kizaki still know how to keep things fresh.

Readers’ Choice: Domo

Chef Jesse Vega thrilled the LoHi neighborhood with upscale bites at Central Bistro & Bar, but he and the restaurant’s owner, Isiah Salazar, were ready to switch things up last summer. The result is just as hot as its predecessor (there’s still the enormous “HOT” sign over the kitchen), but focuses on Mexican cuisine and the food of Vega’s Puerto Rico. Plantains make multiple appearances — in several styles of mofongo, as plantain chips to go with a glorious guacamole, and as a stand-in for lasagna noodles in a dish called pastelon, which alternates plantain strips with layers of picadillo, mozzarella and salsa criolla. Puerto Rico is an island, so seafood also stars in zippy ceviches and a softshell crab sandwich. Vega pours his heart and soul into his mushroom and chicken empanadas, using his grandmother’s recipe to capture the spirit of Puerto Rico on a plate.

Denver has been light on Spanish cuisine and all but devoid of Portuguese specialties — but at the end of 2017 it got a heavy hitter when Jennifer Jasinski and Beth Gruitch opened Ultreia inside Union Station. Even if we were awash in the food of the Iberian Peninsula, though, this jewel box of an eatery would stand out for its imported hams and cheeses, spot-on pintxos, tapas and petiscos (all manner of appetizers) and loving treatment of meats, whether steak, lamb, seafood or pork. Herbal gin-tonics (the Spanish leave off the ampersand) in various blends augment a drinks menu that also exalts sherry and rare red and white wines from Portugal and Spain’s wine-producing regions. A seat at the bar to watch a four-year aged jamón Ibérico get carefully carved into succulent slivers is just the right place to absorb the ambience and feel like an international traveler.

Watch for a gathering crowd and smoke rising at at the corner of South Federal Boulevard and West Exposition Avenue: That’s the site of Tacos Marlene, a spot that cooks up some of the best street food in town. Take your place in line and peruse the display of bootleg DVDs for sale before placing your order; carne asada, lengua or pastor are good bets, but the adventurous shouldn’t miss the tacos de tripa — not spongy tripe, but beef small intestine diced into manageable, delicate pieces cooked to order. You’ll be asked if you want them crispy or soft; we recommend crispy for beginners and soft for a wonderful (but more difficult) texture that’s almost like broad egg noodles. Eat up as you enjoy the lowriders cruising the boulevard on a weekend night.

Viet’s has long been a staple in the Far East Center, but since moving one door down from its original home to spacious and well-appointed new digs, the Vietnamese restaurant has been elevated from a neighborhood joint to destination dining. Simple dishes such as pho and chao (rice porridge with a choice of toppings) still stand out, but the real draws are the group entrees, including hot pots loaded with fresh greens and savory meats, appetizer platters with make-your-own spring rolls, and the impressive bo bay mon (seven-course beef), mounded platters of meaty greatest hits. For a quick smoothie or banh mi, hit V Express, which sprang up in the space next door after Viet’s moved.

Readers’ Choice: New Saigon

Soup, pizzas, cookies and the occasional chalkboard special: These things are the marks of a good cafe. You’ll find all of those and more at SAME, which stands for “So All May Eat.” This spot isn’t just a good cafe; it’s a good deed in action. The food here doesn’t come with a price tag, unless you want it to. Pay a fair price, pay what you can afford, or exchange your meal for some manual labor in the kitchen; the crew just wants to make sure you get a square meal. SAME opened in 2006 as Denver’s first nonprofit restaurant, and it continues to be a model around the country for places that want to serve people in need of healthy, locally grown food with a side of dignity.

To the Wind may be one of Denver’s tiniest eateries, but Royce Oliveira and Leanne Adamson continue to impress with creative dishes and achingly good desserts. After four years, the diminutive dining room — which feels more like someone’s home kitchen than a restaurant — is still full of folks looking for seasonal treats and flavorful combinations augmented by labor-intensive technique, whether it’s a past dish like bison-tongue pastrami or tender octopus with a hint of char or slow-cooked pork shoulder (or maybe even a crispy treatment of the same animal’s ears). Fruit-filled tarts, rich cakes and creamy custards are a must, so throw caution to the wind and spring for dessert.

Readers’ Choice: Sassafras American Eatery

Move over, Colonel: There’s a new KFC in town. Angry Chicken brought Korean fried chicken to Havana Street at the end of 2017, making the spicy, crackly bird more accessible than ever in metro Denver. And definitely more delicious. With a swank dining room, well-stocked bar (fried chicken is bar food, after all) and roster of sauces from buttery to incendiary, Angry Chicken is the reason so many poultry lovers are crossing the road. And if sticky sauces and juicy chicken aren’t enough of a draw, the rice-flour batter that makes the coating so crispy is also gluten-free, so the whole family can indulge without worry. Don’t get angry; get chicken.

Readers’ Choice: Katsu Ramen

Proprietor Edwin Zoe can thank his mother for Zoe Ma Ma’s success: Zoe persuaded her to run the kitchen at his original Boulder restaurant, where she built a menu with recipes from her native Taiwan and Zoe’s father’s native Shandong. The resulting items include a heady Taiwanese beef noodle soup, one of that country’s most famous and revered dishes; zha jiang mian, or chewy noodles topped with stewed pork and a generous tuft of julienned carrots and cucumbers; and the CPR, a five-spice-laced stew of chicken and potatoes served over rice. The dishes were such a hit in Boulder that Zoe opened a second Zoe Ma Ma by Union Station, which quickly became a hit among office warriors looking for a unique, quick lunch. Keep an eye out for the special lion’s-head meatballs, served only on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Readers’ Choice: Citizen Rail

While Emmerson is technically a block east of the official pedestrian mall, the smells coming out of its kitchen waft over to Pearl Street…and that’s close enough for us. This sleek bistro morphs throughout the day: The fare is a little more standard during daytime hours, when sandwiches and pastries center the offerings, supplemented by such brunch innovations as the yeasted waffle and the avocado toast with Japanese furikake seasoning. Come night, though, the kitchen unleashes novel flavor combinations and impressive presentations: chicken-liver mousse with maple and cocoa nib, pork loin and hazelnut brittle, a whole roasted gourd filled with vegetable noodles and hay cream. Spring for the house-baked bread and house-cultured butter, don’t skip the pasta section, and definitely do not leave without having dessert. And at any time of day, order one of Emmerson’s equally innovative cocktails.

Change suits Il Posto: In the year since it relocated from Uptown to RiNo, it’s become a neighborhood anchor, and owner Andrea Frizzi has embraced his role as Larimer Street’s unofficial mayor. This new address has a decidedly upscale vibe, with upstairs tables that overlook the skyline and a fine-dining-worthy menu that prioritizes precision and authenticity, with a wine list to match. Frizzi is an exuberant Italian, and his loud enthusiasm infuses Il Posto with a boisterous charm that encourages indulgence; you could bring a mid-day business meeting here (the lunch deal is great, by the way) and accidentally end up day-drunk and rosy-cheeked, with Frizzi settling into your booth for a chat. The hospitality is a key component in Il Posto’s recipe for success, and it’s also what makes this spot one of the best in the city for a date.

Readers’ Choice: Rioja

With so many wonderful restaurants lining West 32nd Avenue, it could be hard to pick a favorite. But we’re particularly high on Spuntino, a charming Italian restaurant in Highland. When they purchased Spuntino from the original owners, employees Elliot Strathmann and Cindhura Reddy gave the place new life, something to be celebrated…and Spuntino’s fans do. Tables and seats at the bar fill up quickly with diners enjoying chef Reddy’s superb porchetta, expertly made pastas, a seasonal burrata spread or the arancini with Hatch chiles and smoked white cheddar. The wine and cocktail lists sing with elegant and enjoyable options, creating the perfect pairings for a lovely evening. Strathmann also makes his own amaro, which you should definitely sample at the end of a meal here. Whether you’re looking for a special night out or just strolling along 32nd, Spuntino is a must-stop.

Readers’ Choice: El Camino

Chef/restaurateur Lon Symensma picked the right person to oversee Cho77 when he opened this mailbox-sized Asian eatery on South Broadway three years ago. Right-hand man Ryan Gorby keeps turning out winners, whether they’re dead-on renditions of such classic street food as chicken coconut curry styled after northern Thai khow soi (served in a metal lunchbox), tempting fusion snacks like bacon-cheeseburger shu mai, or one of his house inventions, such as wok-seared duck leg with fragrant jasmine rice. A seat at the bar gives you a view of the kitchen, where the flames roar beneath hot woks, dumplings steam in bamboo baskets, and knives gleam and flash in the dim light. You may be on trendy Broadway surrounded by bars, bistros and bands, but this is as close to a Southeast Asian night market as you’ll get without leaving Denver.

Readers’ Choice: Gozo