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Best Italian Restaurant

Santino's on Downing

The menu says that "only grandma could make it better," but we don't see how even she could improve on the food at Santino's on Downing. Chef/owner Santino "Sonny" Rando's marinara, for example, is the red sauce of dreams, slow-simmered until the fresh, herb-enhanced tomatoes cook down into a thick, rich liquid. It's just the right consistency for ladling over Rando's cheese-packed shells; throw in a few of his wickedly salty, oil-slicked, garlic-packed rolls and a glass of top-shelf Italian wine from his well-chosen list and you have the most comforting of Italian meals. But don't think Rando can't see beyond red: Other items on the menu offer a grand tour of his prowess with sauces, from mushroom-imbued creams to Sicilian-inspired lemon-based dreams. Forget grandma's house -- it's to Santino's we go for impressive Italian fare in an intimate, inviting setting.

Best Restaurant When Someone Else Is Paying

Flagstaff House

Mark Antonation
If someone says they like you, make them prove it by taking you to the Flagstaff House. A meal in this beautiful old building high in the foothills is a pampering treat from start to finish. The staff is accommodating, the wine list overwhelming, and the entire menu absolutely luxurious. Of course, it's going to cost your friend -- and we all know what a bitch payback can be.back home.

Best Restaurant When Someone Else Is Paying

Flagstaff House

If someone says they like you, make them prove it by taking you to the Flagstaff House. A meal in this beautiful old building high in the foothills is a pampering treat from start to finish. The staff is accommodating, the wine list overwhelming, and the entire menu absolutely luxurious. Of course, it's going to cost your friend -- and we all know what a bitch payback can be.back home.

Best Vegetarian Restaurant

Sunflower

Admittedly, Sunflower isn't totally vegetarian: This sunny Boulder eatery does offer free-range poultry, wild game and fresh seafood. But the many dishes that it bills as vegetarian are indeed animal-free (they can come with raw-milk cheeses, but that's optional) and absolutely delish. Start with a tofu-filled nori roll, fried in a tempura batter and served with a soy-sake dipping sauce, or the pesto-stuffed portobello, oven-roasted until the 'shroom turns soft and steamy and infused with garlic. Then move on to a bamboo steamer filled with organic vegetables, udon noodles and marinated tofu, or a Szechuan stir-fry of Asian veggies tossed in sesame oil and pepper sauce. The organic basmati rice is orgasmic, and no animals were hurt in the production of the oh-so-moist vegan cranberry-orange walnut cake. The bloom is on this one.

Best Vegetarian Restaurant

Sunflower

Admittedly, Sunflower isn't totally vegetarian: This sunny Boulder eatery does offer free-range poultry, wild game and fresh seafood. But the many dishes that it bills as vegetarian are indeed animal-free (they can come with raw-milk cheeses, but that's optional) and absolutely delish. Start with a tofu-filled nori roll, fried in a tempura batter and served with a soy-sake dipping sauce, or the pesto-stuffed portobello, oven-roasted until the 'shroom turns soft and steamy and infused with garlic. Then move on to a bamboo steamer filled with organic vegetables, udon noodles and marinated tofu, or a Szechuan stir-fry of Asian veggies tossed in sesame oil and pepper sauce. The organic basmati rice is orgasmic, and no animals were hurt in the production of the oh-so-moist vegan cranberry-orange walnut cake. The bloom is on this one.

Best Brewpub

Flying Dog Brewery & Tavern

Wynkoop Brewing
Every dog has his day, and now it's Flying Dog's turn to howl. After losing its Broadway Brewing space last year (the old Silver State Laundry building is now scheduled to become lofts, natch), the brewery/pub had to battle to get this new place -- a space long ago abandoned by the Mile High Brewing Co. -- up and running. But now the brewery's back and better than ever, with a new name and the same great canine-themed brews, including the ever-popular Doggy-Style Pale Ale. And the kitchen in this laid-back tavern turns out dishes large enough to feed a horse -- or at least a great Dane. The salads are made to order (our favorite is the blackened chicken), and the calzones wrap good, homemade pizza crust around copious fillings for major mealage. Good beer, good food: We're going to the dogs.

Best Brewpub

Flying Dog Brewery & Tavern

Every dog has his day, and now it's Flying Dog's turn to howl. After losing its Broadway Brewing space last year (the old Silver State Laundry building is now scheduled to become lofts, natch), the brewery/pub had to battle to get this new place -- a space long ago abandoned by the Mile High Brewing Co. -- up and running. But now the brewery's back and better than ever, with a new name and the same great canine-themed brews, including the ever-popular Doggy-Style Pale Ale. And the kitchen in this laid-back tavern turns out dishes large enough to feed a horse -- or at least a great Dane. The salads are made to order (our favorite is the blackened chicken), and the calzones wrap good, homemade pizza crust around copious fillings for major mealage. Good beer, good food: We're going to the dogs.

Best Soups

Philadelphia Filly

On a cold, wintry day, there's nothing more gratifying than wrapping your mittened hands around a steaming bowl of soup. Particularly if that soup's from the Philadelphia Filly, an old-fashioned quilted-metal cart that keeps things cooking on the 16th Street Mall right at Broadway. The recipes come from Sally Rock and Dale Goin, who long ago shut their restaurant of the same name in order to take their soups and gourmet cheesesteak

sandwiches on the road. Rock believes that any casserole or down-home dish can be made into a soup, and she proves it by offering such favorites as red beans and rice, chicken cordon bleu and tuna-cheese casserole in liquid form. These concoctions are so rich and flavorful, you'd swear you were eating the real thing. And flu sufferers, take note: The Filly's version of chicken noodle contains curry and cayenne, which clear out the throat, and cream, which soothes it. Hurry and eat your fill now, though, because as soon as the days get as warm as these bowls, they'll disappear until next winter -- but you can get the Filly's cheesesteaks year-round.

Best Soups

Philadelphia Filly

On a cold, wintry day, there's nothing more gratifying than wrapping your mittened hands around a steaming bowl of soup. Particularly if that soup's from the Philadelphia Filly, an old-fashioned quilted-metal cart that keeps things cooking on the 16th Street Mall right at Broadway. The recipes come from Sally Rock and Dale Goin, who long ago shut their restaurant of the same name in order to take their soups and gourmet cheesesteak

sandwiches on the road. Rock believes that any casserole or down-home dish can be made into a soup, and she proves it by offering such favorites as red beans and rice, chicken cordon bleu and tuna-cheese casserole in liquid form. These concoctions are so rich and flavorful, you'd swear you were eating the real thing. And flu sufferers, take note: The Filly's version of chicken noodle contains curry and cayenne, which clear out the throat, and cream, which soothes it. Hurry and eat your fill now, though, because as soon as the days get as warm as these bowls, they'll disappear until next winter -- but you can get the Filly's cheesesteaks year-round.

Best After-Hours Amenity

Barolo Grill

Mark Antonation
Sure, plenty of those chain operations now offer signing bonuses, health insurance and other benefits of membership in the organization. But do they serve mamu? At Barolo Grill, Blair Taylor's elegant, intimate eatery, the staffers all share in a free, post-business meal known as mamu, named in honor of "someone's grandmother's favorite meal," according to Taylor. The mamu offerings vary depending on what's left over that night, but whatever's on the employee menu, it's always washed down with remnants of wine and full-bodied talk -- some of which no doubt centers on another Barolo amenity, the annual summer trip to Italy.

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