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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

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.

Best After-Hours Amenity

Barolo Grill

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.

Best Place to Score With a Thirty-Something Still Praying for Dot-Com Financing

Tommy Tsunami's Pacific Diner

Their hair is perfect, their clothes are perfect, their cell phones are always on, and their IPOs are on hold. So in the meantime, why not gather around the bar at Tommy Tsunami's on weekend nights to suck down some sushi? Inspired by the funky setting, or maybe the seeming New York late-nightness of it all, these young urban pros look like they're ready to revive the Nasdaq once they've closed the raw bar, which stays open even after the kitchen shuts down at midnight. Food of choice: tiger rolls.

Best Place to Score With a Thirty-Something Still Praying for Dot-Com Financing

Tommy Tsunami's Pacific Diner

Their hair is perfect, their clothes are perfect, their cell phones are always on, and their IPOs are on hold. So in the meantime, why not gather around the bar at Tommy Tsunami's on weekend nights to suck down some sushi? Inspired by the funky setting, or maybe the seeming New York late-nightness of it all, these young urban pros look like they're ready to revive the Nasdaq once they've closed the raw bar, which stays open even after the kitchen shuts down at midnight. Food of choice: tiger rolls.

Best Server -- Female

Wendy Berve, Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steak House

If you can't imagine that the star server at a serious steakhouse such as Del Frisco's Double Eagle could be a grandmother, then you've never encountered the magnificent Wendy Berve. Five minutes after she's started working your table, you'll feel as though you're in the most capable hands in town; ten minutes more and you'll want her to be your grandmother, too. But make no mistake: Berve isn't your typical diner waitress sporting support hose and a bouffant hairdo. She's stylish while still oozing sweetness, and her decades of work as a restaurant manager -- from Josephina's in the late '60s to stints at Dudley's, Marlowe's, the Brokers and the Baywolf, among others -- shows. "I guess part of the deal is that I still really like it," she says. "I left for a while and did financial planning and real estate and sold computers, but I missed this. It still matters to me that people walk out happy." We do.

Best Server -- Female

Wendy Berve, Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steak House

If you can't imagine that the star server at a serious steakhouse such as Del Frisco's Double Eagle could be a grandmother, then you've never encountered the magnificent Wendy Berve. Five minutes after she's started working your table, you'll feel as though you're in the most capable hands in town; ten minutes more and you'll want her to be your grandmother, too. But make no mistake: Berve isn't your typical diner waitress sporting support hose and a bouffant hairdo. She's stylish while still oozing sweetness, and her decades of work as a restaurant manager -- from Josephina's in the late '60s to stints at Dudley's, Marlowe's, the Brokers and the Baywolf, among others -- shows. "I guess part of the deal is that I still really like it," she says. "I left for a while and did financial planning and real estate and sold computers, but I missed this. It still matters to me that people walk out happy." We do.

Best Place to Get Service for Forty

The Restaurant Source

This restaurant supply house was once wholesale only, but now that it's open to the public, it's become the Restaurant Source for household cooks as well. Just about anything you've ever coveted at a local restaurant -- creamers, crumbers, squeeze bottles, cheese shakers, serving trays, booster seats, whisks, chafing pans, dishes, glasses, linens, tongs, baking molds, syrup pitchers and another 8,000 or so items -- is stocked here. Loved that china pattern? The Restaurant Source probably has it. Always wanted a professional-quality sieve? The Restaurant Source definitely has it. And the price on that stainless service for forty is so low that you'll be embarrassed that you ever even thought about pocketing a spoon at your local diner.

Best Place to Get Service for Forty

The Restaurant Source

This restaurant supply house was once wholesale only, but now that it's open to the public, it's become the Restaurant Source for household cooks as well. Just about anything you've ever coveted at a local restaurant -- creamers, crumbers, squeeze bottles, cheese shakers, serving trays, booster seats, whisks, chafing pans, dishes, glasses, linens, tongs, baking molds, syrup pitchers and another 8,000 or so items -- is stocked here. Loved that china pattern? The Restaurant Source probably has it. Always wanted a professional-quality sieve? The Restaurant Source definitely has it. And the price on that stainless service for forty is so low that you'll be embarrassed that you ever even thought about pocketing a spoon at your local diner.

Best Place to Get the Royal Treatment

Corner of Wadsworth and Alameda

At first glance, the intersection of Wadsworth and Alameda seems like just another busy corner -- but look again. This place has a certain regal quality that can't be denied. Perhaps that's because it's overseen by King Donut and Dairy Queen, which both rule on the northwest corner. If only Denver still had a Jack in the Box, the royal family might be complete.

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