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