The Columbine Cafe opened the year Prohibition ended, in a former barbershop by a patch of horse pastures. The nearest landmark was the Coors brewery, and workers from that plant kept the place in business for many years. Today Golden sprawls just down the road, but the Columbine still feels like an out-of-the-way discovery; there's a beer garden in back, the site of summer barbecues, horseshoe tournaments and music performances. There's sometimes live music in the tiny bar space, too, though the only nod to the "Cafe" in the name are breakfast burritos supplied on Sundays. But who needs food when the ambience is so satisfying? This is the kind of place where everyone knows your name...long after you've forgotten it.
Readers' Choice: Don's Club Tavern