FOOD & DRINK

part 1 of 4

Best Asian Deli
Mekong Market
1076 S. Federal Blvd.

Most of Mekong is your standard Asian market, with cheap produce and lots of canned and packaged specialties you don’t know what to do with. The real attraction here, though, is the deli, with its huge selection of already prepared–and infinitely more adventurous–stuff. The staff is friendly and will try to explain each item, but you’re better off closing your eyes, forgetting that it looks like a science experiment gone wrong, and pointing. Doing just that, we’ve come away with delicious fresh tofu cakes, ca chien (succulent fried fish), nem nuong (pork meatballs) and xoi (sticky rice with coconut, sugar and peanuts).

Best Italian Deli
Deli Italia
1990 Wadsworth Blvd., Lakewood

Ask owner Ricardo Pacini a question and be prepared for an in-depth discussion–he has a consuming passion for all things Italian. But don’t get so distracted that you forget to do your shopping. Deli Italia is filled with a hundred types of dried pasta, as well as fresh pestos, cheeses, marinated olives, sausages, Italian meats–you name it, Ricardo has it or he’ll get it for you. A log of his homemade mozzarella is a must; he’ll even tell you how to make your own.

Best Fresh Pasta
Pasta Pasta Pasta
278 Fillmore St.

Patti and Lisa Miller have all the pastabilities covered–the selection at their deli/market Pasta Pasta Pasta changes daily. If you fear your sauce-making abilities are no match for their pasta expertise, the Millers conveniently cook up several toppers, too. Although you can take your chances on whatever they’re making that day (trust us–it’s not much of a gamble), if you’re a regular, the Millers will make your pasta and sauce to order. Now that’s using the old noodle.

Best Place to Cut the Cheese
The Cheese Company
735 S. Colorado Blvd.

If you can’t find the cheese you want out of the 170 domestic and imported ones sold here, you’d better buy a cow. The Cheese Company has been around for nearly thirty years, and staffers know their curds from their whey–the chevre alone will have you writing odes to goats. From triple-cream Brie to Irish cheddar, this shop gets the freshest goods, isn’t stingy with the samples and doesn’t try to milk you out of every cent, either–some of the prices are below those at groceries.

Best Smelly Cheese
Old Fashioned Italian Deli
395 W. Littleton Blvd., Littleton

Owned by a nice gentleman from Buffalo, the Italian Deli is primarily a sandwich shop, serving big old hoagies crammed with stuff–but there’s also a small selection of fresh cheeses, and the owner will gladly cut you a chunk. If you love green cheese, the rich, veiny gorgonzola is worth sniffing out.

Best Stiff Upper Lip Service
House of Windsor
1050 S. Wadsworth Blvd., Lakewood

Come to tea, won’t you? House of Windsor owners Derek and Brenda Williams set a veddy, veddy proper table in their tidy, china-lined shop every day at four. Or if you’d rather partake of this civilized form of relaxation in private, stop by to select some tea leaves to steep at home. No matter where you consume them, though, the scones are not to be missed, nor is the steak-and-kidney pie. Nor is the hospitality: The Williamses are as quick to crack a good joke about their native country as they are to hand over a sample of their homemade treats.

Best Jewish Deli
Zaidy’s Deli
121 Adams St.

If we are what we eat, then what are we at Zaidy’s–chopped liver? Darn right, and great chopped liver at that. Bubbe would approve; we know we do. Even though the menu overflows with sandwich choices, salads, homemade soups and breakfast dishes, after the chicken liver our nosh of choice is the lox and bagels–a superb Nova with a shmeer and fresh bagels that set the tone for a great day.

Best Bagels
Finster Brothers Bagels
5709 E. Colfax Ave.

In The Joys of Yiddish, Leo Rosten notes that the first printed reference to bagels is in a 1610 book of community rules for Krakow, Poland, which states that bagels were to be given to any woman in childbirth. We’re sure those women weren’t getting anything as good as the Finsters put out–and they don’t require that you beget anyone to get a bagel, either. For those who can’t make a decision so early in the day, the brothers offer the “everything” model, hefty but soft and filled with onions, garlic, sesame seeds, poppy seeds and salt.

Best Cinnamon Rolls
Paris Bakery
1268 S. Sheridan Blvd.

Sugar and spice–Paris’s cinnamon rolls are everything nice. Big, soft pillows of buttery dough, a superfine-sugar glaze and judiciously applied cinnamon, these light but rich pastries make even the air around them taste good.

Best Muffins
The Muffin Company
2410 S. Colorado Blvd.

Forget the healthy stuff, although this five-year-old, locally owned bakery does have plenty of moist, spongy whole-grain, half-grain and grain-with-grain offerings. No, the thing to get here is the cheesecake muffin, or the blackberry cream-cheese muffin with cream-cheese icing, or the chocolate-cherry with chocolate icing, or…well, you get the picture.

Best Bakery
Baker’s Street
8181 E. Arapahoe Rd., Englewood

A new arrival this year, Baker’s Street rises to the occasion by offering something a little different while still meeting the crucial qualities of great baked goods: texture, the right crust, freshness and scads of flavor. With such combinations as tomato-basil, jalapeno-cheddar, walnut-green onion and raisin-pecan sourdough, man could easily live on bread alone.

Best Mexican Bakery
Rosales
2636 W. 32nd Ave.

We gain weight just looking in the window at Rosales, a two-decade-old panadera. Its case is always crammed with a dozen kinds of cookies, including traditional wedding goodies, pig-shaped gingerbread and coconut-covered yo-yos. An equally good bet are a few of the fluffy rolls, slathered with Rosales’s homemade quince jam. And last but not yeast, pick up a pound of the pungent chorizo on your way out.

Best Gourmet-to-Go
Mortensen’s
5270 E. Arapahoe Rd., Littleton

You’ve got that important in-office meeting with the out-of-town guy, and you need to come up with twenty lunches that will fit on the conference table and, more important, fit the budget. No problem. Culinary Institute of America graduate Paul Mortensen stuffs his box lunches with an impressive variety of sandwiches and delivers them free within a fifteen-mile radius. The basic box runs about $6, comes gift-wrapped and houses a veggie salad, fresh fruit and dessert (go for the pecan shortbread with caramel topping). This could be just the deal you need to close your own big deal.

Best Kosher Candy
East Side Kosher Deli
5475 Leetsdale Dr.

In this truly kosher deli, everything must fall under the strict dietary laws, and sweets are no exception. East Side carries not only its own desserts but a host of name-brand treats as well: kosher Snickers bars made in Australia, Bazooka gum from Israel, high-class Swiss chocolates, as well as kosher candy corn for that goyim invention, Halloween.

Best Place to Stop and Smell the Roses
Lydia’s, Inc.
7853 W. Jewell Ave., Lakewood

Can’t decide whether to buy your beloved roses or candy? Lydia’s combines the two in exquisite chocolate flowers that come in every shade found in nature but taste of raspberries, cherries or lemon. If you don’t have time to put the petal to the metal yourself, a phone call to Lydia’s will have your incredible edible gift packaged and delivered.

Best Snapping Turtle
Dale’s Exotic Game Meats
1961 W. 64th Ave.

Dale’s is a major player in the current trend toward low-fat, high-flavor game that’s showing up more and more frequently at area restaurants. If you’d like to cook something at home that doesn’t require Hamburger Helper, Dale’s has everything from its own alligator sausage and snapping turtle to farm-raised quail and venison, as well as a healthy selection of unusual goods that feature the beasts safely captured in cans.

Best Place to Still Buy Natural Foods
Wild Oats Market
12131-F E. Iliff Ave., Aurora
2260 E. Colfax Ave.

The hippy-dippy Sixties and Seventies are long gone, but there are still some folks out there who don’t ever want to look a preservative or a piece of red meat in the eye. Flower children and others will find that the groceries at Wild Oats, bulk and otherwise, are workhorse organic–and still reasonably priced.

Best Alfalfa’s
900 E. 11th Ave.
Occupying the abandoned shell of a former gourmet grocery, the newest Alfalfa’s puts it all together with flying colors: the now-familiar formula of take-out deli, juice bar, healthful epicurean delights, fancy produce and organic meats, without the human crush that makes visits to other Alfalfa’s unbearable. The roomy aisles invite unhurried shopping and snacking, there’s plenty of parking and the people are nice. Citizens living in Denver’s densest neighborhood deserve this store.

Best Healthy Milkshake
Gab’s Sandwiches
510 17th St.

Not only are they low-fat and nutritious (made with fresh fruit, yogurt and low-fat milk), Gab’s shakes come in flavors you won’t see at any soda fountain–pineapple, peach, blueberry. The inventive combinations, though, are the real draw: Go for the mocha, with a jolt of caffeine and chocolate yogurt, or the Straw Hat, a blend of strawberries and apricot juice. For those who crave a dash of refined sugars, there’s the Yoreo, complete with ground-up Oreo cookies.

Best Vegetable Milkshakes
Pho Pasteur
1201 S. Federal Blvd.

C’mon, kids, drink your vegetables. Pho Pasteur takes an ordinary vegetable and turns it into a remarkable, sugar-infused, soy-based, cool and refreshing beverage. The restaurant makes shakes out of fruits, too, including lychees and the stinky durian, but the vegetable versions are the most intriguing. Pass the green beans.

Best Milkshakes
Gunther Toody’s
Four metro locations

Keep your hands off our Butterfinger–shake, that is. Gunther Toody’s blends the candy bar with either vanilla or chocolate ice cream to create a delicious milkshake: a little runny, a little lumpy, but good to the last drop. Top it off with a chocolate-cherry version–it’s pure liquid dessert.

Best Drink
Mall Exchange
1585 Lawrence St.

In the event of a nuclear holocaust, we’d sure like to have a few pitchers of the Nuclear Sponge stuff around. The sickly pinkish, greenish, whitish color of this stuff matches the pallor of a few animals we’ve seen hanging around Rocky Flats, but the flavor is pure meltdown. The bartender claims to have created this combination of melon liqueur, vodka, peach schnapps, cherries and cream; after a few sips, we’re in no position to argue.

Best Ice Cream Flavor
Jack Daniels
Josh and John’s
1444 Market St.
1111 13th St., Boulder

At last! The perfect hangover cure: stomach-soothing cream and eggs combined with the hair of the dog, plus the additional benefit of energy-boosting sugars. If you no longer count Jack as one of your friends, take the path of least resistance to the Rocky Mountain Road–chocolate ice cream with marshmallows, chocolate chips and walnuts, also made in Josh and John’s winning gelato style.

Best Fountain Cokes
Watson’s
900 Lincoln St.

Maybe fountain Cokes taste better just because you’re sipping them at a worn marble counter while twisting and turning on an old-fashioned stool, but these mixtures of syrup and soda served up at Watson’s, a lovely anomaly in a modern city, are sublime. Thicker and sweeter than what comes out of a can, served with or without flavorings (cherry, vanilla or even cinnamon), these Cokes are it.

Best Place to Drink an “Orange Julie”
The lunch counter at Union Station
Not to be confused with the citrusy concoction of the more famous–and remarkably similar–name, the orange drink served up at this Forties-style diner is memorable mostly for the flavor of the building in which it is consumed. The train terminal’s lunch counter, a time capsule with stools that swivel and an honest-to-God Formica counter, is the perfect place to indulge in a little healthy nostalgia and lunch-hour wanderlust.

Best Bar Makeover
Herb’s Hideout
2057 Larimer St.

In its past life, Herb’s Hideout was known as one of the city’s roughest nightspots, a place where the phrase “last call” took on a whole new meaning for more than one doomed barfly. These days, however, the once-notorious dive has turned over a new leaf, reinventing itself as, of all things, a piano bar. The wine now costs more than 75 cents a glass and the clientele’s a bit more upscale, but the place still has a neighborhood feel.

Best Bartender
Doc Green
Butterfield Eight
175 Fillmore St.

A veteran of many gigs, from T.G.I.Friday’s back home in bluesy Memphis to the late, lamented Bay Wolf on Milwaukee Street, this smart, amiable, funny practitioner of the social arts now holds forth at the back bar of Rodney Utz’s glitzy discotheque in Cherry Creek. While he mixes you a matchless martini, talk fly-fishing–that’s his passion. Better yet, ask about the night a teenaged Doc wound up at the movies with Elvis.

Best Guinness Draw
Sheabeen Irish Pub
2300 S. Chambers Rd., Aurora

If any pub’s pouring of a pint o’ Guinness is true, it’s Sheabeen’s. Owner Tony McAleave came straight from Belfast five years ago to set Denver straight on Ireland’s best export, but the one to do the job is (who else?) Pat Kelly–if you can catch him between trips back to his native Emerald Isle. Draw, pardner.

Best Beer Selection
The Cherry Cricket
2641 E. 2nd Ave.

When you need something to wash down the best burger around, the Cherry Cricket can pour one from as close as Boulder–Eli’s Bitchin’ Brew–or as far away as Czechoslovakia’s Staropramen. While most of the nineteen tap beers remain loyal to the best of local microbreweries, the sky’s the limit with the rest of its 120 brews; every beer-producing country is represented. Try the raspberry- or peach-flavored Lindeman’s from Belgium, or Jade organic beer from France. Collect them all–just not in the same night.

Best Microbrew
Tabernash Brewing Company
205 Denargo Market

At a time when other brewers are dashing to offer a lighter, trendier taste by pulling away from beer ingredients (zomething inzipid, anyone?), Tabernash has come up with its own fruity, less-filling offering: the unfiltered, European-style Tabernash Weiss. We’re bananas about its tropical undertones, its paleness, its smoothness–but mostly we love the fact that it still tastes like beer, and a good one at that. Readers’ choice: Wynkoop Brewing Company

Best Place to Sample Colorado Beers
Broadway Brewing Company
2441 Broadway

The folks who brought us the Wynkoop Brewing Company, Denver’s first brewpub, always have something new on tap. This time, they’ve joined with Aspen’s Flying Dog Brewpub to renovate an old laundry building into a state-of-the-art brewery/bottling plant with a fabulous little pub all its own. Inside its cozy confines, you can stuff yourself with pizza and sandwiches while sipping one of the fifteen Colorado microbrews on tap. And on your way out, pick up a few cases of the three beers bottled on the premises: Red Lady Ale from Crested Butte, Doggie Style Ale from Aspen, and the Wynkoop’s own Railyard. We’ll drink to that!

Best Place to Sample Colorado Wines
Plum Creek Tasting Room
1588 S. Pearl St.

The concept of a Colorado wine country is still green, but a number of brave young wineries are slowly maturing on the Western Slope. Intrigued? Now you don’t even have to shlep over to Grand Junction to check it out. Plum Creek Cellars, a ten-year-old outfit based in Palisade (that’s Colorado wine central, oenophiles) and featured in the AAA’s Guide to the Best Wineries in North America, has opened a tasting room here in town. Drop in any Friday or Saturday from noon until six and you’ll be treated to sips of Plum Creek’s latest–varying from the oaky Colorado Chardonnay to a robust red Grand Mesa table wine.

Best Wine List (Price)
The Philadelphia Filly
1585 S. Pearl St.

He calls it their “cheaper by the dozen” list and, following a familiar local trend, Philadelphia Filly co-owner Dale Goin does it better–and cheaper. Featuring lesser-known wines at the most minimal of markups, Goin has assembled a collection of such bottlings as Roccadoro’s 1991 Chianti Classico and Hearldsberg’s 1990 Cabernet Sauvignon–each one for just $12. Part of the fun is Goin’s suggested pairings with appropriate entrees. Readers’ choice: Cliff Young’s

Best Wine List (Selection)
Laudisio’s
2785 Iris Ave., Boulder

Recently lauded in The Wine Spectator with its Award of Excellence, Laudisio’s wine list is a trip through Italy. Arranged by province, the 200-plus selection offers something for everyone’s pocketbook and tastebuds. It’s particularly fun because many of the vineyards are ones you won’t see anywhere else–and the same can be said for this upscale eatery’s warm interior (despite the strip-mall location) and innovative Italian food.

Readers’ choice: Flagstaff House

Best Happy Hour for Free Food
Brendan’s Market Street Pub
1624 Market St.

Tucked beneath Croc’s Cafe, Brendan’s has the advantage not only of location, location, location but also of a well-situated concrete patio where you can see the action but stay out of the way. It also has a great happy-hour graze-fest Sunday through Friday, featuring all-you-can-eat wings covered in tangy barbecue sauce, crunchy pizzas with a rotating roster of toppings and the standard veggies-with-dip platters. The wings alone would be a deal–they’re the ultimate in beer accompaniments, and Brendan’s has plenty of brews to choose from.

Readers’ choice: Aqua Lounge

Best Hot Chocolate
Dietrich’s Chocolate and Espresso
1734 E. Evans Ave.

By now, everyone’s caught on to the chocolate-with-steamed-milk thang, but Dietrich’s, which imports its own chocolates, one-ups them all. Owner Erik Dietrich uses a bitter, low-fat, powdered Dutch chocolate in the steamed milk and adds a touch of powdered sugar. The result is a smooth, creamy cup. Just hope it doesn’t trigger any chocoholic tendencies, because Dietrich’s has hundreds of goodies.

Best Iced Tea
Augusta
Westin Hotel Tabor Center
1672 Lawrence St.

The iced tea alone is reason enough to take the plunge and treat yourself to lunch in the Augusta, the elegant, well-appointed dining room at the Westin. (Chef Odran Campbell’s rich lobster bisque is further justification.) Celestial Seasonings provides the rose-hip-hopping Red Zinger, but it’s the kitchen that brews the perfect blend. Hold that pinkie high, now.

Best Iced Coffee
Colorado Espresso Company
2075 S. University Blvd.

The jamoke’s on you. It’s called granita, an iced coffee made with espresso, sugar and milk, but it’s basically a Slurpee with caffeine. And on a hot summer day, its sugar/caffeine rush simply can’t be beat. If coffee isn’t your cup of tea, try another granita flavor–depending on the mood of Colorado Espresso company employees, it could be raspberry, lemon, Creamsicle or mandarin orange.

Best Coffeehouse
Paris on the Platte
1553 Platte St.

We’re not taken in by the Seattle mystique–coffeehouses were around long before Washington was a person, let alone a state. The early European scene was rife with grunge, had better music and, most important, offered a forum for relaxation, game-playing and good conversation, three things Paris on the Platte encourages. And what Europe didn’t have was Cafe Fantasia, Paris’s combination of hot chocolate and espresso with steamed milk, an orange slice and whipped cream. C’est la vie!

Readers’ choice: St. Mark’s

Best Cappuccino
Dario’s Restaurant
2011 E. 17th Ave.

The outdoor tables in this little Swiss-Italian joint are a swell place to stop for a breather and a cup of smooth cappuccino. Dario’s pays close attention to every step along the way. What good is a dark, toasty brew if the milk isn’t fresh? And who wants a watered-down version served in a soup bowl? Not us, which is why we appreciate Dario’s proportions, tip-top ingredients and deft hands with the espresso machine.

Readers’ choice: Starbucks

Best Espresso
Espresso Roma
1101 13th St., Boulder

The beans are from Berkeley, as is this link in the chain, which seems somehow fitting for such an off-the-wall hangout on University Hill. But while the people-watching is rewarding, the best reason to stop in is Espresso Roma’s ultrapotent brew–part narcotic, part elixir and entirely reminiscent of a working-class coffeehouse in Italy. The base is earthy and smooth, the crema rich and thick. It’s so strong, you’d better eat something first or you might start seeing things stranger than Roma’s clientele.

Readers’ choice: Starbucks

Best Espresso Cart
Eye Opener Espresso
17th and Market streets

No one is more open-eyed than the street-corner entrepreneur who mans this coffee bar on the streets of lower downtown. Dan-the-espresso-guy has what they used to call hustle–his changing sandwich board sports a daily quote, and there’s brassy big-band music on the blaster while he whips up a mean and competitive concoction that will surely get the bleary-eyed more bushy-tailed. Regulars are treated with respect, and punch cards are kept on file so repeat caffeine offenders can occasionally get one on the house.

Best Espresso Quickie
Xpresso
1st Ave. at University Blvd.

Drive up. Order one of the twenty espresso drinks on the Xpresso roster. Two minutes later, drive away with the drink and an espresso bean for your trouble. Quaff the goods on the go.

Best Espresso for Commuters With a Long Drive
Fly Thru Espresso
Colo. Hwy. 74, Bergen Park

It was a dream come true for commuters when Fly Thru materialized virtually overnight on the east side of the highway, just across the road from King Soopers in Bergen Park. The espresso bar’s kitchen is the back of a specially equipped van, and its parking lot is a dirt pulloff, but Fly Thru has become a mandatory stop for hundreds of Evergreen-to-Denver travelers.

end of part 1