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Best panini

Panini Grill

Although every sandwich shop and cafe thinks it wants to offer panini, what they usually cook up is a far cry from the way these grilled Italian sandwiches are supposed to turn out. For panini done right, head to Panini Grill, a teeny Italian bistro that not only grills a mean panini, but boasts a welcoming attitude and makes good pastas, too. You can create your own panini combo from the list of ten meats, eight cheeses, three pesto spreads and ten other possible ingredients, ordering everything on traditional focaccia or rosemary focaccia (you can also get a non-grilled sandwich on a French roll -- but why would you?). Once your sandwich is assembled, it gets a real grilling in the special panini maker, keeping the fillings moist and the bread chewy. If you're not feeling particularly creative, you can't go wrong with one of the house panini -- the sliced meatballs with Mamma's homemade sauce and provolone is the ultimate meatball sandwich -- paired with a bowl of veggie-packed minestrone. Eat your meal inside, or at one of the tables on the sidewalk; either way, this is the grill of your dreams.

Best tuna melt

Ambrosia Bistro

Comfort food never tasted this haute cuisine. The lowly tuna melt goes upscale at Ambrosia Cafe, the eatery created last year in the old Firefly Space by chef Mark Gordon and his partner, John Barocas. They've created a simple yet trendy neighborhood spot complete with landscaped patio and parking outside and Asian-influenced dishes inside. Gordon is reaching high here, and with the ahi tuna salad melt, he displays a particularly good grasp on which ingredients work together -- and how. Ahi chunks mixed with celery and a homemade mayo come piled on a fluffy-centered, crackly-crusted kaiser roll, blanketed with slices of a creamy, nutty Swiss cheese; the cooking has been timed perfectly so that the ahi, which steams a little under the molten cheese, arrives dead-on medium-rare. The sandwich comes with your choice of Ambrosia's fabulous fries or a side of steamed vegetables. Either way, your meal should go swimmingly.

Best tuna melt

Ambrosia Bistro

Comfort food never tasted this haute cuisine. The lowly tuna melt goes upscale at Ambrosia Cafe, the eatery created last year in the old Firefly Space by chef Mark Gordon and his partner, John Barocas. They've created a simple yet trendy neighborhood spot complete with landscaped patio and parking outside and Asian-influenced dishes inside. Gordon is reaching high here, and with the ahi tuna salad melt, he displays a particularly good grasp on which ingredients work together -- and how. Ahi chunks mixed with celery and a homemade mayo come piled on a fluffy-centered, crackly-crusted kaiser roll, blanketed with slices of a creamy, nutty Swiss cheese; the cooking has been timed perfectly so that the ahi, which steams a little under the molten cheese, arrives dead-on medium-rare. The sandwich comes with your choice of Ambrosia's fabulous fries or a side of steamed vegetables. Either way, your meal should go swimmingly.

Best chicken noodle soup

The Soup Kitchen

What's in a name? For starters, this little spot just off the 16th Street Mall looks better than your average soup kitchen, although it's not exactly the Taj Mahal: Little bits of information are handwritten on scraps of paper and stuck to the display cases, pots and pans; baker's pallets are stacked everywhere; and the decor consists of dozens of bottles of hot sauce and other flavorings stacked like little soldiers on the makeshift counter along the front window. Even soup-maker/owner Richard Gamsen, a transplanted New Yorker, is usually wearing a grimy T-shirt and baseball cap. But don't let appearances fool you, because inside those covered vats in front of Gamsen are some of the town's most elaborate and tasty concoctions, including a chicken noodle whose broth is so chickeny, it's like gnawing on a thigh. Gamsen uses the untraditional fettuccine as his noodle, but the thick strips are cooked until perfectly soggy so that they soak up the intense stock that's been augmented with tender chicken chunks and soft pieces of carrot and celery. This is the soup that Gamsen runs out of most often, and we're not surprised.

Best chicken noodle soup

The Soup Kitchen

What's in a name? For starters, this little spot just off the 16th Street Mall looks better than your average soup kitchen, although it's not exactly the Taj Mahal: Little bits of information are handwritten on scraps of paper and stuck to the display cases, pots and pans; baker's pallets are stacked everywhere; and the decor consists of dozens of bottles of hot sauce and other flavorings stacked like little soldiers on the makeshift counter along the front window. Even soup-maker/owner Richard Gamsen, a transplanted New Yorker, is usually wearing a grimy T-shirt and baseball cap. But don't let appearances fool you, because inside those covered vats in front of Gamsen are some of the town's most elaborate and tasty concoctions, including a chicken noodle whose broth is so chickeny, it's like gnawing on a thigh. Gamsen uses the untraditional fettuccine as his noodle, but the thick strips are cooked until perfectly soggy so that they soak up the intense stock that's been augmented with tender chicken chunks and soft pieces of carrot and celery. This is the soup that Gamsen runs out of most often, and we're not surprised.

Best cream of mushroom soup

Diane's Good-to-Go

Don't worry if many of the dishes at Diane's Good-to-Go seem half-baked -- that's by design, since these two gourmet-to-go outlets assume that you'll get the goods, then take them home and reheat them in the oven or microwave. So Diane's plans ahead, labeling each item with instructions for how to bring it to full flavor. The soups, though, are already there -- and then some, with Diane's wild-mushroom soup a delicious case in point. Packed with mushrooms and enriched with cream, this concoction is as earthy, rich and creamy as mushroom soup can be (Campbell's doesn't even come close). So thick it's almost like condensed, this soup really is good food.

Best cream of mushroom soup

Diane's Good-to-Go

Don't worry if many of the dishes at Diane's Good-to-Go seem half-baked -- that's by design, since these two gourmet-to-go outlets assume that you'll get the goods, then take them home and reheat them in the oven or microwave. So Diane's plans ahead, labeling each item with instructions for how to bring it to full flavor. The soups, though, are already there -- and then some, with Diane's wild-mushroom soup a delicious case in point. Packed with mushrooms and enriched with cream, this concoction is as earthy, rich and creamy as mushroom soup can be (Campbell's doesn't even come close). So thick it's almost like condensed, this soup really is good food.

Best soup kitchen

Attivo Pizza and Italian Deli

One of the last places you'd expect to get a stellar cup of soup would be a pizzeria, but last year Tony Velasquez, owner of Attivo Pizza and Italian Deli, and his kitchen manager, Jeff Carstens, decided to start experimenting with homemade soups. The result was fifteen flavor-packed soups, some impeccable versions of a classic (including an ultra-creamy cream of broccoli), others unique concoctions that have the regulars screaming for more. One soup is featured each day; if you're lucky, you'll drop by Attivo on the right day to try the lime soup with chicken and habaneros or the cream of tomato with fresh basil. Then again, you can't go wrong with the black bean, punched up with cilantro and jalapeos, or the chicken escarole, with just-cooked chicken breast in a double-cooked chicken broth. A cup costs a mere $2.50, and a bowl is $3.95; if you're lucky enough to live nearby, Attivo will deliver a quart to your door for $4.95. This soup's on, all right.

Best soup kitchen

Attivo Pizza and Italian Deli

One of the last places you'd expect to get a stellar cup of soup would be a pizzeria, but last year Tony Velasquez, owner of Attivo Pizza and Italian Deli, and his kitchen manager, Jeff Carstens, decided to start experimenting with homemade soups. The result was fifteen flavor-packed soups, some impeccable versions of a classic (including an ultra-creamy cream of broccoli), others unique concoctions that have the regulars screaming for more. One soup is featured each day; if you're lucky, you'll drop by Attivo on the right day to try the lime soup with chicken and habaneros or the cream of tomato with fresh basil. Then again, you can't go wrong with the black bean, punched up with cilantro and jalapeños, or the chicken escarole, with just-cooked chicken breast in a double-cooked chicken broth. A cup costs a mere $2.50, and a bowl is $3.95; if you're lucky enough to live nearby, Attivo will deliver a quart to your door for $4.95. This soup's on, all right.

Best burger

Bang!

While this bustling north Denver joint continues to attract new customers drawn by its downhome cooking and refreshingly simple concept, a base of regulars comes for one thing, and one thing only: Bang!'s incredible hamburger. It's hard to say which is more amazing, the roll or the meat, but both are given special treatment, resulting in a superlative burger. The kitchen bakes the soft, faintly sweet buns every day, using a Swedish oatmeal recipe that Bang! got from a Junior League cookbook; while the bun's chewy shell holds everything together, the inside is just right for soaking up a burger's juices. And what juices: The burger is a half-pound of Maverick Ranch ground sirloin that's been seasoned just enough to bring out the flavor of the meat, then perfectly sautéed to a diner's specifications. It comes with a sweet and tangy homemade ketchup, lettuce, tomato and onion, and potato chips. Get your buns to Bang!

Readers' choice: Cherry Cricket

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