Best Frites 2005 | Bistro Vendome | Best of Denver® | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Denver | Westword
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Best Frites

Bistro Vendome

At Bistro Vendome, chef Eric Roeder can run a good crew out of a cramped galley; bang out fifty plates of classical trout amandine and faux cassoulet a night with the first one tasting just as perfect as the last; and compete and thrive among some serious culinary contenders on Larimer Square -- even though his space has zero street frontage and no visibility for foot traffic. But the most telling mark of his skills as a chef is in the little things Roeder does better than anyone else. And his frites, which come alongside any of the house's three steak preparations, are by far the best in town.

Best Shoestrings

Devil's Food Bakery

Cassandra Kotnik
French fries, home fries, seasoned fries, steak fries, crinkle-cut, waffle-cut and pommes frites: There are as many different varieties of fried potatoes as there are varieties of potatoes themselves. And the shoestring fries at Devil's Food Bakery put all others to shame. This haystack tangle of blanched and fried, super-thin-cut potato comes with the house's steak-frite plate. While fantastic, salty and crunchy on their own, the shoestrings are even better paired with the great flatiron-cut steak, since that blood-thickened Dijon mustard sauce at the bottom of the plate is perfect for dipping.

Best Shoestrings

Devil's Food Bakery

French fries, home fries, seasoned fries, steak fries, crinkle-cut, waffle-cut and pommes frites: There are as many different varieties of fried potatoes as there are varieties of potatoes themselves. And the shoestring fries at Devil's Food Bakery put all others to shame. This haystack tangle of blanched and fried, super-thin-cut potato comes with the house's steak-frite plate. While fantastic, salty and crunchy on their own, the shoestrings are even better paired with the great flatiron-cut steak, since that blood-thickened Dijon mustard sauce at the bottom of the plate is perfect for dipping.

Best Chili-Cheese Fries

Sam's No. 3

An order of chili-cheese fries is not something you leave to an amateur, to someone uneducated in the tricky chemistry of the combination of potatoes, chili and cheese. You want to go to a pro, and that's why you go to Sam's No. 3, where the kitchen has been pumping out Coney Island-style fries slathered in beans-and-meat chili and melted generic yellow cheese product for decades. These guys know that the fries must be kept in the oil a little bit longer in order to give them a good caramelized crust that's strong enough to withstand the weight and moisture of the chili. They understand that while sometimes less might be more, this isn't one of those times, and so they smother the fries with their tasty chili and enough cheese that pretty soon you're going to need a fork. This side dish is worth the center of the plate.

Best Chili-Cheese Fries

Sam's No. 3

An order of chili-cheese fries is not something you leave to an amateur, to someone uneducated in the tricky chemistry of the combination of potatoes, chili and cheese. You want to go to a pro, and that's why you go to Sam's No. 3, where the kitchen has been pumping out Coney Island-style fries slathered in beans-and-meat chili and melted generic yellow cheese product for decades. These guys know that the fries must be kept in the oil a little bit longer in order to give them a good caramelized crust that's strong enough to withstand the weight and moisture of the chili. They understand that while sometimes less might be more, this isn't one of those times, and so they smother the fries with their tasty chili and enough cheese that pretty soon you're going to need a fork. This side dish is worth the center of the plate.

Best Fried Cheese

Maggiano's Little Italy

When you want fried cheese, you want a lot of fried cheese. And Maggiano's Little Italy delivers. This giant Italian joint has the temerity, the cheek, the unabashed audacity to offer as an appetizer a brick of pure-white mozzarella, breaded, fried, and topped with...more cheese, then set afloat in a sea of marinara sauce like some cholesterol iceberg. Ahoy, cardiology clinic! More cheese, please!

Best Fried Cheese

Maggiano's Little Italy

When you want fried cheese, you want a lot of fried cheese. And Maggiano's Little Italy delivers. This giant Italian joint has the temerity, the cheek, the unabashed audacity to offer as an appetizer a brick of pure-white mozzarella, breaded, fried, and topped with...more cheese, then set afloat in a sea of marinara sauce like some cholesterol iceberg. Ahoy, cardiology clinic! More cheese, please!

Best Fried Chicken

Joseph's Southern Food

Taylor Boylston
Joseph's Southern Food is the new mouth of the South. From their cramped, mostly carryout space, partners Joe Johnson and Rick Bousman serve up the very best of Deep South cuisine. They do grill-fired burgers, catfish sandwiches, root-beer floats, fried shrimp, coleslaw, collard greens and cold peach cobbler. But their very best dish is the house-special fried-chicken dinner. Although it takes a little time to prepare, it's totally worth the wait: a three-piece, deep-fried chicken dinner done in a pot with the kind of thick and crispy crust that the Colonel could only dream about, with chunky mashed potatoes, good mac-and-cheese and a cup of sweet tea on ice included in the $8.49 price.

Best Fried Chicken

Joseph's Southern Food

Joseph's Southern Food is the new mouth of the South. From their cramped, mostly carryout space, partners Joe Johnson and Rick Bousman serve up the very best of Deep South cuisine. They do grill-fired burgers, catfish sandwiches, root-beer floats, fried shrimp, coleslaw, collard greens and cold peach cobbler. But their very best dish is the house-special fried-chicken dinner. Although it takes a little time to prepare, it's totally worth the wait: a three-piece, deep-fried chicken dinner done in a pot with the kind of thick and crispy crust that the Colonel could only dream about, with chunky mashed potatoes, good mac-and-cheese and a cup of sweet tea on ice included in the $8.49 price.

Best Fancy-Pants Fried Chicken

Table 6

Courtesy Table 6
"Mother and child reunion" is the best description we've heard so far for the Rocky Chicken dish at Table 6. It's a fried egg, done over-easy, on top of a fried chicken breast and leg that are mounted on a nest of fried potatoes and onions. The whole plate is very intellectual, very New American smartass, but also very tasty -- a special trick that Table 6 has mastered, and one that saves the place from collapsing under the weight of over-thinking. Credit chef Aaron Whitcomb for pulling off a cerebral bit of deconstruction that still works in terms of flavor: a tender piece of fried chicken, perfectly cooked, and an egg that, when broken, serves as the sauce. No wonder the tables at Table 6 are some of the most sought-after in town.

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