Best Chef's Counter 2012 | TAG | Best of Denver® | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Denver | Westword
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Best Chef's Counter

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Long gone are the days when chefs sliced and diced behind an iron curtain. Today's toques like the limelight — and they love being the center of attention, which is all the better for voyeuristic guests who like to eavesdrop on kitchenspeak while also watching a floor show. And at TAG, Troy Guard's Asian-guided restaurant in Larimer Square, the highly interactive chef's counter offers the best seats in the house. You can kibbitz with the animated cooks — they're all talkers — and also banter with Guard, who's usually right there in the thick of things. And if you're not sure what to order, just ask: You'll be flooded with recommendations, all of which will exceed your expectations.

Readers' Choice: ChoLon Bistro

Best Chef-Inspired Restaurant

twelve restaurant

Mark Manger

It's the blind leading the blind, those people who shun Jeff Osaka's twelve because they make the mistake of assuming it resides in a so-called "sketchy" neighborhood. It doesn't. And frankly, we'd go to far worse areas just for the chance to eat a meal from the likes of Osaka. He's a serious culinary craftsman, whose commitment to cooking — and to his fellow chefs — is unmatched, as is his food, a deft marriage of comfort and current. Add in the fact that he offers a creative, affordable prix fixe menu, and you have one of the most satisfying restaurant experiences in the city...in any neighborhood.

Best Chicago Dog

Mile High Vienna

While we don't subscribe to the belief that the only good hot dog is a Chicago dog, we will acknowledge that the Windy City makes one hell of a frank. And here in Denver, you'll find a reverent homage to the Chicago dog at the two Mile High Vienna stores, where Sonny Jarock and Jeremy Williamson have created shrines to Denver and Chicago sports. The menu shares a similar division, with green chile and tamales alongside Italian beef and a Chicago dog done exactly right: with a springy Vienna beef dog piled with sliced tomatoes, onions, neon green relish, spicy sport peppers, a pickle spear, mustard and celery salt (of course) on a steamed poppyseed bun.

Best Chicken and Waffles

Second Home Kitchen and Bar

Hunter Stevens

We love just about any dish where sweet meets savory in magical harmony, but the epitome of that blessed union may very well be chicken and waffles, an orgy of fried decadence. You'll find the best in the city at Second Home, a restaurant that commands much of the bottom floor of the JW Marriott in Cherry Creek. Each element of the dish is damn near perfect on its own: The chicken encased in a crackle of golden batter is hot, juicy and tender; the waffle, made with sweet cornmeal and redolent of cheddar, is light and crisp. But tied together and drizzled with sweet, earthy maple syrup, the combination is utter bliss.

Best Chinese Restaurant

Hong Kong Barbecue

Hong Kong is famous for its siu mei, a blanket term that covers many roasted meats; siu mei shops in that city display whole, honey-glazed and five-spice-dusted, slow-cooked animals in their windows. Pigs and geese are the most popular critters, prized for the high fat content that makes the meat so moist as the fire melts the fat. Though siu mei is easy to find in cities with a vibrant Chinatown, it's a rarer treat in Denver, where Chinese restaurants tend to offer a mishmash of specialties from all over the country. But at Hong Kong BBQ, you can order cuts of siu mei served over rice — or simply buy a whole roasted duck or pig to take home. You can also order from the regular menu, which is loaded with such familiar items as kung pao chicken and lemongrass beef, as well as fried rice, noodles, hot pots and even curries — and every dish we've tried has been exceptional.

Readers' Choice: Wokano

Best Coffeehouse for Conversation

Bardo CoffeeHouse

Courtesy The Bardo Coffeehouse on South Broadway Facebook

Bardo CoffeeHouse is mellow enough that you can hunker down and study for finals here, but you won't get hushed or scowled at if you stop in to grab coffee with your chatty girlfriends, either. The owners clearly spent a lot of time researching proper coffee-shop ambience, because Bardo has everything: booths, couches, meeting tables, two-tops, window seats, movable tables, multiple rooms, even a patio. The lighting isn't intrusive, the artwork is minimal and tasteful, and Otis Redding can be heard through the speakers at all hours of the day. Those hours, by the way, are 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. weekdays, and until 3 a.m. on weekends.

Best Coffeehouse for Food

Crema Coffee House

Our love affair with Crema Coffee House started over coffee: well-pulled shots, sexy cappuccinos and beans from kick-ass roasters across the country. But now Crema has given us even more reason to hang out: some of the best food you'll find in any coffeehouse, anywhere. Owner Noah Price brought on chef Jonathan Power to come up with a creative breakfast-and-lunch menu, whose highlights include sweet-and-spicy five-spice granola paired with Noosa yogurt, rose sugar-brûléed grapefruit, a quivering egg custard loaded with bacon and Gruyère in a flaky crust, and a crave-worthy banh mi. Power sprinkles in occasional specials, too, and we have yet to be disappointed by any of them. "I wanted to make really fun, really good food that didn't overshadow what Noah has done with Crema," the chef told us when he introduced his menu. And he hasn't — but he's definitely created food that matches it.

Best Coffeehouse for Service

Sugar Bakeshop

With coffeehouses on just about every block in Denver, it takes a lot more than a good bean to keep people coming back. At Sugar Bakeshop, that something extra is the service. Every latte slinger here seems eternally happy to see you, as does owner Natalie Slevin, who can usually be found rolling dough for her exquisite pop tarts in the open-fantasy kitchen, serving Novo coffee or chatting with tables. Sugar Bakeshop also has a great daily selection of homemade cupcakes, pastries, burritos and even paleo muffins for finicky foodies — and everything is served with a smile.

Best Contemporary Cocktail Bar

Williams & Graham

Williams & Graham

Denver is so into cocktail culture that ordering a drink — be it a Manhattan made with Colorado whiskey and handcrafted bitters or a Moscow Mule — can be an agonizing dilemma. Cocktail syllabuses are even beginning to outshine menus, both in breadth and depth. But Williams & Graham, the elegant new speakeasy in Highland, is not only packed with a profundity of knowledge, but it displays a refreshing and deliberate lack of pretense. The bar is commanded by tenders who understand that you want a damn drink, not a judgmental oral exam on why you drink what you do. The cocktails they concoct are bright, fresh and bold, whether they're classic revivals or modern journeys into territory unknown.

Readers' Choice: Green Russell

Best Cuban Restaurant

Frijoles Colorado Cuban Cafe

No matter how cold it is outside, the atmosphere inside Frijoles Colorado Cuban Cafe is downright beachy. This family-run spot that opened last year in a Lakewood strip mall moves to its own island rhythm. Roxana and Sergio Negrin man the counter and do the cooking, and they turn out excellent ropa vieja, lechón, Cuban sandwiches and Cuban empanadas, plus an array of specials — including guava-sauced ribs — that offer a taste of both Cuba and Florida, the places they once called home. Finish your meal with a slice of flan and a cafecito — a superb shot of sweet espresso — and you may want to express your joy by shouting "Que rico!" over the din.

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