Santa Fe Cookie Co.

The formula that works for Santa Fe Cookie Co., a hole-in-the-wall off the 16th Street Mall, probably isn't one that would work for any other bakery in the middle of downtown Denver: Customers enter at one end of a shop, drop a dollar into a giant plastic jug, retrieve a small paper bag filled with two fresh-from-the-oven cookies and exit out the other end. There's no greeting, no register, no hemming-and-hawing or custom orders holding up the line. Patrons can choose from bags filled with a single flavor or ones with a mixed selection. Depending on the day, you might also see cupcakes, brownies or muffins, all available for a song. It's one of the best deals in town — and the goods are so tasty, you'll find respectable-looking businesspeople sneaking into an alley to make a purchase.