Top 25 Dishes

Tomato and Avocado Grilled Cheese – Sun Rose Cafe, Longmont

Tangy, salty, slightly bitter notes with buttery bread is only the beginning. What makes the Tomato and Avocado Grilled cheese at Sun Rose Cafe a go-to for anyone in the know is the crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside 10-grain bread, warm, gooey provolone and gouda cheese and soft, creamy avocado. Add the bitter notes from sherry vinegar and you’ll be as inspired as the art on the wall. It’s simple and delicious and as rustic as Sun Rose.

Carne Asada Burrito – El Mercado, Lafayette

Food trucks are staples for late night bites and work lunches. Nothing pleases more than a fat carne asada burrito with green chile (for those who brave spiciness). Through the order window, diced meat sizzles on the grill in a mountainous pile as though a cow were shoved through a mesh fence. We recommend getting a box for it. Unless you have a Tide to Go stick on hand, you’ll want utensils to scarf this down. Just be prepared to cool your mouth with iced horchata (cinnamon rice milk) to ease the delicious capsaicin burn.

The Entire Thing Crepe – Foolish Craig’s, Boulder

If you become known as a crepe haven, making multi-layered cakes out of them, you have to find new ways to outdo yourself. Sure, there’s the Whole Thing Crepe comprised of cinnamon drizzled walnuts, ribbons of Nutella chocolate, and banana. But it’s not enough. Dreamed up by sous chef Ross Cook-Golesh, the Entire Thing Crepe is on Foolish Craig’s secret menu, encompassing its predecessor’s ingredients with an addition any foodie will appreciate: bacon and whiskey. Looks-wise, it’s beastly as though it were a pancake-y clam from Dessert Island spewing walnuts, and it makes for an incredible complementary sweet, savory blend.

Z-#9 – Sushi Zanmai, Boulder

To understand the complexity of this signature dish, look no further than one of its seasons: shichimi. A combination of seven ingredients (hemp seed, roasted orange peel, red chili pepper), the flavors unravel with each bite of this salmon-avocado sushi roll. The “#9” comes from the chef’s obsession of Beethoven’s 9th symphony and the Beatles’ “Revolution #9.” In the roll’s center are scallions, Japanese mayo, sesame, and shrimp tempura, which offset its soft consistency with a subtle crunch. We advise gripping the chopsticks and sushi like a calligraphy brush to mop residual teriyaki sauce off the plate.

Italian Sausage – Briggs Street Cafe, Erie

In this office, we’re out the door and onto lunch at the mere mention of Briggs Street Cafe, papers flying in our wake. You don’t have to be hungry to crave their Italian sausage sandwich with crunchy, buttery bread, green peppers, onions and cheese. You merely have to bite into their salty, sweet, spicy homemade sausage and crave the thing until the last crumb. We suggest dipping it in the marinara sauce to add a touch of tang. But regardless, the ingredients in this dish are as complementary as the mom and pop who own the place. Try it with home fries or the homemade pasta and sauce. You heard it here first: This basement cafe is a gem.