Conch fritters
Prized by cooks from Key West to Kingston, the conch—a type of sea snail—wiggles its way into Caribbean stews, ceviches, curries and, perhaps most famously, fritters. This breath of fresh sea breeze in a Westminster strip mall—decorated like a coastal seafood shack complete with fish market—makes theirs with a dash of dried red chile, cooled by a sweet dipping sauce.

Hush puppies
According to legend, the crispy cornmeal balls of the Deep South were conceived—to put it bluntly—as dog food. Along the way, humans began to admit they liked them just as much as their hounds did, though the name stuck. The hot, crunchy-tender, sweet-salty little things are especially hard to beat alongside fried catfish at this barbecue institution downtown.

Falafel
Staple Middle Eastern street snack turned global sensation: that’s falafel in a nutshell. Or rather in a legume shell. At their best, these chickpea (or, less commonly, fava-bean) croquettes are earthy, nutty, herbaceous, and surprisingly rib-sticking—and they’re at their best indeed at this friendly DTC-area quick stop, which also distinguishes itself with fresh-baked pita and housemade stuffed grape leaves.

Arancini
Though they vaguely resemble the fruit for which they’re named, Sicily’s beloved “little oranges” are filled not with pith, juice, and seeds but with creamy rice, saucy ground beef, mozzarella, onions, and/or peas to yield what’s essentially a rich, hearty risotto you happen to eat with your hands. Locale’s sit-down Boulder flagship provides a textbook example; for modern twists on the theme, head to Osteria Marco.

Beignets
The word beignet, which translates literally as “fritter,” obviously comes to us from the French. But the thing itself—a pillow of fried dough served hot under a blanket of powdered sugar—has reached its apotheosis in an American city, the former French colony of New Orleans. The kitchens at both the Jefferson Park and Capitol Hill branches of Sassafras have these airy-textured yet densely flavored puffs—most often compared to doughnuts but more like sopaipillas—down pat, and no meal here would be complete without a plate of them. On the contrary, a plate of them is pretty much a meal in itself.

Tempura
Over centuries, the Japanese have turned the technique of batter-frying vegetables and seafood into an art form: their deft touch produces a delicate breading that showcases rather than smothers the main ingredient. At this serene sushi bar off Boulder’s Pearl Street Mall, everything from mushrooms to shrimp shines through its greaseless, lacy exterior to border on health food, at least compared to its graceless counterparts at your average bar-and-grill.

Tod mun
Flavored with curry paste, lime leaf, and green onions, fried fish cakes constitute a Thai classic, and this rather underrated strip-mall cafe in southeast Denver does a bang-up job of them, serving them piping-hot and fresh with a sweet-spicy, peanut-flecked sauce.

Vada
Not only are southern India’s lentil-and-rice doughnuts cute as heck, they’re utterly delicious as made at this bare-bones but beguiling Boulder lunch counter, where they come with either yet more lentils in the form of a dipping stew called sambar or with sides of chutney (the mint is fabulous).