With a second location in Greenwood Village, this self-styled American Indian restaurant run by members of the Osage Nation has brought key Indigenous traditions to the Denver table, including fry bread. Get it topped with shredded bison, hominy, and elderberry vinaigrette for the complete experience.

The vibe is chaotic. The service is desultory at best. And the brand of Mexican food it serves is — well, not to everyone’s taste, especially if they’re not familiar with the Colorado style. But love it or hate it, there’s one thing Chubby’s always gets right, and that’s this burrito stuffed with a burger patty and refried beans, topped with cheese, and smothered in mouth-lacerating green chile.

On the one hand, Safta’s flawless hummus and pita bread represent the transformation of RiNo from an emerging district to a nationally known destination in 2018, when it drew an influx of outside talent (Uchi, Death & Co, and Shake Shack also opened in the neighborhood that year). On the other hand, they inspired a bit of an Israeli food trend around town — although no one but no one can make hummus quite like chef/owner Alon Shaya can, whether topped with curried cauliflower, roasted mushrooms, or lamb ragù.

Word of this salad has spread far and wide since its invention at Boulder’s OAK at Fourteenth in 2010. First the togarashi-seasoned mixture of baby kale, shaved apple, candied almonds, and parmesan in lemon vinaigrette popped up at OAK’s now-closed RiNo follow-up, Acorn; then it made the menu at their fast-casual sibling, BriDer, gaining ever more followers along the way. Rarely has such a simple dish made such a splash.

That said, here’s another salad that positively blew up when it made its debut in 2014, and it holds its own to this day on a menu that’s otherwise famed for meat cookery (including the coriander-roasted lamb that also warrants a shout-out). Combining broccoli tempura, avocado, asparagus, cucumbers, and spinach with parmesan and preserved-lemon vinaigrette, it’s a testament to chef Dana Rodriguez’s playfulness — one that only grows more popular with every order.

How has this breakfast joint managed to expand from the original Ballpark location to a sprawling six-state franchise over the course of 15 years, with eight other outlets in metro Denver alone — all of them thronged morning in and morning out? One word: pancakes. Actually, make it four: Pineapple upside-down pancakes. (For that matter, make it the signature flight of pancakes, which also includes the blueberry-danish and pumpkin–pecan pie flavors.)

An anchor to keep the Five Points community grounded even as change happens all around it, this old soul food favorite makes the kind of fried chicken that can cure just about any ailment — from the sniffles to homesickness. No wonder the place is so cherished by its neighbors.

To produce a bagel Denver could be proud of, Joshua Pollack famously came up with a system to replicate the mineral content of New York City’s water. Now Rosenberg’s is a three-branch franchise serving up everything from basic breakfast sandwiches to specialty creations like the Heebster with whitefish salad, scallion cream cheese, and wasabi roe — but they all start with those chewy rings of goodness.

Though xiao long bao come filled with everything from matzo balls to green chile these days, no one had seen anything like Lon Symensma's dumplings — delicate yet fit to burst with French onion soup and gruyère — when this eternal LoDo hot spot opened in 2010. And to this day, no one in these parts has seen anything like his Kaya toast, a Singaporean-inspired dish of coconut jam–slathered brioche with savory egg custard for dipping.

One of two dishes on this map that proved game-changers back when pork belly remained far beyond the U.S. mainstream (see also Fruition below), chef Jennifer Jasinski’s “fresh bacon” appetizer is scented with cardamom and set atop curried green garbanzo purée to exemplify the elegance for which Rioja is so well-known. (Granted, her artichoke tortelloni has drawn equal raves over its nearly 20 years in business.)

On the menu of Keegan Gerhard and Lisa Bailey’s chic bakery and café since day one, this instant classic has outlasted any number of elimination-diet trends over the past dozen or so years. After all, who can resist the rush of nostalgia and sugar delivered by a slice of three-layer chocolate cake, paired with a mini-milkshake or malt in a choice of three familiar flavors: vanilla, chocolate, and raspberry?

Like Snooze (above), the Denver Biscuit Company started as one little daytime operation on East Colfax before expanding across the city on the strength of its namesake item. Now also in Baker, Berkeley, and Aurora, it’s never not packed to the rafters with people clamoring for biscuit sandwiches — above all the Franklin, featuring fried chicken, bacon, cheddar, and sausage or mushroom gravy plus an optional fried egg. Talk about a recipe for success — one that many have tried but few have managed to replicate.

Owned and operated by the Bastien family for more than 80 years, this East Colfax steakhouse is celebrated for two things: Its fabulously retro architecture/interior design and its thick-cut, sugar-rubbed steaks. Served rare or medium-rare, they come with all the old-school trimmings: bread, salad or soup, seasonal veggies, and a choice of potato (but the twice-baked is the only way to go).

Mizuna celebrated its 20th anniversary this year, making chef/owner Frank Bonanno one of the sturdiest branches on the family tree of Denver chefs — and this mac and cheese is one of his most influential creations. Featuring mascarpone and chunks of butter-poached lobster meat, it’s still one of the most decadent dishes in town.

Back in 2015, Eater documented the making of a pasta that had, in turn, made chef Alex Seidel a local household name when Fruition opened several years prior: New carbonara, combining fresh cavatelli with pork belly, egg yolk, pecorino, and peas. It hasn’t changed a bit since, counting among a number of dishes on this map that symbolize the turning point Denver took from so-called cowtown to culinary destination not so long ago.

To truly grasp the enduring reputation of this Northern Italian fixture in Country Club, a first-time guest needs to do three things: 1) order a bottle of the eponymous wine; 2) add shaved black truffles to at least one dish; and 3) get the torta di formaggio for dessert. A cheesecake featuring Piedmontese Castelmagno rather than cream cheese, it’s drizzled with lavender honey and sprinkled with toasted hazelnuts and edible flowers — and it’s the definitive finale to a meal at one of Denver’s longest-lived special-occasion destinations.

An emblem of Denver’s vibrant Vietnamese community, the takeout-only flagship of this beloved bánh mì shop in the Little Saigon Business District gave many locals their first taste of the classic sandwich even before it was widely popular. The second branch, meanwhile, offers seating, a coffee bar, and other amenities just a few blocks away.

OK, maybe it’s more accurate to call this one an icon in the making. But there’s no question that tacos de barbacoa (or its variant, birria) con consomé are now a raging national trend — and there’s also no question that this Sunday-only takeout stand does it the way it was meant to be done, cooking the sheep meat in a pit overnight and selling it by the pound with all the fixings, plus horchata for washing it down, from 9 a.m. until it’s sold out. (Follow on Instagram for a look behind the scenes and purchasing details.)

Never mind some roadside diner — Denverites know that the very best place in town for a slice of banana cream pie just so happens to be a decades-old sushi bar on Old South Pearl. Enough said.