Food & Drink

For a decade, Rosenberg’s has been the local gold standard for people craving East Coast-style bagels, but in 2023, some competition emerged when D.C.-born Call Your Mother arrived in the Mile High. Next came Rich Spirit, a Wheat Ridge shop from the owner of Bakery Four where the naturally leavened bagels offer a different and delicious take on this breakfast favorite. Soon, New Jersey native Miles Odell will open Odell’s Bagels, adding yet another option to the mix. We’re here for all of it: Bring on the bagel revolution!

The Okuno family had run the 20th Street Cafe since 1946 before the pandemic pushed up the owners’ retirement plans. The beloved downtown eatery sat empty until last April, when the family that had formerly run Tarahumara in a Colfax strip mall brought the cafe back, with a new focus on Mexican fare. There are no fancy tricks used in the eatery’s breakfast burrito — it’s a straightforward take with tender, thick slices of potatoes, scrambled eggs and meat of your choice. Handhelds are available, but we prefer this baby smothered in a generous amount of cheese and 20th Street’s bright-orange-hued green chile, which has just a bit of heat and a whole lot of flavor.

This bar, which officially poured its first drinks in 1951, has been around since before Lakewood even became a city (that happened in 1969) and pre-dates Casa Bonita by decades. It’s well worn, just like the eatertainment spot was before its reboot, and is the kind of place where regulars randomly break out into sing-alongs and the bartenders really do know everyone’s name. Plus, it also has some famed foods of its own, including solid green chile and a few unexpected bar snacks like deep-fried Tutu Rolls filled with ground pork, bean thread noodles, carrots, Chinese mushrooms and onions.