Best Of 2012: Cajun/Southern
Chef James W. Davis Jr. has lived in Colorado since 1993, but his voice still drips with the slow-molasses accent of his Southern youth. And anyone who has ever dined at Springs Orleans will lift their forks in praise that he's here, cooking up dishes with that Southern sensibility. The restaurant won this same category last year, when it was sort of an outrider for the long-awaited Mining Exchange: A Wyndham Grand Hotel. Since then, the hotel has opened and added to the workload for Davis and his staff. But their focus is still on providing authentic, delicious étouffée, gumbo and other dishes that aren't soon forgotten. "I think that's what life's about, creating memories for people. And food has a lot to do with that," Davis says. — Rhonda Van Pelt
Bites 2013: Beignets and Café Au Lait
It's as close as you're going to get to Café Du Monde locally, especially if it's summertime and you're sitting in the alleyway between the Mining Exchange and Springs Orleans. You accept that you're going to walk away with powdered sugar either on your face or clothes, but it's worth it for that sweet fried dough. In between bites you sip your creamy coffee — One free refill? Be still my heart! — and you ponder other perfect marriages in the food and drink world, losing your train of thought sometime around the next bite. ($2.49 each)
Click here for Springs Orleans' Oyster Rockefeller Soup
Price: $$
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