Meal Deals

It’s that time of year again—the time when we make our resolutions to be more frugal, to eat better, and to get into shape. Unfortunately, I can’t help you with that last one (heck, I can’t even help myself on that front). But if you want to find some of the best under-the-radar meals in and around Denver—and save yourself a bit of cash in the process—I suggest you dog-ear this month’s cover story, “Eat Cheap,” and use it as your indispensable guide to some of the city’s top dining values. It’s been a little more than seven years since we last chronicled the Mile High City’s bargain bites in a feature-length piece, and it’s an understatement to say the dining scene here has transformed since then. One thing that hasn’t changed, though, is our desire to find good food at good prices. “Many of my favorite—and some of the more interesting—dining experiences aren’t at Denver’s most high-end restaurants,” says assistant food editor Callie Sumlin, who co-wrote the feature with 5280’s former food editor Amanda M. Faison. “Instead, they’re often at little gems like the ones we’ve highlighted in this issue. These are the meals we want to return to again and again, and we can actually afford to because of the reasonable prices.” Indeed, as any true food lover knows, the most exciting places to eat are often the no-frills spots you’ve never heard of. Fortunately, Faison and Sumlin did the delicious legwork to track down these fantastically tasty yet modestly priced dining options. Now all you have to do is promise yourself to get out and explore—a resolution we highly recommend.