Las Vegas gets its own board. Hallelujah!

You might as well just start with a permanent post titled: "Going to Las Vegas, where should I eat?"

Yes. But you can probably get a table at Zamparelli's before August.

Tosh's Hacienda (not sure if the original location is still around) was located in a large old Victorian house NE of downtown Denver. I don't remember a gravel parking lot - it was in the city. Otherwise, Boulder-Denver is a lot of real estate to try and cover!

Take a cab to The Pasta House. Off the strip. No BS celebrity chef. Reasonable prices. Good wine. But, you could eat at Valentino's and pay 5 times as much for a plate of mediocre food served by a pretentious wait staff.

I'll go for the beer question. Yes! As long as you're going to be downtown, the best place to sample Great Divide brews is at the brewery tap room.

Sorry. I should have said outrageously good and spelled outrageous correctly. The sandwiches and other stuff that I've tried have been nothing special. But those cookies..................

The Market has outrageious chocolate chip cookies.

Best according to you. I think Rioja is terrific. Opinion is subjective unless you have finally developed the definitive restaurant rating phrasmer. And, $15 for a sandwich is obscene, but that's just my "opinion" because you can get fantastic sandwiches at Dish Gourmet in Boulder for half that price.

Work has never stopped me from the aforementioned liquid lunch at Pint's. I find myself to be much more productive afterwards. Must be a generational thing. :)

Jeez. If it were my birthday I'd opt for Pint's Pub, a tasting lunch of about 6 single malt Scotch Whiskys (out of their selection of about 250) and have one of their wimpy's. But then again, I'm weird like that.

And, you can't find a selection of whiskys like this in L.A. or almost anywhere else for that matter, including the Chinnery Bar in the Mandarin in Hong Kong.

Hey, I understand your question! The Fort is great but not that much "fun." Coming from San Francisco, I wouldn't be recommending Italian in Denver. The rec for Vesta is spot on and was going to be my suggestion, too. The food is great and it's a unique experience. Nothing like it in San Fran. The atmosphere is eclectic. This is where you should go. You and the new 21yo won't regret it!

I love tequila and here are my "current" favorites.

Dos Lunas reposado. Slightly creamy texture. Very smooth.
Cabo Waba reposdo. Who cares about Sammy Hagar. I think he sold the brand anyway.
Centenario reposado. Infused with hibiscus and aged in port barrels.
Asombroso reposado. Also aged in port barrels. One of my all time favorites.

As you can tell, I'm on a reposado kick. I actually think that anejos can be great but most, in my opinion, are overpriced and overrated.

Whatever you do, stay away from 30-30! This is drano with color.

If it is slow cooked, they would have smoker either on-premise or at the very least, a remote location from which to constantly bring in food. If the meat is boiled then it should tend to be sticking to rather than falling off the bones!

Cantina Laredo is a chain, overpriced and completely underwhelming. It's a contrived environment and there is nothing of a redeeming feature, in my opinion. Rincon is much more on line price wise with smaller, unpretentious Mexican joints.

Rincon is basically Tex-Mex with an interesting regional twist, although I don't know from which region! It may be close to CU but there were very few students and the place was actually kind of quiet. There was one large extended Mexican family (I recognized the accent) and when one of the kids started screaming, he was quickly ushered outside to be calmed down.

As I said earlier, the tequila list is excellent and reasonable. Try Rincon, I think you'll enjoy it.

A tequila tasting interlude at Maria's should also be on the agenda. I like the food, especially the tamales, but it's nothing specatcular. The tequila list, however, is superb.

Tomasita's - Mediocre at best. I don't get it but a lot of tourists do.
Los Potrillos - Excellent. Close to true regional Mexican instead of New Mexican
The Shed - Consistently good if not great. New Mexican with a twist.
Tune-Up Cafe - Never been there.
Tecolote Cafe - One of my favorites! Excellent.

Other suggestions: Horseman's Haven, The Plaza Restaurant, Tia Sophia, Mariscos Costa Azul

Since different people eat at different paces, you might want to call the restaurant and ask them. Once you find out, you could plan your arrival at the restaurant to allow enough time. If you are crunched, there are always doggie bags.

Since you said you were going "down" to Ft. Collins, I assume that you might be coming from Wyoming. Ever been to Oliver's in Sheridan? Fantastic!

Austin's
Jay's Bistro (a favorite)
Rasta Pasta (an experience)
Suehiro Sushi ( I know you didn't want Asian but I couldn't help myself.)

How can I give you new suggestions when I don't remember the old suggestions? Come to think of it, I can't remember what I had for dinner yesterday.

My most recent trip to Taos was in October. Here are some high points.

Antonio's. Reincarnated in the site of the old .......Supper Club just west of the plaza. Antonio also owns the small Rellenos Cafe. I really like this place.
Graham's Grille. Always great.
Sabroso. Just before you get into Arroyo Seco, where Momentitos used to be located. The bar menu is fine, never made it into the dining room. Deschutes Black Butte Porter on tap and some excellent Islay Whiskys on the shelf.
Orlando's. Of course.
The Stakeout. Retro, excellent food, excellent wine and great homemade (by the owner) Limoncello.

In "N" Out

Can't say where is the best but I can give you my favorite. The Plaza Restaurant. And I prefer it with a flour tortilla, not their superb sopapillas which I hold off on until dessert.

This place seems to be one of those overlooked gems in Boulder. I know that we tend to forget it's there. We wanted to try Agave, a new Mexican place that has opened in the old Gondolier space on north 28th Street but the wait was 45-50 minutes at 7:15 on Saturday night. So, we headed over to Rincon del Sol for about the third time and were not disappointed.

First, it's warm! A nice surprise considering that many eateries seem that ratcheting back the thermostat will not only save them money but earn them honorary Al Gore brownie points. Rincon has a fantastic tequila list. We began with with Cabo Wabo and Casa Noble reposdos which are dynamite and followed with "original" Margaritas which were OK but not spectacular.

Chips, a fantasic salsa and bean dip showed up complimentary at the table along with water. We began wth perfect chicken flautas as an appetizer. Main courses were the enchilada plate and carnitas del puercao. Enchiladas were good but the carnitas were fantastic. We passed on dessert.

All in all, I highly recommend Rincon del Sol. It beats by miles the overpriced, overhyped Cantina Laredo in 29th Street and is much better than Juanitas or the other myriad of Mexican places in Boulder.

Ha-ha-ha. I bet you think that's pretty clever! Was the book was written by someone from L.A.? Have you ever visited Omaha? Or Lincoln? Some pretty darn good restaurants there. Also, some down home gems in Hastings and Norfolk. No, I don't live in Nebraska.

I would try Racine's. I know that they can accommodate large groups because I've been in a few for dinner there. And they do take reservations. Breakfast is pretty good, too.

We did ToP last night and it was wonderful and not the first time we've been there. I liked the fact that they had more choices for each course than many other restaurants participating. I had the Oso Buco and the meat was extremely tender and falling off the bone.

"as I used to hate "Best XYZ" threads on the Boston board ..."

I hate those "best" threads, too. At least in the body of your post you called it "favorite." That's the only reason that I'm going to answer (snit, snit) because you should have just titled the thread "Favorite Pizza."

My favorite is Taos Pizza Outback. I espeically like how they use sesame seeds on the perimeter of the crust. I've plagiarized that little touch and use it when I make my own pizza which actually is the BEST in New Mexico.

Try the Italian Bakery in a little strip center at the corner of 32nd & Wadsworth.

If Alaskan distributes in NY, then try to nab the Alaskan Summer Ale. It's very close to the classic German Kolsch. In fact, I love Alaskan Brewing beers. Their smoked porter is fabulous.

I'd push on to Laramie.