Best Coffee House
People’s Court: Starbucks
Barrister’s Best: Rooster & Moon
955 Bannock St. Ste 100, Denver
Rooster & Moon’s close proximity to both state courthouses and the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar Association makes it a popular spot for lawyers, judges, law firm marketers and even legal reporters. And what’s not to love about a coffee house that also has beer? Fun fact: Law Week reporter Matt Masich won enough gift cards playing Rooster & Moon’s Thursday trivia nights to pay for a subscription to this newspaper. Another fun fact: The Law Week newsroom joined Masich as a team, “The Death of Journalism.”
People’s Court: Starbucks

Best Caterer
Barrister’s Best: Café Options
1650 Curtis Street, Denver
Café Options’ catered sandwich platters are not only a taste sensation, they also benefit a great cause. All proceeds from both its catering service and café in the US Bank Building go to Work Options for Women, a nonprofit that helps women end the cycle of poverty by enrolling them in 16-week culinary classes and teaching them other job skills that allow them to be self-sufficient.
People’s court: Epicurean

Best Court Reporter/Videographer
Barrister’s Best: Hunter + Geist
These court reporters have been around for over 30 years. Under the leadership of Shelly Hunter, the team of 13 certified reporters has a collective experience in excess of 250 years (we’re not kidding, they’ve been doing this a long time). They can even help you schedule a session out-of-state. One call. They can do it all.
People’s Court: Agren Blando

Best Delivered Lunch
Barrister’s Best: Udi’s
5 Metro Locations
Udi’s has a broad menu for all types of foodies out there. Whether you’re a gastronomer or someone looking for vegetarian, gluten-free or other allergy proof products, Udi’s has everything from charred kale and quinoa salads to good old ham & cheese box lunches. You won’t go wrong with any of their desserts, including their variety tray with six different treats.
People’s Court: Jimmy John’s

Best Golf Course To Wow A Client
Barrister’s Best: Colorado National Golf Club, Erie
Twenty miles north of Denver, the former Vista Ridge golf course claims it is the “premier golf facility on the Front Range.” You and your client will be impressed with the views of Long’s Peak and Mount Meeker, and the course’s uniformly high quality over 232 acres manifests itself when you learn that only two of the holes run alongside each other.
People’s Court: Arrowhead

Best Legal Marketing Firm
Barrister’s Best: Alyn Weiss
Bob Weiss, probably Colorado’s best-known legal marketer and a past recipient of the Barrister’s Best honor, is again our honoree. And this time around, you can digest more of his marketing mantra by reading his book, “Legal Marketing In Brief,” now in print and also available at a moment’s notice on Kindle and iPad for Kindle. Says the publisher: “These proven and practical business development tips have helped lawyers and law firms across the country dramatically increase in size and profitability, enter new markets, help lawyers to reposition themselves into new areas of practice and rejuvenate their careers and passion for the law.”
People’s Court: Market Advisory Partners, Martha Cusick Eddy

Best Place For A Family Dinner
Barrister’s Best: Interstate Bar & Grill
901 W. 10th Ave, 1A Denver
We’re suckers for the sweet potato hot tamale with candied bacon and roasted tomato. But there’s always the macaroni and cheese, the city’s best. Interstate fancies itself a roadhouse, but don’t kid yourself: It’s urban enough to take lunch and dinner reservations on Open Table, and the vegetarian menu is of this era, not the 1950s. There’s always a scene on First Fridays, but we’re happiest at Sunday brunch, which starts at 10 a.m.
People’s Court: Maggiano’s

Best Power Meal
Barrister’s Best: Linger
Linger, 2030 W. 30th Ave., Denver
The category is best power meal, not best client meal, so the powerful choice is also the trendiest: Linger, the former mortuary in Lower Highlands that packs them in every night. Make no mistake: This restaurant is for the young, powerful and worldly, with a menu that draws from Asia, Eurasia, South Asia, Africa and the Middle East, Europe, Indonesia and the Americas. What, no Antaractica?
People’s Court: The Capital Grille

Best Place To Get Your Laugh On
Barrister’s Best: Lannie Garrett’s Clocktower
Unlike some other comedy providers, Lannie’s serves her raunchy fare — no one under 18, please — with heaping doses of vaudeville and burlesque and frequently hosted by a freakish fellow with the nom de plume Naughty Pierre. This show is “sexy, sassy and fun,” say the producers, who emphasize the point by recruiting performers such as aerialist “Midnite Martini,” illusionist “Professor Phelyx” and burlesque sweetheart “Honey Touche.” Tickets are $20. You’ve been warned.
People’s Court: Comedy Works

Best Quick Courier
Barrister’s Best and People’s Court: Denver Boulder Courier
Get your delivery from Point A to Point B with a homegrown business that knows your cities better than you do. The Denver Boulder Courier has been around since before some of the Barrister’s coworkers were born, and they take the extra effort to make sure its turf stays green by advocating bike use and cutting down on emissions. A big plus: They also have on-staff notaries and a fleet of 45 process servers.

Best Recruiter/Headhunter
Barrister’s Best and People’s Court: Gibson Arnold & Associates
The Barrister has nothing but wonderful things to say about the folks at Gibson Arnold & Associates. Its president and CEO Melinda Delmonico is one of Law Week’s go-to experts on hiring and legal business trends and she’s a regular speaker at CLEs and other events. The company, which this year celebrates its 30th anniversary, was started in Houston. Today it’s growth with two other offices in Denver and Los Angeles.

Best Resort for Partner/Firm Retreat
Barrister’s Best: Broadmoor
There are few places as perfectly situated against the mountains as the Colorado Springs Broadmoor Resort and Hotel. Nestled against the Rockies near Pikes Peak, the resort offers everything from an amazing golf course to a high-end spa. After a day of partnership meetings, there’s nothing you’ll want for at this beautiful locale.
People’s Court: Beaver Creek

Best Restaurant For Running Into Your Judge
Barrister’s Best and People’s Court: Cherokee Bar & Grill
1201 Cherokee St, Denver
It’s easy to see why the Cherokee Bar & Grill, a few blocks south of Denver’s civil and criminal courthouses, is a regular favorite on the bench. Its gigantic lunch selection and wine list make for a nice getaway with minutes to spare during recess. The Barrister plans on trying the stuffed avocado salad or one of its Mexican specialties, the Cherokee La Flauta.

Best Restaurant To Take A New Client
Barrister’s Best: Rioja
1431 Larimer St, Denver
Jennifer Jasinski, Rioja’s owner and chef, was just starting out in the culinary arts in New York City when she had a chance encounter with celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck. He invited her to look him up if she ever came to California; she took him up on the offer and spent the next 10 years working for him at top restaurants around the world before opening the chic, Mediterranean-inspired Rioja in 2004.
People’s court: Panzano

Best Salon
Barrister’s Best: Bang Salon
2 Metro Locations
Bang is a mom-and-pop shop owned by Rodger and Lisa Garcia with two locations in Wash Park and Park Hill. It also has a kiddie version, Little B’s, which offers mini manicures, mini haircuts and mini shampoo massages while you get the royal treatment. Owner Rodger also has a “Day of Services,” an in-salon program for cancer survivors.
People’s Court: 3 Little Birds

Best Spot To Shop For Work Attire
Multiple Metro Area Locations
People and Barrister’s Best: Nordstrom
With the demise this year of Saks Fifth Avenue’s location in the Cherry Creek Mall, Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus are left to duke it out for high-end department store supremacy. There can be only one winner of the swank-duds contest, and the winner is Nordstrom for its bafflingly generous return policy — they essentially take back anything, in any condition, at any time.

Best Staffing Agency
Barrister’s Best: Paralegal Resource Center
For 25 years, the Paralegal Resource Center has helped law firms hire (you guessed it) paralegals, but that’s far from all the company does. PRC is the go-to source for all things under the legal sun, from administrative staff, litigation support and lawyers — temporary, permanent or temp-to-hire. Note: PRC, the staffing agency, is not to be confused with PRC, the People’s Republic of China, which is a country.
People’s court: Robert Half

Best Venue to See and be Seen
Barrister’s Best: The Palm
1672 Lawrence St, Denver
When one Law Week reporter met a friend for one lunch one day, there was no end to the names and faces at the Palm and not just those sketched on the wall. Any day of the week, you’ll be likely to see founding partners of some of Denver’s own firms as well as the rising stars of other firms. And that’s not to mention corporate counsel, business owners and some local politicians.
People Tie: Capital Grill, Palm