Thrillist (www.thrillist.com), a national website that has an opinion on all things food and drink-related in the U.S., has bestowed “bests” to three Denver eateries.

Included in The 21 Best Southern Restaurants Outside of the South is Tom’s Home Cookin’, 800 E. 26th Ave., a Denver favorite for Southern fare.

Thrillist recommends the fried catfish paired with green beans and fried okra.

“The name here says it all — this is home cooking, and even if you’ve never met Tom, you’ll be begging to be adopted so you can inhale this instead of whatever you’re hacking at your house. If you can sneak out of the office and make it for the cash-only lunch, you’ll get your choice of one entree (chicken and dumplings, meatloaf) and two sides (collards, mac & cheese). Peach cobbler is not considered a dessert here; somehow it’s a side, which is awesome.”

Sweet Action Ice Cream, 52 Broadway, was included in Thrillist’s 21 Best Ice Cream Shops in America. Here’s the scoop:

“What you’re ordering: Pocky and Red Bean if you’re feeling interesting, Milk Chocolate if you’re feeling boring. Our man in Denver tried every single one of the flavors at Sweet Action, and, although he didn’t care much for vegan Maple Walnut or Vanilla Rose, he can vouch for nearly every other flavor as being worth at least several samples. But as sexy as Salted Malt Butterscotch and Cinnamon Roll sound, the champion of the taste was a simple milk chocolate described as ‘a scoop of goodness…'”

If you prefer drinking your calories instead of eating them, check out Williams & Graham, 3160 Tejon St., the Denver speakeasy that made Thrillist’s  The 33 Best Cocktail Bars in America.

“A cocktail-themed bookstore is the front for this barely-lit speakeasy co-owned by a guy named the 2014 Bartender of the Year by the Nightclub and Bar Awards. Before you order from their finely curated cocktail menu of classic ‘tails (helpfully organized by spirit) and a wealth of specialty cocktails, you first will have to be led through a bookcase that doubles as a secret entrance. Once inside, don’t forget to pair your drink (go for the Sexual Chocolate with rye, vermouth, Cynar, maraschino liqueur, and chocolate mole bitters) with a steak burger that uses beef from a top-notch butcher shop down the street.”

Thrillist Nation, the online food judge that drives me crazy because of its overwrought writing has come up with a list of the 16 best burgers of 2013. Two Denver burger makers made it on the coveted top 16 list. They are:

“Best Cheese Overload, If That Existed, But It Doesn’t: The Thrilled Cheese
Burger Radio, Denver
“Created exclusively for you beautiful Thrillist readers, this thing is built between two grilled cheese sandwiches and includes two patties, two slices of American cheese, three bacon strips, and a big hunk of mac & cheese. This is not kosher, but it is very delicious.”

Note: Burger Radio is a food truck that promises “high-frequency grub” with announcements of where the truck is through Facebook, Twitter and its website (www.burgerradio.com).

“Most Reliable Burger: The Three Corners Larkburger
Larkburger, Denver
“Shown at this year’s Denver Burger Battle, a patty sits among bacon, crispy jalapeños, masa-crusted tomato, and Tillamook cheddar. Bacon and jalapeños seem to be the only things we can count on these days. Thanks, guys.”

Larkburger has more than a dozen Colorado locations, including downtown Denver, Washington Park, Arvada, Boulder, Greenwood Village, Littleton and Broomfield. A new location is coming to Centennial soon. For more information, visit www.larkburger.com.

Check out the entire list at: http://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/best-burgers-of-2013-the-year-s-best-burgers-thrillist-nation?utm_content=feature&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Thrillist%20Weekender&utm_campaign=12.22.13%20WKNDR:%20These%20are%20the%2016%20best%20burgers%20of%202013

I won’t mince words. My absolute favorite new restaurant this year is Old Major at 3316 Tejon St. I even chose to celebrate my recent milestone birthday for dinner there with On The Town Junior and Mr. On The Town.

I had been to Old Major, a proud nose-to-tail eatery where they butcher 2.5 pigs a week (not sure what happens with the other half of the last pig), a handful of times, but I took a risk (and it was my birthday, after all) and booked a table for three to include the hub and my foodie son who works for much-lauded restaurateur Danny Meyer at Maialino in the Gramercy Park Hotel at 2 Lexington Ave. in NYC.

My son surprised me with his arrival in Denver to celebrate my special day. Both of my “he-men” went nuts for the place and over the food. We ordered an arsenal of appetizers and an entrée each, which included the nose-to-tail dish, roasted duck breast and orcchiette pasta with roasted pork.

My only disappointment was the pretzel bread service which previously included an unlimited basket with mustard butter, but has for some reason morphed to an individual roll service with no offer of additional rolls. I hope they return to the original policy, but meanwhile, Old Major recently received a national nod via www.thrillistnation.com as being one of the 33 Best New Restaurants in America.

Here’s what Thrillist had to say about culling the top 33 list: “Over the past year, our editors have gloriously eaten their way across America, meticulously consuming all the best burgers, and pizzas, and BBQ they could. Then we turned our sights to figuring out which of the tens of thousands of new restaurants that have opened across the country in the past year deserve to be called the best. And now that the work is done – and the weight is gained – here they are (with a neat checklist), in all their gastronomical glory.”

And here’s what Thrillist said about Old Major: “Denver’s LoHi neighborhood is bursting at the seams with new, popular bars and restaurants, but Old Major’s ‘elevated farmhouse cuisine’ stands out among the pack with exceptional cocktails and decadent, inventive cuisine (think Colorado rib eye with bleu cheese, foie gras butter, and pork fat fries). If you’re smart and/or just understand weekly calendars, swing by on a Wednesday, where you can watch the chef/owner butcher two pigs in-house, you saucy, food-based voyeur! Then you’ll eat the fruits of his labor on the Nose to Tail Plate, which features cuts like braised belly, confit rib, schnitzel, ham, and ears, all accompanied by mustard spaetzle, sauerkraut, and a demi-glace.”

Check out the other 32 best new restaurants at http://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/the-best-restaurant-openings-of-2013-america-s-best-new-restaurants-thrillist-nation.

For Old Major reservations, go to www.oldmajordenver.com or call 720-420-0622.

(OldMajordenver.com photos)

Thrillist Denver writer/photographer/videographer/pontificator Lee Breslouer has made it his journalistic duty to sniff out our state’s best breweries, beers and places to drink them, but now he’s sharing his supreme suds list with all of the Thrillist Nation.

Breslouer did exhaustive and thirst-quenching research to compile The Definitive Colorado Beer Guide, released in Monday’s Thrillist Nation blog.

“Colorado’s most famous beer might be Coors, but it’s impossible to ignore the more than 2,000 other breweries in the state that don’t own and operate ice-cold Love Trains,” Breslouer writes. “That’s why we’re presenting a comprehensive guide to the beer scene in ‘Rado (who calls it that?), including which beers you need to drink even if you don’t live anywhere near Denver, the local breweries that’re primed to become the next big thing, and the taprooms you absolutely have to visit if you’re anywhere close by.

Read the whole guide at http://www.thrillist.com/drink/nation/colorado-craft-beer?utm_content=feature&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Nation&utm_campaign=11.19.13%20NATION:%20An%20Insider’s%20Guide%20to…%20Colorado’s%20Beer%20Scene.