Cilantro

Cilantro was ahead of its time. Much of what defines the city's contemporary restaurant scene was inspired by this homey restaurant located on the 17th Avenue Southwest strip. Serving Californian Southwest cuisine, its cozy dining rooms and flourishing summer patio have made it a vibrant dining destination since the '80s.

On Cilantro's busy patio, patrons enjoy dishes prepared with ingredients raised on the Canadian Rocky Mountain Resorts (CRMR) game ranch. Lauren Webb, CRMR director of marketing, notes that the restaurant's pioneering use of local ingredients has come to define dining culture. “When you consider the variety of restaurants in the area now and what was here when it opened in 1988, Cilantro was one of the first restaurants to break the steakhouse mold,” she says.

Since its inception, Cilantro has built a devoted regular clientele. Though its staff members pride themselves on creating new and inventive recipes, patrons demand that four entrees forever remain on the menu: black pepper linguine, New Zealand rack of lamb, mussels with black bean cream sauce as well as pear-and-Gorgonzola pizza.

“There was a period of time where we tried to change a couple of menu items, and the clientele said, ‘No, we want that back!’” Lauren says with a laugh.