This steamed cheeseburger is bigger, juicier, and more flavorful than the same from Ted’s across town. Bacon adds a crunchy, textural layer to the experience.

Back when I courted an addiction to sugar wafers, Biscos, made by Nabisco, were the only ones I knew. I ate them by the row, stack, and box. But either they grew coarse or my palate evolved; and when the price per box topped $4, I knew I needed to go on a quest for the best sugar wafer on earth.

If there was one thing that we thought we could depend on in this world, it was a dearth of good food in any national park “gateway town.” Apparently it took Mesa Verde National Park to prove that we were sadly mistaken. Fairly new to the downtown strip, Pepperhead Restaurant was opened by the daughter-father team of Tess and Pete Montaño. The small town of Cortez, Colorado is less than an hour from the New Mexico border and Four Corners National Monument. As a result, their proximity to the Land of Enchantment luckily means that it is still possible to order northern New Mexican specialties within the Centennial State. All of the food at Pepperhead is made from scratch, and the care and quality are evident from the first bite. Not only do they roast all of the green chile themselves, but they even make the lemon, lime, and orange liquors that give their margaritas an extra kick.

Even though the homemade mole was exceptionally rich and flavorful, the chiles rellenos and green chile sauce rose to the top. We have been let down time and time again by rellenos that were subpar or sometimes even downright terrible, but for some reason this is one of the only items that we continue to order even though the odds of deliciousness are most always stacked against us. Paired with chicken and beef enchiladas, the chile relleno immediately garnered our highest lauds: perfectly fried with a light, almost tempura batter, the flavorful thin-walled pepper gave way to mild, creamy cheese accented by the green chile sauce on the plate. We would like to think that we’d dive deeper into the menu next time we are in Cortez, but expect it would be difficult to resist the allure of the “R” combination plate. Plain and simple, this option includes three chile rellenos served with a bowl of either red or green sauce “for your dunking pleasure.”

Items are available to satisfy the palates of both venturesome (posole, carne adovada, carne seca) and cautious (nachos, quesadillas, chimichangas) Mexican restaurant goers. A far cry from the stuffed clams of the Ocean State, here, stuffies are sopapillas filled with meat, beans, and rice and then smothered in green or red chile sauce. For dessert, the same sopapillas are drizzled with honey for a warm, puffy treat. Pepperhead is open Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m.-8:30-ish p.m., closed Sunday and Monday.

Where did the Charlie Chaplin log come from? You can find it in just about every chocolate store in Buffalo, yet nobody we spoke with has a clue about where or how it originated. Sold as a candy log about the shape of a loaf of biscotti before it's been sliced, Charlie Chaplins wrap chocolate, coconut, and cashews around a soft marshmallow filling (like Rocky Road spiked with coconut).

At Mike's in Buffalo, another chocolate store we discovered through the maddeningly tempting writings of Jane and Michael Stern (in the 2002 edition of Roadfood), the marshmallow is homemade, with a texture poised between solid and flowing. The spectacular marshmallow filling is key to this Charlie Chaplin, resulting in a much lighter effect in the mouth than the appearance and weight of the loaf would suggest. Make no mistake, this is very sweet (and sticky and messy) candy, but the combination of good ingredients makes this more than just kids' stuff.

Sponge candy, another Buffalo favorite, is at its best here. We've always had mixed feelings about sponge candy. While the flavors agree with us, the candy often leaves chewy bits stuck to the teeth. At Mike's, however, the sponge part of the candy truly does melt away on the tongue, leaving only the sweet taste of pure, homemade molasses-touched dark chocolate.

Mike's is a neighborhood chocolate store, located in a Polish section of Buffalo. When you enter, the candy cases are to your right, and you'll probably see large trays of freshly-made chocolates cooling on racks to the left. The chocolate scent is fairly intoxicating.

The Polish Plate includes stuffed cabbage, kielbasa, sauerkraut, mashed potatoes, and a pierogi. Made by nearby Kowalski Sausage, the taut, juicy kielbasa was the best item on the plate.

This scrumptious cemita is layered with homemade chorizo, Oaxacan cheese, chipotle adobo, avocado, black beans, and cilantro.

King Kong, dressed, in the foreground. For comparison's sake, that is a mere one-foot hot dog in the background.

Toni's is a few blocks off U.S. 41, the main road leading up through the Keweenaw Peninsula. We likely never would have found it if an enthusiast we met down in Houghton hadn't told us that we needed to detour there for the nisu and saffron breads. Those loaves, which are made by many Finnish bakeries in northernmost Michigan, were just a few of the wondrous eats to be had at Toni's.

Sticky buns, for instance. We smelled them the moment we walked in the front door. Three big round loaves of pull-apart buns were set upon the glass bakery case to cool. Each roll severed from the motherloaf was modest-sized but big-flavored. Just inside the front door, to the left, we peeked into the semi-open kitchen, where bakers were rolling dough on a floured table and another woman was plowing forearm-deep to hand-mix a big pan full of ingredients destined to be the filling of pasties. Toni's pasties are exemplary, light and elegant yet profoundly beefy.

It was late fall when we stopped in. The modest, one-room cafe was buzzing with conversations among locals who were reminiscing about the summer and anticipating the snows to come. When we ordered pasties, the waitress beamed with pride and exclaimed, "The best, ever!" We left with bags full of oven-warm molasses cookies to munch as we drove.

Note: Toni's closes just before Christmas and reopens at the end of January.

The Wagon Wheel is known far and wide for their delicious fried squash, which many patrons eat like potato chips.

Delicious it may be, but a modern Springfield horseshoe, as served at Ritz's (above), bears little resemblance to the equine footwear for which it originally was named. For the complete story on how this came to be, along with everything you ever wanted to know about the signature sandwich of downstate Illinois, check out Julianne Glatz's fabulous article "What Happened to Horseshoes?" in the Illinois Times. It even includes a recipe for the original sauce, as served at the Leland Hotel, where the dish was invented.