• Lakewood offers views of the Rocky Mountains.mountains image by Brett Bouwer from Fotolia.com
  
  Lakewood, Colorado is a suburban town in the west Denver metro area with sweeping views of the Rocky Mountains. The town features a number of planned communities, as well as a highly-regarded school system and a range of cultural and recreational activities. The Lakewood Cultural Center is home to a variety of theater, music and fine arts programs and a spacious outdoor amphitheater. The area features several miles of trails for hiking, biking and horseback riding. There are also several restaurants to serve visitors and locals a range of different cuisines.
  
  

White Fence Farm Restaurant

• White Fence Farm is a popular family-style theme restaurant that recreates a pastoral country farm setting. The property includes several buildings, such as a carriage museum, county store, a barn and petting zoo, all on lovely grounds with ponds, with flowerbeds and picturesque vintage tractors that keep the crowds entertained while waiting for a table. The moderately-priced menu features hearty country fare, and the house speciality is fried chicken, accompanied by corn fritters, coleslaw and pickled beets. Steak, pork chops and fried fish are also on the menu. Live music and square dancing are featured on weekends.
  
  White Fence Farm
  6263 West Jewell Avenue
  Lakewood, CO 80232
  303-935-5945
  whitefencefarm-co.com
  
  

Kobe An Japanese Restaurant & Sushi Bar

• Near Red Rocks Community College, Kobe An is an upscale restaurant serving sushi and Japanese cuisine. The elegant, subdued decor features tatami rooms with rice screens and low wood tables. Dinners can choose from a wide selection of Japanese dishes, such as yaki soba, tempura, chicken teriyaki, shabu shabu and bento-box style meals. Or diners can order from an extensive sushi menu and sample a few house specialities, including a Rocky Mountain and Colorado rolls.
  
  Kobe An
  85 South Union Boulevard
  Lakewood, CO 80228
  303-989-5907
  kobean.com
  
  

Chad's Grill

• Chad's Grill is a large, bustling restaurant near Union Square Park. It features a casual atmosphere, and offers several spacious and comfortable dining rooms, as well as an outdoor patio and a full-bar. The menu features a wide selection of dishes, such as spicy wings, a variety of salads, pizza, steak, burgers, chicken and comfort food, like meatloaf and mac-and-cheese. It is locally famous for its large, decadent desserts, namely the deep-fried cheesecake.
  
  Chad's Grill
  275 Union Boulevard
  Lakewood, CO 80228
  303-988-5666
  chadsgrill.com
  
  

Cafe Jordano

• Cafe Jordano, an Italian trattoria is known as Lakewood's hidden treasure because it's located in a nondescript strip mall on Jewell Avenue. It is tremendously popular with the locals for its moderate-priced menu, which features homemade pasta, as well as chicken, seafood and meat dishes. Westword Magazine named Bob's Favorite (chicken and asparagus topped with three cheeses and a rich wine-cream sauce) as the "Best Cardiologist Nightmare" in the Denver area. The restaurant offers a variety of dishes made with buffalo meat, such as Buffalo All Jordano, with buffalo scaloppini in a mustard, cognac cream sauce.
  
  Cafe Jordano
  11068 W Jewell Ave Ste C9
  Lakewood, CO 80232
  303-988-6863
  cafejordano.com