"I wonder if you've ever eaten at any of these restaurants," a caller said, disagreeing with my choices in Dining Guide 2007.

My reply: I've eaten at those 190 or so restaurants and quite a few more.

Comments about the guide, which names my favorite local eateries in dozens of categories, have poured in fast and furious. Here are a few of the choice selections:

• "How is it possible that you missed M&D's?"

I didn't "miss" M&D's. I just didn't think it was as good as the five barbecue places I picked.

• "Food critics never seem to see what knowledgeable, well-traveled diners know."

No comment.

• "A B+ grade in the Top 20 restaurants?! Who does these ratings?"

I'm the one who gives out the letter grades to restaurants. The grade is one of several things I factor in when choosing the Top 20 eateries.

• "I think a lot of restaurants have gotten too 'cutesy' for their own good and we as diners find them overpriced and awful. I mean, who wants to have a raisin-stuffed grilled halibut infused with a mango/ginger/Kahlua/pomegranate-lime zest served over radicchio-flavored couscous for $32? . . . This isn't Miami or Manhattan or San Francisco. It is still COW TOWN Denver."

Thanks for your comments, but I'll respectfully disagree. Denver is no longer a cow town when it comes to dining. If you don't like chef-crafted, ingredient-focused new American fare, eat somewhere else. There are plenty of steakhouses in town.

• "Where are Cafe Jordano, La Chaumiere, Cafe Prague, Mangia Bev, Senor Pepe's, Famous Dave's, China Taipei and Brewery Bar II?"

I haven't reviewed them yet. Who knows? Maybe they'll be in the Dining Guide 2008?

You'll find the Dining Guide 2007 at RockyMountainNews.com/ drmn/dining. You can also click the See all readers' reviews link to read what other folks are saying, or leave a comment on any of the honored eateries.