For "regulars" - diners who frequent the same restaurant - the draw is often a specific mouthwatering dish. They dream of exactly how it tastes before they walk in the door, ignore the rest of the menu and the specials, and order it again.

For chefs and restaurateurs, the signature dish can be a perfectly mixed blessing. They adore the fact that customers love their food and return time after time. However, making the same entree every night for years can be maddening.

And heaven help the chef who ever thinks of tinkering with the recipe.

We recently asked some Denver-area chefs to tell us about the best-selling dish on their menu. Here's what they said:

JAMES VAN DYK

• Restaurant: Gateway Cafe, 432 Main St., Lyons

• Bestselling dish: choke cherry-braised buffalo short ribs served with mashed potatoes, gravy and vegetables ($18.50)

• Details: "The short ribs have been on the menu for 10 years now and have a very loyal following. Frankly, it is a blessing, being that most of the labor involved is done well in advance. Signature dishes do get tiring and repetitive, but I'm proud to have this one. My choke cherries are picked in Lyons. The horseradish I serve with them is cured in Japanese rice vinegar, sea salt and toasted whole mustard seed. It's killer."

ELISE WIGGINS

• Restaurant: Panzano, 909 17th St.

• Bestselling dish: fresh cannelloni filled with slow-braised lamb ragu with mint goat cheese beurre blanc sauce, roasted chanterelles, walnuts, pomegranate seeds and goat cheese crumbles ($19)

• Details: "We just placed the cannelloni on the menu two weeks ago and it's already taken the top-seller position. I think it's because it says 'comfort' and 'creative' at the same time to the guest. People love stuffed pasta, but it has none of the ingredients that are typically found in a stuffed pasta dish. I love this dish because it has so many flavors going on but yet (is) harmonious. It's like a Beethoven piece, powerful yet delicate."

SEAN YONTZ

• Restaurants: Mezcal, 3230 E. Colfax Ave.; Tambien, 250 Steele St.

• Bestselling dish: Ensenada tacos filled with grilled, chipotle mayonnaise-marinated tilapia with spicy cabbage slaw, red onion escabeche, cilantro rice and black beans ($10.95)

• Details: "Both restaurants have the same best-seller. I think the reason the dish is so popular is the health factor. We don't fry or batter the fish, as some restaurants do. It's a traditional Mexican dish but it's much lighter fare than, say, smothered burritos. I can remember having these same tacos when I was growing up. My parents would take us down to Ensenada and Rosarito. The fisherman would bring fresh-caught fish, butcher the fish, grill and serve it at these little stands up and down the beach."