A folded three-egg omelet packed with diced ham, green bell pepper and onion, served on a sourdough toast plate with hash browns; a railroad-era breakfast that survives in every diner.

The Denver omelet, also called the western omelet, dates to the railroad-construction camps of the 1880s along the Union Pacific and Denver and Rio Grande lines. Cowboys and Chinese railroad cooks combined cured ham, peppers and onions into a sandwich filling that became the western sandwich, then folded inside eggs by the 1920s diners. The dish kept the city's name as it spread nationally through diner chains in the 1950s. Denver versions at Sam's No. 3, Pete's Kitchen and Snooze use the original folded form, not the spread-flat souffle style.

4 editor picks for Denver omelet in Denver, ranked by editorial score. All Denver signature dishes · Denver omelet across every city.