As a writer, I frequently find myself taking long walks to clear my head, which is why I wound up making the one-and-a-half mile trek from my office to the Highland neighborhood last week. I stopped across the street from Spuntino, the hip, low-key Italian cafe that occupies the old Red Trolley storefront.

We raved about the spot's popsicles in this month's issue, but I can't get enough of the house-made chocolate-sea-salt-caramel gelato. Nicknamed Highlands Heroin by customers, the smooth made-from-scratch combination is, in a word, addicting. (The restaurant offers 24 rotating flavors.)

If you're looking something more substantial, you can't go wrong with any of the sandwiches. My favorite is the Italians in Argentina panini: A juicy, marinated flank steak is covered with provolone, doused with chimichurri, and bookended with house-made focaccia. Biting into it, I tasted flavors I never imagined would come from a sandwich. It was, hands down, one of the best I've had.

2639 W. 32nd Ave., 303-433-0949