Lechuga’s

Driving through the Highlands is probably the biggest culture shock I’ve experienced.  Not for me, however, but for the people who live in that neighborhood.  This particular area is going through a massive gentrification process where the very wealthy are literally living next door to those who are nearly impoverished.  The new homes in this area are some of the most beautiful and modern in the city; multi-story office buildings that have nicer grass than the parks in the neighborhood on each corner.  It is probably the most interesting neighborhood in the city.

That goes along with the restaurants as well.  The Squeaky Bean, with its inviting patio, is always full.  And down the street on 32^nd is Bang! (exclamation mark included) where down a very narrow alley way you can dine on the second floor of the converted Victorian home.

Up the street from Bang! and The Squeaky Bean is Lechuga’s, a long-time establishment with an Italian menu.  If Bang! and The Squeak Bean are the mansions of restaurants, then Lechuga’s is the single-story home with no grass and a dog tied up in the front yard.  Not very pretty from the outside, and the parking is awkward and messy, this isn’t a place where I’d say I frequent as often as possible.

Once I walked in, I am immediately greeted by blinding fluorescent light and a small warmer where sausage and pasta are kept.  Anywhere where sausage and pasta are kept under a heat lamp is probably equivalent to 7-11.  And I never go to 7-11.

So Steve and I ask for a table for two.  Walking into one of two dining areas I see a bar that hasn’t been updated since 1982 and the carpet I’m sure is the same one my grandmother picked for her first home.  We are seated in, what is quite honestly, a cozy booth.  There are televisions on each wall showing the nights baseball games and in the far back is a darkened dance floor.

Steve has told me that this place is one of his favorites in the city, and though I have yet to be convinced, I take his words seriously.  He is as big, if not bigger, eater than I am.  Thankfully.

He tells me to get the sausage cannoli with the side of spaghetti and sauce.  I also order a diet coke.  Not because I am on a diet (PA-lease) but because I prefer the flavor of diet coke.  He also orders a half-loaf of buttered garlic bread.

The food comes so very quickly (which makes me a little more skeptical) but is hot and smells, surprisingly, wonderful.

I first take a bite of my spaghetti and sauce.  Although I never order spaghetti at restaurants because I have yet to find a place that makes decent sauce, I am pleasantly surprised at how good this sauce is.  I prefer a certain thickness to a sauce, a nappe if you will.  It just so happened that this sauce is perfect in thickness and vibrant red.  I twirl my fork around and around until all the spaghetti is wrapped and take my first bite.

The sauce is very well seasoned, and although I can tell is probably not homemade, has a very delicious fresh tomato taste.  When a sauce isn’t homemade one can immediately taste the metallic can taste left behind.  But Lechuga’s does a nice job of creating a “almost homemade” flavor.

Now for the main event.  There are two sausage cannolis and they are wrapped in a golden brown pastry with one leaf of fresh basil and a slice of provolone cheese.  I take a small slice off and smear it in my red sauce.  Again, I am so pleased to taste this on some of the best sausage I have eaten.  It is deliciously smoky and subtlety spicy.  The basil adds a dash of  freshness and the provolone gives the bite a decadence.  Instantly I am sadden that there are only two cannoli’s on my plate.

The sausage is from a local butcher in town that supplies the restaurant.  This sausage is nice, smoky and totally fresh.  This sausage alone is worth the drive up here.

The buttered garlic bread we are served is warm, soft and full of golden butter, spices and herbs.  It is the perfect accent to the sauce, and not to mention the best utensil to scoop up the remaining sauce. The combination of the sauce and the buttery garlicky bread is so salty and sweet and flavorful.  It has this nice rustic flavor to it that is hard to achieve in a restaurant.

The waitress came and went quickly and I always had a full glass of soda.  Except for when the bill was needed.  This took forever, however it’s forgivable.

Again, one of the reasons I love this place is simply the price of this meal.  It’s nice to go to a restaurant that makes a decent meal and doesn’t gouge the eater.  I’ve been to plenty of restaurants that make a decent tomato sauce or has better bread.  But those places charge $15 a plate and $10 for a glass of wine.

My meal was $4.95 and the fresh garlic bread was $1.25.  ONE DOLLAR AND ONE QUARTER.  That is so incredible.  And a main reason why I love it and keep coming back.

Lechuga’s

3609 Tejon Street

Denver, CO

303.455.9040

$15 for dinner for two, one soda