Lechuga's Italian Restaurant

They don't make them like they used to — but Lechuga's marches on anyway, an old-school Italian joint where you can order pasta by the bucket and square pizzas (with green-chile strips, like a true Denverite!). This second, (much) newer outpost is located in Lakewood, though the original Lechuga's is one of the last red-sauce joints left on Denver's Northside, in a section once known as "Little Italy." Newcomers to Denver, please understand that "canoli" means something different here; Lechuga's signature dish isn't a dessert, but rather your choice of a meatball, sausage or sausage-and-jalapeño combo wrapped in dough with a little bit of cheese in the mix, baked and then smothered, if that's how you like it. Make it a meal with the famous "spanoli" plate — two mini canolis and a side of spaghetti. With a dirt cheap all-you-can-eat Tuesday night spaghetti special and lunch deals every weekday, Lechuga's is a tasty reminder that here in the Mile High City, we like our Italian food greasy and cheap, served up hot in a place that feels suspended in time.