Audio By Carbonatix
Q. Where do you go for good, inexpensive, red-sauce Italian? You know, the kind of place where Frank Sinatra would eat if he visited Denver.
A. Even dead — okay, especially dead — Ol’ Blue Eyes would cause quite a stir if he walked into an eatery around here. Should he show up alive and hungry, though, I’d probably send him back to Papa J’s Italian Restaurant and Lounge (7510 Sheridan Boulevard, Westminster, 303-427-1391), which has a signed caricature of the crooner himself drawn by the original owner (his son still runs the place). Papa J’s makes a mean minestrone and spaghetti from scratch. I’d also suggest Pagliacci’s (1440 West 33rd Avenue, 303-458-0530), a 52-year-old restaurant that’s another family affair, with a bottomless pot of minestrone and baked ravioli that would put a song in anyone’s heart.
