We adore fine dining. There's nothing like sitting comfortably, quietly sipping pinot noir and savoring edible art with myriad flavor and nuances. The portions are often modest, but the pricey mouthfuls are usually sigh-worthy.
Then there's yummy, belly-patting, m-m-m-m-good food you eagerly shovel in your mouth because it's so tasty.
We do not ponder whether the plate is half full, or half empty. These platters are piled, overloaded perhaps, with great, cheap fare that hits The Spot.
Those are the kind of fine, memorable happy-mouth meals we love to eat at Tamales by La Casita.
If you're a tamale fan like us, you've eaten the steamed, corn-husk-wrapped delights handmade by Denver's Sandoval family for the past three decades. You may have sampled them at any of the dozens of local Mexican eateries they supply with tamales or at their Invesco Field booth.
Mainly, La Casita devotees have picked up dozens of tamales - not to mention breakfast burritos, enchiladas and quarts of green chile, for take-out at the family's two small North Denver shops. Many simply ate in their cars nearby.
Those regulars will be pleasantly shocked by the "new" La Casita restaurant on Tejon Street. Opened in May, the building is the proverbial clean, well-lighted space straight out of Hemingway, but with a parking lot.
The rebirth makes sense in a rapidly changing neighborhood full of recently built lofts. (La Casita's second, mainly take-out location is at 4390 W. 44th Ave.)
Inside, the comfy new tables are jammed with extended families and lots of babies while tons of tamales are carried steadily out the door from the take-out counter. There's little in the way of ambience. The only artwork is a cherished photo of the family matriarch being kissed on the head by Pope John Paul II.
The back of the building is devoted to cranking-out thousands of those perfect green and red tamales for restaurants and customers.
And oh those tamales ($1.15 each; $1.92 smothered, with cheese). They're as good as we've tasted outside a home kitchen.
Tamales can be dry or they can be thin and have too little filling. La Casita's maintain the ideal proportion of moist ground masa to the red chile-soaked shredded pork or green chile-cheese middles.
We dove into a tamale plate ($5.25) with one of each tamale drenched in great green chile sauce dotted with chunks of tender pork with decent refried beans and a tortilla on the side. Personally, I'm a green tamale fan.
The New Mexican-Mexican menu always has been very simple, and that hasn't changed much at the sit-down location. There's no guacamole, and no free chips and salsa.
The meats in the burritos, enchiladas, tostadas and tacos are mainly beef, ground or shredded, and some pork in sauces (but not fillings), plus optional bacon and chicharones.
Don't look for chicken burritos or tofu enchiladas, but the green chile and cheese tamales are genuinely vegetarian made with vegetable oil.
In the don't-miss category is the enchilada plate ($5.01-$5.85), soft corn tortillas nestling soft, shredded beef, ground beef or cheese. Around them is pooled brick red chile sauce, smooth and full of ground chile flavor, smoke and just enough heat. It's thoroughly addictive stuff with homemade character.
Besides seating, another wonderful new amenity at La Casita is cold, cold beer. Tecate on tap is the heaven-sent mate to a green- and red-chile smothered ground beef and bean burrito with cheese ($3.90) or that Albuquerque classic, the Frito pie ($3-$4), a pile of the famous snack chip topped with green chile, refries, cheese and shredded lettuce.
The only possible dessert after all this is two half moon-shaped sopaipillas ($2) with honey.
Mainly family members wait on the tables, getting the plates out fast, and they are happy to brag about La Casita's history.
We like the "everybody's welcome" feel of the place whether it's for a top-notch, speedily made breakfast burrito ($2.16-$3.95) at 7:30 a.m. or for a cheese quesadilla ($1.50) and a hardshell shredded beef taco ($1.73) with the red chile flake salsa at 6:30 p.m.
You've probably figured out already that this is not worry-about-your-waistline food. This sustenance has a much higher calling. A dish like Geronimo's (hair-on-ee-mose) Indian pizza ($5.50) is a supplement for the soul. Imagine an Italian sausage patty atop a sopaipilla smothered in pork green chili and cheese. Two over-easy fried eggs (add $1.08) on top are a necessity.
"Satiated" doesn't adequately convey how full you feel after consuming one of these. Twelve hours later you're still not hungry, but the glow remains.
Now, when people ask us where to go for a real taste of Denver, we'll know of another great place to send them: Tamales by La Casita.
Tamales by La Casita
• Hours: 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Mon.-Fri.; 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday
• Food: New Mexican
• How much: $1.50 to $5.85
• Reservations: No
• Noise: Moderate
• Of note: Take home a dozen tamales ($8.75-$9.85)
The ABC's of New Mexican cuisine
With its Mexican, American Indian and Spanish influences dating back centuries, New Mexican is America's oldest cuisine. It's also Colorado's legendary fare since the southern part of our state and New Mexico were once part of Mexico. Here's a brief primer to help you order at New Mexican restaurants:
• Green chile: This term refers to roasted, seeded long green peppers as well as a broth-based stew with chunks of pork, onion and chile (chill-ay) and a thickened sauce used to smother burritos and such. Whole roasted chiles are stuffed with cheese and batter-fried (or cooked omelet-style) to make chiles rellenos. The heat level depends on the type of chiles that are used. Green chiles are mainly named for the New Mexican location they are grown in, i.e., Hatch, Chimayo or Dixon. Anaheims are a hybrid California no-no.
• Red chile sauce: A smooth pureed sauce made from dried red (ripe) New Mexican chiles typically served on enchiladas, tacos and other dishes.
• Christmas: A holiday but also an appropriate response when a waitress asks you how you want your burrito or huevos rancheros. Ordering it "Christmas" means you want it with green chile sauce and red chile sauce.
• Sopaipillas: A light wheat dough envelope fried in oil until puffy. For dessert, they are served hot with honey and often cinnamon-dusted. This fry bread is also sometimes topped with beef, beans, green or red chile, cheese and lettuce.
eatery update
The Cherry Creek new-American icon Mel's Restaurant and Bar will close in June after a prolonged lease hubbub. Mel and Janie Master will still have their thriving new place, Montecito, and are planning to open two more eateries in the Denver Tech Center: Montecito South in the former Ventura Grill spot and an as-yet-unnamed steakhouse in the space vacated two weeks ago by Ocotillo. . . . Tables, 2267 Kearney St., is no longer serving lunch. . . . Wholly Tomato, the uber-healthy sandwich joint at 955 Lincoln St., has closed, to be replaced by an outlet of the Boulder-based Deli Zone. . . . Vita Bella, the delightful Italian-American eatery that closed in Superior, is reopening soon as Salvatore's Vita Bella Ristorante, Pizzeria at 4550 S. Kipling St. . . . We wish a happy 10th anniversary to both the Cherry Tomato and the Falling Rock Tap House. . . . Ali Baba Grill, the Golden-based Middle Eastern gem, has opened a second location, at 8800 S. Colorado Blvd., Highlands Ranch. . . . Chef Troy Guard of Nine75 and Ocean participates in the Great American Seafood Cook-Off at 8 p.m. Sunday (and repeats after that) on the Food Network.
Dining news
According to Restaurants & Institutions, "females, Generation Xers, Asian-American diners and Midwesterners are most likely to say children frequently influence which restaurants they visit." The magazine quotes Christie Nordhielm, associate professor of marketing at the University of Michigan: "The child is a stronger influence if there's guilt happening."
Reader mail
"My husband returned from a trip to Portugal and wonders if there are any Portuguese restaurants in the Denver area. Can you advise?"
There are restaurants serving Portuguese dishes but none that I know of devoted to the cuisine. Readers? Let me know at lehndorffj@RockyMountain News.com.
small bites
Culinary calendar
Green gnocchi with Gorgonzola, asiago and grappa sauce and roasted guinea hen with duck liver sauce are on the menu Wednesday at the Full Moon Grill's Venice wine dinner. $55; 303-938-8800.
Bread of the week
Tres Jolie, 2399 W. Main St. in Littleton, is truly a very pretty little treat for the eyes as well as the mouth. The front of the shop offers flowers and gifts for sale while the back half is devoted to comfy tables for morning coffee and French pastries, afternoon tea with champagne, and diverse sandwiches for lunch. The pastries are authentic and butter-drenched, including a lemon-powered tart au citron, sweet almond-filled, sugar-dusted croissants, and vanilla pastry cream-stuffed fresh éclairs drizzled with great dark chocolate. Tres Jolie's tart au pommes gets my vote as one of the best apple desserts in the Denver area.
on the menu
At Spanky's Roadhouse, 1800 E. Evans Ave., Denver, grilled teriyaki salmon burger with fries ($8.95); at Rioja, 1431 Larimer St., Denver, cheese- and herb filled pansoti ravioli with butternut squash, pancetta vinaigrette, and fig-port reduction ($15.50); at Genroku Restaurant, 2901 S. Broadway, Englewood, unagi don - barbecued freshwater eel slices in sweet sauce over steamed rice ($9.95); at Los Carboncitos, 3757 Pecos St., Denver, grilled brain burrito with green chile with rice beans and cheese ($5.25); and at Little Ollie's Asian Cafe, 2364 E. Third Ave., Denver, stir-fried sea bass filet with black bean sauce ($19.95).
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