14 JANUARY 22-28, 2026 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | LETTERS | CONTENTS | Eat Up Havana ONE YEAR VISITING 47 RESTAURANTS REPRESENTING FOURTEEN CULTURES ALONG A FOUR-MILE STRETCH IN AURORA. BY ANTONY BRUNO Once a week over the past year, I’ve made the drive from the south end of Havana Street in Aurora north towards Sixth Avenue to visit a different restaurant along what has been called the most diverse street in Colorado. On my last trip up this stretch to visit the fi nal stop in Eat Up Havana, shortly after East Hampden Avenue turns sharply north to become Havana Street, I passed the same Olive Garden near the intersection of Havana and Iliff as I have every week. Its parking lot was full as always, people entering and exiting with the same regularity. I used to shake my head at them with disappointment as I drove by on my way to the next culinary adventure. But today, I can only feel sorry for them. For they do not know what they are missing. Over the course of this assignment, I’ve had the opportunity to visit nearly fi fty restau- rants serving the cuisines of over a countries, all packed into a four-mile stretch of busy road, neglected parking lots and potholes. Each one now holds a dif- ferent memory, a new discov- ery, a lesson learned. In some cases, of course, the highlight was the food. In others, it was the people. And many times, it was the hard-to-defi ne rev- elation you get when a little corner of your worldview gets blown away by exposure to an entirely new way of thinking. The Food Oh, the food. Most of it was good. Some of it was even great. Very rarely was it bad. The highlights come more in the form of specifi c dishes and bites than with the restaurants as a whole, because each spot has some- thing special to offer. The spicy pork shoulder made with ground spices shipped from the owner’s mother in Korea at Shin Myung Gwan Korean BBQ. The crisp, tender strips of marinated al pastor pork at Ta- queria Corona. The perfectly charred ground beef kababs and silky hum- mus at Yemen Grill. The black garlic tonkotsu ramen at Katsu Ramen, which continues to haunt my dreams. The spicy cold chicken at Chef Liu’s Kitchen’s triumphant return. That’s just a sampling. I consider myself a seasoned, adventurous and well-traveled eater, but I still found many new discoveries along the way. The loroco fl ower featured at Pupusas La Salvadoreña. The spiced crunchiness of the fried lamb dish called tibs at Nile Ethiopian, contrasting with the soft unctuousness of the raw kifta. The protein-on-pro- tein-on-protein foundation of Colombian food at +57 Bar & Restaurante and La Sazon de Irene. The theatrics of Asian desserts at Snowl and Milkroll. The quiet restraint of hot pot strategy. Pig feet. Discoveries like these re- quire taking chances, some- times ordering from menus written entirely in foreign languages with no idea what might result. Taking bites of dishes without any under- standing of the ingredients they contain or the fl avors to expect. Even entirely new ways of eating — like hot pots and fl at-top grills built into the table, or eating with your hands using spongy bread — where the question of “what is this?” is quickly replaced by “How do I eat it?” The People Each of these little cu- linary moments has to be placed in the context of the people who served the food and the places where it was enjoyed. If I sat you down and provided a tasting menu of my three favorite dishes outside of their respective establish- ments, I doubt you’d have the same enjoy- ment as being in the space, with the people. In many cases, I’ve been fortunate to meet and learn the stories of the proprietors, nearly always either immigrants or fi rst-generation owners, sharing their culture and cuisine for both countrymen and visitors alike. The revelation that the boy in the refu- gee poster hanging on the wall at Watan Restaurant & Bakery was, in fact, the owner I’d been speaking to. The courage of the owners at Chopsticks A GoGo, staying open late because that’s when the competition is asleep. The formerly homeless owner of Golf Ethiopian, serving customers with a wry smile and dry humor. The hustle of born entrepreneurs like the owner of El Tequileno, who came to this country with nothing and built an empire. More than once, I’ve walked into res- taurants where every other person inside stopped and stared, wondering if I was lost, but I was still always met with a kind smile and welcoming assistance. The Moments Somewhere between the food and the people is a collection of moments that occur when you put yourself into new situations. Snapshots of cultural realities that bubble up when you pay attention to new surroundings. After all, many of the restaurants along this CAFE FIND MORE FOOD & DRINK COVERAGE AT WESTWORD.COM/RESTAURANTS This sign marks the beginning of the four-mile stretch where you can fi nd restaurants serving the cuisines of over a dozen countries. Left to right: Havana Business Improvement District executive director Chance Horiuchi and Seoul Hospitality Group CEO JW Lee with Antony Bruno and his wife, Lisa. ANTONY BRUNO ANTONY BRUNO
