If yours was one of the many families or groups of friends that regularly patronized Racines, a classic restaurant that became one of the many COVID-related losses in 2020, someone in your clan probably swore by the Nutty Cheese Salad. It was a popular dish, if sort of weird, but weird in that way people sometimes loved, and miss: a base of romaine and field greens, shredded fontina and white cheddar, grape tomatoes, slices of banana, sunflower seeds, cashews, almonds and some crunchy puffed wheat, all under a custom, honey-mustard dressing. It was one of those things Denver diners loved…or laughed at.
“I did not love that salad,” laughs Lee Goodfriend, one of the founders of Racines, along with the also now-defunct Goodfriends and Dixons. “But my partner David Racine, he loved it. He was the one who put the bananas on it, which is something I don’t personally want on my salad. But he did, and other people did, too. We’re all different, I guess, right?”
The Nutty Cheese Salad is one of the many Racines dishes that lovers of Mile High cuisine will be able to remember, courtesy of memorabilia that Goodfriend donated to the Denver Public Library: menus, drink lists, Westword Best of Denver awards, reviews and more than a few signed photos from celebrities. Goodfriend says she has more stuff, but she didn’t want to overwhelm the DPL archivists all at once.
But the DPL archivists were definitely interested in getting it, since they’ve been building a sizable collection of restaurant memorabilia, particular menus. “This donation enables us to provide interesting and valuable historical information to our researchers who visit from across the country and around the world,” says Archives Access Supervisor Laura Ruttum Senturia in letter confirming that Goodfriend’s “stuff” was now available to the public. “The collection is likely to be particularly popular with Denverites who enjoyed the restaurants over many years,” she adds…