Tony Rigatoni’s resides in a historic home half a block away from Washington Avenue. White holiday icicle lights were adorning the eaves and front porch, making this restaurant the most charming and inviting facade of all the businesses in Golden.

Walking up the wooden porch steps and opening the screened porch door felt like entering someone’s home, not an Italian restaurant. In the front foyer was a hostess stand, and upon hearing the old wooden door close behind me, a young girl appeared from dim the back hallway to seat me in

the front dining room near the fireplace. The entire restaurant was painting an unusual dark, saturated green color, and the white holiday icicle lights were also wrapped around the crown molding of the high ceilings throughout this old house.

Traditional Italian music and opera singers played quietly in the background as I surveyed the details of the room I occupied alone. Each table was covered in vinyl red and white checkered tablecloths, and the dark wood stain moldings made me feel like I had stepped back in time to an old fashioned mom-n-pop