AURORA – StevO’s Pizza and Ribs is one of those Aurora joints I’ve driven past repeatedly but never noticed. Maybe because I was hungry I finally noticed signs also proclaiming the site as the home of El Costeno Mexican Grill.

I stopped in to find out how the little old building at 800 S. Havana St. contained both businesses. It’s not a fusion food joint. It’s not one eatery that serves two kinds of food. It’s two restaurants in one that serve until 3 a.m.

There are two owners, a pair of phone numbers, dual cash registers, separate menus, regular Coke in cans and Mexican Coke in bottles, a divided kitchen and one dining area decorated with old drive-in movie speakers and Mexican travel posters.

StevO’s dishes a pizza menu that includes a 28-inch pizza and toppings ranging from double pepperoni to clams, mac-n-cheese, crab and peanuts, another menu of smoke-soaked ribs, pulled pork and hot links, and Good Humor bars.

El Costeno serves sopes, tacos, burritos, Mexico City-style steamed tacos de canasta, and No Que No fajitas loaded with grilled steak, pork, ham, chorizo, onions, jalapenos and cheese, all with a free salsa bar.

I left with carne asada torta and barbecue pork sandwiches — paying for them separately — and both were perfectly decent and affordable.

These two cuisines have thrived side-by-side here for three years. You want to know what America stands for and tastes like? This is it.

CULINARY UPDATE

Twenty-five years ago I attended a then-new sort of tasting event: Normally competitive chefs from diverse top end restaurants gathered at a Denver hotel to feed attendees and raise money to fight hunger. That culinary convergence conceived by Bill Shore, Pat Miller and the late Noel Cunningham blossomed into the Taste of the Nation with similar fundraisers taking place yearly in every major city. The idea of eateries fighting hunger so inspired me that I helped launch the event the following year in Boulder. This year’s feast benefitting the Colorado No Kid Hungry Campaign is October 14 at Mile High Station. It remains a great way to sample the fare from a bunch of great eateries such as Luca d’Italia, TAG, Elway’s Cherry Creek, Linger, The Kitchen, Strings and Root Down. Tickets: ce.strength.org/events/taste-nation-denver. The need also remains: According to the Food Bank of the Rockies, one out of every four kids in Colorado struggles with hunger. … Aurora native Ryan McBreen of 2 Lil Macs BBQ will be in Bentonville, Ark. on Oct. 13 at the Sam’s Club National BBQ Tour championship after placing at the regional cookoff in Thornton. … Bob Plager of Littleton was crowned the top maker of traditional red chili and won $25,000 Oct. 7 at the International Chili Society’s world championship cook-off. … Aurora finally has a spice shop to call its own. Parker residents Michael and Kaeli Sandhoff have opened a Savory Spice Shop at 6295 S. Main St. in Southlands. My favorites at the Savory Spice stores include dried, roasted green chile powder — great for stews — and the freeze-dried sweet corn.

BE A SUSTAINABLE INSIDER

Colorado’s Front Range is a hotbed of activity in sustainable agiculture, the better school lunch movement, local food, organic farming, fair trade and anti-GMO action. These are some of the local websites, newsletters, Facebook pages and other sources I consult for sustainable information:

– Sustainable Food Denver: eatwhereulive.com

– Grass-fed beef and fowl: eatwild.com/products/colorado.html

– Urban farming: feeddenver.com

– Colorado Local Food: coloradolocalfirst.com/eatlocal

– Denver Urban Homesteading Market: denverurbanhomesteading.com

– Edible Front Range: Free monthly newsletter: ediblecommunities.com/frontrange/subscribe

– Denver Urban Gardens: dug.org

– Improving school lunches: chefann.com

Read more Colorado Table features at aurorasentinel.com/colorado-table. Send comments to: jlehndorff@aurorasentinel.com. Be sure to visit the Nibbles Facebook page. John Lehndorff hosts Radio Nibbles at 8:25 a.m. Thursdays on KGNU (88.5 FM, 1390 AM, and kgnu.org).