Lidia Bastianich is a culinary icon who has graced television screens for 25 years, since the premiere of her first public television series, Lidia’s Italian Table, in 1998. In August, she visited SAME Cafe, a pay-what-you-can eatery located at 2023 East Colfax Avenue, to film a segment for her latest PBS special, Lidia Celebrates America: A Nation of Neighbors.
The show will debut nationwide on PBS on Tuesday, November 25, and will be available to stream online. SAME Cafe is also hosting a watch party from 7 to 9 p.m. on November 25, with the show beginning at 8 p.m.
The hour-long documentary explores how food connects communities across the U.S., from wildfire relief kitchens in Los Angeles to a Japanese elder lunch program in Portland. Each segment showcases how neighbors use food to knit their communities tighter, and the story ends in Denver, with a communal lunch at SAME Cafe, highlighting its two decades of dignity-driven dining.
Why SAME Café
SAME (So All May Eat) Cafe has been serving meals on Colfax since 2006, built on a simple idea: everyone deserves a dignified meal, no matter what’s in their wallet. Diners can contribute through a donation, by volunteering in the kitchen, or by simply joining the table. Unlike a soup kitchen, the cafe emphasizes choice, seasonality, and the atmosphere of a neighborhood spot.
That’s exactly what drew Bastianich. “I think it’s wonderful because it’s very accessible, very comfortable. And across the board, people can come in here and have a meal,” she says. “If you don’t have money, you can work in the kitchen, but they still feed you. It’s a comfortable, open-door space with good, seasonal food that reflects the season and is healthy and freshly done.”
Dignity at the Table
For Bastianich, the theme is personal. She fled what became Yugoslavia as a child, lived in a refugee camp for two years, and immigrated to the U.S. at age twelve. Those years left her with a deep understanding of how food and dignity intertwine.
“Two years in a refugee camp, your dignity is really…I know my mother was a teacher, my father was a mechanic. I know how their ego was really tarnished,” she recalls. “Yes, people might be needy, but they still deserve respect.”
That’s why the cafe’s model resonated so strongly with her. “I think it has more dignity,” she says, comparing it to traditional soup kitchens. “It is more really connected with the person themselves coming in. Here, there’s earning, or working, or contributing. It’s about dignity.”
Ending in Denver
For three days, Bastianich and her crew filmed in Denver. She visited Steph, a Denver gardener who donates her surplus produce and whose neighbors leave extra groceries on her porch to provide to SAME Cafe. Bastianich even cooked alongside volunteers in the cafe’s kitchen, teaching them how to make her spaghetti aglio e olio, a simple dish the staff could add to the cafe’s repertoire.
The visit culminated with a celebratory lunch that brought together the documentary participants from across the country. In a quite literal sense, the table at SAME Cafe became a crossroads and communal space where chefs and activists swapped stories and ideas over grilled zucchini and string beans, fresh tossed salad, and braised beef with polenta-style grits.
“These connections — it’s amazing,” Bastianich says. “Ultimately, this meeting of all of them together, the same kind of philosophy of helping your neighbor, if you will.”
A Broader Message
A Nation of Neighbors is the latest PBS special in the Lidia Celebrates America series. Past episodes have honored veterans, highlighted immigrant contributions, and celebrated holiday traditions. This year, Bastianich wanted to focus on volunteerism — what she calls “neighbors helping neighbors.”
“Sometimes I think I don’t like what I hear about America,” she admits. “America’s a great country. America is made out of all these different ethnicities. It’s like a patchwork quilt-it stays together strong, but it has different pieces. I just want to accent this. … There are a lot of people doing something about it.”
Bastianich hopes the national spotlight will inspire viewers to replicate the various models featured in her documentary. “After the documentary comes out, I want more people to work in their neighborhoods, to look at the neighborhood, which neighbor needs what, or get involved in organizations and do it with the heart. Food is always from the heart. You feed somebody, it’s always positive,” she concludes.