If popularity is a measure of legitimacy, Root Down is an unqualified, resounding success. It has been many moons since a new restaurant opened in Denver and commanded, almost immediately, the kind of attention that Root Down has enjoyed over the past few months.
The place is packed. Solid. Hipsters, foodies, trendsetters — the beautiful people and their hangers-on come in droves to see the tricked-out, eco-conscious space (lanes from an old bowling alley serve as the bar surface, wood slats from an old high school gym serve as the dining room floor), to drink from the list of specialty mojitos (prickly pear, lychee or blood orange and cilantro), and to nibble on the small, complex plates that can’t quite be categorized.
What’s most striking about Root Down’s innovative menu is how heavily influenced it is by vegetables, without being a vegetarian restaurant. This is a trend, these days, and a smart one — healthier for us and the planet. It is a trend that will, one hopes, hold.
For example: Portobello, leek and mascarpone wontons. Eggplant bruschetta with feta and pine nuts and golden raisins. Roasted beet custard with arugula. None of these wants for meat, all are packed with flavor, and each is both interesting and potentially satisfying, two qualities that don’t always cohabit a dish.
Same goes for the choices that do incorporate meats and fish: The tender seared diver scallops with plantains and a habanero-tweaked tartar sauce under a toss of crispy leeks, the grilled beef loin with an apple-studded potato gratin and a sweet-tangy caramel dressing, and the exquisite ahi tuna tartare with shallots and chiles — these are also fully conceived and well-rounded compositions, at once eloquent and playful.
And so, I have no quarrel with the menu in theory; in fact, I admire it. In a world full of bacon-filled salads and truffle-oil-bathed pasta, it is encouraging and refreshing to see an innovative list of healthful, inspired, energetic, yummy-sounding choices.
But I do have a quarrel with the consistency of Root Down’s dishes as they appear on the table. Over the course of three visits, I’ve had wildly divergent experiences with simple quality-control issues like heat (tepid onion soup), texture (chewy, not crispy, fried won tons) and doneness (uncooked vegetables swimming in the tofu pot-pie). While the kitchen unquestionably nailed some dishes (see above: tuna tartare, scallops, beef tenderloin), these others flunked the basics.
One wonders whether the onion soup just wasn’t selling that evening, so it waited off-burner. Perhaps the fried won tons sat on the counter too long, unseen by our otherwise charming and efficient server, and lost its crunch. Maybe the boss in the back just hadn’t tasted the tofu pot pie innards, concentrating instead on the buttery crust-top.
Perhaps these dishes were casualties of Root Down’s increasingly busy dining room, evidence of growing pains as the place rockets ever higher on Denver’s buzz-o-meter.
(To be fair: One occasion had me sending back a dish that was cold, and it was retrieved, replaced and stricken from the bill, cheerfully.)
Ambition, which Root Down exhibits in spades, is never a smooth path to follow. But the only direction is forward, and the folks behind Root Down know this. They’ll continue the forward thrust — a rooftop kitchen garden, an open-air patio, continued experimentation — all, happily, loom.
(Root Down deserves extra credit for the affordable wine list; there are plenty of under-$35 bottles for winos on a budget, like me.)
Bottom line: Root Down is an excellent addition to Denver’s dining scene — an intelligent, creative, forward-thinking, great-looking, unquestionably popular place with a fresh culinary point of view. It can be a real kick (and worth the bill) to spend a couple of hours here with some friends. Its potential is huge.
But Root Down will reach the top tier, and stay there, only if it delivers on its promise — consistently.
Tucker Shaw: dining@denverpost.com
Root Down
Eclectic. 1600 W. 33rd Ave., 303- 993-4200, rootdowndenver.com
** 1/2 RATING | Very Good, Great
Atmosphere: Highly designed interior, appointed with reclaimed materials. Buzzing crowd, especially in the bar area. Great banquettes.
Service: Flirtatious and efficient, and knowledgeable about the menu.
Wine: Affordable juice from all compass points. Emphasis on organic, sustainably minded producers.
Plates: $7-$22, with most around $9-$11.
Hours: Dinner: 5-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 5-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Brunch: Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
Details: Reservations suggested. Street parking. Wheelchair accessible. Bar open late; happy hour specials from 5-7 p.m. on Monday.
Three visits.
Our star system:
****: Exceptional
***: Great
**: Very Good
*: Good
