Naming your restaurant “Deluxe” is akin to a boxer taking on “Hurricane” as his moniker: It broadcasts a lot to the world, but also raises the stakes on what must be delivered when the bell rings, whether at the kitchen pass- through or ringside.
Dylan Moore, the talented chef-owner at Deluxe, has enjoyed plenty of accolades since opening his room at 30 S. Broadway several years ago. It’s a stylish if somewhat austere place, populated in the early evening by older food fans from the neighborhood and, as the night deepens, club kids cruising for a well- crafted cocktail and creative grazing.
And props to the interior designers for respecting a slice of Denver history and leaving the old Barnes Commercial School logo on the brick north wall. Now if they could just retrofit the booth backs along the south wall. They are made of walnut-stained plywood that offers about as much lumbar support as the bleachers in a high-school gym, which is to say, none at all. Bring your own ice pack.
The restaurant delivers on many levels, but two recent visits found some dishes that, while long on cleverness, were short on some of the virtues of Cooking 101. As in, um, could you season this a bit?
First, the winners.
Masa-fried oyster shooters ($12) made for one of the best seafood dishes I’ve had in a while — a bold statement, given that I just spent a week in the South Carolina Lowcountry, eating my weight in shrimp and grits.
The six oysters were coated in cornmeal and fried crispy, then served individually on Asian soup spoons, where they sat atop salsa fresca and were topped with a smoked jalapeño aioli, cilantro and a dash of lime. These were deep layers of texture and complementary flavors.
A red-beet carpaccio could compete with its beefy cousin. The thin-shaved roots came with goat cheese — this pairing is apparently required by law these days — but had the novel notes of orange and a pistachio vinaigrette. Hats off to the flavors and colors.
Baby back ribs ($10) were a hit, glazed in a five-spice hoisin sauce, sticky and unctuous and deserving to be treated as finger food.
But another small plate whiffed badly, and it was a special to boot. This was the Deluxe “jar,” packed, as the menu said, with “today’s stuff.” On this evening the ingredients were Yukon mashers, goat cheese, scallions and roasted red pepper topped with a lone egg. The waiter brought the half-pint jar to the table and made a show of mixing the egg into the steaming potatoes, which cooked it.
Clever, yes, although a number of restaurants are trotting out variations on this dish, thanks to the ubiquity of chefs browsing the Internet. But this version was starchier than Calvin Coolidge’s shirt collars. Worse, it was underseasoned — bland and a bit gummy.
This surge in tableside glass pots must be swell news for the Ball Manufacturing Co., but the two experiences I’ve had with them (the other was at Ototo) have been underwhelming. At $10 a pop, diners should get more value.
Entrees, $14-$28, ran the gamut. The options hit all the big-plate food groups, including two vegetarian options, a pot pie and a ravioli. But there were inconsistencies here too.
Ravioli ($16) were stuffed with spring peas and ricotta, then laced with thyme brown butter, asiago cheese and pine nuts. All well and good, but the effect was compromised by a balsamic reduction that was borderline bitter and undercut the bright spring flavors of the ravioli.
At $16, the chicken and black- bean enchiladas came smothered in a dark ancho chile sauce, laced with cilantro crema and crumbled cotija cheese, which is sort of Mexico’s answer to feta. Again, this dish was oddly unsatisfying, with some bitter notes.
Deluxe’s drinks list is smart, with a good selection of reasonably priced wine ($9 for a lovely pinot grigio) and craft cocktails, although the name of their take on the Moscow Mule — Dylan’s Ass — doesn’t exactly prime the Pavlovian pump.
So again, names are important in the restaurant biz. I’m not convinced Deluxe delivers on the big sign over the door, but then again, you won’t draw customers by putting “Decent” up in lights.
William Porter: 303-954-1877 or wporter@denverpost.com
DELUXE
Contemporary American 30 S. Broadway 303-722-1550 deluxedenver.com
* (Good)
Atmosphere: Homey room with wood floors and exposed brick
Service: Attentive
Beverages: Beer, wine, cocktails
Plates: Creative takes on contemporary American food. Entrees range from $14 to $28, with a variety of small plates for sharing.
Hours: Tuesday-Thursday, 5 p.m.-9 p.m.; Friday-Saturday, 5 p.m.-10 p.m. Details: Street parking. Walk-ins welcome, but reservations are encouraged, especially on weekends.
Two visits****: Exceptional ***: Great **: Very Good *: Good
Our star system:
