First Look: Root Down

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There are various criteria to judge when  your city is all “growed up.” It could be whether you have all the major sports teams (check), or it could be whence you have a multitude of significant local, non-chain restaurants. Root Down should be heralded as one of the best examples of what a truly fine local restaurant should be.

It has a terrifically hip, stylish décor — studied yet casually fun. It touts that locally farmed and organic products are used whenever possible. It recycles everything. Oh, and the food is downright impressive.

Root Down sits in the heart of the old Italian part of Denver, literally inside where the neighbors had their cars repaired (thus the “tires, lube, alignment” signs on the exterior). The lounge area is literally the former service bays, and the restaurant sits across from the old Mancinelli’s food store, where generations bought their salami and fresh pasta. In other words, the place has good bones.

The owner, Justin Cucci, expanded the square footage by building on a new dining room, which overlooks downtown Denver and can sit around 80 hungry souls, not including the patio that will seat another 40 or so starting in the spring. Mark our words: those are going to be prime real estate in the Denver restaurant world.

Take time to check out the entire space, because Cucci has found a way to blend ‘50s mod and nostalgia by turning old rotary phones into a wall sculpture, using recycled wood gym  flooring, employed upward-acting garage doors throughout, as well as playing a non-stop loop of vintage home movies in the bar area. (Ask if they’ll play the one of people’s old vacation photos.) It’s all clever clever and casually calculated, yet never pretentious — and that’s a hard tone to capture.

The chef, a jolly old soul named Ryan Leinonen, came via The Kitchen, a “community bistro” in Boulder, so he has his taste buds in shape for the food being offered at Root Down.

The food doesn’t just seem right for sharing, it demands it. Many of the dishes are offered in smaller appetizer portions as well as full-size, which makes it easier to try more things.

The winter carrot and red curry soup has a nice kick to it, so don’t expect some watered down mush like you get in a carton from Whole Foods. Leinonen clearly likes the heat: He serves his steamed mussels with Thai chili, and offers the seared diver scallops with a simply-stated “chili sauce.” Be aware that these should sometimes come with a warning, as I’m not sure that the tender scallops are well-suited to such intensity because the sweetness of the mollusks can be overwhelmed by the chili sauce.

Anyone who loves savory will want to try the fennel panna cotta. Normally thought of as an Italian dessert, this panna cotta has the same look and creamy consistency, yet surprises the palate with fennel instead of sugar. It’s genius.

Another crowd pleaser has to be the ahi tuna tartare, prepared with, this time, a judicious touch of chili along with black sea salt and shallots and served with Indian pappadam crackers. Crunch and munch.

For the true meat eaters, there’s a braised shoulder of lamb and a Long Farm pork chop. But why not go for the gusto with the Harris Ranch beef tenderloin, accompanied with an ever-so-slightly smoked Fuji apple and potato gratin, atop an almost-too-sweet-except-if-you-love-sweet mascarpone caramel sauce? The meat is so tender and delicious that it stands on its own just fine.

Desserts, or “stressed spelled backwards,” have been given no less of a starring role at Root Down. The interplay of  fig and ricotta play off the pistachio and mint “pesto” sauce on the torta, and the chocolate “fallen cake” comes oozing with a warm chocolate center and a mound of fresh whipped cream.

The coffee is from Novo, a Denver based small batch coffee company, and is brewed with a French press (perhaps the best way possible to extract all the flavors). And, finally, the wine list is well priced with many choices under $50 per bottle. There are gems to be found, with good representatives from Italy, Australia and the West Coast along with a star from Colorado: The Infinite Monkey Theorem, a sauvignon blanc from a new local “urban winery.”

The infinite monkey theorem states that a monkey hitting keys at random on a keyboard for an infinite amount of time will eventually type a masterpiece. There’s nothing random about Root Down, however. It’s already a hit.

The food: The menu runs about 70/30, veggie vs. meat dishes, but, quite honestly, meat eaters will be plenty happy here even with the preponderance of rabbit food. Trust us, once you’ve had the veggie sliders, you’ll never doubt that food group again. (There must be something to the fact that nearly every table wants at least one order of the veggie slider, and ask for extra sweet potato fries!)

The bar: Many of the bartenders are also musicians and artists from around town, so they attract a fun crowd on top of the know how to mix a fearsome drink. The specialty drinks (such as a gin rickey muddled with fresh thyme) and mojitos (don’t miss the blood orange caipirinha, made with a fine Brazilian cachaca rum named Aqua Luca) are all expertly prepared and served in the correct glassware.

The vibe: Perhaps one of the best of many great qualities about Root Down is that the noise level is never overwhelming. Even if the place gets packed full, you can still hear your dining partner without having to lean forward and keep saying “what?” Clever can sometimes be too “cute,” but Root Down hits all the right tones.

Insider tip: All of the water used for cooking and drinking (even the ice!) is reverse osmosis, which is sort to water what triple distilled is to whiskey—yeah, it’s just better. And if water doesn’t do it for you, then there’s Guinness on tap.

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