For a state that is sometimes lumped into “the Southwest,” Colorado has few Southwestern resaurants.
But now Ocotillo has sprung up, named for the thorny plant that grows in the desert regions of the United States and Mexico.
The ocotillo (pronounced oh-ko-TEE-yo) is less flashy and much smaller than the saguaro, and thus many people don’t even know the word for it. You’ve seen it, though, its long, skinny, sprawling limbs reaching for the sky between the bigger cacti, its surprisingly scarlet flowers so delicate and hopeful after the rains and vibrant among the browns of the parched dirt and clay.
Ocotillo the restaurant isn’t flashy, either, a smallish eatery tucked into a strip mall in Greenwood Village, a few doors down from the other place owned by Steve Shelman, Ventura Grille. Ventura isn’t exactly the polar opposite of Ocotillo, but it’s pretty different: eclectic comfort food, such as lobster pot pies.
Up until this week, the executive chef for both spots had been Jenna Johansen, who conceived both menus and oversaw them with the day-to-day help of sous chef Gina Ruden at Ocotillo and Damon Keith at Ventura. Johansen has moved on, however, and Ruden and Keith are now the lead chefs at their respective restaurants.
Shelman says people have questioned the wisdom of opening two eateries so close together, but a recent weekend was a good example of how the move might work well. Ventura was full, but Ocotillo wasn’t, so the staff sent diners from one to the other. On another night, the situation was reversed.
Whether everyone who likes eclectic comfort food will latch onto Southwestern is another question, but really, the fare at Ocotillo is not a hard sell. The raucous happy-hour crowd that packs around the angular bar nightly to snack on the special sampler menu proves the point.
The Mexican influences are obvious, and the American concessions agreeable, all served in an atmosphere that keeps from being kitschy, from the faux exposed brick in the main dining room to the fire pit blazing on the outdoor patio.
Hardwood floors and white- paned windows that afford a foliage-framed view of the mountains in the distance also make it very easy to forget that Ocotillo is in a shopping plaza in the ‘burbs.
Interesting, well-executed food makes it even easier to imagine this place is somewhere else and even farther south, starting with a tableside guacamole ($9) that managed to be more about the result and less about the server showing off his monologue. Into the bowl went fresh avocado, tomatoes, jalapeño, green onion, cilantro, plenty of lime juice and a mix of ground chiles that gave it oomph but not ouch. It was all scooped into a small bowl that was big enough for four to share with a basket of two kinds of chips, one a regular type of commercial white corn tortilla and the other freshly fried from soft tortillas.
Of the appetizers we tried, only one bombed, a wild mushroom turnover ($6) that had been either microwaved or simply overcooked. The salmon and shrimp cakes ($8) were filled with bell peppers and enough salmon and shrimp to give a strong seafood flavor that held up against a bold tomatillo salsa and chipotle- smoky aioli. The sweet potato fries ($5) were the ultimate snack food, medium-thick and served with a bourbon-sweetened red chile ketchup.
It might seem as though Southwestern food is only about rubbing everything with chiles, but that’s a caricature. The subtle layering makes the dishes work, and at Ocotillo the layered flavors work best in dishes such as Hatch chile chicken ($15), a breast crusted in manchego cheese and slathered in a deep red chile sauce that had been cooked down until it could almost stand on its own. The kitchen, by the way, will turn up the heat by request, asking the diner to specify on a scale of one to ten. I asked for eight, and it was hot but didn’t take my tongue off or put tears in my eyes.
Layering elevated the green chile-glazed ribs ($19 for full rack), as well: pork ribs cured in brown sugar and then smoked and slicked with a mild green-chile-fired barbecue sauce. It also made the Rio Grande ravioli ($13, or $18 with grilled shrimp added) a multileveled joy, with oversized pasta filled with ancho-spiced butternut squash, all awash in a maple-sugary brown butter kissed with sage and pine nuts.
Lunch offers some of the same entrees, such as the Hatch chicken, along with some fun Southwesterny sandwiches like a BLT ($8) made with chile-dusted brown sugar bacon on green chile focaccia and salads of cucumber and jicama ($7) with grilled pineapple and a cilantro-lime vinaigrette.
Desserts change daily, and it’s so hard to choose, that on one visit four of us took down five of them. Mango and margarita sorbets ($7) were sweet-and-sour delights, while sautéed plantains ($6) with cinnamon gelato and cajeta (a South American caramel sauce) were another hit.
The dense chile-sparked chocolate mole cake ($6) was too filling for more than a few bites but offered a rich ending, and the chocolate crème brûlée ($6) was just what we expected, luscious and creamy, with a crackly crust on top. The one that was hardest to snag from its initial owner, though, was the plate of buñuelos ($6), light, crispy fritters dusted with cinnamon sugar and served with gelato that melted against the puffy buns’ warm sides.
The difference in the buñuelos’ flavor came from canela, Mexican cinnamon, which comes from a softer, loose-bark type grown in Ceylon rather than the harder stick we’re used to tasting. It has a gentler flavor, too.
Like Southwestern cooking, Ocotillo’s charm is in the details, and the eatery helpfully provides a glossary in the menu for those who don’t know or understand the cuisine. Next to the word for this restaurant, it should simply say, “Good.”
Dining critic Kyle Wagner can be reached at 303-820-1958 or kwagner@denverpost.com.
Ocotillo ***
SOUTHWESTERN | 5960 S. Holly St., Greenwood Village, 720-200-6755|
Atmosphere: Southwestern just shy of being kitschy, with faux-exposed brick, hardwood floors and wooden tables, an angular bar and both an enclosed patio and an outdoor patio with a fire pit. Great view of the mountains.
Service: A very friendly and efficient staff that loves the food. There can be long waits between multiple courses, though.
Wine list: Goes with the food and priced to sell.
Dinner entrees: $13-$21
Hours: 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m., 4-9:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m., 4-10:30 p.m. Friday; 4-10:30 p.m. Saturday; 4-9:30 p.m. Sunday.
Details: All major credit cards; parking lot; noisy; no smoking; wheelchair accessible; reservations recommended.
Two visits
