You can tell almost everything you need to know about a restaurant by its bookends: the bread and butter it serves at the beginning of a meal, and the coffee it serves at the end.
At Potager, a classy Capitol Hill bistro devoted to seasonal cooking and innovative dishes, the bread and butter are very, very good.
So is the coffee.
Sometimes I’m wrong with my bread-and-butter theory, of course. But at Potager, it plays out. This place, like its bookends, is very, very good.
Great even.
Exhibit A: The room itself. With floor-to-ceiling windows that look directly onto East 11th Avenue and a cunning one-room arrangement of bar, dining area and kitchen, Potager is spacious and intimate at the same time. Concrete floors and unfinished walls seal a sophisticated, urban vibe that’s also lighthearted and cozy.
Exhibit B: The clientele. There’s no one in the house who isn’t having a good time. Servers are busy and cheerful. The kitchen churns with energy, not chaos. It’s lively at Potager even on uncrowded Tuesdays, manageable even on full-house Fridays.
Exhibit C: The menu. Potager’s bold (and sometimes risky) menu changes every couple of months. Take your time to read this moving target carefully.
There’s stuff that you would expect to see on a contemporary bistro menu: duck liver mousse, baked cod brandade, roast chicken with prosciutto.
And then there are the double takes: Pizza with rosemary … and pears? Shrimp risotto with paprika … and orange zest? Lobster … with ginger and carrot? Lemon and thyme soufflé … with peekytoe crab sauce? Fans of Jean-Georges Vongerichten, a stratospherically successful chef with restaurants in New York and Las Vegas, will recognize some of these zany flavor combinations.
Granted, ideas like these don’t always work. But when they do pull it off at Potager, it’s on.
It was one of these leap-of-faith dishes that sealed my feelings for Potager: linguine with tomatoes, pears, nuts, capers and currants. At first glance, I thought, no way. Too crazy and, well, no bacon.
But I took a leap of faith anyway.
Lucky me. This was a truly spectacular bowl of pasta. A perfect snake pit of just-toothy strands of linguine tossed with barely caramelized cubes of pear, tart but sweet marinated tomatoes, and a nutty trifecta of cashews, pine nuts and walnuts. Scattered over the top, a handful each of capers and currants, little Trojan horses carrying opposing blasts of brine and fructose. Oils from the tomatoes, nuts and capers meld together, glistening. And in the middle of it all, a capitol dome of creamy, slow-melting mascarpone just waiting to be stirred into the noodles. Or dolloped onto each bite, one at a time.
With so many moving parts, this dish could have been a disaster. But it was delicious, and I was floored. Eating it was interactive, like a game: With so many distinct components, you can build millions of combos on your fork. It was unusual, busy and ebullient; a real stroke of genius. When the menu changes, I’ll miss it.
Other high points on the current (winter) menu: homemade gnocchi with chanterelles and shallots. Roasted figs with ricotta and arugula. Curried butternut soup with pear marmalade. Sautéed opah with celery root.
Low points on the menu are few, but they’re here. A fast-changing menu means some unperfected dishes. Lamb shoulder roasted with garlic and white beans was well-prepared but ordinary. Smoked trout salad was burdened, not enhanced, by potatoes. And trying to make any sense at all of the lemon and thyme soufflé with peekytoe crab sauce was an exercise in tail-chasing.
But who else is daring enough to put a lemon and thyme soufflé with peekytoe crab sauce on the menu? Takes guts, and guts are rarer than ever in kitchens these days.
It is worth noting that Potager will make vegetarians happy. Depending on the latest menu, you might find a delicate beet risotto or a hearty wild mushroom lasagna. Pumpkin, sage and pine nut ravioli. Sauteed mozzarella cheese with olive-caper sauce. And, of course, the gnocchi and linguine.
It is also worth noting that Potager is devoted to seasonal cooking. This is great, but watch what you order, or things can get redundant. At one visit, I found pears in my appetizer, main course and dessert. I love pears and all, but next time I’ll order the chocolate pudding for dessert.
Have I mentioned the chocolate pudding? There aren’t enough column inches in this paper to do justice to Potager’s best dessert. But if you do nothing else, sit at the bar for a cup of coffee or a glass of Sauternes and a ramekin of Potager’s creamy, sweet, bitter, smooth, coma-inducing chocolate pudding. Simple, classic, perfect. (And don’t worry, it’s always on the menu.)
One wobbly but manageable feature of Potager is its wine-pairing recommendations. Listen to your instincts and don’t be afraid to order outside the wine lines. Sure, the Georg Mahn Dornfelder (Germany), suggested as a pair with the lamb sausage with sun-dried cherries, was perfect. But the Snowden Lost Vineyard cabernet (Napa), pegged to wash down the lamb shoulder, didn’t work. Thankfully there was a Langmeil syrah (Australia) on the menu, and that did the job nicely.
Know this: It’s not cheap to eat at Potager. But the prices aren’t out of line with the rest of the best restaurants in Denver, and given the level of talent on display, you won’t feel ripped off.
Some seating advice: Potager doesn’t accept reservations, so come early or late. And if you can, be picky about your seat. At the wrong table, the roaring ventilation system overhead can suffocate your conversation. Jockey for a table by the windows.
Potager chef-owner Teri Rippeto is clearly a curious person who likes to study, experiment and learn. She also likes to show off. A nutty professor of sorts, with high artistic ambitions. Lofty standards, deep talent, remarkable attention to detail, bravado.
And really, really good bread and butter.
Dining critic Tucker Shaw can be reached at 303-820-1958 or dining@denverpost.com.
*** | Potager
Seasonal American/Continental
1109 Ogden St., 303-832-5788
Atmosphere: Sophisticated but casual dining in a stylish and friendly urban bistro.
Service: Efficient, accessible and knowledgeable about a varied and frequently changing menu.
Plates: Small plates, $6.50-$18. Entrees, $18-$26.
Hours: Tuesday-Thursday 5-10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 5-11 p.m.
Details: All major credit cards accepted. No reservations. Wheelchair accessible. Street parking plus a small lot in back. Outdoor garden during warm months.
Four visits.
Our star system:
****: Exceptional
***: Great
**: Very good
*: Good
No stars: Needs work
