You can’t keep a good chef down.
Economics (it’s tough to get rich with just one restaurant), a desire for creative freedom and the lure of celebrity have vaulted restauranting into a new era. For more and more cooks, one restaurant just isn’t enough.
Witness local celeb-chefs Frank Bonanno (Mizuna, Luca D’Italia, Harry’s Chophouse, Milagro), Kevin Taylor (Prima, Prima Boulder, Restaurant Kevin Taylor, Kevin Taylor at the Opera House, Palettes, Rouge) and Troy Guard (Nine75, Ocean, the upcoming Oscar’s). All are associated with more than one local eatery.
And then there’s Sean Yontz. A skilled cook and clever restaurateur, Yontz, whose history includes stints at Tamayo and the now-defunct Vega, has several kitchens under his aegis, including Mezcal on East Colfax, Sketch in Cherry Creek, and Chama in Belmar.
It’s impossible for Yontz to be at all three at once. He may, on a perfect day, spend a little time in each kitchen (his customers certainly hope so), and he creates all the menus.
But we can assume (and forgive) that Yontz is not responsible for every meal. His role, more than cooking, lies in staffing and overall quality control.
And so the question is: Can a talented but hyper-extended chef like Sean Yontz ensure quality on every plate served under his name?
Mezcal
The shiniest jewel in Yontz’s crown has long been (and still is) Mezcal, the lively, innovative neo-Mexican eatery and tequila bar on East Colfax. Besides having a perfect name, Mezcal may be the most lucidly conceived restaurant in town.
Yontz’s clear vision for Mezcal is reflected in its décor, a glorious, evocative hodgepodge of Mexican kitsch, from an oversized print of a smirking chihuahua to vintage Mexican wrestler posters. The bar is always packed. Rock music trips through the air.
Yontz wisely serves food at Mezcal that won’t confuse his customers or his able staff. Tacos, burritos and combination plates define the menu, and while not groundbreaking, they’re consistently good. The crowds (including me) are consistently pleased.
My favorite combo plate, #5 (tamale, chile relleno, and carne asada tostada) is a textbook no-brainer throwdown meal that never disappoints. Also rocking, porky pozole and tequila-marinated salmon.
Brilliantly, Mezcal offers breakfast all day. The huevos rancheros make a fine supper.
New menu items include fajitas, appropriately sizzling with fresh fillings, and a Mexican burger, open-faced on a tortilla under a proud pile of jalapeños and onions. Both are worthy.
Mezcal, of late, has gone through some mild aging pains, most evident in the legendary margaritas. When they’re good, they’re great, but when the bartender flubs, they’re common. Here’s hoping they revisit the original recipe and reinstate perfection.
Service is spry, if not indulgent, which fits the place perfectly. No white gloves here, just cold drinks, hot plates and plenty of chips and salsa.
I believe that Mezcal is one of Denver’s most franchiseable restaurants. If I were the brains behind Mezcal (brains that include make-it-happen man Jesse Morreale), I’d open another Mezcal in Denver, one in the Springs, one in Fort Collins, and one up in the hills. I’d think about taking it national. Mezcal, as a concept restaurant, is that good.
Is the food flawless? Nope. But the overall package is a bona fide winner.
Chama
Bel Mar, one of the area’s flagship suburban redevelopment projects, needed a Mexican restaurant worthy of its upwardly mobile surroundings. Enter Yontz and his upscale south-of-the-border eatery and tequilaría, Chama.
It’s been open for a year, but the paint on Chama’s walls still feels fresh. Unfortunately the hodgepodge design of the place (open-
ended step-up booths, backlit bar shelving, a wall of antique mirrors, beautiful but misplaced sculpture) would fit better in a mall food court than in a sophisticated Mexican eatery.
So would the guacamole, served en molcajete (in a stone mortar). On initial visits, the guacamole was fresh and spicy and lime-tangy (especially when paired with the grapefruit-tinged Paloma margarita). On subsequent visits, it has lacked punch – pasty and sallow.
Equally inconsistent, the tampiqueña plate, built around a grilled ribeye. A beautiful steak, but gristle-tough on two tries.
On the other hand, tacos carnitas spoke fluently, chile rellenos packed welcome spice, sopa de fideo (chicken noodle soup) seduced, and poblano hash browns – generously studded with sweet-spicy peppers – were irresistible.
But chilaquiles sagged. Mole lacked depth. Huachinango (fried snapper) was soggy, not crispy. Ceviche wanted more and better seafood. And crepas de cajeta, crepes in caramel sauce, were gummy and flaccid.
(Many of the dishes at Chama appear nearly identical in preparation to those at Mezcal – the tampiqueña and crepas de cajeta being two – but while they fly at Mezcal, they flail at Chama.)
Service at Chama (which I have visited six times over the past eight months, hoping each time that I’ll have a better experience) has ranged from vacant to frazzled to infuriating. Plates arrive way out of order and tepid. Dirty dishes linger. Crumbs lie un-cleared. Chip baskets and water glasses sit empty. And the histrionics necessary to wave down your check when you’re done can be entirely exhausting.
Chama is perhaps best enjoyed at brunch (the Mexican Toast, a riff on French toast served with bananas, is a sweet guilty-pleasure breakfast) or from the bar, where an extensive list of tequilas, blancos to añejos, is (like Mezcal’s) one of Denver’s best. And who cares if it’s not a Mexican drink, Chama serves a minty-smooth mojito.
Chama should be better than it is, because the idea of Chama is a good one. Perhaps, with time and consistent local patronage, it will mature to fill its ambitious shoes.
But so far Chama’s promise remains unfulfilled.
Sketch
Much more promising is Yontz’s well-conceived foray (again with Morreale) into Cherry Creek North, the wine-focused Sketch Food and Wine. Located one flight below street level, the low-lit, clubby room suggests relaxing, conversation-fueling meals. The sprawling bar invites late-night lingering.
Sketch’s menu is decidedly north-of-the-border. This is a departure for Yontz, an opportunity for him to flex his saucy Euro-American bistro muscles.
Sketch’s strongest dishes include the roasted lamb sirloin, carefully cooked and beautifully matched with a manchego-tickled potato gratin. A decadent pairing of seared breast and delicate duck leg confit floated happily over soft-textured polenta and a tossed handful of dates. The grilled skirt steak and peppers appetizer was an afternoon stroll through Florence. Linguine with clams, seaworthy and comforting.
Even the simple Sketch burger was prepared with finesse (and offered with your choice of plain old French fries or, if you must, “truffled” fries, sacked with a cheap-shot, palate-numbing spritz of truffle oil).
Skip the schizophrenic asparagus and roasted pepper appetizer, the chewy sea bass and the clamless clam chowder. And don’t get me started on the mis-named chicken pot pie, a bowl of goo under a sullen pastry cap.
Sketch hangs its reputation on its wine service, which, if not perfect, is better than most. The extensive list has been (mostly) tasted by the staff, who are well-prepped to help with your selections.
Not for nothing, pinot noir is served in a pinot noir glass, Bordeaux in a Bordeaux glass, and so forth. Too many local restaurants fudge this detail. Not Sketch, where they get the glasses right.
Its imperfect location is the most obvious obstacle to Sketch’s long-term success. The restaurant, not sure exactly who its audience should be (hipsters? gourmands? wine aficionados? nightowls?), feels like a square peg in the decidedly round-hole Cherry Creek neighborhood.
But I like square pegs. And I like Sketch.
Bottom line
So, can a talented-but-busy chef succeed in more than one location? Yes.
Well, sort of.
Sean Yontz is capable, intelligent, intuitive, ambitious, detail-driven, passionate, optimistic and energetic. His food can be flawless when he wants it to be, and he’s worked hard to earn his status as one of Denver’s most gifted culinary visionaries.
But I wonder just how high Yontz’s star might rise, and just how much depth and artistry he might reveal on his plates, if he were to keep his eye on one ball at a time.
Dining critic Tucker Shaw can be reached at 303-954-1958 or at dining@denverpost.com.
Mezcal
Mexican
3230 E. Colfax Ave., 303-322-5219
***|Great
Atmosphere: Busy, seam-busting Mexican restaurant with large, active central bar and lots of Mexican kitsch.
Service: Appropriately swift and casual. Inelegant but efficient. Plates (usually) arrive hot.
Wine: Margaritas and tequila shots, plus specials on Pabst Blue Ribbon, if that’s your thing.
Plates: Appetizers, $4.95-7.95. Entrees, $6.95-$15.95.
Hours: 11 a.m.-2 a.m. Monday-Friday. 10 a.m.-2 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Details: All major credit cards accepted. Reservations not necessary. Street parking. Outdoor dining on nice days.
Five visits.
Sketch Food & Wine
Euro-American
250 Steele St., 303-333-1763
** 1/2 | Very Good/Great
Atmosphere: Stylish, low-lit, wood-paneled restaurant with outdoor patio for warm-evening dining.
Service: Helpful, friendly, knowledgeable service.
Wine: Extensive list of reds and whites from around the world. Plenty offered by the glass and bottle. Affordable stars include a Weingut Brundlmayer Riesling from Germany and a Queen of Hearts pinot noir from Santa Barbara.
Plates: Appetizers, $5-$10. Entrees, $9-$23.
Hours: 5 p.m.-2 a.m. every day.
Details: All major credit cards accepted. Reservations encouraged. Street parking. Great for late- night dining or for sipping wine at the bar.
Four visits.
Chama
Mexican
425 S. Teller St., Lakewood, 303-935-5170
* |Good
Atmosphere: Spacious, contemporary restaurant with large bar area and open-booth seating.
Service: Harmless at best, distracted and sloppy at worst.
Wine: Tequila, tequila, tequila. And cocktails.
Plates: Appetizers, $6-$9. Entrees, $9-$19.
Hours: 10 a.m.-11 p.m. (or until the restaurant is empty) every day.
Details: All major credit cards accepted. Reservations encouraged but not needed. Street parking, or hit the free parking lot down the street. Hit the movie theater across the street after dinner.
Six visits.
Our star system:
****: Exceptional.
***: Great.
**: Very good.
*: Good.
No stars: Needs work.
