A neighborhood identifies itself by several things. Among them:
Its residents.
Its geography.
Its sensibilities.
And, of course, its food.
Mona’s, a smart little restaurant on 15th Street just west of the South Platte River, has designs on being the landmark local eatery in its neighborhood. Judging from the crowds that pack the place (especially for breakfast and lunch), so far, so good.
Stylish and urbane, but cozy and comfortable (and just gritty enough to make it welcoming), the brightly colored and whimsically decorated Mona’s has been serving breakfast and lunch, to enthusiastic (and well-merited) acclaim for a couple of years now.
Crowds of locals and REI flagship-store spillovers pack the joint for excellent coffee and savory breakfast-brunch dishes, served up by an able, busy, friendly and trendily dressed staff.
Top of the egg heap is the corned beef hash, a lovely mess of chopped corned beef, potatoes, onion and green peppers topped with two superfresh sunny-side up eggs.
Another winner is the crab cake Florentine – velvety texture, soft sweet-crab flavor, rich sautéed spinach, and a smooth chipotle-hollandaise with a pleasant morning kick.
Sweet tooths will be happy with the orange brioche French toast, though they’ll also be mighty full, and sugar-rush buzzing for the rest of the morning.
Breakfast flows seamlessly into lunch, when sandwiches take center stage. You won’t go wrong with the serviceable BLT (which substitutes spinach for lettuce and avocado for straight-up mayonnaise) or the beef brisket sandwich on its soft, doughy bun (get this one with cole slaw on the side).
Also worth your lunchtime ducats, Mona’s house burger, cooked beautifully and served with crispy fries.
Over the past few months, Mona’s has expanded its service into the dinner hours, which is the right idea for this kind of neighborhood spot, and they’re keeping themselves relatively busy. A lively vibe occupies the room most nights, and it’s pleasant enough to be there.
But Mona’s suppertime menu struggles with intent, focus and execution. And while some of the dishes are plenty satisfying, many of them are overthought and overwrought with too many flavors.
One recent misstep on Mona’s frequently changing menu was a “spring berry” salad with a vanilla-spiked vinaigrette.
We asked what the “spring berries” were. Our server’s answer, “Whatever’s in season now. I think tonight they’re strawberries.” Well, fair enough. I suppose it is strawberry season somewhere, if not here. She went on: “They’re tossed with greens and dressed with a vanilla vinaigrette.”
Strawberries, greens and vanilla vinaigrette? It sounded weird and awful and, because it’s my job, I had to try it.
It was, in fact, weird and awful, a sappy-sweet souvenir from that perilous juncture in a gutsy chef’s mind where creativity meets disaster.
There’s nothing new about vanilla vinaigrette (it’s been seen, and banished, before) but there’s nothing much good about it, either. Especially when whoever made it leaned too heavily on the vanilla, cloying every other flavor in the salad, and nearly every flavor that came after it for the rest of the meal.
Your takeaway: Avoid it. Choose a more straightforward salad.
For an entrée, choose the pan-roasted chicken breast with bacon-cabernet risotto, a relaxed, and relaxing, dish. Or the crab cake BLT, a lunch-for-dinner plate that also includes a pile of crispy homemade chips and tasty slaw.
And on nights when they get the balance right and don’t overload the dish with lemon, the pan-seared rainbow trout with dumplings can be a winner.
Be wary of the house-smoked trout appetizer, which would shine on a plain old piece of crusty country bread. It gets lost on a slice of French toast with balsamic maple syrup. Ditto the meatloaf, also house-smoked, and accompanied by a glitzy ancho chile-raisin ketchup.
You’re safer with the beautifully grilled pork tenderloin, but take care with the jalapeño sweet potatoes, which, if not consumed judiciously, will overpower your tongue. Or choose the grilled sirloin, a lovely cut of Maverick Ranch beef with roasted garlic.
Bottom line: Breakfast at Mona’s is a hit, and eating there in the early hours amongst all those hip neighborhood denizens makes you feel cool enough to have been out all night – even if you weren’t.
Lunch also delivers, making you feel like a well-fed neighbor on a day off even if you’ve just crossed the Platte from your day job for a quick sandwich before that looming two-o’clock meeting.
But until Mona’s clarifies its vision and works through its evening-menu growing pains, supper may just leave you peevish and confused.
Hang in there, neighbor. Mona’s at suppertime, if not perfect, is promising. Soon enough, its longed-for status as the Platte Valley’s defining go-to local may just be realized.
Dining critic Tucker Shaw can be reached at 303-954-1958 or at dining@denverpost.com.
Mona’s
Eclectic/American
2364 15th St., 303-455-4503, monasrestaurant.com
** | Very Good
Atmosphere: Brightly colored walls, whimsical designs, trendy-looking staff, happy clientele.
Service: Professional and efficient and friendly.
Wine: Small, just-fine wine list. Not one to write home about, but a few nice choices.
Plates: Breakfast, $4.98-10.98. Lunch $6.98-10.98. Dinner $10-16.
Hours: Breakfast and lunch 7 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday-Friday; 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. Dinner 5-9 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday; 5-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 5-8:30 p.m. Sunday. Closed for dinner Tuesday.
Details: Credit cards accepted. Free parking lot plus paid street parking. Great walk-to spot for locals.
Four visits.
Our star system:
****: Exceptional
***: Great
**: Very good
*: Good
No stars: Needs work.
