A name says a lot about a restaurant. Yes, it tells us whether to expect baguettes or naan, burgers or burritos, but it also sets expectations for atmosphere and feel. So what’s a hungry, thirsty Denverite to expect from the ambiguously named City, O’ City?
Curious, my family and I popped inside this Capitol Hill newcomer one recent Saturday and saw a chalkboard touting Dazbog coffee and a case of gluten-free muffins and spelt flour cookies. An ultra-healthy coffee shop!
We walked to the adjoining room, a stark mix of dark wood booths, lime-green poles and deep-mauve walls, and saw a long bar, loads of black stools and an array of glittering spirits. Oh, a bar! As we settled into the booth, we watched an eager, somewhat disheveled lad serve up hearty fare to the eclectic crowd around us. Aha, a pizzeria!
What kind of experience we were in for, we couldn’t quite predict. But knowing that City, O’ City is the brainchild of Dan and Michelle Landes, owners of the fab vegetarian/vegan WaterCourse Foods that previously occupied this space, we knew the food would be worth a shot.
WaterCourse regulars will recognize the sampler plate ($7.25), with flatbread points, chunky hummus, black olive tapenade, fig sauce and basil pesto. Otherwise the menu is new for the space, with bar snacks in the form of seitan buffalo wings, fries and (somewhat leaden) onion rings, one salad (Caesar, available with vegan parmesan), and nine pizzas.
Cheese plates are on tap for the summer, said general manager Jules Bethea, but for now dessert comes from the refrigerated case up front.
As my family jostled to dip our flatbread in the delicious fig sauce, we debated which pizzas to order, choosing from toppings like seitan pepperoni, jalapenos and tempeh bacon.
Unable to convince the skeptics at my table to try the hummus pizza, with
hummus and sun-dried tomatoes topped with romaine, tomatoes, olives and feta, we settled on their version of the works: the Number Three (10-inch, $7) with seitan sausage, mushrooms, peppers, caramelized onions and sage.
We also took a chance on a specialty pizza, La Michelle (10-inch, $8), with fig sauce and gorgonzola. But the addition of sun-dried tomatoes, rosemary and capers to this otherwise classic pairing was simply too much.
In a way, La Michelle’s jumble of ingredients is a metaphor for City, O’ City at this early juncture. Does it want to be a coffeehouse? A bar? A pizzeria? A breakfast spot (burritos and bagels are coming soon)?
When I asked Bethea to describe the restaurant’s vibe, she called it “a destination place” where you can “play Scrabble or write or meet friends, a place where you can talk and have an intellectual conversation.” Maybe the name City, O’ City isn’t so ambiguous after all. It’s a little bit of everything, for everyone in the city.
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City, O’ City
Vegetarian pizzeria and bar|206 E. 13th Ave., 303-831-6443 | $1.25-$17.50|Mon. to Fri., 7 a.m.-2 a.m.; Sat. and Sun., 8 a.m.-2 a.m. Visa, MC
Front burner: Limited menu pairs well with wines, spirits and strong ales at this neighborhood hangout.
Back burner: Needs some help with the decor. Hint: Lose the eerie night-vision posters.
