Article Contributed on: 2/24/2009 9:28:25 AM
The point of
Denver Restaurant Week, from the industry side, is to fill the cash registers,
lure new customers and turn them into regulars.
It's good for business, and it helps people like me afford a few more meals out at nice restaurants.
Yet the most anticipated restaurant on my list of eateries offering the $52.80 prix fixe meal for two probably didn't need to discount its menu prices.
Bones, the latest creation of Frank Bonanno, is an Asian fusion noodle house with main courses hovering around $10 apiece and topping out at $16. Considering Bonanno is a
semi-finalist for the James Beard Foundation Restaurateur of the Year, I'd call his menu a steal.
And that was before eating there.
Situated on the corner of 7th and Grant and sandwiched between Bonanno's
Mizuna and
Luca d' Italia, Bones lies in the heart of the Governor's Park neighborhood.
It's tiny, having taken the place of a coffee shop, offering just a half dozen tables lining the enormous street-facing windows and another 10 or so seats at the counter. When you walk in, you feel like you've entered a trendy diner, the only giveaway that this is not the case being a floor-to-ceiling wine rack.
Our four-top settled into one of the tables, foregoing the countertop experience that gives diners a perch looking into the kitchen. The Restaurant Week menu features a choice between tuna tartare, crispy crab wontons and a bibb salad to start, a braised chicken with warm or hot noodles or udon with pork and a poached egg as the entrée, and Fruit Loop Panna Cotta to finish.
I bit, opting for the wontons and
udon to go along with the cereal-flavored dessert-a glass of vino unexpectedly came with the deal, too. Since the prices weren't too much more expensive, my friends ordered an array of dishes off the regular menu.
Being a fan of Bonanno, my expectations were sky high, and the flavors certainly met them. My wontons came filled with lump crap and a well-balanced housemade sweet and sour at its side. They were fresh, crisp and delicious. My girlfriend opted for he lamb egg rolls ($9), which come three, massive pieces to an order. They were impressive in taste and texture and portion size.
But the real winner on the "First" menu was the steamed buns. Served with Suckling Pig or Belly, this order of three is served much like a taco with the buns wrapping around your meat. The belly in our case, was perfectly prepared and heavenly tender. I managed a bite off my friend's plate before they were devoured.
This being a noodle house, these tasty appetizers only whet our appetites for the main course. If you're looking for a straight interpretation of a Japanese noodle dish, you may want to look elsewhere. Bonanno's team of chefs uses French inspiration to put the Bones spin on noodles.
The udon was a true highlight. The naturally-raised pork that floats among the thicket of noodles was certainly succulent, but it was the veal stock that transformed this dish. Veal bones are cooked slowly, for two nights, to make this stock, we were told. You can tell as the flavors seem so defined and intensely layered. For good measure, the poached egg served atop the broth provided a subtle sweetness.
My friends chose the
ramen ($16), served with poached lobster, edamame and a miso broth. This example veered even more from the traditional Japanese take and showcased a healthy amount of the fusion.
That being said, the poached lobster was both excellent and abundant (perhaps three ounces in a bowl), and the miso broth was heavy on the lobster's sweet buttery flavor.
Then there was dessert. Panna cotta is usually not a favorite as I tend to veer from gelatin desserts. But the unique twist on the traditional Italian sweet was nice. While preparing the geletain, Fruit Loops are soaked in milk then strained away, giving the dessert the same flavor you'll remember from slurping the leftover milk from the bottom of your cereal bowl as a kid.
I'm not sure I loved this finish, but it was good enough, and I truly appreciated the unique take on a traditional dessert.
And that's what I really loved about Bones. The entire premise is a unique take on a traditional Japanese noodle house. Bonanno has over the years mastered the classic techniques of French, Italian and European cooking in general, offering it in the highest end of restaurant tiers.
Now he has opened something that seems a 180 from his other eateries in flavors
and price. So I'll consider his Restaurant Week a success, since I plan on becoming a regular, often swinging in for a noodle bowl at lunch or an affordable dinner on the weekends.
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For more info: Bones, 701 Grant St., Denver, 303.860.2929.
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