12@MADISON OFFERS TASTY TRIP WITH SMALL PLATES
Take a tasty trip around the world with 12@Madison’s small plates
Commitment can be one of the scariest words in the English language. And not just when it comes to figuring out who to spend your life with. For some people, even choosing a single paint color for their powder rooms can be intimidating.
When the small plate trend emerged at restaurants a few years ago, commitment-phobes rejoiced. Finally, it seemed, someone understood their struggles. Instead of consigning themselves to one large entrée, diners could order a variety of dishes and try a little of each. They could nosh instead of devour.
That was certainly Jeff Osaka’s goal when he opened 12@Madison in December 2016. (The name is based, in part, on Osaka’s first Denver restaurant, Twelve, which closed in 2014.) The globally inspired, Congress Park eatery serves an ambitious array of affordable, shareable dishes. Growing up in Los Angeles, Osaka — the culinary director of 12@Madison, Osaka Ramen, and Sushi-Rama —
says he was able to “dine around the world in one city,” and he wanted to provide the same experience for Mile High City patrons.
The intimate 12@Madison accomplishes that goal with a dynamic menu that spans from Italy to Latin America to the Middle East. Though the offerings change slightly every few weeks, Osaka and his team, which includes chef de cuisine Ashley McBrady, consistently delight diners with creative presentations and refreshing simplicity. Not every dish succeeds, but 12@Madison is a neighborhood eatery where even the most commitment-shy will happily return.
Vibe: The best seat in the house is one of the five stools fronting the narrow open kitchen. Diners looking for a quieter spot to catch up should opt for the back bar. The chitchat can grow quite loud on a busy evening, but 12@Madison’s intimate space and serene design — gray walls, light woods, moody lighting — make it feel like you’re attending a lively dinner party. A small patio opens on Thursday through Saturday nights, plus Sunday brunch, but typically ends service early (the liquor license is limited) to keep noise levels down in the residential neighborhood.
Hits: Servers recommend making a meal from two to three dishes per person (or one plat du jour plus two small plates). Start small and fresh with either the baby lettuce salad ($9), a holdover from Twelve that’s drizzled with a sprightly Banyuls vinaigrette (a wine vinegar derived from grapes grown in the Banyuls-sur-Mer area of southern France); smooth beet gazpacho ($8 for a cup); or succulent snow crab ($16) served with grapefruit and orange slivers and pistachio crumbles atop a lick-your-plate-good celery root puree.
Then move on to a pasta. The spinach-artichoke ravioli ($16) is a clever take on the beloved appetizer dip. Instead of a heavy, cheesy flavor, though, the pasta is near-bursting with a more refined, veggie-forward filling. The ravioli swim in a double-enriched chicken brodo with specks of fried garlic.
Like the ravioli, the shrimp toast ($15) is simple in appearance but packs strong flavor. Triangles of bread are topped with shrimp, which has been tossed with a rich Chinese-inspired blend of garlic, sesame oil, and egg whites; the stack is then seared on both sides. This is a knife-and-fork “sandwich” that’s best enjoyed with dips in the accompanying sweet chili sauce (for the spice-averse) or the hotter sambal.
After visiting Italy and Asia, it’s time to return to France with the panisse ($13), a fried chickpea flour cake that’s hidden beneath a sunny-side-up egg and a tangle of greens, peas, shaved asparagus, crispy mushrooms, and radish. The panisse’s crust had a nice bite that gave way to a fluffy interior, and the earthy only got better as rivers of egg yolk soaked into it.
End your meal with the Gateaux Basque ($9). The traditional French dessert (more than enough for two people) incorporates layers of almond-flour cake and a heady vanilla cream filling. It’s soft and dense at the same time, and served with preserved cherries, candied almonds, and a light, house-made whipped cream.
Misses: On two recent visits, the plat du jour — a daily special that can be made for two or four — felt overwhelmingly heavy for the heat we’d been experiencing. One, a red-wine braised lamb shank served on a large wood board with whipped potatoes, crispy broccoli, and buttery rolls from Grateful Bread Company ($55 for two people) was well-executed (though the veggies were overly salty) but overwhelmed the palate and the stomach on a latespring evening.
Other dishes got lost in the details. The hand-pulled strac- ciatella cheese ($13) was creamy and supple but couldn’t maintain its freshness under the weight of oily breadcrumbs and an asparagus-pistachio gremolata with too-large spears of asparagus. The duck confit pancake ($16) offered an intriguing blend of French and Asian cuisines, but the pancake was too thin and its exterior too soft to hold up to the unfortunately dry duck. The dish’s saving grace was a bright and crunchy cucumber-radish kimchi.
A double-stacked peanut butter pound cake ($9) — layered with cloud-like toasted fluffernutter and accompanied by a quenelle of banana ice cream — was also disappointingly dry.
Drinks: Your meal is going to be a hodgepodge of cuisines, so there’s something for every palate and pairing on the ambitious drink list. (Except sake, which would be a worthy addition.) Osaka curated the wine list at his original Twelve and, once again, he’s built a solid — but not overwhelming — selection of vinos, including a section of half-bottle white and sparkling options. The beer list ($6 to $13) is Colorado-focused but not exclusive; Oregon, California, Belgium, and France (with a cider) are also represented.
Bar manager Alex Holt plans the concise cocktail menu around the food, so the tipples change, but if it’s available, the Madison Street ($13) — Rittenhouse rye, lemon, cayenne, and ginger — is a little sweet, a little spicy, and a lovely foil to any dish. The lavender-tinged Collins ($13) is subtle and balanced, enjoyable on its own but also able to take a backseat when the food arrives.
After dinner, there’s java from Lakewood’s Sweet Bloom Coffee Roasters ($6 for a personal French press), tea and a selection of dessert wines and cock- tails (we’ve been eyeing the Evening Delight, $12, a refreshing sounding blend of rum, crème de banana, pineapple, and mint).
Service: This is a restaurant where servers wipe down your table between courses and seamlessly swap used plates for clean ones as often as necessary. Step away from your seat to use the restroom, and you’ll return to find your napkin folded on the table. Some servers are more adept than others, but every staffer is well-trained, professional, and warm. Dishes are timed well, usually arriving at the table with enough separation to give diners a little break but not so long that they wonder where their food is.
Bottom Line: 12@Madison is a true neighborhood restaurant, but the creative and walletfriendly dishes should draw diners from across town.
Price: Shared plates ($8 to $16); Plat du jour (market price); Desserts ($9 to $12)
Fun Fact: Osaka is also a partner in Spruce & Lark, a bakery and café headed to the Berkeley neighborhood this fall. The eatery is named after Colorado’s state tree and bird and will showcase baked goods from partner Alicia Luther, the former pastry chef at now-shuttered Black Eye Cap Hill, as well as a savory breakfast and lunch menu. Restaurant Info: 12@Madison, 1160 Madison St., 720-216-0190; 12atmadison.com
Hours: 4 to 10 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday; 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 to 9 p.m., Sunday Reservations: Accepted Parking: Free street parking
Star Rating Guide: Ratings range from zero to four stars. Zero is poor. One star, satisfactory. Two stars, good. Three stars, very good. Four stars, excellent.