For concrete proof that times have changed, stop by Diane's Good To Go some night and watch modern-day Cleavers shop for their evening's repast.
At supermarkets these days, the prepackaged sections far outnumber the areas given over to raw goods, and over the past decade, upscale takeout spots have popped up across the country. Diane's takes that concept and does it one better: This is a "market" whose primary product is ready-made gourmet meals in microwaveable containers -- restaurant-quality food that's been cooked almost all the way through, with just a final heating necessary to bring it back to life. The need for that last bit of cooking is what distinguishes Diane's from other to-go places that cook their food all the way through; because Diane's offerings haven't already been brought to their last, driest stages, there's a chance that they will actually still taste fresh after a quick trip to the microwave.
Smart idea. But then, owner Tom Moxcey had decades of restaurant savvy behind him when he opened Diane's Good To Go -- named after his partner and wife of 36 years -- this past November. From his start as a waiter in the Cork and Cleaver chain, Moxcey ultimately became a member of the Concept Restaurants Inc. team headed by Frank Day, who put Moxcey in a variety of management positions that included work with Old Chicago and the Walnut and Rock Bottom breweries. Moxcey was president of Rock Bottom Inc. when the brewpub chain went public in 1994 -- Day has since bought it back -- and he stayed on for four years after that. But two years ago he felt the urge to do something on his own, and it was then that the idea for Diane's sprouted.
"I kept thinking that there is a market for folks who have grown accustomed to restaurant food -- those flavors and quality -- who don't want to make an evening out of getting that kind of food," says Moxcey. "And they don't have the time or the patience or the know-how to cook it, so I wanted to tap into that. And I think that thus far, my theory has been proven correct."
I'll say. There are now two Diane's -- one on Sixth Avenue and one on South University -- and both are always filled with folks milling around the display cases, scoping out the possibilities. Business is so good that Moxcey plans to open another Diane's in Highlands Ranch by the end of May and one in the Happy Canyon area by the end of June; there's also a deal in the works for the Golden Triangle. None of these spots will have kitchens, per se. Everything for Diane's is prepared at a commissary in Broomfield, where Moxcey himself stops every morning, filling his refrigerated truck with the specific items each store will need that day.
Moxcey, a couple of consulting chefs and executive chef Craig Wert worked together to come up with the recipes for those items. And each almost-finished product includes cooking instructions on the label, simple heating steps that are supposed to ensure the perfect result. While the times aren't always right on -- Moxcey says he hopes people will use them as guidelines and tailor the heating process to their own ovens -- they're close enough that anyone with a reasonable sense of time and temperature can finish the job and sit down to dinner within fifteen minutes of walking in the door.
Not all of Diane's offerings require cooking, either. The markets sell everything from tri-color tortilla chips ($2.95 a bag) and a mildly spicy, well-melded tomatillo salsa ($2.50 per eight-ounce container) to soups and salads, a roster of dozens of main courses and side dishes that changes daily, and desserts, including chocolate-chunk "cookies tartar " ($3.75 for a dozen). Made by Diane herself, the little frozen rounds of dough fill your house with the scent of warm goodness within minutes of going into the oven. (I had to leave them there about five minutes longer than the recommended fifteen-minute maximum on the label.)
All of this goodness doesn't come cheap. The Cleavers would have fed their family of four for a total of $8 -- on meat night. On a recent stop at Diane's, enough beef stroganoff ($8.95 per pound), fettuccine ($2.95 per pound), Caesar salad ($8 a large), steamed broccoli ($2.25 per pound) and cheesecake ($3.95 a slice) to feed four people cost close to $60. But our dinner was fabulous: Sweet, creamy stroganoff sauce had soaked into the tender beef chunks; the fettuccine reheated perfectly; the rich, parmesan-chunky Caesar was still crunchy and cold; the broccoli had retained its color and flavor; and the cheesecake was heaven in a wedge. Beyond that, it took only fifteen minutes at the store and twelve minutes at home to make our meal happen, and the only dishes we dirtied were the ones we needed to put the food on the table. What price convenience? (And remember, you're also paying the price for employees who must make more than $2.02 an hour because they don't get tips -- something that you aren't paying.)
Other Diane's dishes worth shelling out for: the delectable barbecued pork baby-back ribs ($7.50 a half slab), with their fat-drippy edges and a concentrated sweet and sticky sauce; the beautifully cooked prime rib au jus ($7.95 per slice), with rich, beefy jus so intensely flavored it could qualify as a demi-glace; the soft-centered, golden-fried lobster crab cakes ($13.95 for two); the moist, delicate, cedar-plank salmon ($7.95 a serving); the smashed potatoes that tasted like my grandmother's ($2.50 per pound); and the University pea salad ($2.25 per pound), a Junior Leaguers' delight of a potluck dish, with its sour-creamy sauce pulling together the snap and fresh peas, slips of American cheese and real bacon bits.
Next time I'd skip the turkey meatloaf ($6.95 each), though; the hedgehog-shaped bundles had an unappetizing chemical flavor and an unsettling soggy-bread squishiness. And the country green beans ($2.25 per pound) were very stringy. But two misses out of many hits isn't a bad record -- and Diane's staffers are pretty good about letting you taste things before you buy them. Your purchases are also perfectly packaged to survive the trip home, a key to quality takeout.
You can have your cake and eat it, too, inside Tasteez, a nine-month-old market on East Arapahoe Road just off I-25. The outdoor sign bills the place as "Fun & Romance With Food," and while the kid-friendly, window-enclosed eat-in atrium isn't particularly romantic, a visit to Tasteez is indeed fun. This takeout smorgasbord offers more of the basics than Diane's does; in addition to the ready-to-go entrees and side dishes, there's an actual produce section, as well as made-to-order sandwiches, a salad bar, an olive bar and a full-service bakery with breads and pastries created by Michael Bortz, a well-known baker who was once co-owner and chef of Palmetto Grille (not to mention a former boss of mine). The real novelty, though, is the grill-to-order station, where a cook slices up whole tenderloins and ahi tunas right in front of you, then does whatever you want to the flesh -- broil, grill, sauté, you name it (price ranges from $6.99 a pound for beef to $11.99 a pound for tuna).
"I wanted to offer a twist," explains owner Scott Wagner, who moved to Denver from Dallas in the mid-'70s and worked for his family's construction company until he earned his MBA at Colorado State University in 1994. "While I was in college, I wound up working for a variety of restaurants, from casual to fine dining, and my father had told me about these concepts in California and Texas that combined a market feel with a restaurant setup, like the famous Eatzi's. So I checked them out and then looked around here to see if anyone was doing that combination yet, and they weren't."
So now Tasteez is. The already-cooked items here are prepared by executive chef Mark Raymond, who has a real way with sauces. As a result, some of Tasteez's best offerings are pastas, such as the super-rich Alfredo-like Asiago cheese sauce with fettuccine ($4.99 per pound) or the light, sweet marinara over spaghetti ($4.99 per pound). Three or four lasagnes are offered each day; we tried the wild-mushroom ($8.99 per pound), which was cut to order and contained a heady, satisfying combination of cream and mushrooms, and the beef lasagne ($8.99 per pound), which offered a good balance of cheese and pasta to meat and stayed moist even after a stint in the microwave.
The prime rib ($12.99 per pound) did not fare as well: It was dry and lacked that good beefy flavor. And the roast-garlic mashers ($3.99 per pound) we'd bought to accompany the beef were overwhelmed by raw garlic. But the eggplant rollantini ($6.99 per pound) was delicious, a parmesan-coated roll filled with smooth, herbed ricotta and covered with a thicker version of the marinara. And a salad of red and yellow tomatoes layered with buffalo mozzarella and drizzled with a sharp balsamic vinaigrette featured tip-top fresh tomatoes and cheese.
Nothing could be fresher than the breads at Tasteez, though, since they're made on the premises. Bortz has shifted his focus slightly from his famous, to-die-for chocolate concoctions and now seems on a quest to create the perfect loaf. With his challah ($1.25 each), his chewy-crusted ciabbata ($2 each) and his raisin-studded brioches ($1.50 each), he's pretty much attained it. But his desserts remain divine, including a heavenly chocolate-mousse-filled chocolate cup ($3.69 each) and the marjolaine ($2.25 a slice) he was famous for at Palmetto.
Although Wagner has added a buffet-style, eat-in Sunday brunch to his mix, the takeout business at Tasteez is likely to account for the bulk of his bread and butter. "As much as people enjoy coming here and sitting down, the move really is toward getting food that's all ready to go and taking it to eat in the comfort of home," says Wagner. "I think this is just the beginning of that idea."
So ditch the Hamburger Helper, June, and rev up the roadster. Dinner will be on the table as soon as you flip that lid.
