Ex Marks the Spot

The hideous scallops salad was gone, replaced with a yellowfin-tuna appetizer and an old-school classic salmon-and-asparagus terrine given new life with a lime vinaigrette and a sprinkling of salmon caviar.

But the rough-cut poulet granmère-- its solid, dark sauce studded with small white potatoes and pearl onions -- was no more interesting than it had been the first time around. At both meals it was technically perfect, flawlessly executed and absolutely uninspiring -- Dinty Moore with a little rosemary thrown in for flavor. But does a chicken stew have to be anything more than that?

Anna Newell

Gone fusion: Brazil and France come together -- sometimes -- at Aquarela.

Details

3000 East Third Avenue, 303-399-6080
Hours: 5-10 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday
5-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday
5-10 p.m. Sunday

Salmon terrine: $9
Yellowfin tuna: $10
Confit de canard: $10
Passionfruit shrimp: $9
Magret de canard: $26
Poulet granmère: $17
Rack of lamb: $26

closed Location

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"Yes," the ex-chef insisted. "It should have life. A passion. Without that, why cook it? Why would anyone bother eating it?"

He was right again. And after six months in business, Aquarela reached the same realization, recognizing that it wasn't enough to have a great front of the house. There comes a point in any meal, somewhere between the presentation and the second, third or fifth bite, when a plate must stand up for itself and say something not just about its culinary heritage, but about the chef who conceived it and the kitchen that put it together. Those cups of scratch-made soup made themselves heard. And while the chicken stew was cuisine struck dumb, robbed of passion and meaning, changes in other dishes showed that Aquarela's chef is finally finding his voice in this new house, this new country.

After 733 days away, I can appreciate that.