Bite Me

After eleven months of promises, a seven- figure buildout and countless headaches with planning, permitting and having to replace an entire water main, the new Racines is a bona fide success. "It wasn't just building a new restaurant, but paying homage to an institution," says Imbergamo. And that's exactly what they did. That's why there's a wait at the door. That's why there's a full book at the hostess stand on a Wednesday night. The owners recognized they had a good thing, and they didn't mess with it.

Don't quote me: Not far from the crowds clamoring for a table (and a parking spot) at Racines, Moda Ristorante and Lounge opened its doors at 975 Lincoln Street in the new Beauvallon complex just last month. The restaurant recently added lunch service, and I dropped in last week to see how things were going.

In a word, clumsily. Not bad, just not great. For starters, Moda is a tough room -- a crowded space with tables and chairs jammed tightly together and a "communal table" set right in front of the open line, which reminded me of nothing so much as the horrors of the third-grade lunchroom and never knowing who you were going to end up sitting next to. The space looks nice -- lots of sleek wood and dark, ultra-hip accents in the main dining room, candlelight and couches in the swank lounge in the back -- and the staff is trying hard. But right now the graceful swoop of service feels more like a frantic tap dance, like they're trying to stay one step ahead of a hundred potential disasters.

For all that, though, the kitchen has already hit its mark. The menu is urban Italian -- meaning your basic pastas and salads and pressed focaccia sandwiches all dressed up for a night on the town, so that a simple plate of spaghetti comes off the menu as spaghettini with cherry tomatoes, fior de latte and arugula in a sun-dried tomato olio. Frankly, I don't know what fior di latte is. And neither did my server. Still, someone in the kitchen does, because the spaghetti was good, if a little over-complicated. And the penette with scamorza, eggplant and basil was a well-composed dish of perfectly al dente penne in a thick, unbroken pomodoro sauce that tasted primarily of tomatoes, then garlic, basil and salt, each in their proper descending order.

More than anything, what impressed me about Moda was the balance shown by the cooks working here. The dishes I tried tasted like the real thing -- not traditional Italian, maybe, but the offerings of a pro kitchen regardless, from guys who've quickly gotten their act together. What's more, things in the galley were running smooth enough during the busy first seating of a weekday lunch that the chef was able to come out from behind the line and walk the room, go to the bar, get something to drink and joke with the bartenders -- without his guys falling to pieces or setting anything on fire. That's impressive in the first month of service, and a credit to both the chef and his crew.

Only one thing bugged me about the food: all the quote marks describing the fare on the menu. Egg "fettuccine" with three meat "bolognese"? "Tricolore" salad with Granny Smith apples, walnuts and "gorgonzola"? Penette pasta with "scamorza" in a "pomodoro" sauce? Enough, already. That kind of gimmick on a menu looks like you're showing off, like your kitchen just learned all these new words and is trying to use them all at once. Fact is, if you don't know what fettuccine is, you don't belong in an Italian restaurant to begin with.

Leftovers: Racines and Moda aren't the only places making news in the neighborhood. Two more restaurants will debut this month in the Beauvallon building, turning it into a regular yuppie Little Italy: La Dolce Vita, which looks like a lightweight version of Moda, and Wholly Tomato, a whole-foods, vegan-friendly, healthy Italian fast-food place. Whether you're vegetarian, wheat-allergic or just a meat-and-tomatoes kinda guy, owner Stephen Anson swears he has a recipe for you.

Just a block away, at 846 Broadway, the three-month-old Minturn Saloon has added daily lunch service, with chicken-and-rice soup, big salads, and sandwiches with whimsically stupid Spanish names like the Polla Fiesta. Me, I'm saving myself for the all-you-can-eat quail special on Wednesday nights, because I've always wondered how many small game birds I could eat before bursting. For $18.95, Minturn's kitchen is serving up beans and rice, tortillas, guacamole and an unending supply of marinated, fire-grilled quail. The concept comes from the original Minturn Saloon located up in the town of the same name, and it's a big success there. But will endless quail fly in Denver?

The well-regarded Sage Southwestern Grill has abandoned its original spot in Littleton for one downtown, and it debuted two weeks ago at 323 14th Street. Further along 14th, at the corner of Larimer Square, Tamayo has introduced a Polynesian-Mexican rooftop lounge featuring everything from live music and a raw bar to late-night hours (until midnight on weekends) in an attempt to wring a few more dollars from the LoDo crowds. The lounge, which is separate from Tamayo's award-winning rooftop patio, has its own outdoor grill and menu, including daily ceviches, tacos and a custom cocktail list.