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Review content:
We've had dinner at Duo three times in the last 5 months. The prices for the wine list and quality ingredients are an incredible value - we used to go to Cafe Star for the value, but ever since Chef Rebecca left, the food has gone downhill. But I digress. The ingredients at Duo are fresh and simple. The asparagus salad consisted of fresh large stems that were the biggest we'd ever seen; the flavor combo of butter, lemon, pinenuts, tomatoes, bacon (and other stuff I'm missing, I'm sure) was pleasantly surprising. The lamb meatballs (perfectly textured and soft) w/pureed eggplant and a spicy tomato sauce was also amazing, but simple at the same time. The Shortribs Gnocchi is our current fave; lots of tender short rib meat w/soft homemade gnocchi! Last season, we had the quail and duck dishes - both were executed very well, but it didn't leave us panting like the current menu. The caesar salad is incredible - so different w/whole grilled red onion slices, polenta croutons and white anchovies, but very familiar at the same time. They use whole romaine leaves, which is nice. There are some dishes, however, that don't quite live up to the others. The deviled eggs were on both last and this season's menu - they're just deviled eggs with a few drops of caviar and a sliver of prosciutto. Didn't seem anything special to us. The crabcake is perfectly round and fully breaded (so you can't see the meat through the breading), then dropped in a deep fryer, which is kind of sacrilege to my Philly-born husband. A crabcake should be lightly breaded so that the meat shows through, and it should be pan fried. The dessert/pastry chef is truly the most talented of her kind in Denver. The brown butter cake with marscapone cheese we had last night was truly amazing. I'm so glad we ordered it, b/c it went off the menu as of today, our server told us. They're taking reservations for less than 6 now, b/c we reserve a two-top each visit.
Pros: Food and Value
Cons: Crowded on weekends, loud
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