Fruition

From Farm To Table

Fruition is one of the premiere restaurants in the Denver metro area with good reason.  Their passion for fresh ingredients and precision in execution is evident from the first bite to the last delicious morsel.  One of our dearest friends celebrated his birthday on our blog weekend so he selected the restaurant.  We were thankful for his selection because Fruition is always found on several of the "Top Restaurant" lists in the city.

Getting There

Finding Fruition is not difficult.  The sign was easily spotted outside; however, parking was a slightly different matter.  It is limited to street parking and a few pay meters a block or so down so when you make your reservations, pick a nice night and enjoy a short stroll to one of our favorite restaurants thus far.

The Atmosphere

Large windows allow a full view of the restaurant from the street which is a wonderful way to showcase the beautiful post colonial, earthy accents that adorn the walls of the restaurant.  It is a place for everybody - families, couples on date night, and groups celebrating special occasions.  Once again, as with many of the restaurants in the area, it is not a large space but beautifully appointed.

The Eats

Our meal began with a slice of  fresh, rustic, country bread baked locally at Grateful Bread in Golden, Colorado.  It was accompanied by farm made butter finished with sea salt and thyme.  The addition of the salt and herbs gave the butter a burst of flavor that had us fighting over the butter dish.

After much discussion and debate of the items on the menu, we settled on a group of appetizers.

Our first selection was the Split Pea and Ham soup.  When we think of split pea soup, visions of thick, gelatinous, green goo with slivers of ham floating around enters our mind.  This is not that type of soup.  Instead, it was light and flavorful.  The ingredients of smashed garden peas and ham hock are placed in the bowl and then a delicate broth is poured over them tableside.  The broth could have been served alone and would have been perfectly lovely.  Truly a tasty and satisfying starter.

We tackled the Root Vegetable Salad next. Whole beets, turnips, and carrots sat atop a smooth, velvety, slightly peppery cauliflower pudding with crunchy red sprouted quinoa.  If you've never tried turnips or beets in the raw before, this is the way to eat it!  The quinoa adds sweetness to each bite and brings out the natural sweetness of the carrots and beets.  This was definitely the surprise dish of the evening.

Pan Roasted Brussel Sprouts was the next choice.  As a group, we had mixed feelings about this one.  Some of us were looking forward to trying this dish and some of us were scarred from years of mushy, boiled, tasteless sprouts.  We were delighted to see the beautifully assembled presentation.  Perfectly roasted sprouts were served warm with a butternut squash puree, crisp water chestnuts, and pickled squash.  A poached pear vinaigrette added brightness and sweetness to an already well assembled dish.

Our final appetizer was a suggestion from our server, Eric.  He suggested the Pasta Carbonara and we're so glad we listened to him.  Hand made pasta and pork are the center pieces of this dish. Flavorful and luxuriant, this bowl of deliciousness would be a great start to any meal.

We selected three entrees from their ever changing dinner menu.

The Grilled Bavette Steak is an exquisitely prepared braised short rib dressed with a light and creamy stroganoff.  It is served with crisp onions and delectable mushroom filled pillows called agnolotti.  Incredibly tender and juicy with a multitude of flavors and textures, this was our favorite dish of the evening.

We took our servers advice again and ordered the Maple Leaf Farms Duck. If you're not a duck fan, this dish can change your thinking.  It was just incredible.  The entree offered two preparations, crispy skinned, medium rare roasted duck and duck confit served with brown butter gnocchi.  We found it was satisfying and sophisticated.

To round out our entree choices, we opted for the Grilled Tender Belly Farms Pork Chop.  Exquisitely prepared and served with a fresh, light, and creamy waldorf salad.  There was an amazing port pear butter that we considered to be more of a sauce to go with the pork.  It added a mildly sweet and intense wine flavor to the dish and complemented the pork very well.

Last but not least, we were given the near impossible task of choosing desserts from their impressive menu.

The first choice was, of course, the Flourless Chocolate Cake.  This consisted of spiced chocolate, orange mousse, slices of blood oranges, and marcona almond brittle.  Once again, the final touch was added tableside via a thick, rich chocolate sauce poured over the cake.  We were glad we had people to split this one because of the incredible richness of the dessert.  Fantastic.  A chocaholic's dream.

We also tried the banana walnut bread.  A dense but very moist slice of bread with dark rum caramel, banana pudding, and vanilla wafer ice cream.  We were a little hesitant to order this dessert because in the past, we have found banana bread to be a big chunk of bread with no personality.  This was far from that.  This was a wonderful, flavorful dessert.  We loved it!

The Lemon Meringue Pie was light, fluffy, tart, and sweet all at the same time.  The graham cracker crust maintained it's texture without becoming soggy and the fresh blueberry compote was a wonderful choice and matched perfectly with the lemon.

The People 

We would like to thank our server, Eric for a wonderful evening.  Besides being an expert in all things related to wine, he was simply phenomenal in regards to helping us navigate the menu.  Eric knew the menu inside and out and answered all of our questions without blinking an eye.  He was attentive and engaging and knew exactly what the ingredients were in each dish and exactly where they came from.   The staff at Fruition is a well oiled machine with great synergy.

Summing Up

Fruition utilizes it's own farm for a multitude of fresh ingredients that they incorporate into their seasonal menu.  The menu is changed approximately 2 to 3 times a year.

They support local businesses by providing body sprays, lotions, and soaps in the restrooms from a local apothecary named Moondance Botanicals

The owner, Alex, was selected as one of Food and Wine Magazine's top ten new chefs of 2008.

During our visit, we noticed they were playing nothing but Frank Sinatra which was a little unusual.  Eric explained that a most adorable older couple who was seated by the front window eats at Fruition every Saturday after Mass and explained that they love Frank Sinatra.  The restaurant accommodates the couple by playing Sinatra at each of their visits.  By the way, the week after we visited Fruition, this cute little couple celebrated their 200th visit to the restaurant.  This is proof that both the restaurant and the couple are doing something right!

Without hesitation and without a second thought, we awarded Eric, Alex, and the entire staff of Fruition the coveted Golden Spoon. 

This is an amazing restaurant.  Beautiful and welcoming without being stuffy or pretentious.  We will definitely be back...probably multiple times.


February Dinner Pick - Meritage at the Omni Interlocken Resort

The Officially Unofficial Voting Legend
Take it with a grain of salt, we're not professionals.
	Awesome place, we’ll shovel more food in our face!
	It was okay. Not our favorite, but we’ll take another stab at it.
	Didn’t make the cut.