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Colorado Company is a Siegel Media Production  |
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Home > Departments > Executive Dining
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Mel's Restaurant and Bar |  |
| Mar/Apr 2006, By Kuvy Ax | ||
More than a decade old, Mel's Restaurant and Bar is one of Denver's legendary restaurants. Over the years, owners Mel and Janie Master have garnered praise as a major trend setters from national publications such as Gourmet, Esquire and Food and Wine Magazine, and Mel's consistently wins "Best ofs" from major local publications. In 2005 alone Mel's was named one of Denver's "25 Very Best Restaurants" by 5280 Magazine (September), as well as "Best Dinner Destination for Impressing Potential In-Laws", by Westword Magazine (March), and one of "Denver's Hands-Down Top 10 Restaurants" by Kyle Wagner of the Denver Post (February).
A cornerstone of Cherry Creek North, Mel's is conveniently located on Fillmore between 2nd and 3rd, offering complimentary valet parking Tues-Sat or an adjacent covered garage. The restaurant seats up to 130 with open brasserie-style tables, as well as secluded stay-all-night booths. The "retro classy" décor, consummately professional waitstaff, excellent food and quick service make it a risk-free choice for business lunches, dinners, or cocktails in the live piano bar. "Upstairs at Mel's", a special events banquet room, holds up to 60, and a recently-opened small private dining room seats 12.
A visit to Mel's Restaurant gives one the feeling of magically entering a neighborhood restaurant in New York or Chicago. The valet takes your car, the waitstaff take your coat, a menu is placed before you, and all is well with the world. The lighting is warm, drinks and food arrive quickly and there is a quiet sense of contentment in the room.
"Our goal is to be a place where you can feel as comfortable having a burger at the bar listening to our piano, dressed in jeans and a T-shirt with a cold beer, or having a superb five-course tasting menu with great wines, dressed to kill!" says owner Mel Master. "This is Denver. It's important to know your audience. We try to be exciting, but not threatening."
Owners Mel and Janie Masters bring the experience of many restaurants in many cities, over many years, to Mel's. Born in England, Mel and Janie were next door neighbors who fell in love and got married in their late teens. They left England to live in Aix en Provence, France in 1969 where they started a company called Masterwines, exporting little-known French wines to the U.S. Soon after they met Beaujolais producer Georges Duboeuf, and French chef Paul Bocuse, who was well known in France, but little-known in the U.S. Mel arranged special event dinners and TV shows for Paul at a time when Celebrity Chefs were unheard of. Mel was also the first person to promote the wines of Georges Duboeuf in the U.S.
The Arab oil embargo of the early 70's had a devasting effect on sales of "luxury" items in Europe, hitting the wine business hard. In 1975 Mel and Janie packed up their three children and moved to Denver. In France, Janie had spent a lot of time working in the kitchens of many of the great chefs. Denver was clearly in desperate need of good restaurants. Together with their friend Blair Dudley Taylor, Mel and she created one of the best known and most loved restaurants, Dudley's on 6th Avenue. Dudley's was soon named one of the top restaurants in the country by Bill Rice in his book "Where to Eat in America".
They also brought famous chefs to Denver, including New Orleans chef Paul Prudhomme, and the famous French chef Alain Dutourier from Paris. They also helped arrange a now-famous dinner at the Tavern on the Green in New York in conjunction with Food and Wine Magazine, introducing Alice Waters of Chez Panisse, and giving Alice, Paul Prudhomme, and Alain Dutournier a chance to cook together.
During this time Mel and Janie met Tom and Sally Jordan, who persuaded them to move to California to set up, manage and handle PR for the new Jordan Winery in Sonoma County.
After the success of Jordan Winery, Mel and Janie left California for New York. Together with friend Jonathan Waxman (the original chef at Michael's in Santa Monica) they opened Jams Restaurant, the first Californian-style restaurant in the Big Apple, and one of the hottest and most successful NY restaurants in the 80's. Mel and Jonathan also opened Buds and Hulots in New York, and later Jams Restaurant in London. They sold the restaurants in the late 1980's and Mel and Janie returned to France.
In 1992 they began work again in the wine business and introduced a line of varietal wines from the Languedoc into the USA market under the label Les Jamelles. They were the first to sell varietal wines from France, taking the brand to over 75,000 cases worldwide before selling it in 1995. During this time Janie also joined forces with their old friend Blair Taylor and opened Barolo Grill in Denver.
In 1995 Mel and Janie finally fulfilled a life-long dream of opening a restaurant together, a place showcasing all that they had learned and loved in the food and wine business over the years. Mel's Restaurant opened in Denver that November, and has been receiving national attention ever since. Esquire Magazine voted them one of the "top 25 new restaurants in the USA". Wine and Food Magazine wrote a 5-page article on Mel, Janie, and the restaurant. This February, Rachel Ray filmed a segment on Mel's Restaurant, cooking one of their signature dishes for the Food Network.
Things haven't always gone smoothly for Mel's Restaurant, however. "We had a fire in our mall just before Christmas in 2004, and we lost all our holiday business," Mel grimaces. "Some people thought we had gone out of business entirely. After we reopened, we did some charity events that got some press. The word got around that we were back in business. It all made us stronger and better." Mel's Restaurant hosts 6-10 charity dinners each year, donating 25% of all revenues received to "the needy organizations" such as Hospice and Children's Hospital.
Mel and Janie are big on community and huge supporters of the Denver restaurant scene. Their kitchen has been a training ground for many chefs who have gone on to own their own Denver restaurants, including Frank Bonnano, Goose Sorenson and Sean Kelly. Mel likes to send his chefs on "stages", cooking in some of the best kitchens in the U.S. "Chefs in Denver do need to travel more and get more insight into what is going on elsewhere. There is no better lesson for these guys than to see what is out there in the world and bring variations of it back home."
Mel's own Executive Chef, Tyler Wiard, has an impressive work history, starting with "stages" at many of America's top restaurants (Postrio and Aqua in San Francisco, and Citronelle in Washington DC, working under renowned Chef Michelle Richard). Locally, Chef Wiard has cooked at Kevin Taylor's Zenith, Q's in the Hotel Boulderado, and the Fourth Story Restaurant.
Chef Wiard has a special knack for respecting the integrity of a dish while adding a little something extra. "Mel's Half Roasted Chicken with Tarragon Butter" offers a choice of intriguing sides such as Idaho Fries, Rapini or Crimini Mushroom Saute. "Grilled Beef Tenderloin" comes with Blue Cheese Celery Root, Grilled Asian Pear, Wild Mushrooms and Roasted Shallot Jus.
It's enough to make you feel like all is right with the world.
A Wine-Lover's Dream
Wine lovers and novices alike will appreciate "Mel's Wine Picks," a handful of "must try" finds selected by owner Melvyn Master. The reasonably-priced regular wine list includes Tortoise Creek (Master's own label).
Recently showcased "Mel's Wine Picks":
Albarino Vionta, Galicia Spain, 2004
Pinot Bianco Tiamo Puglia, Italy, 2002
Villa Banfi "Centine" Super Tuscan, Tuscany 2003
Chateaux Pesquie, Cotes de Ventoux, France 2002
Also on the wine list:
Three Saints, Santa Maria Valley, 2003
Viognier, Calera, Mt. Harland, Central Coast, California 2002
Priorat, G.R. 174, Spain 2002
Rupert & Rothschild "Classique" South Africa 2002
MELS RESTAURANT AND BAR
235 Fillmore Street, Denver
303.333.3979
Price range: $8 to $19 lunch entrees, $14 to $34 dinner entrees
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