When I got the invitation to go to Bar Dough in honor of Chef Carrie Baird’s return there guiding the restaurant’s creative direction, memories came flooding back to me about the other time I met her, back in 2020. Then, it was to get to know her concept Rose’s Classic Americana in Boulder’s Rosetta Food Hall. I was so impressed by her delicious food back then but mostly her easy, happy demeanor. Rose’s opened just before the pandemic and re-opened to the degree it could as restrictions eased. But ultimately, the concept closed. I knew Chef Carrie had gone on to open breakfast/brunch concept, Fox and the Hen, a big success. So, I was intrigued about her return to her former stomping grounds at Bar Dough. I was also interested to see if six years had dimmed her joyful light, even a little. Hint? Nope. Just as bright.
Time has been fortunate to Chef Carrie with a nomination as a semi-finalist for the James Beard Award, Best Chef Mountain in 2019 for her work at Bar Dough. She was a top-four finalist on Season 15 of Bravo’s “Top Chef,” won Food Network’s “Beat Bobby Flay,” and, most recently, competing on Food Network’s “Chopped Castaways” inaugural season.
Currently the Culinary Director for The Culinary Creative Group’s Tap & Burger concept, next door to Bar Dough and partner and chef at Fox and the Hen, she has stepped back in to guide Bar Dough’s creative direction. At an event for media, to reintroduce her in that role, I got to taste exactly what makes Chef Carrie’s cuisine (still) so appealing.
Seasonality is key at Bar Dough and the menu items we had were from the summer menu which will, pretty soon, move out to make room for the fall menu. Tomatoes will be out and squashes will be in, she teased. The restaurant’s on-site garden (I would have loved to have seen that!) helps provide can’t-be-more-local ingredients.
First, a word about Bar Dough. The long, narrow-ish space is sleek and elegant with most of the color coming from the open kitchen and pizza oven. Photos of French actress Brigitte Bardot dot the hallway to the restrooms. Clever – “Bardot,” “Bar Dough.” Two TVs over the bar show non-stop black and white movies. What a wonderful break from TV screens blasting sports! Like a rabid sports fan though, I couldn’t peel my eyes away from the glamorous shows, checking with Google periodically to try to figure out what was playing. “Marlon Brando and Karl Maldon movie,” I searched. Among several, up came the 1951 version of “A Streetcar Named Desire.” Brutal. And which Humphrey Bogart movie is that one? “The Maltese Falcon”. Elegant. What a visual treat for a restaurant.
The treats were just beginning though. For our media event, we got to try a wide variety of items from the current summertime menu.
From the Bar Dough Antipasti Menu:
Speziata Caesar ($13) has perfect-sized little gem lettuce, Sungold tomatoes, crisp prosciutto, pickled shallot and Grana Padano cheese.
Panzanella Salad ($17) features heirloom tomatoes, Carrie’s cucumbers atop stracciatella (a creamy cheese), with torn sourdough acting as croutons (acting much better!) and a sherry vinaigrette.
Meatballs ($15) combine beef, pork and pancetta into tender balls resting cozily in a crushed tomato sauce with Parmigiano, Fontina and basil. They had a really great flavor with unique seasoning I couldn’t put my finger on.
Watermelon & Stracciatella ($14) is what Chef Carrie told us is one of her personal favorites because, simply “That melon is just so good!” Rocky Ford melon has a pepperoncini vinaigrette for a spark of heat, plus stracciatella, basil and chopped pistachios.
Fancy Toast ($19) is, quite literally, Chef’s claim to fame. She’s known for homey, creative combinations plentifully covering thick slices of toasted bread. See her making a tuna melt version on the Chef n’It series (she makes everything look so easy). Her Fancy Toast at Bar Dough was the unanimous favorite among us seated at our table. Centennial Beef Tartare was diced small and mixed with cured egg yolk and caper aioli, topped with chive (“You can never have too much chives,” Chef Carrie said as she set the plate down). It was all served on the grilled House Sourdough bread using a starter living its best life, and giving its best life, for 13 years now. The toppings for the signature item will change seasonally.
Fried Jimmy Nardellos ($17) were introduced by Chef Carrie as “Don’t worry, they’re sweet, not hot.” Indeed, the Spin Farms Sweet Peppers with roast garlic herb aioli, served over smoked ricotta salata (swipe your pepper through it for sure), were soft, nicely charred and not spicy. They were a tasty surprise. Read this for more information about the story behind the name of the peppers.
From the Pizza Menu at Bar Dough
I mean, “dough” is in the restaurant’s name, so the expectations for their pizzas had to be high. Theirs is fermented for 72 hours and is made with the same 13-year-old sourdough starter (it really gets around). The pizzas we were served were the new Happy Hour personal pan pizza size which was just right. At $8 each, the price is right too.
Dipping sauces were provided to us: Hot Honey, Chili Garlic Oil, House Ranch and some Parm. Some at our table drizzled these on and loved them, especially the hot honey. Frankly, because it was my first visit to Bar Dough, I wanted to try the pizza on its own. I had the Diavolo Bianco ($22) with chili garlic oil, Fontina and Mozzarella cheeses, fennel sausage, drapes of paper-thin speck, calabrese and pepperoncini. Delightful and delicious. Loved the dough!
Pasta, Pasta, Pasta
Full as I was at that point, I was still excited for the pasta sampling. Bucatini was my favorite, being everything you’d want a bowl of hearty pasta to be. Available in a half portion ($14) or full ($26), heirloom tomato, fennel sausage, pancetta, parmigiano and parsley are perfect, slurpy fun.
Orecchiette ($18) and its cute little shapes (like an ear, thus the name) form their own mini-bowls in which to capture the light sauce of Ricotta, lemon and walnut. Light, creamy and dreamy. It’s like they are saying “here, let me hold some sauce for you.” How nice.
The Fettuccine ($23) was the only thing that didn’t thrill me. It was a tad too al dente but I loved that it added Olathe corn and Jimmy Nardello peppers to less surprising pancetta, Parmigiano, white wine, shallot and basil. It sure was a pretty dish though.
The Secondi at Bar Dough
More? What an embarrassment of riches we were being served! Pollo al Limone ($35) offered up a plate of moist and tender Joyce Farms Half Chicken with lemon caper pan jus, Parmigiano, Arugula and Parsley. It looked like something I might be able to make at home but there’s no way I could get the chicken that tender. We all raved about this dish.
Pescado ($38) was a little bit of a surprise to me. I mean, I like fish but I don’t LOVE fish. But I did love this Seremoni Grade Black Cod, served in sliced medallions in an Acqua Pazza (translates to “crazy water,” a light broth for poaching) with heirloom tomato, scallion and Olathe corn. SO much flavor! And the fish’s texture was meaty. At first, I thought the corn was big, white beans. They really soaked up the thin broth and were very tender.
Drinks
While wines by the glass or bottle, beers and mocktails are available, I was interested in the cocktails. I had the Peach Sage Spritz ($14) with local gin, prosecco, peach, sage, lemon and sparkling water. It was light and summery for sure. In contrast, my friend’s Amaretto Old Fashioned ($15) had “bitter banana” added to Old Forester Bourbon, Amaretto and Nonino Amaro. It worked! Although banana flavor definitely came through, it made sense.
Dessert at Bar Dough
The menu includes a Torta, Tiramisu and Gelato or Sorbetti. We were served Zeppole ($9), dense and cakey balls covered in powdered sugar served on a bed of lemon curd with ricotta and chopped pistachios (I love their use of pistachios at Bar Dough). The only other Zeppole I’ve ever had were lighter, more like an airy doughnut but these are more like a cakey doughnut. I really liked how the powdered sugar clung to the Zeppole, likely from having been rolled in it when they were still warm. I much prefer that to worrying about inhaling a dusting. They were a great ending to a delicious meal.
Several times during the meal, Chef Carrie would stop by to drop off food or just check in. She was so natural and warm and made me feel like I just over at her house for dinner. She said repeatedly, “This was really fun!” Clearly, she still has a great attitude and vibe that comes through in her seasonal menus and her various projects.
Bar Dough is located at 2227 West 32nd Ave. in Denver. Visit their website, here.
-Story and photos by Courtney Drake-McDonough, Publisher & Managing Editor, In Good Taste Denver
Please note: as is common practice in our industry, we were hosted for this meal but, as is always our policy, that doesn’t influence what we write which remains our honest opinion for the benefit of informing our readers.
Comments are closed.