Even as flakes of snow descend over Denver because mother nature decided winter was to last longer, the traffic and ice-covered roads wouldn’t be able to keep patrons from flocking to a beloved Denver eatery. Located up in the LoHi neighborhood, Bar Dough may not seem like much as it is engulfed by a neighborhood of houses in every direction. But, for those that know Chef Carrie Baird and her exquisite eye for food, this little spot on 32nd Avenue is a Mecca for food along with Uncle, the ramen joint owned by Tony Lee.
Driving by, it’s easy to miss the moderate, grey-painted walls, but the hanging Christmas lights across the front patio area will let you know that someone is home. After taking a step inside, the true essence of a beautiful restaurant emerges. A glorious 16-seat high top communal table lays beautifully in the middle of the long room allowing for conversation to fly between old friends or new acquaintances.
The endless table is coated in pizza pedestals, giving the perfect view for a visual representation of the menu. The oversized pieces of white mozzarella pop in contrast from the tomato sauce base on their margherita pizza, which is then finished with torn basil. With only four ingredients—dough, sauce, cheese and herb—it’s surprisingly nuanced. The sauce tastes like slices of tomato from the vine that were blistered in the oven, while the mild cheese flavor is melted but still maintains integrity. Basil brings it all back to the garden that is missed in the cool winter months.
While Italian at heart, Baird incorporates the East Coast shores with her clam pizza. Pepperoni and sausage have run the show in terms of meat being featured on pizza—oftentimes seafood is far too delicate for a platform such as pizza. However, Baird’s culinary IQ led her to use it as a means of incorporating the flavors of a linguini with clams. There are notes of garlic and butter. She featured Grana Padamo, a hard cheese similar to Parmigiano Reggiano, to dust over the pizza to refrain from overwhelming the soft ocean flavor of clams. There is a kick from the Calabrian chili oil that gives a fruity yet spicy tone to the whole dish. It emulates that dash of chili flakes that can often add excitement to linguini with clams. The clams can be hidden upon first glance as they are nestled below the cheese and parsley, but that first bite’s burst of saltiness at once gives the essence of the sweet ocean miles away.
However, regardless of the toppings that may often change, the restaurant’s dough is unique—it’s probably the reason for being featured in the name. With a pillowy rim of crust to hold up the pizza and make it easy for eating, the base is revolutionary. Though a side view makes it look a little bit thicker than construction paper. Bar Dough creates the ideal ratio between dough to toppings while still maintaining that hint of softness on a crispy bottom crust that everyone wants. Baird can thank her enormous eye-catching brick pizza oven for it all, the statement piece of her entirely open kitchen.
The luxurious bar displays the pristine bottles waiting to be poured out for all those that come by. Then, on the opposite side of the room, the wall is masked by a striking red leather booth that has a bit of shine like her bucatini pasta. The pasta has deep cardinal shades from the sauce but also the guanciale pieces, or Italian bacon bits, have a crimson hue from being crisped in a pan. There is color surrounding her menu with the orange glow of her butternut squash half-moon-shaped ravioli. It encompasses the earth with one of its heartiest ingredients—mushrooms. Then to bring it all together, she enrobes the pasta in an agrodolce sauce, which highlights sweet-and-sour notes. The raisins she uses get rehydrated from the sauce but has a tang from the vinegar that offsets all the sweet components. Then, the dish is finished with sage for a citrusy yet nutty note which butternut squash cannot live without. This is a lively version of the overplayed butternut squash ravioli in a sage brown butter sauce.
Baird’s menu has influences from Mediterranean, French and Italian style cooking. More so, it is the inspiration drawn from the locally-grown gems that make her patrons feel like they are gathering from her garden and feasting from her farm. The majority of her dishes are derived looking at dishes she loved to make in a new light. This passion for cooking comes through in all her dishes but mostly so in her fancy toast, which was able to secure her two quick-fire challenge wins on Top Chef and a final four finish. Getting swept up in the name is a misnomer because this dish is ultimately just toast executed exquisitely. This is not something that pre-sliced bread and a quick minute in the toast can replicate but it elicits the same satisfying flavor of a perfectly toasted yet buttery piece of bread.
The toast constantly changes, but the base layer is always a house-made sourdough. Even with ingredients concealing it, the second you rip through the fragile crust, it withers in your mouth. Next, the air pockets allow for lightness, but there is integrity in the dough itself. The sour notes come through as a great compliment to the sweet or savory rendition. Currently, she is showcasing her rendition of a French dip—thinly sliced ribeye gets replaced by shreds of beef short rib. The time-intensive slow braise that goes into the short rib gives it more depth of flavor, and the rich meaty portion definitely satisfies. The juices of the tender beef start to soften the perfectly-toasted bread to provide multiple textures from the bread’s soft yet crunchy parts. Then the onion jam acts as an unsuspecting sweet and earthier counterpoint to the rich meat. They don’t stop there, instead they glaze the entire slice with a layer of gruyere. In a french dip, this is usually provolone, but gruyere adds extra nuttiness to highlight the flavor of the onion jam. The cheese has crispy edges as it hugs the toast edges. With a sprinkle of thyme to meld all the flavors together, the toast could not possibly get fancier. Fresh, organic, pure ingredients atop homemade bread? That’s magic.
Baird has many iterations, from sweet to savory to a glorious combination of both. Her ingenuity with the same sourdough bread would have anyone coming back weekly. If it worked to win two quickfire challenges on Top Chef, it surpasses all expectations of a bread course. Butter is no longer the accompaniment for toast; it’s just not elegant enough.
Expecting to have an Italian meal here is not doing Baird and her staff justice. Yes, they incorporate the flavors, but they also feature experiences and give a new light to old classics. The unpredictability of this restaurant is what can justify its acclaim. It will always be a great spot in Denver, but the dishes that make it fantastic will constantly be added to, modified and changed. A sense of doubt came over the Top Chef judges when bestowed “fancy toast.” Just as they did, we must trust in Baird’s passion for cooking because it has always led her well.
