GOZO: Exquisite taste cultivated with heart

I shuffled my way through the thick, Friday-night crowd on South Broadway and headed into Gozo, a Denver neighborhood restaurant featuring dishes with an Italian and Spanish flair.

I was seated facing the kitchen and a wood-fire oven full of hand-made pizzas bubbling with cheese. Warmed by the fire, I started the night with a vegetarian-friendly crostini made with an English-pea roasted garlic puree and extra-virgin olive oil enhanced with lemon, the dish topped with savory pecorino cheese.

This was followed by a sprout salad made of shaved brussels, pecorino, eggs, and flavorful marcona almonds that punctuated each bite, the entire dish accented with a bouncy citrus vinaigrette that drew the full flavor of the ensemble to the surface.

Both dishes were paired nicely with a glass of Voveti prosecco from Veneto, Italy. Bright and springy, the prosecco complemented the salad and the crostini like a carefully choreographed duet for the senses.

As I finished the salad, Gozo was bursting with customers at every table, some seated next to large, open garage doors facing the bustling sidewalk of Broadway.

I watched as Chef Christina Falcone assembled orders, inspected plates, and shouted for fresh wood to be added to the oven. She told me Gozo makes everything from scratch and in-house, using local ingredients such as their beef brought in from a cattle ranch in Greeley.

I could taste the local freshness in the pork meatball piccolo, so succulent I used a spoon to cut through the juicy meat which was browned to seal in the flavor. The meatballs sat in a savory grain polenta with a hearty ragu sprinkled with fresh parmesan. 

I also tantalized my taste buds with a burrata dish of ricotta cheese mixed with cream and wrapped in mozzarella, complemented with sliced heirloom tomatoes in a zesty arugula pesto. Three slices of grilled ciabatta bread provided the perfect pallet for the buratta.

And the La Mozza sangiovese from Tuscany worked as a vibrant pairing which expanded the rich and heavy flavors of the meat and cheese.

Gozo is owned by Frank Jolley, who works with Chef Falcone to cultivate a wide swath of dishes based on an old-school Italian tradition of patience and heart in preparing each meal. The singular example of this philosophy is the three-day smoked short rib, which is braised for four hours the first day, smoked for three hours the second day, then braised again the third day.

Nestled in an English-pea spring risotto, the pork slid easily off the bone with crispy skin and luscious meat that melted in my mouth. (Again, no need for a knife.) This bold dish was paired with a glass of Remondo garnacha from Rioja, Spain, with its rustic, full-bodied flavor enriching an equally full-bodied dish.

I ended the night with a refreshing chocolate, passion fruit gelato, the flavors of which change weekly. Despite a packed restaurant the entire night, servers were quick to refill my drink and explain the specifics of each dish.

With tantalizing entrées, pizzas and pastas, reasonable prices, and efficient service, Gozo is the place for any Denverite hungry for the total dining experience.

Gozo Kitchen/Wine/Cocktails is located at 30 South Broadway.