The Oven Pizza E Vino - Lakewood

On the last day of Denver Restaurant Week 2009, the Dinner Club met for pizza e vino at “The Oven” in Belmar, but we did not come for the restaurant week deal. We came to try the pizza. We discovered this restaurant through a waitress at “Marc and Isabella”, also in Belmar, when we were there dining before the Grand Opening. The two restaurants are “sisters” and owned by the same people. Anyone worried about the recession should visit Belmar on a Friday night. People down there just don’t seem to notice. With 14 different places to dine and a good variety of cuisine in various price ranges, Belmar was still jumping despite the news of economic meltdown. The Oven, (or “the oven” since they prefer to use the lower case), is a small shop with a big following. We were there early on a Friday night and the waiting line started to build quickly. Inside, we found unusual, long table seating like the cafeteria in high school way back when, but the seating did provide the opportunity not only to meet new people, but also to have a good look at what they ordered. Space is limited and they can’t pack more than around 50 people in there, so, if you come in a large party on a busy night, expect to wait a bit. It sometimes takes a while for more than four seats to open up together. Just as the name implies, the oven is the focus of this restaurant. They have two, wood-fired ovens easily visible from anywhere in the restaurant. Just about everything they cook goes into and comes out of those ovens. When it comes to pizza, this is about the best way to make pizza with the bubbly crust that reminds me of pizza from my youth. I was anxious to try their product. During Denver Restaurant Week, the oven offered a four-course deal for $52.80. It started with a choice of salad, followed with breads or mozzarella, continued with a choice of any 12” pizza and finished with a dessert. The $52.80 also included a bottle of either Cabernet or Chardonnay, but they were serving Chianti instead. It is an OK deal if you like appetizers, dessert and wine, but, for me, I do not always want an appetizer, I seldom choose dessert and, since it is Lent, I was not drinking alcohol. The 5280 deal did not make much sense for me. A woman seated to my left recommended the Haystack Mountain Farms Goat Cheese Salad. She claimed it was very good and both she and her boyfriend enjoyed it every time they visited. The problem with that, however, was that the salad contained prosciutto which is an Italian spiced ham and I am vegetarian. I am sure the salad is every bit as good as she claims, but I skipped it. Instead, I went with the Good Earth pizza. The Good Earth pizza features mozzarella, broccoli, cauliflower, onions, tomatoes and bell peppers all served up on a thin crust pizza cooked quickly in the wood fired ovens. It was nice to see a bubbly crust again, and the pizza was pretty good, but I do not know if I would wait in line 30 minutes to get one. The $13.95 paid for this small, 12” pizza seemed like a lot too, but that did not seem to stop the crowds from forming. I do not know if Belmar charges more rent, or the people who live around there just earn more money, but my experience has been that just about everything costs just a little bit more at Belmar. But, then again, maybe I am just cheap. The oven received accolades from Westword, The Rocky Mountain News and 5280 Magazine, and it is good, but I am not sure it is “all that”. I like that the restaurant uses local and organic produce whenever possible, but, nonetheless, the prices are still just a wee bit steep for this market. The owner, Mark Tarbell, is from California and I suppose that’s what the product goes for out there, but, out here, there are more options just as good at better prices. Now, don’t get me wrong. I like the restaurant, I like its product, and I can live with the prices. The main problems that will keep me from visiting this place more often are the seating arrangements, the lack of value, and the knowledge that I can do better for less somewhere else. I generally do not care for the bench seating, and I know where I can get a pizza just as good in a more comfortable setting with a lower price tag. This is a good restaurant and certainly worth a visit, but, if you go, be prepared to share your table with at least two other parties, be prepared to wait outside if you do not get there early enough, and be prepared to fork over some cash. In that respect, your Boy Scout training will come in handy.