‘I will be back for the tapas’

To many outside its flatirons-flanked borders, Boulder consists mostly of 20-something college kids, patchouli, and the new hippie movement. Sadly, it has rarely been seen as a go-to for culinary inventiveness. While there are reasons that it certainly should be — the likes of Frasca, The Kitchen, and Black Cat among them — it nonetheless remains mostly a haven for peripheral experimentation.

It’s worthwhile, then, for Denverites to occasionally traipse up north and learn what makes Boulderites salivate. Happily mixed with college nosh houses on the Hill —including hole-in-the-wall Asian takeout staples, coffeehouses aplenty, and burrito masters like Illegal Pete’s — are high-end, high-profile spots like John’s and Arugula. Somewhere in the middle rest weekday go-tos that feed the culinary and social appetite. Like Dagabi Cucina, for example.

Tucked coyly away from primetime Pearl Street next to Lucky’s Market, it’s a stop that’s mostly known by locals. During the week, guests comfortably slide into four-tops or at the back bar for a quick bite and a glass of wine. Come the weekend, however, expect a wait; on a recent visit, my better half and I waited 20 minutes for a table, even with a reservation. And yes, that kind of busy-ness is a regularity.

Still, the place is undeniably quaint — accented by warm lighting, an Old World-style brick pizza oven, and conversation buzzing throughout with the punctuation of boisterous laughter. It’s the kind of place you want to be in the middle of, complete with a bottle of wine and tapas spread out in front of you.

Unfortunately for us, the expansive tapas menu — our reason for stopping by — is only available during happy hour, save Tuesday, when it’s an all-day affair. Seated smack dab in the middle of rush hour on a Friday, we were pointed to the regular menu instead — an accessible, shorter menu dotted with Italian-Spanish apps, entrées, a wealth of American-style desserts that are hard to turn down.

Intent on the shared plate experience, we created our own tapas spread — an antipasti plate decked with three different artisan cheeses, two meats, fruit to cut the salty-fatty edge of the meat and cheese, and, of course, bread. To boot, we dove into a plate of mushrooms topped with sheep’s feta, bathed in a balsamic-honey sauce. As if we needed a chaser, we decided to add a third dish: the seafood fritters topped with saffron aïoli.

While I give due nods to a smiling, attentive wait staff — including that almost-shirtless, shaggy-haired, 20-something busser who my boyfriend and I affectionately dubbed Donatello — the food was, well, fairly lackluster.

Let it be said: I would (and will) be back for the tapas menu (who can turn down bite-sized plates of mouthwatering goodness ranging from $3-7?), but what we assembled for a Friday evening meal was nothing to rave about. The mushrooms — far too numerous, and lacking a definitive “oomph” — were curious and enticing initially, but ultimately proved a bit one-dimensional. And while I always enjoy a well-plated antipasti platter (as I did in this case), the seafood fritters lacked a desired citrus climax, leaving the end of the meal a bit of a disappointment.

I’m surely willing to give Dabagi a second shot – particularly after watching locals settle into their “regular” tables and hearing them banter about favorite dishes that are weekly necessities in their diet. I vow to be back – appetite at the ready, and menu well studied.