Flatz focuses on seafood, wines in Renaissance Suites Hotel

BROOMFIELD — After 17 years in restaurants — 14 of those in hotel restaurants — Michael Howerton was ready for Flatz. ?Now I get to play again,? he says.

The upscale grill in the new Renaissance Suites Hotel at FlatIron Crossing opened in October. With 232 suites in its 10 stories, the hotel is part of Marriott International Inc.’s 13 corporate brands, including corporate partners Ritz Carlton and Ramada, from Aruba to Vietnam.

?This is our first development on the Highway 36 corridor,? says Howerton, the hotel’s vice president and general manager. Nine miles from Boulder and about 20 minutes from Denver, ?it seemed like a great clustering from an a la carte restaurant standpoint.?

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While Flatz is a one-of-a-kind eatery (so far), Howerton’s personal history began with franchises. ?I used to franchise restaurants for hotels,? he recalls. He also purchased the rights in Indiana for TGI Fridays and managed some restaurants in the Chicago area, including Maxwell Sweeney’s. Most recently, he managed the Boulder Marriott for the last five years.

?Flatz is a takeoff on the Flatirons, of course,? he says. The idea is an upscale eatery with seafood emphasis and the remainder focused on blending Colorado’s style with grill-style menu. The restaurant also focuses on wine, with more than 150 bottled wines and 30 varieties by the glass. The menu, especially the seafood, changes weekly. The wine list changes occasionally, as well.

Menu development has been a long process involving Howerton and his executive chef, Jim Drew. ?We were looking for someone with both hotel experience and experience in free-standing restaurants. Drew was executive sous chef in the Indianapolis Marriott and had eight years of experience with the Hyatt chain, as well as in seafood and game restaurants. He fit the profile,? Howerton says.

Over the last five months, Drew has created and served ?a thousand practice meals. It gave us the ability to open smoothly, like a free-standing restaurant,? says Howerton. ?In the hotel business, you expect to open to no business. This is not the typical hotel restaurant.?

Drew’s ?little touches? are all over the menu, says his boss. Good examples are the ?sushi sandwich? appetizer, short-grain rice, smoked salmon, cucumbers, snow peas, sweet carrots and mint greens with three sauces, and the crispy calamari and rock shrimp appetizer laced with a roasted red pepper tomato sauce, lemon aioli and sticky rice sticks. ?Our signature items are really extraordinary,? Howerton says.

?Extraordinary entrees,? he says, include the filet mignon, on a potato pancake crusted with blue cheese from Fort Collins. Seafood, like the grilled swordfish marinated in Key lime and ginger, or the cioppino, made with Bay Area seafood, ?with a mountain twist of game sausages and mushroom raviolis.?

The restaurant’s flexibility means the menu changes weekly. When a Wisconsin native came in longing for walleyed pike, he found it on the menu the next week. Flatz offers sushi one night a week in the lounge with its open hearth, stone fireplace and floor-to-ceiling wine racks. A weekly seafood tour will be offered starting in 2003 on Fridays.Paintings, sculptures, Flamenco and pastry ?

For those who need a break from holiday stress

Need a break from holiday stress? Visit the Museo de las Americas, 861 Santa Fe Dr. in Denver. On exhibit through Dec. 31 are ?Images of Devotion in Spanish Colonial America,? 17th and 18th century paintings and sculptures created in the Spanish colonies of the New World during the Baroque period.

Also on display is ?Ancient Art of the Americas,? stone and ceramic art created by the indigenous Americans before the arrival of the Europeans. For more information call (303) 571-4401.

And while we’re on a Latin theme, a bit closer to home, Triana Spanish Bistro is offering live Flamenco Sunday and Monday nights, along with jazz Tuesday through Friday. Sip the best sangria in town while you’re tapping your toes at 1039 Pearl St., (303) 449-1022.

Don’t forgot your bouche de noel, the traditional French Yule log pastry, from the Cream Puffery, 1729 15th St., for the perfect holiday dessert. Order early and often! It’s unforgettable, and if you don’t order ahead you might be out of luck: (720) 565-6833.– Barbralu Cohen