THIS RESTAURANT HAS CHANGED NAMES Painted Bench

THIS RESTAURANT HAS CHANGED NAMES Painted Bench Restaurant Review:

Blocks away from the glitz and heavy diner traffic of LoDo, Bench owners Bill and Steve Rohs have carved out a serious sliver of the downtown restaurant trade. Today their 100-year-old building hosts a glorious antique bar (imported from a defunct Wisconsin tavern), and the room's old soul is clearly visible in a tooled-tin ceiling and other rustic touches. The food is equally charming. Steve Rohs conjures up a short list of American and Mediterranean dishes and then spikes them with nouveau touches that keenly blend the genres. The results are inspired and invigorating without being pretentious or over-arching. A slice of fresh-from-the-sea halibut is panned in butter and flour, then served swimming in a purée of lentils. High-end cuts of beef come glistening with a caramel glaze, wading ankle deep in an assortment of changing sauces, truffle-laced mashers on the side. The leg of lamb is rich and rustic, nestled between neat-but-naked veggies. Need more? Wrap up the meal with one of Rohs’ other-worldly desserts. Then move next-door to the Bench's tap room---a best-kept secret for discerning urban tipplers---for a snifter of scotch or a cask-conditioned ale. The wine list? It rocks with tried-and-true gold standards and obscure labels from French and California micro-vintners.