Food to Love
By Michelle Gilles

Photo by Phil Mumford.

And just as it is with that part of the world, so it is with the Boulder restaurant of the same name, a place lovingly referred to by locals as “The Med.” Here you can try tastes from Casablanca to Crete by nibbling on more than 40 different tapas ranging from prosciutto-wrapped cantaloupe wedges with aged balsamic vinegar to a sweet confit of roasted red peppers. If the variety alone doesn’t seduce you into making a meal out of apps, the price might: Happy Hour is a steal, with snacks starting at $1.50.

Those in the know come early. The restaurant is almost always busy, something that surprised owners Joe and Peggy Romano, along with their business partners Antonio and Pat Laudisio, of Laudisio Ristorante Italiano. From the moment they opened—on January 7, 1993, a Friday night—“we were slammed,” says Peggy, who didn’t expect instant success in a sea of restaurant competition. But the fact that all four partners came from restaurant backgrounds and were clear in their initial vision has helped make every year better than the last as they approach their 15th anniversary.

Photo courtesy The Mediterranean Restaurant, Boulder, Colorado

Another bonus was the sunlit courtyard patio tucked alongside the restaurant. Peggy added terra cotta pots that she fills with orange, pink and red geraniums, and rosemary, basil and chives. The existing fountain was redesigned with bold cobalt blue and rich yellow tiles imported from Positano, Italy. The partners commissioned a local artist, Sheena Matheson, to paint a trompe l’oeil mural that fancifully blends elements of the city of Bologna, the Amalfi Coast and the island of Capri into one colorful scene that transports diners to an Italian piazza and tempts them to try the food.

“I’ve been coming since the beginning,” says Bob McDaniel, who lives downtown and has lunch at The Med every day. “It wears extremely well.” This loyalty is echoed by another longtime Med customer, John Ooyen, who works downtown and came for the first time immediately after it changed from Garcia’s. “I like the ambience and the food, but more importantly the people—both the wait staff and the customers.”

Food + Service: The Recipe for Success

Peggy and Joe Romano opened The Med in 1993. The patio is a summer favorite for pizzas, drinks and tapas. Photo by Greg Lefcourt

Hessel is a self-trained chef whose stints include Tavern on the Green in New York’s Central Park, Tante Louise in Denver, and more locally, Pour la France, which occupied the Pearl Street location where Pasta Jay’s is now. As Hessel tells it, he used to stop by The Med for some tapas on his way home from Pour la France, and he realized this was where he wanted to work.

The Med soon hired him. Within six months Hessel was appointed executive chef and immediately began revamping the menu. He admits there’s a fine line between keeping old favorites and introducing something fresh, and he seems to have found that happy medium. “I go back to what’s traditional and twist it a little to find what’s more exciting but stays true to what we’re doing,” Hessel says. “Like with these tapas. They have been around for centuries but I wanted to put my mark on it and make it our own.”

Hessel reworks the menu about every year and a half, and when he rolls out the next one it will include traditional favorites such as the classic pizza Margherita and paella mariscos. As always, Hessel has added a handful of new choices, and he’s reintroduced one very popular item that Peggy has been dying for him to put back on the menu: salmone acqua pazza, which is pan-roasted salmon served with an onion-carrot-scallion compôte, milk-roasted garlic and a broth infused with chile and lemon thyme.

From the moment The Med entered the restaurant scene it has been a place where snackers and diners alike can find something light or deeply satisfying. Whether you have a quick lunch or a leisurely meal, it’s hard to walk away and not rave about the food, which is as close to the cuisine and character of the Mediterranean as you’ll find in the heart of Boulder.

| The Mediterranean Restaurant, 1002 Walnut St., 303-444-5335, www.themedboulder.com, is open for lunch Mon-Sun 11 am-5pm; dinner Sun-Wed 5 pm-10 pm; Thurs-Sat 5 pm-11 pm; and Happy Hour Mon-Fri 3-6:30 pm.

| Michelle Gilles is a freelance writer and diner who loves nothing more than sampling Boulder County eats. She lives in Boulder with her husband, who happily allows her to drag him to every restaurant in town.

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