Brutø's new chef puts his spin on the Michelin-star restaurant's menu

The lamb street taco is gone from the menu at Brutø. It's now a lamb loin bathed in squid ink anise caramel that sits on a slice of delectable confit eggplant with a charred eggplant puree.

Why it matters: In one dish, new Bruto executive chef Byron Gomez defines a more elevated and global direction at the Michelin-star restaurant in downtown Denver.

Dig in: A native of Costa Rica, and alum of 7908 in Aspen and "Top Chef," Gomez took the helm at the kitchen in March, just months after the prior chef Michael Diaz de Leon became one of five in Colorado and only three in Denver to land Michelin's top rating.

• Diaz de Leon stepped down in December to open his own restaurant.

The vibe: Gomez is embracing the wood-fire oven, zero-waste pledge and fermentation program, all elements of the 22-seat restaurant's brutalism theme, which is appropriately more delicate than crude.

• The new 11-presentation menu starts with a nicely seared duck heart prepared Peruvian style on a skewer, takes an earthy spin through a caviar and sunchoke course and features local bison tongue in a cappelletto with celery root.
• And yes, the wood-fired, heritage flour sourdough bread remains a heavenly best bite.

The intrigue: No menu is presented at the start, only a question about food restrictions, as the staff promises a night of choreographed surprises.

• Gomez delivers with hidden dollops of purees and fermented elements, often layered beneath the main ingredients.

If you go: Get a reservation for a seat at the chef's counter that wraps around the spartan kitchen to watch the magic come to life.