Party of FO4R 🍽
Ambitious new Northside multiplex offers a choose your own adventure
FO4R North recently opened off the ever-expanding Interquest Parkway strip that appears destined to eventually host every national franchise concept. Joining spots like Atmosphere Gastropub, FO4R North represents a resistance to chain culture and a reminder that indie eateries can compete instead of gripe, as Food Network’s Restaurant: Impossible Chef/Host Robert Irvine recently asserted in our interview.
I acknowledge some franchises are locally owned, employ lots of folks and generally care about our community, so I try to give them their fair due — such as Dave’s Hot Chicken recently. But as we riffed on in State of Plate, it’s sad to see cars religiously line up around the block for In-N-Out instead of support our many fine local burger spots (some of whom source sustainably raised beef). Where we spend our dollars dictates how our food scene matures. And pursuant to the recent hubbub about the Springs skipping out on Michelin Star consideration, we aren’t going to evolve if consumers overly reward the influx of corporate chains.
There’s no better place to witness the In-N-Out traffic chaos than from the rooftop balcony of Pause Ultra Lounge & Sushi. That’s one of FO4R North’s concepts along with Longboard Tacos, Manhattan Room and Cansano Italian Steakhouse. We start our progressive dinner at Pause one recent Friday evening to watch a pretty sunset on the horizon behind our tabletop gas fire pit. That’s worth doing yourself sometime. From there, we moved down to the taqueria then over to the steakhouse, learning that Manhattan Room had been bought out that evening for a private function.
It’s a slippery slope when a place takes buyouts on weekend nights, likely turning away people who drove from across town with hopes for a fine cocktail over tapas. Knowing how unforgiving diners can be over even minor slights, this risks losing patronage and potentially inspires negative online comments. (A place I used to work handed out free dessert coupons for a return visit, which usually assuaged folks.) For my part this night, I decided hitting three of FO4R was sufficient for now. As with international travel, it’s nice to leave something undone in a place to justify a repeat visit versus creating a sense of perfect closure.
Anyway, back to Pause, you could almost categorize it as an izakaya, in-line with spots like Chiba Bar or Tokki by way of limited menu size. But it deviates stylistically, appearing as more of a neon-lit nightclub (with DJ music on weekend nights). That makes sense if you’ve tracked restaurateur Chuck Schafer over the years. The nephew of downtown nightclub pioneer Sam Guadagnoli (who passed away in 2022), Schafer has had a hand in other ambitious-for-their-time-and-place projects like The Cow Pub & Grill off North Powers Boulevard (which itself folded under chain pressure according to him) and The Purple Toad Social Tap & Grill (since sold; populating Falcon/Peyton as development crawled East). He still holds his stake (or steak, if you wish to pun) in Ivywild’s Prime 25 and I’ve heard from many respected voices recently that it’s in its prime these days (not to pun again), worth a (re)visit.
What we immediately notice about Pause is its relative affordability. That sets an approachable tone that carries through Longboard and Cansano for the most part. Methinks that’s key to winning over patrons in the area, some of whom may not even realize this enterprise is locally owned and not a franchise mishmash. Let’s be honest; people don’t always pay attention or care, they just hit the new spots and eventually settle on some third spaces for their lifestyle.
We nab a refreshing, spicy Korean chile cucumber salad for $5 and a spicy salmon hand roll for $8. Nothing complicated, just easy and satisfying. Would that we were staying only here for dinner, a nigiri or sashimi platter would call my name along with a roll or two. Our bartender points out that the California Roll has real snow crab, not imitation krab, noting a quality to sourcing. A swank, backlit cocktail menu lacks prices (we later learn our choice is $14) and I can’t say our drink named Nailed It lives up to its moniker. A pretty orchid garnishes it, and it blushes purple thanks to butterfly pea flower-infused Siete Leguas, a respectable top shelf blanco tequila. It also gets a touch of citrus juice and lavender bitters. Usually I don’t mind a spirit-forward cocktail but this one’s a big tequila punch in the mouth with a bitter finish that we can’t discern any floral nature from; I’d rather just sip the tequila neat in this case. Cool thing, though: We inquire and learn we can carry drinks on property between the different concepts, so we take the rest of the drink downstairs with us where Mexican food will be a better pairing.
Longboard Tacos notes a California surfer inspiration and coastal Mexican influence. That explains a whole wall of license plates as decor, palapa-evoking thatched straw awnings over the bar, Mexican pendant basket lights, and big-ass (like 25 feet tall) palm tree replicas set inside the cavernous dining room. The ceilings are so high it’s almost awkward and disconcerting and we can’t shake the feeling of a Wahoo’s Fish Taco meets a Chuy’s, as if this place has been intentionally constructed in the image of a familiar chain. It’s worth noting there’s already a Fuzzy’s Taco Shop and Torchy’s Tacos each just .3 miles away. Talk about direct competition.
Similarly invoking dance hall or nightclub elements, Longboard offers cheap beer buckets, heavy schooner glasses of craft drafts and enormous TV’s on the wall (some screening beach volleyball as we dine). The staff, who appear well-trained (kudos for such a giant operation), boast about scratch-made food. So for our progressive meal’s second course we pick recommended crispy avocado and shrimp al carbon tacos and a cocktail named the Bonfire.
The tacos feel a touch small for the $4.50-$6 range (then again Dos Santos set and exceeded that mark some time ago) and the avocado could benefit from being seared in smaller segments to avoid one large mass of mushy texture (which yes, is true to what an avocado is, I’m aware). That taco also lacks necessary salt, but its chipotle crema totally pops with an assist from pickled onions, so the flavor’s on point. The shrimp’s beautifully cooked with a piquant salsa verde and pickled chiles relish with topping chicharron. But this taco’s excessively oily and the pork rinds overpower the shrimp’s delicate essence a bit; with a little work it could shine.
I'll say the same about the Bonfire, a fair $11 for Los Vecinos del Campo mezcal, Ancho Reyes Chile Liqueur, a dash of bitters and agave. Close to an ideal mix of spicy heat, earthy desert vibes, faint smoke and balancing sweetness, it oversteps into cloying territory with a sugariness we almost pucker over. I want to love it because the nice long smoldering chile finish, but I can’t get past the saccharine nature. So, playing mixologist at the table, I blend it with the over-strong and bitter tequila drink from upstairs figuring that will buffer the sugar some and indeed it does. So we go walking away from Longboard with our hybrid tequila-mezcal drink toward Cansano. So far, post gratuity, we’re at about $65 for progressive courses one and two — and yes you do settle tabs at each spot instead of finalize at any POS system later in the night.
By the time we arrive at Cansano in the 7 o’clock hour it’s hoppin’ busy and I can tell the staff is in the weeds, valiantly digging out. Chef Philip Griffin, once the executive chef at Till Kitchen, is behind a window in the entryway feverishly cutting and weighing out hunks of fresh pasta dough. He gives off the aura of a leader who toils in the trenches with his troops versus barking orders from an expo station. Servers and runners walk at double pace and the bartenders flip through unfulfilled tickets pouring this and that. So, giving grace, it’s evident why we end up experiencing roughly a 45-minute ticket time for entrées to arrive. (Twenty minutes or less is the standard). Credit to the professional staff, they do check in with us twice to let us know they are tracking our ticket and I later realized they comped a glass of wine — a nice gesture of acknowledgment.
A brief digression here: Chef Griffin does hail from England and his resume boasts working with Michelin-starred chefs but I can’t explain (and have messaged to ask about) FO4R North’s website claim that Schafer’s Five Times Hospitality Group “hold[s] accolades such as the coveted Michelin Stars…” If they’re referencing Griffin’s respected past, they need to distinguish the difference. As I reported back in September when Colorado’s first batch of Michelin Guide Awards were announced, the Springs chose not to pay-to-play, so nobody locally’s holding stars. (And you’d be hard-pressed to hold them with exceedingly long ticket times and such.)
Back to Cansano though, it’s trimmed out with classic steakhouse burgundy tones between walls and booth upholstery. Dark woods at the bar contrast with lighter slabs of thick, rough hewn wood panels across the way, set vertical as a striking divider between the dining room and bathrooms. A dry age fridge greets guests past the host stand and open kitchen line with heat lamps casting a warm tungsten glow. Some faux plant vines evoke wine country. And yes there’s a high-end wine list by-the-bottle for high rollers — I do see a custom Porsche parked out front. Cansano too has an unusually high ceiling that works against a sense of intimacy in a fine dining setting. That’s also undermined by a giant-sized, black-and-white photo print of a baby with an upturned bowl of pasta spilling noodles on its head. Prominently facing the main dining room, the image pulls you from the environment into some corporate place like a Carrabba’s or Buca di Beppo where you’re supposedly family and things are irreverent to entertain children.
Anyway we’re seated at the bar and get excellent service from Kendra (a Principal’s Office alum) and Clifford (who’s worked everywhere from Allusion Speakeasy to District Elleven and The Broadmoor). Cansano has attracted some talent both in back and front of the house which should be an asset as they continue to refine their systems enterprise-wide in these early months since launching.
Though still approachable, with good happy hours, Cansano’s menu isn’t cheap. (I drop another $100 for this review.) But prices feel fair for the ingredients, be that Akaushi or Snake River Farms Wagyu beef or mixed seafood dishes or the (labor cost of) homemade pastas. For this main course of our progressive dinner we opt for potato-herb gnocchi with mushrooms and butternut squash, sage and arugula-pistachio pesto plus a Chilean sea bass over asparagus and tomato-pecorino-olive ravioli with a “salsa verde” that looks remarkably pesto-like minus big garlic or basil influence. We pair that with a fine Super Tuscan blend that’s dark fruit forward and tannic and perhaps a touch big for some of the subtler aspects of our food but nice nonetheless and we’re happy.
Again with some grace towards our plates being prepared during the rush, we find easily fixable missteps that prevent these items from being their best expressions. Though the sea bass is plated pretty and perfectly seared and flakey it could benefit from more seasoning, even just salt and pepper, and the ravioli are somewhat bland too, not popping until bites are taken with the oily green relish and fish for a full symphonic effect. The asparagus are delightful al dente with a welcome lemon juice edge, though. The final result feels like a health-conscious plate where the flavors are almost all there but you’re missing the uniting sinful part, be that salt or butter or more potent seasoning.
We have more trouble with the gnocchi though as they’re on the undercooked side, lacking a good browning after a boiling and just turning to mush in the mouth quickly. The topping components strike a safe blandness that misses the mark on the shrooms’ potential umami and pesto’s capability as the great green stuff goes. Just salt could carry the day. I suspect this is a totally enjoyable dish when executed to the original vision, but I’d also say that even at this fine dining level this shouldn’t be too hard a dish to nail every time. Restaurants know they often only get one chance to make a good impression.
If it feels like the culmination of our whole progressive meal across FO4R North reads a bit like the Goldilocks folktale of close-but-not-ideal, know that we do finally discover “just right” with our dessert. A trio of chocolate bomboloni with raspberry compote delight alongside a dark-roast cappuccino with gorgeous latte art. The bomboloni are sugar-coated mini donuts piped with a rich chocolate paste and their dough’s fluffy and fry bread-smelling and just a lovely texture to close the night on.
Despite flaws found like the out-of-balance cocktails and under-seasoned bites we depart not dissatisfied and still capable of crediting the high points. Most of all I reflect on feeling light and good in my belly, like I’ve eaten clean food from quality ingredients. Too often I leave large or lengthy meals feeling in need of a nap or long walk to burn off belly bloat. Not so here.
Part of FO4R North’s unique appeal amidst all the chains might be creating food that can actually nourish. Drinks aside, there’s plenty of healthier options and I do hope the fourplex succeeds given its ceiling-high ambition. It offers a choose-your-own adventure as opposed to a get-in-line uniformity on display just outside its doors.