All in the Family (Nov 2008)

Anyone who has ever lived in San Francisco knows local nightlife king and man-about-town Harry Denton, owner of the popular Harry Denton’s Starlight Room. But there’s another set of Dentons who have made their mark in the hospitality industry—Harry’s nephews, Jason and Joe, the owners of three popular Italian restaurants in New York. Jason, the oldest brother at 38, first got into the restaurant business washing dishes and busing tables at his uncle’s joint, eventually working his way up to maitre d’ of the Starlight Room. “I also lived above a wine store, so I got a second job there and learned everything I could about wine,” Jason says. “And I was in the kitchen cooking. I had three jobs. I just fell in love with the business all around.” A few years later, the Idaho native landed in New York purely by accident: “I was backpacking through Europe and decided to stay in London, but got deported. They flew me back to New York, and I fell in love with it immediately. I’ve been here ever since,” he says. He continued waiting tables around town until a fateful trip to Italy for a friend’s wedding ten years ago introduced him to a simple food that would change his life forever—the panini. “My wife and I saw this guy grilling sandwiches on the side of the street and we thought, ‘There’s nothing like this in New York,’” he says. “When we came back, we stumbled on an old dog-grooming parlor for sale in the West Village. That led us to beg, borrow and save until we could buy and renovate it.” That dog parlor became ’Ino, a tiny wine bar that serves the pressed sandwiches until the wee hours of the morning, making it a late-night chef’s hangout for people like Mario Batali.

“Even Martha Stewart has declared the delectable snacks her ‘favorite sandwiches in the world.’ ”

It became so popular that even Martha Stewart declared the delectable snacks her “favorite sandwiches in the world.” Jason’s baby bro Joe, who, right before ’Ino’s opening, was spending his days snowboarding in Tahoe and his evenings learning about wine while working at the Plumpjack Café. He was called in by Jason to help with the opening. ’Ino’s success led them to search together for a space for their second restaurant. “We found something in 2003 on the Lower East Side, which was right when the area was just becoming really chic,” Joe adds. With their loyal chef Eric Kleinman in tow, they opened ’Inoteca, which has been bursting with patrons since day one. The menu is an expanded version of ’Ino’s but with even more small plates to choose from, as well as full entrees like Hampshire Porterhouse braciolette and Pollo al Mattone, which is Tuscan grilled chicken cooked under a brick.

Now the Denton duo are thinking even bigger. Their latest venture, Bar Milano, located in Gramercy, takes a more upscale turn, offering full plates of Milanese cuisine in a hip setting that mixes classic, old boy’s club décor with modern-chic accents. (Think marble walls, deep velvet banquettes, and romantic tables for two.) To create the perfect menu, Jason, Eric Kleinman and Bar Milano’s chef Steve Connaughton took a “research” trip to Italy, where they perfected the sport of eating everything they could. “We went to Piedmont and Bologna and Milan and just had tasting menu after tasting menu,” Jason says. “It sounds fun, but it was work.” Upon returning, they tried to emulate the foods they’d eaten, which are richer than typical Italian dishes—more butters, more decadent sauces and fresher, softer pastas. The result is a menu that features items like a small-farm ricotta that no one else in the U.S. is serving yet, and fresh pasta stuffed with veal osso buco in a lemon butter sauce. While the food may be delicious, Bar Milano’s immediate success is in no small part due to the Denton’s warm and inviting attitude. The thing about their restaurants is they’re fun. They’re places you go to enjoy a good meal, good amounts of wine, and also a good laugh. And it’s apparent the brother’s enjoy the work. With three hits in a row, it’s also apparent that they’ve discovered the key to successful ventures. It must be in their blood.

’INO 21 BEDFORD ST./DOWNING; 212.989.5769
’INOTECA 98 RIVINGTON ST./LUDLOW; 212.614.0473
BAR MILANO 323 3RD AVE./23RD ST; 212.797.8900