Niko Diamantopoulos pays attention to what Denver is missing. A few years back, he noticed a severe lack of doner kebabs and opened Berliner Haus. What started as a tent-based side project spiraled into what now amounts to two food trucks, a kebab cart and a stall at Avanti.
During a relatively recent trip to New York, Diamantopoulos was left delighted and distraught by an encounter with the famed Florentine sandwich shop All’Antico Vinaio. Its sandwiches, served on schiaccata, the flat, crispy cousin of focaccia, piqued his interest. That such a thing had yet to make a real splash in Colorado was a bummer, and an opportunity.
This week, Diamantopoulos and his team launched Ciao Babe, an Italian sister concept to Berliner Haus. The menu of well-stacked schiaccata sandos, pastas, sides and desserts is a welcome remedy to an ailment many Denverites didn’t even know they had. There are plenty of great places in town to enjoy hoagies, subs, tortas and banh mi. Ciao Babe avoids getting swept up in any kind of sandwich saturation. Items like the Firenze Babe, with mortadella, burrata di andria, pistachio and hot honey, have an unmistakable sense of place.
The sandwiches are dense and surprisingly affordable, considering that Diamantopoulos is committed to importing every ingredient he can straight from Italy. Bread arrives weekly by the pallet. The cold cuts all taste like they’re produced in a style that spans generations. “The idea with Ciao Babe, in general, is to let the ingredients shine,” said Diamantopoulos. “If you get good ingredients and you know the basics of cooking, you can’t really go wrong.”
The Truffle Babe might be the menu’s best example of uncomplicated excellence. Schiaccata is stacked with a generous helping of porchetta, truffle cream, stracciatella and arugula. Nothing more, nothing less. The Meatball Babe is decidedly more robust. Italian meatballs, marinara, burrata di andria, Parmigiano Reggiano and basil arrive on a local roll. It looks like an odd man out and is one of the best things on the menu. While the pastas, like the terrific carbonara, with guanciale, egg yolk, Pecorino Romano and black pepper, certainly shine, the sandwich is a pristine and well-chosen vehicle for expressing the philosophy that simple is often better.
Diamantopoulos says he learned to cook from his dad, Dimitri. “He wasn’t a professional cook but he was a phenomenal cook,” said the restaurateur. Ciao Babe reads like a dedication to Diamantopoulos’ father, and has the not overly polished warmth of home cooking even with the ease of fast casual. Diamantopoulos grew up in Athens, and fondly remembers being introduced to Italian delicacies on a road trip his dad took him on. “He would try to teach me good taste.”
The menu feels deeply personal but decidedly global. But the apparent contradiction between intimate and worldly makes a bit more sense when you factor in Diamantopoulos’ love of travel. “If I’m not working, I’m traveling,” he said. “DIA is like my second home.”
Diamantopoulos is confident that Ciao Babe will quickly grow to be as popular as Berliner Haus. He has good reason to be.
Ciao Babe is located in Avanti Food and Beverage at 3200 North Pecos Street, Denver. It is open Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. – 9 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Photos courtesy of Amber Boutwell.
