REVIEW: Sunbird soars for brunch, not so high for dinner

The window-side tables at The Sunbird Restaurant fill quickly with diners hungry for a sweeping view of the city. When we visited for the champagne brunch buffet recently, the only seat a friend and I were able to get was one row back from the glass.

People like to look down on things, my friend said as she spread her napkin in her lap. It’s why huge SUVs were so popular. In a way, the Sunbird is a lot like a huge SUV. It is great for big parties and big impressions, but somewhat clumsy and, in certain circumstances, impractical. Its greatest asset is sheer volume.

This is most evident at brunch.

The Sunbird perches on the edge of a sandstone mesa above Interstate 25 with several dining rooms walled in glass to make best use of the view (which, unfortunately, is first of the ever-widening interstate, then a warehouse district, then the city’s leafy, diffuse downtown).

The brunch selections take up two full rooms, starting with an elegant carving table with tender, pink prime rib and delicious ham, then winding through eggs Benedict and fat sausage links, a waffle station, salmon roulade stuffed with spinach and goat cheese, London broil in a tangy green peppercorn sauce, enchiladas, a tangle of crab legs perched on ice, and a swarm of shrimp, mussels, soup and salad before ending at a gang of cakes and fruit arranged around a fountain of chocolate.

There is an omelet, pasta and fajita bar. Servers come around refilling slender glasses with champagne or mimosas. As the menu says, “The only thing we overlook is the city.”

There are some real delights on the line. The king crab legs taste fresh and succulent. The prime rib is expertly medium rare. Even some sleepers deep in the phalanx of chaffing dishes shine, such as very good pork tamales in a tart, vibrant New Mexico-style red chili.

But like all assembly lines, this one tends to stress consistency and output over creativity and quality. The whipped cream tastes like a highly stabilized whipped dairy product. The cantaloupe was stubbornly starchy, even though it is the height of Rocky Ford season. Made-to-order veggie omelets had the overbearing oiliness of cheap, takeout lo mein.

Still, brunch is a success. Where else can you get all this and a bottomless glass of champagne (with or without a view) for $28?

Dinner is where the SUV feels a little clumsy.

The best way to understand it is the wine case that greets diners as they walk in. The tall, glass-and-dark-wood affair is elegantly formal, but inside, the labels tend toward big, familiar labels such as Clos du Bois and Kendall-Jackson.

Dinner is the same. It is white tablecloths and candles, but the selections are so familiar they give you the idea no one is putting in the effort to offer creative, distinctive choices.

There is fillet mignon ($26) and shrimp scampi ($20). There is Salmon Oscar ($20) and rotating chef’s specials, such as rack of lamb ($28).

There are some very good options, such as cornmeal-crusted calamari ($8) or a great beer cheese soup ($5), which manages to be rich without falling into the trap of being thick and gloppy, and which has a wonderful range of flavors.

But too many things hit the table with a yawn. Almost every meal has the same two sides: mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables, which consist of a spear of asparagus, a carrot and a frond of broccoli. It immediately feels like banquet food, which, since Sunbird does a swift wedding-reception business, is probably the kitchen’s focus.

Sunbird would be a great place for a wedding reception. The view and restaurant are gorgeous. The food is consistent and pretty good. But for anyone looking for a spot for an intimate, special dinner, this place is a little too large.

The Sunbird Restaurant
★★★
(institutional institution)
Address: 230 Point of the Pines Drive
Contact: 598-8990,
thesunbird.com
Hours: 4:30-9:30 p.m. daily; Sunday brunch 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
Entrees: $17-$28
Vegetarian: yes
Alcohol: full bar
Credit cards: yes