I am Superfluous! chatGPT takes my Mercantile review and rewrites it.

by Andrew Chalk (not a bot)

Prompt (me):

"Here is the text of my review of Denver restaurant "Mercantile" . Rewrite it to improve it.

Response (from chatGPT). Some of the images added: Here’s a polished rewrite of your Mercantile review. I’ve tightened flow, clarified descriptions, cut redundancies, and preserved your wit and personality while giving it a smoother narrative.

Restaurant Review: Mercantile, Denver

by Andrew Chalk

We attended a media lunch at Mercantile, the stylish restaurant tucked into Denver’s Union Station. For $35, the kitchen offers a two-course lunch, with optional wine pairings at $15. Those prices are as fair as they seem, given the quality on the plate and in the glass. Diners choose from four first courses and seven mains, including thoughtful vegetarian options.

First Courses

The Moll opened with the Roasted Broccoli Caesar: broccoli segments dressed with miso, Brunson bacon, savory crumbs, and a snowfall of grana padano. It looked like something out of Tolkien—a secret riddle guarding hidden pleasures—but a fork provided all the access required. Smoky bacon, creamy cheese, and the crunch of savory crumbs made each bite lively, even if calling it a “Caesar” requires a bit of poetic license.

I went for the soup of the day: broccoli and potato. Served in a grey ceramic bowl with an artistic drizzle garnish, it impressed visually as much as many of the paintings we had just admired at the Denver Art Museum. The taste was equally satisfying—rich, hearty, and restorative.

Wine Pairing: A Colorado Roussanne, The Storm Cellar Côtes du Co 2023 (Grand Valley). Fruitier than its Rhône cousins and without their earthy goût de terroir, it paired well with both dishes. Bravo to Mercantile for showcasing a local wine. Like my home state of Texas, Colorado is producing better bottles every year, but diners still need a little encouragement to order them.

Second Courses

The Moll’s entrée was Kvarøy Salmon—a highlight in downtown Denver. The fillet was crisp on the outside, tender within, and assertively flavorful (a rarity in a world of bland salmon). It rested on a bed of nutty farro, with a lush onion soubise for scooping. A sun-dried tomato concassé added a bright, concentrated punch of acidity.

I chose the Mercantile Kewpie Burger, a glorious mountain of beef, American cheese, caramelized onions, lettuce, and the world’s finest mayonnaise, Kewpie. I demolished it, promising myself a hike across the Rockies to work off the indulgence. The fries were textbook perfect—crisp without, tender within—and even better dipped first in chipotle aioli, then in ketchup when the aioli was gone.

Wine Pairing: Scar of the Sea Pinot Noir 2023 (San Luis Obispo, CA). Earthy, supple, and versatile enough to complement both the salmon and the burger.

Dessert was declined—not from lack of temptation, but from an abundance of caloric caution.

Big Picture

This was an excellent lunch, full stop. The kitchen leadership—Executive Chef Alen Grenier and Sous Chef Chris Henschen (present and actively cooking during our visit)—delivers food that is creative, confident, and deeply satisfying.

Mercantile’s light-filled dining room adds to the pleasure, as does its setting inside Union Station. The building, beautifully restored, still functions as a train hub but now also houses the Michelin-rated Crawford Hotel and a collection of restaurants worth exploring.

If lunch doesn’t fit your schedule, dinner looks equally appealing. Either way, Mercantile is a must-visit in Denver.

Would you like me to make this tighter and more journalistic (like something for a newspaper column), or keep the personal, playful tone (more like a food blog)?

Having already been humbled, I declined the opportunity.