Colorado Kitchen

[morela]

Some good news on the Colorado Kitchen liquor license front -- there were no objections at their recent public hearing so you should be able to have real drink with your dinner starting the week after next.

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So, not yet, but maybe middle of next week?

Everythng on schedule stretch?

I'm supposed to be there mañana, but I'm very thirsty...

[westofrome]

Can a vegetarian eat at Colorado Kitchen? I'm afraid of being yelled at if I only order small plates, or need some small item removed or something.

[spaghetttti]

Can a vegetarian eat at Colorado Kitchen? I'm afraid of being yelled at if I only order small plates, or need some small item removed or something.

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Yes, that's a great question -- and how about pork-free dishes? Is catfish available Fridays in November?

[westofrome]

Yes, what a ridiculous question, asking whether I can eat anything at a restaurant before I go. Because vegetarians are less common than unicorns, you know. Just a bizarre prediliction.

Thanks for your comment.

Yes, that's a great question -- and how about pork-free dishes?  Is catfish available Fridays in November?

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[iamthestretch]

Yes, what a ridiculous question, asking whether I can eat anything at a restaurant before I go. Because vegetarians are less common than unicorns, you know. Just a bizarre prediliction.

Thanks for your comment.

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I'm not sure, but I actually don't think she was being intentionally snide there. What we have here may be a failure to communicate.

Anyway, yes, you could probably put together a decent meal from the vegetarian options. The soup of the day is often a vegetable preparation, there are some interesting salads and, if I remember correctly, a fair few small plates that don't involve meat. And if you do eat fish, you're well set.

The same goes for avoiding pork if you keep kosher or halaal. And the catfish sandwich remains on the menu for the forseeable future, as far as I know.

PS: No one yells. Honest.

[westofrome]

Thanks for the info, I'll have to try it out.

I don't expect all restaurants to have veggie options, but I just didn't think it was an odd thing to ask, is all. And perhaps it is the wrong impression, but I was especially concerned about CK since their reputation suggests they wouldn't alter a dish slightly to make it veggie, as most restaurants will if you ask.

Sorry if I took it the wrong way...

I'm not sure, but I actually don't think she was being intentionally snide there. What we have here may be a failure to communicate.

Anyway, yes, you could probably put together a decent meal from the vegetarian options. The soup of the day is often a vegetable preparation, there are some interesting salads and, if I remember correctly, a fair few small plates that don't involve meat. And if you do eat fish, you're well set.

The same goes for avoiding pork if you keep kosher or halaal. And the catfish sandwich remains on the menu for the forseeable future, as far as I know.

PS: No one yells. Honest.

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[Al_Dente]

Thanks for the info, I'll have to try it out.

I don't expect all restaurants to have veggie options, but I just didn't think it was an odd thing to ask, is all. And perhaps it is the wrong impression, but I was especially concerned about CK since their reputation suggests they wouldn't alter a dish slightly to make it veggie, as most restaurants will if you ask.

Sorry if I took it the wrong way...

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From her posts, it wouldn't appear Spaghetttti has a mean bone in her body. Though she does seem to have an obsession with freaky fruit.

[ronnie_suburban]

From her posts, it wouldn't appear Spaghetttti has a mean bone in her body. Though she does seem to have an obsession with freaky fruit.

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Agreed. I'm certain she was being completely sincere.

Carry on!

=R=

[mnebergall]

That's the dragon fruit that we had at Oyamel last week. They are unbeliebably tasty.

[spaghetttti]

westofrome, I was so happy that you posed the question, so much so I rode on the coattails of your post with some questions of my own. Please accept my sincere apologies to have created the wrong impression by my doing so. I often dine with vegetarian friends, so your question was an excellent and relevant one. I appreciate your asking it.

After too many postponements, I'm finally coming home. I have an emotional attachment to the Brightwood area and following the eGullet Outing to Colorado Kitchen thread back in September has convinced me that CK is a mandatory destination. Everything sounds so good there, even the pork chops with apple sauce and cider reduction induced mouth-watering reactions from me. However, I do keep halal so that particular menu item is not an option for me.

iamthestretch, thank you for answering our questions. I feel sure that a meal at CK prepared by Chef Gillian and her staff will be a most enjoyable and memorable one.

Mike and Ron, thank you so much, you are in my heart.

All the best,

Yetty

Edited October 20, 2004 by spaghetttti (log)

[JennyUptown]

You'll be a welcome addition to the DC board, Yetty.

[DonRocks]

Okay, I don't want to post every newsletter that comes along, but it appears that Colorado Kitchen is finally serving beer and wine, and that you can BYOB for a $15 corkage fee. Congratulations Gillian and Robin!

Hey everyone,

We'd like to thank Ward 4 councilman, Adrian Fenty for helping us find our way through that maze downtown so that we could obtain the final approval for our beer and wine license.  So next time you see Adrian in the restaurant, be sure and treat him to a glass of wine.

This week we're featuring a Shiraz from Australia, a Pinot Noir and a Pinot Gris from Oregon, and a lovely Pinot Grigio from Italy.

As for our beer selection, we'll have Red Stripe from Jamaica, a British dark ale, as well as Blue Moon and Sam Adams.

If you decide to bring your own wine, our corkage fee is $15. 

We'll still offer our great selection of sodas as well as our fresh-squeezed lemonade so you can still have a great dry time at Colorado Kitchen if you choose.

See you soon,

Chef & Robin

[The Doctor]

Ok, time for the report on my first trip to the Kitchen. (Made one previous attempt, but they were on vacation!)

It was a friend's birthday. Knowing a large party wouldn't work, we unfortunately had to trim down the guest list. But a party of six of us showed up at about 7:15 last friday. It wasn't completely full, but there was no room to seat all of us. We kind of milled around for a bit and decided we could split up, four at a table, two at the counter. About halfway through our meal, the lone woman with a salad, newspaper and glass of wine next to us left, and we asked if our other two people could join us. They were more than happy to move the tables together. I was very happy with this situation. We didn't want to cause trouble for them, and they wanted to accomodate us the best they could. Both sides were very good natured about the whole thing. Polite society still exists!

Anyways, on to the food. We started off with a special appetizer: the lobster corn dog, with a cranberry mignonette. The chef really does know her way around the fryer! The outer batter was so clean tasting and hearty. The lobster meat inside was done perfectly.

Now I must come to the great disappointment of the evening before I continue raving. The Moroccan Chicken Casserole was a complete disaster. After enjoying our lobster, those of us seated at the table were anxiously awaiting the next course. That's when our bar companions joined us in a very unhappy state. One had ordered the casserole as a main course, and didn't even want to finish it. We sampled the rest, and knew why. It was dry and chewy. Maybe that's the way it's supposed to be, but if so, that's unfortunate. We at the table had already ordered another one, so we were interested to see how the second one would be. It was equally disappointing. At this point I didn't know if we'd be able to get over this blemish.

But, I am happy to report that we did. I had the monkfish schnitzel (with dumplings and cabbage) as my main course. Terrific. Two others had the salmon with leeks, white beans and lobster sauce. Also terrific. And the birthday boy himself won big with the chicken pot pie. (As a side note, I don't think I saw any items with the infamous tartar sauce, which saddened me a little).

For dessert, we split some of the apple crisp and pineapple upsidedown cake. These were also of very high quality.

The service was far from poor, but not very memorable, either. I'll be back again soon. I found the prices quite reasonable. Most of the large plates were in the mid teens or lower.

It doesn't look like Colorado Kitchen's website will be back anytime soon. But thanks internet archive at www.archive.org, we can see a saved version from January of this year:

http://web.archive.org/web/20040127192415/...mmmmbetter.com/

[DonRocks]

Had a terrific dinner at Colorado Kitchen tonight. The cauliflower/goat-cheese/green-goddess salad was incredible. The monkfish schnitzel was otherworldly. The biscuits were perfect.

The service was friendly, the prices were low, and the food was fabulous.

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[Edit - Parody deleted because a couple people, much to my surprise and horror, took it seriously.]

[iamthestretch]

The service was friendly, the prices were low, and the food was fabulous.

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Love that schnitzel. Was there anything decent to drink?

[DonRocks]

The service was friendly, the prices were low, and the food was fabulous.

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Love that schnitzel. Was there anything decent to drink?

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Oh yes, a really nice bottle of red Burgundy! (which I brought myself - they have a $15 corkage fee). Their beer selection is small but thoughtful, and they have several wines by the glass which I did not try.

After one bite of that schnitzel, I walked back to Gillian and said "everytime I come here, I wonder why I go anyplace else."

She said, without any pause, "Yeah, I wonder that too. I'm like, where the hell has he been?"

[The Doctor]

The biscuits were perfect.

I can't belive I forgot to mention the biscuits in my report!! A more daring member of my party actually lifted some uneaten ones from an adjacent table after they had left!

[iamthestretch]

CK is back in cyberspace, for anyone wanting to check out their latest offerings. While it's not on the regular menu, there's been some recent boasting about a duck leg confit with cabbage and dried cherries that will have to be tried soon. Like tomorrow, I think.

[cakewench]

hey ho. I visited CK with a few friends on my last visit to DC (early December), but forgot to post about it.

Everything was fantastic. really. I had read so many things about the service (not a single problem, and our server was actually quite informative/helpful/amusing) that I gave my little group the heads-up before we even left. IE, "I don't care if they tell us to fetch our own drinks and bus our own tables, remember we're in it for the food." The warning was not needed. Who ARE those people writing reviews on wp.com? (not Sietsema, I mean the whingeing masses in 'reader review'-land)

There were four of us. I was very excited to have my husband, who is German, have a chance to try some typical 'American' dishes, done well. Unfortunately, Europeans tend to think 'American' = hamburgers, hot dogs, etc. I was hoping to have that inclination wiped away, at least a bit. My own home cooking is not traditional, in case you're wondering why I haven't done the job myself!

We were sent some turkey soup to taste (very nice, he ended up ordering it for his app), and as it was pre-liquor license, we all ordered some nostalgic flavored sodas.

Unfortunately, I can't recall the details of every dish that was ordered, but we did pass around tastes of each item, so I was able to sample a good portion of the menu. I had the chicken pot pie as my own app. The crust (read, no 'crust' as such, more of a light, flakey biscuit cap for the filling) was not what I expected, but that isn't a bad thing. The filling was pot-pie-perfection. I think it was my favorite bit of the evening.

My main was the meatloaf with redeye gravy. I should say that I am extremely... ambivilent about meatloaf in general. It's one of those dishes that one's mother cooks to perfection, and all others tend to pale in comparison with. It also something I never crave, and never think "gosh, could hitch myself up to the diner and get me some semi-homemade meatloaf'n'gravy'n'fixins'." I also dislike gravy in general.

BUT. I had read lovely things about her meatloaf, and so I had to order it. And, good lord, am I glad I did. yum. My husband had some flavorful fish. Another companion ordered what was possibly the least interesting dish (not 'bad', mind you, just not earth-shattering), which was a shrimp dish. Everyone was pleased, and stuffed.

So of COURSE we ordered some dessert. I shared the chocolate... souffle.. something (oh boy. I forget.) with my husband. Our other two companions, unencumbered by spouses, got their own desserts. Our cake was the winner for that round, I must say.

I went to give some fangirl-esque compliments to Chef at her window, and she tolerated me very politely.

Why am I bothering to write this all up? I'm really hoping you all keep her in business until we are able to visit again! Also, I've noticed the menu change (why yes, I AM on their mailing list), and I'm curious to hear any reports as to how it is.

Edited January 17, 2005 by cakewench (log)

[iamthestretch]

The new menu items are very good. The Alsatian onion tart is a simple but satisfying blend of creamy, caramelized onions and thick, oniony cream and the duck confit is as unctuous as it should be and nicely set off by tart dried cherries. I can also recommend the jerk chicken wings, which some claim are potent enough to bring on labor. I haven't had the "Fish is Chips" yet -- slivers of crunchy fried skate wing -- but plan to get to it as soon as opportunity presents itself. Ditto the chicken-fried steak. Because if at first you don't succeed -- fry, fry again.

[JennyUptown]

I tried to go to the web site (to sign up for the newsletter) earlier today. No luck. Any ideas for me as how to get on the mailing list?

[MCJB2]

I'm sure they'll add you if you send a request to coloradokitchen@aol.com

The email updates are sent from that address.

[iamthestretch]

I'm sad to say the catfish sandwich has departed the Colorado Kitchen Friday lunch menu.

I'm happy to say it has been replaced with a fried shrimp po' boy that, well, I strongly urge you to eat for yourself. Aarrgghh. The remoulade alone is right up there with the notorious narcotic tartar sauce.

Edited January 28, 2005 by iamthestretch (log)

[morela]

I'm sad to say the catfish sandwich has departed the Colorado Kitchen Friday lunch menu.

I'm happy to say it has been replaced with a fried shrimp po' boy that, well, I strongly urge you to eat for yourself. Aarrgghh. The remoulade alone is right up there with the notorious narcotic tartar sauce.

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Thanks for the report stretch. I'm really hungry for psychotropic substances, particularly those that go well with fish.

[mdt]

Finally made it back to Colorado Kitchen today for their brunch. Since I have been wanting to try the catfish sandwich I was very happy to see that the brunch menu listed fried catfish as an option, unfortunately our waitress informed us that they had run out as it was a busy morning.

To start we had the 3 assorted donuts (honey toasted almond, chocolate, and sugar) which were a great way to start the meal with a cup of coffee. My favorite was the nut covered one. I could have eat a dozen of them.

For our main plates we had the eggs benedict with hashbrowns and french toast. While the poached eggs were not runny as I would have liked, but the tangy hollandaise more than made up for that. The frech toast is made from thick slices of brioche that are soaked in an orange flavored batter. The batter makes a nice crispy crust that surrounds each slice of bread. Topped with the powdered sugar and maple syrup and you have a sweet and wonderful meal. Of course the meal would not have been complete without an order of biscuits and they were delicious as ever.

Service was friendly and attentive and I am going to have to find more reasons to venture up there from my home across the river.