Colorado Kitchen

[frogprince]

the return of the thin white duke: bowie at breakfast! this is a restaurant i could seriously get used to...

"

i /

i wish you couldve seen /

the donuts, like i saw them /

though nothing, nothing will keep me from them /

i can eat them, forever and ever /

oh we can eat donuts, just for one day/

what you say?

i /

i can remember /

sitting, with two friends /

the people, swarmed about our heads /

the chef, fried them on the other side /

and we gorged, as though they would never end /

oh we can eat them, forever and ever /

we can have donuts, we can have donuts/

we can have donuts, just for one day...

"

"skate, SKATE! /

makes a man take things over /

skate, SKATE! /

makes him loose and hard to swallow /

skate, SKATE! /

comes with narcotic dippin' sauce /

skate, it aint just you, its also the scallooppppsss...

sincerely,

the thin white duke

[Roger Troutman]

Lately, I've been having dreams about that french toast. I must get back there soon

[silentbob]

Probably headed here for dinner tomorrow. Haven't been in a couple of years -- what's better, the "fish is chips" or the duck leg confit?

Also, is there any good reason for me to order one of the entrees instead of the hamburger?

[Al_Dente]

Also, is there any good reason for me to order one of the entrees instead of the hamburger?

←

Yes.

[EllenH]

Just wanted to add my voice to the chorus of those singing the praises of CK brunch. Oh the donuts! After eating donuts, then brunch, was tempted to order more donuts. Did not, due to fear of exceeding capacity of stomach.

Stuck to the basics & man, this is the way this stuff is supposed to taste! Eggs over medium, put on the plate at the PERFECT level of done-ness. Sausage -- where do they get theirs?? The pig that died for those should be proud. Hash browns. Hubby's benedict was great, only got one taste & he cleaned his plate. The biscuit on the side was amazing & the only thing I wish is that I could get a big plate of them with some gravy!

Yummmmmmmmmm.

[JennyUptown]

Does anyone know what cab zone CK is in? I'm trying to guesstimate how much it's going to cost me to cab there from the Cleveland Park/Van Ness vicinity.

[EllenH]

Does anyone know what cab zone CK is in?  I'm trying to guesstimate how much it's going to cost me to cab there from the Cleveland Park/Van Ness vicinity.

←

Man, that DC zone map is a piece of work, huh?

Anyway, I will take a stab & say zone 3C.

[JennyUptown]

Thanks. I live in 3A (at least I think I do - must revisit this question) so I was trying to figure out if we were talking $10 or $30.

[Al_Dente]

Thanks.  I live in 3A (at least I think I do - must revisit this question) so I was trying to figure out if we were talking $10 or $30.

←

It doesn't matter what the zone is-- cabbies will charge you whatever they think they can get away with.

Whatever it is, I'm sure it'll be worth it once you're eating!

[Mark Sommelier]

Thanks.  I live in 3A (at least I think I do - must revisit this question) so I was trying to figure out if we were talking $10 or $30.

←

From Van Ness to there should be either $5.50 or $7.60. Take a bus, it costs a buck. There are no $30 fares within the District.

Edited April 1, 2005 by Mark Sommelier (log)

[JennyUptown]

Now that I know how to get there, I'll gladly return. Given the rain and my suddenly lost interest in going to a post-dinner party, I drove.

In short, wow, what a great place! We loved our meal, found the service friendly (and attentive until a long lull before dessert arrived, but no problem). Chef Gillian even waved while my friends and I walked toward the door.

More details to come.

[JennyUptown]

Here's a little bit more about my visit to Colorado Kitchen on Friday night:

Brightwood Park is much closer to where I live in upper NW than I originally thought, making a return visit (hopefully for brunch soon!) very likely.

First impressions: cute little space (occupancy sign next to the luncheon counter says 50 persons max) with an "open kitchen" in the old fashioned sense. I arrived before my two friends and during those five minutes, I enjoyed little snippets of conversation with the busy wait staff and watched Chef work in her seemingly very small kitchen.

The guys arrived and we were quickly seated. One of the two was already slightly buzzed (long story) and immediately wanted to hear about wines. Our pleasant server got a little flustered at this point - there's no printed wine list and her recitation sound a little like "Chardonnay...Merlot...red Zinfandel, from California." We're not a picky bunch; we were just seeking "wet" and "alcoholic" so we each picked a wine and dove in.

Shortly afterward, we received three biscuits and some butter. I imagine the biscuits are pure magic when piping hot. Ours were room temperature and they still tasted pretty darn good to me. After a few laughs at the very amusing menu (discussing, among other things, the sin that is well-done and Chef's policy against making chicken nuggets or grilled cheese sandwiches), we were ready.

What we ate:

Avocado with lemon-dressed greens and sea salt ($6.25)

It arrives looking completely unimpressive, basically your average avocado cut in half and served with greens. But man, what flavor! This simple presentation is a nice way to start a meal.

Crispy nuggets of goat cheese with roasted red peppers and fava beans, served atop grilled fennel ($6.25)

In a word, yum. I didn't get to taste the fennel, but everything else was delicious. Loved the half-dollar sized goat cheese [what's another word for] nuggets.

My chosen dish from the "Small Food" section of the menu, Chicken Chow Mein ($6.95), was the favorite of the group. Described on the menu as "you dreamed Chef filled in for the lunch lady," I'm not really sure how to describe this because, to be honest, I had never had chicken chow mein. There was chicken, of course, but also stewed carrots and onions along with a sprinkle of white rice and crispy Chinese noodles. Enjoyably salty, somewhere between soup and stew.

For entrees, my friends had pork chops with Muscavado caramel and vegetable cobbler ($16.50) and today’s catch (which was rockfish that day) with parsley sauce, rice pilaf and asparagus stir fry ($16.95). I tasted the pork chop which was nicely flavored, but probably a touch more "done" than I would have liked, but not the fish.

My friend raved (really, really raved, but this is the drunk friend, mind you) about the fish, but we all had a prolonged laugh about the Exorcist sauce. After much talk of Linda Blair, my friend said - again - "SO GOOD."

My own dish was meatloaf Bourguignon with hushpuppies and carrots ($12.95). For me, the portion was pretty hearty. I liked the meatloaf and the carrots better than the hushpuppies which had a tiny bit of a burnt/stale taste (I wondered why they arrived instead of the menu-advertised potatoes, but didn't ask). I love hushpuppies so that was a disappointment, but given the goodness of everything else (and the dessert that followed) AND the price, I was content.

Ah, dessert...everyone has talked so much about pineapple upside down cake which is something I already love, but I felt compelled to try something different. So happy I did. My apple pandowdy with cinnamon brown sugar ice cream kicked a$$, I tell you (the dessert itself is $6.25 + $1.75 for a la mode). My friends liked their desserts (bundt-style carrot cake with cream cheese frosting; marble pound cake sundae a la mode), but said mine was the best. If anyone wants to go to CK soon so I can have this dessert again, PM me.

**sidenote**

In response to an earlier post, although the entrees are light on meatless/and fishless options, vegetarians could make a very enjoyable meal comprised of appetizers, salads and depending on the day, soup (the one we had as an amuse on Friday was lentil with pancetta - not vegetarian obviously).

Edited April 3, 2005 by JennyUptown (log)

[chuchelo]

Has anyone been for the Friday lunch? Is the menu the same as for dinner??

[mnebergall]

AMF

[Busboy]

AMF

←

The Colorado Kitchen, which drew hordes to its off-the-beaten-track location for homey dinners and a celebrated brunch -- and which provided fodder for at at least one memorable dust-up on eGullet and a more memorable eGullet event is closing its doors. No word yet from outspoken chef, autobiographer, eGullet interviewee and co-owner Gillian Clark as to next steps.

[mnebergall]

AMF

←

The Colorado Kitchen, which drew hordes to its off-the-beaten-track location for homey dinners and a celebrated brunch -- and which provided fodder for at at least one memorable dust-up on eGullet and a more memorable eGullet event is closing its doors. No word yet from outspoken chef, autobiographer, eGullet interviewee and co-owner Gillian Clark as to next steps.

←

I'll never forget that eGullet dinner at CK. Afterwards, Stretch, MDT and Tweaked and I went back to Stretch's house and smoked cigars and drank all of his Scots. Mrs. Stretch was preggers with the Whopper at the time and was fast asleep upstairs.

We started the event at Firefly and I recall giving mdt, Stretch and Al Dente a ride over to CK. The two tall guys, Stretch and mdt, had to ride in the back because Al had a bad back and had to sit in the front seat.