Comfort Food,
Colorado Kitchen Style

by Patricia B. Grossman

Just past the Takoma Park border, in a quiet little neighborhood on Colorado Avenue in D.C., is a fun, upbeat restaurant called the Colorado Kitchen.This place appears to be something out of the 1940s, with chairs of red vinyl and steel, checkerboard black-and-white floor tiles, and kitsch decorations adorning the walls. But chef /recipe designer Gillian Clark and co-owner Robin Smith opened the Colorado Kitchen in July of 2001. Their venture is already so popular that lines form to get a table on a Saturday night.

When my dining partner and I arrived on a recent Saturday, Gillian was busily cooking at the grill, with chef’s hat and all. Beautiful plaques displayed winning reviews by a variety of magazines and newspapers. Most of those reviewers consider Gillian’s dishes comfort food; others called it “eclectic.” I agree with both assessments, but I must also add “with a European flair.”

Luckily we arrived at 6:30 p.m., just before the rush, and were seated immediately. (The Colorado Kitchen does not take reservations.) Our waiter pointed out “Firsts,” which are brought to the table in five minutes or less; “Small Food,” which comes eight to 10 minutes after ordering; and “Big Food,” which can take up to 30 minutes to prepare.

Over 20 classic bottled soda selections are proudly displayed on shelves, and as I looked over the accompanying beverage list, I was totally overwhelmed by the options. I was directed to Izze’s Clementine, but since I am not too fond of orange soda, our waiter recommended the second-best: Izze’s Blueberry soda. I went with that, and enjoyed it greatly. I almost ordered another, but decided against it, wanting to save the calories for dessert.

Upon taking our order, the waiter presented us with two small white ceramic cups, which at first reminded me of Japanese sake cups. They contained a small amount of the soup of the day: three onion. We declined the soup in favor of three other items—one each from the First, Small Food, and Big Food groups.

While we waited for our First course, our waiter brought a small white plate holding two little biscuits topped with sprinkled sugar. The biscuits were a bit dry, but tasty when dabbed with the soft butter.
The “First” came out with the Small Food. We had ordered a dish of goat cheese, roasted peppers, fava beans, grilled fennel, and roasted garlic dressing; and the crayfish timbale, with spicy shrimp sauce. Comfort food? Eclectic? I don’t think that covers it. These two dishes were presented beautifully on simple white china plates and rivaled each other in both taste and elegance. The pieces of goat cheese, rolled in a light coating and then deep-fried, looked like toasted-coconut marshmallows. Eating the cheese with a piece of the pepper and grilled fennel, I felt like I was dining in a chic nouvelle cuisine restaurant.

Crayfish timbale with spicy shrimp sauce.

Other Small Food choices include veal cheek pot au feu with broth and potatoes, Alsatian onion tart, brie & almond baklava, mushroom and onion spring roll with sweet soy sauce and wonton, chicken chow mein, and chicken wings slow-roasted in the chef’s Jamaican jerk sauce. Yes, I’m going back.

The Big Food item which came to the table next was the Meatloaf Bourguignon, served with potatoes and carrots. Because the menu didn’t specify the type of potatoes, somehow I had imagined parslied potatoes or perhaps roasted potatoes of some kind. What came on the plate were three large golden-brown balls. I pierced one with my fork and found it to be rather soft and fluffy inside, not crispy or crunchy, though it appeared to be fried. I walked over to Gillian at the grill and inquired about these potato balls.

“Oh, those,” she said matter-of-factly. “I just mix together pancake batter and mashed potatoes.” My dining partner sampled them and said the taste reminded her of potato puffs. I loved them, too—they were definitely comforting.

The meatloaf itself was moist and flavorful, as I’d hoped, but the sauce came as a surprise. I was expecting good old-fashioned brown gravy. While it did look brown and thick, it tasted like a demi-glace sauce, the kind better suited to tenderloin medallions. I ate the meatloaf plain and scraped off the sauce, which turned out to be delicious for dipping the potatoes in.

Pork chops, New England pot roast, seared salmon with cracked pistachios, a daily catch (which was rockfish that night), roasted chicken, and sautéed shrimp round out the other “Big Food” offerings.

Dessert was an afterthought. It was getting really busy and the waiter was rushed. We ordered an a la mode Apple Pandowdy with brown-sugar cinnamon, instead of the warm chocolate tart as the waiter had suggested. The cup of coffee my dining partner ordered came to the table in a gigantic—I mean huge—mug. She sat there and drank the whole thing. As we left, we said good-bye to Gillian and walked past the rapidly forming line of Colorado Kitchen people—dressed in everything from truck-stop attire to casual cool to Paris polish.

The Colorado Kitchen is located at 5515 Colorado Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 202-545-8280. Lunch is served on Friday only from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Dinner is served Wednesday through Saturday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. and on Sunday from 5 to 9 p.m. Brunch is served Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Beer and wine now available. Brunch menu at www.coloradokitchen.info.

For unusual kitchen utensils visit their store, “Datso,” three doors down from the restaurant, open on Saturday and Sunday during brunch.