September 27, 2005
Gillian Clark’s Colorado Kitchen
"For whatever reason, we're the restaurant you all love to hate," remarks Chef Gillian Clark of her Brightwood restaurant, Colorado Kitchen. Some patrons have complained about slow service. Others are put off by the tone of the menu. "Are you starving?" it reads, "...you'd better have a salad and stop staring at the folks in the kitchen with that anxious look in your eye. You're making them nervous." PCists are skeptical of her more recent venture, DeSto -- as opposed to The Store -- and of a black chef's choice to embrace Aunt Jemima ("Her smiling face, while it makes some of us black folks cringe, is part of Americana. How could I leave her out? I have come to terms with Aunt Jemima and I've acknowledged my secret admiration of her.")
Don't believe the hype that keeps you away Clark's cooking. Even Ann Cashion, last year's James Beard award winner for Best mid-Atlantic Chef, said in Oxford American's "Southern Food" issue that Gillian Clark is one of her favorite chefs in D.C.
Colorado Kitchen isn't merely the best restaurant in Ward 4, it's among the best in the city. Haven't been there? Zagat raters have, ranking the food 23 out of 30, on par with Jaleo, Georgia Brown's, Café Atlantico and Johnny's Half Shell. Clark characterizes her cooking as, "something simple...Betty Crocker gone to Cordon Bleu, I suppose."
Her aesthetic is more Crocker than Cordon. Customers are greeted by the Morton Salt Girl ads and a Tony the Tiger bust. They sit down to diner tables in a space that exudes small town 1950's: tin ceilings, checkered floors, kitchy, garage sale salt and pepper sets. Her sense of humor stops at the open kitchen, where it's clear that, on a busy night, she's all business.
If you're short on time or you're particularly hungry, order from the "Firsts" or the "Small Food" selections. These include the soup of the day, which during our visit was a corn, tomato and avocado soup ($4.75) that we loved. It also includes a cherry tomato in herb dressing with feta and toasted pine nuts ($6.50). Try the Lilliputian fried chicken ($9.75), which is hearty despite its name. Whatever you choose, be sure to order the collard greens; Clark has perfected the magical combination of shredded greens, red onion and LOTS of bacon. They alone are worth the visit.
You may have to wait 20 to 30 minutes for your meal should you order from "Big Food." Of these choices, diners can order high brow -- duck breast with foie gras, black currants and leeks ($19.50) -- or low -- meatloaf with house made catsup and cheddar-ed noodles ($13.50). We stuck to the "Small Food" to save room for the highly-touted pineapple-upside-down cake, which had been recommended to us over her decadent chocolate confections.
Many evening regulars flock to Colorado Kitchen for what's not on the menu: burgers. Once you have a Colorado Kitchen burger, you will realize that there are no other contenders for best burger in the District, not even Palena. DCist especially loved the bacon cheddar burger served with a side of paper thin, red onion rings. Should you wish to try Clark's burgers, mark your calendars: Burger nights are Thursday and Sunday only.
That brings us back to the service. Contrary to blog chatter, the wait staff was polite. They were chatty and accommodating. We were treated to a complimentary soup. However, when we visited it was not busy. And, as you'll see should you peek your head into the open kitchen, it is small. On egullet, Clark noted how this affects her pacing. "Logistically, I have a six burner stove and the burger takes up one burner all night in a cast iron skillet," she said regarding burger nights, "I can't do the rest of the menu as effectively. Often....3 steak, 2 chicken, 11 burgers all at once...reduce the sauces...AHHHHH. I can only handle that once or twice a week." We can see how the small space, which doesn't allow for bodies or burners, can ensure that Clark and company are "in the weeds" on any busy night.
Or morning. Colorado Kitchen is also rumored to have one of the best brunches in town. Whether we had ordered Chef Clark's homemade donuts, cheese grits, thick cut bacon or buckwheat pancakes, we'd bet we would agree with Aunt Jemima that Gillian Clark's victuals "..sure are taste tinglin'!" Been to Colorado Kitchen? Tell us about it.
Colorado Kitchen
5515 Colorado Ave. NW
202-545-8280
(Photos from HollyEats and npr)
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Corn chowder. Corn chowder. Corn chowder.
I loved it so much, I requested the recipie from Chef Clark through donrockwell.com. She graciously gave me the recipie. (And no, I'm not telling.) She seems delightful and I have enjoyed both of my visits to her restaurant.
Abusive is the most polite word I can think of to describe the treatment we have experienced on more than one occasion from the wait staff, both at brunch and at dinner.
The food is amazingly wonderful. The service makes it inedible.
Colorado Kitchen feels like home. The food is consistently wonderful. The people are very human and very lovable if you're not looking to be treated any differently than you would in the home of a feisty and fallible friend. What seems to get a vocal minority of folks worked up is Chef and Robin's unwillingness to indulge people's tantrums (I've witnessed two full-out show downs between irate customers and staff, but in both cases I wanted to applaud the kitchen for standing their ground with people who expected to bully their way into special treatment). Don't go to CK if you're in a hurry or if you're a high maintenance diner, but absolutely go and enjoy if you're up for a laid back evening of great food, quirky but sweet waitstaff, and a rock star kitchen.
True. The food is good. But the owners are OCD. They yelled at us for trying to move a table together and made patrons stand out in the cold because the restaurant was understaffed. So there you have hungry people waiting outside while empty tables sat in the retaurant.
Again, food's good but I'll never go back.
Why are you linking to message board posts that are over a year old? Have you found nothing to complain about since then? Or is the controversy too good to dredge/pass up?
Lonnie:
Consider that when patrons move tables together, that messes up the paths and flow the server staff uses to navigate the (crowded, busy) restaurant with hot, heavy trays. Would you move tables or furniture at a host's house if you were a dinner guest? Not without asking, I'm sure. I don't think anyone deserves to get "yelled at," but you had no right moving things without first gaining permission. Consider also that no one is making patrons "wait out in the cold." Patrons can always choose to leave and visit at a less crowded time! Why should patrons already seated and enjoying their food feel crowded or rushed by lines of people?
Diners should always behave as if they are guests in someone's house. Chefs and servers should always behave as if they are entertaining guests in their home.
While restaurant patrons shouldn't be rude, they certainly shouldn't think of themselves as guests unless the restaurant is picking up the tab. They're customers paying for service, and they have a right to make requests that would be inappropriate for guests to make.
It's bad enough that hotels call their customers "guests" while charging them money. There's no need to let the practice spread.
I see your point, KC, but you said it yourself: they have the right to MAKE REQUESTS (requests that can be politely declined if the restaurant deems it necessary to do so), but they should NEVER do things like moving tables together, moving from a two-top to a four-top, etc., without FIRST asking permission!
When some people dine out, they seem to think that because they are paying customers, they have carte blanche to do whatever they please to make themselves more comfortable, never mind the needs of the other patrons, the server staff, etc.
Colorado Kitchen is a small, neighborhood restaurant that serves great, unique food. It has constraints in terms of space and staff. To expect it to be able to accomodate every diner's whim on the same level of a larger, more "corporate" restaurant is comparing apples to oranges. If you don't want to wait, if you can't handle the fact that home cooking takes more time than "big kitchen" dining, then go elsewhere!
I love Colorado Kitchen. And I hate it. The last two times I've visited I've walked out after waiting 45 min or more to be seated. They will not seat parties of two at tables for people of 4 even if there are no tables of 4 ahead of you, even if you've already been waiting 40 minutes -- they'd rather have a long line of angry patrons staring at open tables than be at all flexible or accomodating.
They don't care about their patrons it is clear or they would do something about the incredibly frustating situation. If the kitchen is too small to accomodate turning tables over quickly, then take reservations rather than have people spend hours on weekends waiting for a table.
The waitstaff has always been friendly and helpful once seated, which is good because often I end up in such a bad mood after staring at tables that haven't been cleared and tables they won't seat me at that I'm close to losing my temper.
I used to frequent Colorado Kitchen at least a couple times a month, I haven't been there in six months because my last couple experiences have been so poor. I go to Tonic instead. No shrimp grits, but no wait or attitude either.
Totally agreed. I recently did my third review of Colorado Kitchen and was blown away with how consistently good the place it.
Each time I go back the service gets nicer and nicer. In fact recently I had some of the best service I've encountered in D.C., you just have to play along.
Now I'm craving those amazing donuts. Only cake-style donuts I will eat.
Whether we had ordered Chef Clark's homemade donuts, cheese grits, thick cut bacon or buckwheat pancakes, we'd bet we would agree with Aunt Jemima that Gillian Clark's victuals "..sure are taste tinglin'!"
DCist: breaking new ground in speculative reviewing?
Aging Gracefully -- please note that the link goes to a thread titled "A Chat with Gillian Clark, Chef at Colorado Kitchen," and does not link to a year-old controversy thread.
The chat may have been a year ago, but the content is still a relevant and interesting reference, especially for those who may be unfamiliar with the restaurant.
Thanks for pointing it out. I haven't been there for brunch, only dinner several times with one other and several other people. I did talk to many who have been there for brunch and did some background on DR. If this were traditional media, I wouldn't speculate. Have you been there for brunch? Enlighten us.
To add, speaking of speculative journalism, look to the Times and the Post in terms of more serious journalism-- reporting on New Orleans. Death tolls, violence in the super dome ( the "speculation factor" on NPR today), etc: all speculation. It happens. If you don't like it, I respect your opinion and will keep it in mind in the future)
"Speculative journalism" is one thing when it comes to forecasting outcomes and trends of natural disasters and other things that CANNOT YET be quantified.
It is quite another when it comes to items that can be ordered off a menu. Either you ate the donuts, bacon, buckwheat pancakes, etc., at Colorado Kitchen or you didn't. Report on what you ate, not what you think would be good. Otherwise, would you even have to GO to a restaurant to "review" it? That would be like saying "Chef Billy Bob did a great job when he was at Hot Trendy Restaurant in Cleveland Park. So our review of his New Restaurant on Capitol Hill is that it's great!"
Also, re. egullet year old post: This past July, Gillian joined the Colorado Kitchen thread on Don Rocks to address service issues, nearly a year later. Search chats and statements made by Todd S. from Wash Post, service is an issue. Zagats 2005 diners noted "iffy service." Despite that many can confirm that the restaurant has made major improvements in service, the point is that patrons perceive/remember/had heard that there is a problem regarding service, despite that, in reality, the problems may have been corrected.
Re. Speculative Journalism-- I don't know that "it's one thing" re disasters. Part of why the public mistrusts journalists (I'd be happy to pull up some polls if you choose to take me to task) is because they do it. Is it responsible for journalists to speculate that, for example, the death toll in Katrina is higher than 9/11? Not necessarily. And, the Public Editor and ombudsman all over the country speak to that.
I do appreciate your point re. Brunch. Again, if I were writing for traditional media, I would not have speculated. Perhaps it would have been more appropriate to have asked, "Had brunch at Colorado Kitchen? tell us about it,". Or I could have ignored brunch completely instead of being cheeky. Regardless, I'll keep your opinion in mind next time. Thanks!
It might have been a good idea to simply rephrase the information you already had - stating that brunch is offered on the weekend and what a few of the menu items are.
No need to take anything "to task" about journalists as I am a journalist. Speculation, of any sort, is problematic.
My point: There are some cases where it is a necessary evil; there are other times when it is lazy writing on the part of the author.
"We enjoyed our Colorado Kitchen experience and look forward to returning for brunch soon."
"We can't wait to try brunch: have any readers had memorable experiences?"
"Colorado Kitchen is known for its homemade donuts served during brunch. We can't wait to try some."
Three easy could-have-beens off the top of my head.
Thank you. Appreciate it.
BentFish: If you're really a journalist, I hope you have a good editor!
Whatever, Ron. BentFish is right: that WAS some lazy, un-necessarily speculative writing! While BentFish didn't come up with the world's greatest wording, he made his point: if a reader can whip up three possible options that didn't resort to "forecast reviewing" in 30 seconds, a careful writer could have done better by taking the time to write a thoughtful, thorough review.
Abysmal Service: As a ten year resident of DC, I had often heard about the Colorado Kitchen in Brightwood. One day I decided to try it so I went there for lunch. I was stunned when the server went out of his way to be rude to my companion after he asked a simple question about the contents of a menu item. We both got up and left without ordering. We live in the city and regularly eat in DC restaurants--never before have I been so offended, and never again will I eat at Colorado Kitchen.