The Kitchen [Next Door]

The Kitchen [Next Door] is you guessed it - next door to the main community bistro known as The Kitchen located in historic downtown Boulder, CO.  With a philosophy that gathering around the table and sharing good food and drink is what connects us as family, friends and a community, The Kitchen [Next Door] is a pub-like restaurant built by a community of craftsman, serving food and drink from a community of like-minded farmers, ranchers and purveyors for the sustainable enjoyment of the whole community.

This morning we woke up early and drove out northwest to the Rocky Mountain National Park.  Even with the devastating wildfires going on, we were hoping to be able to see some mountains and do "nature stuff" during our visit to Denver.  Some attractions were closed off for summer time construction, and others were a little lackluster, but the drive overall was interesting and it was crazy to be over 12,000 feet above sea level.  Most of the snow had melted off the mountains, as to be expected since it had been 100+ degree days for a couple weeks now.

After 3 hours of driving in the mountains, I was famished and we stopped in Boulder to check out the city.  We came to the little downtown area with rows of shops and restaurants and settled on The Kitchen [Next Door] for lunch.  This place seemed to be a little more casual and was not as crowded as others.  The menu was limited, featuring a few salads and sandwiches.  The daily special was Crispy Calamari ($9.95), so I decided to try that.  I was expecting something different, but received a plate full of fried calamari rings and a side of marinara sauce.  Pretty basic.  Keith ordered their Fish "N" Chips ($12.95), and received three nice pieces of thick white fish over a plate of smashed garlic fingerling potatoes.  I tasted a piece of his fish and it was different than cod or halibut.  It had a unique flavor and I forgot to ask the server what type of fish it was.  The garlic smashers were pretty garlicky and a nice twist to regular fries.  Overall, I welcome the use of organic and fresh farm ingredients, but found our meals to be pretty average.

Total Rating: 3.575
Food: 3.5, Price: 3.5, Service: 3, Ambience: 4, Accessibility: 5

What I ate:

Crispy Calamari

Plus Keith ate:

ND Fish “N” Chips

beer battered fish, tartar sauce, garlic smashers