we have got to stop meeting like this
It’s just too much sometimes. Community Night at The Kitchen – it can be a bit much for me. Jeremy says I’m overstimulated. The shooting, the socializing, the fooding, the meeting of new people, the drying out of my contact lenses… Although we don’t make a habit of going all the time, we’ve been a half dozen times in the past four years. It’s just the ideal place to take visitors who truly love food if they happen to be in town on a Monday night. That’s what the original plan was: to go with Helen and her Bill to Comm Night along with our good friend, M this past Monday. But incompetence conspired against them and a bunch of nitwits in northern Colorado put the kibosh on those plans. I asked M if she still wanted to go and she did. So glad she did.
i drank the wine and forgot to keep the menu
Because I have raved about Comm Night and documented the hell out of what we ate in the past, I feel less compelled to do so with each subsequent Comm Night. I’m learning to relax (just a little) and enjoy the other aspects of the evening, like meeting cool people. Here is the freaky and yet fascinating part: I am meeting people at our table of 20 who have read use real butter. I shit you not.
fennel and ham salad
Last time, it was Mr. Social Tech Butterfly (total sweetie). [Edit: I almost forgot to include this little request! Have a favorite coffee you’d like to share with some good soldiers overseas? Andrew is asking people to send some beans or beautiful photography or nice letters to help his friend Skid set up a little old coffee shop in the desert. I’m shipping two large nature photographs this afternoon to Iraq. It’d be great if you wanted to pitch in! Thanks.]
This time, it was Meg who said, “I made a reservation here based on your review!” [I’m still amazed that people actually read the words. I’m guessing if I stopped posting photos on the blog my readership would dwindle down to… well, not even my parents. Okay, maybe Manggy.] It got freakier than that, in the good way. Meg and Nick had moved to Colorado recently from Pasadena. “Oh, what were you doing in Pasadena?” Nick was a postdoc at Caltech. *blink blink* Turns out they lived in an apartment complex that I lived in during my sophomore and junior years! I know! I know!! Small, incestuous world, right? Meg and I are living nearly parallel lives except she’s a chemist and doesn’t blog… yet, and I hope to all that is Good and Beautiful in the world that she never ever ever gets cancer. I asked if she was sure she wasn’t Chinese – she’s definitely not :)
late getting to the asparagus and salmon with bernaise because i was making friends
So you’re thinking, “Big deal – you met a couple of science geeks like yourselves.” No wait! To my right was a nice young man who politely asked me about my camera lens. That led us to discover that he knows a good friend of mine who is a polar researcher at MIT as well as several other folks in the field that M or I know. He and his girlfriend are both in engineering/science and were there with her parents, a delightful and charming couple – the kind you want to take home. She teles too! Always a good sign.
heavenly tasmanian salmon
this lamb was phenomenal, and i don’t eat lamb
It is now customary to exchange emails at the end of Comm Night… at least emails of people you want to keep in touch with. M had a great time (her first visit to The Kitchen) and we were just sorry Helen and Bill weren’t there with us. On our way home, I told Jeremy I hadn’t eaten all that much, which is probably a good thing, but in some ways a sad thing. That’s when he observed that I was overstimulated and that I’m always overstimulated at Comm Night because there is too much going on for an OCD foodie. I had even run a 5k before dinner so I could “eat more” so to speak. No matter though – new awesome friends, grand time at my favorite restaurant with some of my favorite people.
If you’re a local, you should go. If you’re visiting, stay over a Monday night and make a reservation in advance for Comm Night. Maybe I’ll see you there. [Comm Night is uber awesome, but really – ANY meal at The Kitchen will rock your world.]
The Kitchen
1039 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO 80302
303.544.5973
June 3rd, 2009 at 11:33 am
Oh sweetie, why *wouldn’t* we read your words? You are a hoot. If you somehow devolved to a twitter-only existence (hee) I’d still read every word. Here’s the question though: did they have an inkling that they were seated next to THE jenyu whose word they followed? Like, “hey! You’re use real butter!” Ha ha ha.
That’s what’s great about repeated visits. You can stop documenting everything and start to relax. If you were already overstimulated at your relaxed pace I can only imagine what a blur you must have been when you were taking pictures of every single dish! :)
June 3rd, 2009 at 11:35 am
PS Your new friend is Chilean? (kidding– I just kind of estimated what would be on the opposite longitude/latitude of China. Ha ha ha.)
June 3rd, 2009 at 11:56 am
Oh, the dinner I should have eaten :) I kid you not by saying it would have been one of the best restaurant meals of my life just by looking at all this scrumptious food! I do not lose hope to meet M. one day! Ask her for French curse words! Look who you got as our replacements, ahahaah!! That’s great you got to meet such cool people!
I’d be reading…one line, no pictures and a bunch of cursy words. That’s how much I care.
June 3rd, 2009 at 1:48 pm
Meeting people who read my blog is an out of body experience for me. I’m always amazed. And ps, of course we come here for your words!!!
June 3rd, 2009 at 1:55 pm
I love socializing around food! Everything looks so delicious! A great place.
Cheers,
Rosa
June 3rd, 2009 at 2:41 pm
Please. We’d still read. Because you’re hilarious.
Also, this only reinforces my sense that there’s a not-quite-underground tekkie world – like a shadow government except with more board games and fewer suits.
June 3rd, 2009 at 2:48 pm
Me! Me! I would still read! Although God, I’d miss those pictures.
I don’t eat lamb either–what’s your reason?
The food at The Kitchen IS amazing, but I think you could photograph pig intestines and they’d look fabulous.
June 3rd, 2009 at 2:53 pm
aw, so sad to hear helen and b. didn’t make it out there! glad you had a great time…sounds like things were really clicking for you guys this time!
i love this blog btw…not (just) for the photos either. love that voice in your writing :):)
every time you post about the kitchen i want to go…maybe i’ll make a visit with my aunt and cousin in CO just so i can :)
June 3rd, 2009 at 5:38 pm
Sounds like such a cool place. The food looks fabulous. It’s true that there are often less than 6 degrees of separation when meeting new people.
June 3rd, 2009 at 7:24 pm
this always sounds like so much fun.
June 3rd, 2009 at 8:48 pm
I would still read you without pictures…even with BAD pictures. As Fiona says, you’re hilarious. As Cindy says, love that voice in your writing. You’re just so honest & open & full of love & don’t take crap…everything I want to be when I grow up…oh wait, I think I’m a year or 2 older than you.
June 3rd, 2009 at 9:39 pm
Yum! Wish I was in Boulder so I could eat at The Kitchen!
Your photos are always so great. The Yosemite shots were beautiful! What is your new lens? How do you like it?
June 4th, 2009 at 12:07 am
Geez! What a freaking small world that is?! Or is it that URB garners a much wider readership than you have expected?!
All that food looks good! I just had lunch and I feel hungry again from admiring your photos!
June 4th, 2009 at 5:27 am
Love your pics and your words just crack me up at times. I think I would fall over if I sat at a table and met people that read my blog! Community Night sounds like a lot of fun. Wish we had something like that here.
June 4th, 2009 at 6:19 am
Looks/sounds like such a great time! I told Mary that we have to come out to Colorado and go to Comm night after having *read* about it and seen your beautiful pics of the food there. Expand our food horizons a little bit and meet great people!
It sounds like a lot of us want to come out to The Kitchen. What if everyone orchestrated coming on the same Monday? Talk about over stimulation! :)
June 4th, 2009 at 9:53 am
While the pictures are spectacular, its your words that make you an inspiration to someone like me– a grad student in small town IL trying to “feed” the non-mathematical parts of her brain.
June 4th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
i’d read sans photos. no doubt. and i’m planning a trip to CO in the late summer/fall, and have had The Kitchen on my itinerary per your rec. and if i saw you, i’d have “an inkling that [i was] seated next to THE jenyu whose word [i] follow.” and i’d be giddy excited. you’re THAT kinda cool ;o)
thanks for sharing your passion & insights. i know you wouldn’t do it if it wasn’t something that you loved, but i’m sure at times it must feel like too much to keep up with…and at times like that, please know that what you do & what you share inspires, challenges & excites the masses.
June 5th, 2009 at 10:05 am
I’m still really new at this whole food blogging biz but I have to say, THANK YOU for your posts. I enjoy your words and pics immensely every time you post something new. I can easily see why your blog was named one of 50 best in the world. You are a joy to read and I look forward to seeing you every week here.
And you have also inspired me to start my own little blog. I have much to learn and wish you all the best!
June 5th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
Looks like a good spread and what a small world you have there in CO.
June 5th, 2009 at 3:21 pm
I loved reading your last review and I’m even more jealous after seeing this one. Looks brilliant!
June 8th, 2009 at 12:02 am
Mark – oh lord, not a Twitter-only existence!! PLEASE NO!!! ;) I don’t know what they thought. They probably thought, “what a freak… with a camera… freak with camera…”
Tartelette – We were sad you were not there. Marianne even said the dessert and the appetizers were “very French”. Ah well – another Monday, right? And I in turn, would and will continue to read your words with missing letters, because of your “rustic” keyboard ;)
Irene – thanks ;)
Rosa – thank you!
Fiona – *blush* you have such a funny idea of the tech world. They’re a strange bunch, indeed! :) But you already knew that!
TheKitchenWitch – I was somehow (falsely) told that I was allergic to lamb all during my youth until I was 16 when I had lamb and I was FINE. But our family didn’t eat it much at all and so I just don’t… However, if it is as good as it was on Comm Night, then I’d gladly eat lamb… no matter how cute they are ;)
Cindy – thanks :) The Kitchen is totally worth it (well, Comm Night is totally worth it, the other meals can be on the pricey side).
Asianmommy – yes, it’s funny that way, isn’t it? Always fascinates me.
Charlane – it absolutely was!
Kristin – Ha! I’m not grown up! I think people think I’m still an undergrad or something ;) I don’t do many “grown up” things, but I appreciate the vote of confidence :) xxoo
Elizabeth – the newest lens is the Nikon 20mm 2.8 and I love love love it!
Mrs. Ergul – I think the world is small and the internet makes it smaller :)
Debbie – it’s a great concept! I guess the reason I’m surprised at meeting people who have read urb is because it doesn’t have a huge local following, so I assume I can be anonymous when I go out for dinner. Go figure.
Steve – that would be wacky indeed! I think if you ever visit the area, then The Kitchen is a must if you love good wholesome food.
Eesh – good for you. I have always been a fervent believer in the well-rounded academic. I love science, but you need balance in life.
Heather – ha! I’m just a normal person who cusses a lot ;) Plus, this town isn’t crawling with Asian women, so that would tip someone off too, perhaps? Thanks for your comment and it’s good to know that I’m not just talking to myself here and getting weirder and weirder by the day (or am I?) ;)
Lily – you’re very sweet. Thank you.
Peabody – yeah, it’s smaller than that world you have there in WA! :) But if you came to CO, I’d have you sitting with me at The Kitchen on a Monday night :)
Nicisme – aww, thanks!
June 8th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
I hate that I was in Boulder in January but didn’t know about this. Oh, next time…
June 8th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
Comm night sounds fabulous! Wish I had a local that did that. Your photos are such eye candy, but I would definitely still be reading your blog even without them!
June 9th, 2009 at 10:44 am
Amy – yes, definitely worth a try if you can swing it :)
Y – you’re a sweetheart. Come vacay in the US and stop by Boulder. Would love to have you!