Every Monday evening, a special dining experience takes shape at The Kitchen, a bustling restaurant in downtown Boulder, Colorado. It's Community Night, when chefs and co-owners Hugo Matheson and Kimbal Musk host a family-style meal for an adventurous group of up to 24 people. Sitting together around a long wooden table, new acquaintances may include jeans-clad locals and suited out-of-towners, singles and couples, professional stockbrokers and professional rock climbers—anyone who enjoys the company of strangers and a surprise menu.
The Kitchen's typical offerings employ seasonal ingredients and change daily. And although their regular dishes are worth eating any day of the week, for Monday's Community Night, Matheson and Musk let loose, improvising and spinning out giant bowls and platters of food that diners pass around a big table as they enjoy a multicourse supper for $35 per person. It's all part of the duo's wish to create community over a good meal—perhaps the oldest form of fellowship in the world.
A Place Apart
Community Night is the kind of gathering Musk and Matheson envisioned when they opened The Kitchen two years ago. They wanted to provide a so-called third place that is neither work nor home but where people could see each other regularly. "In olden times you had the post office, where everybody knew the person who worked behind the counter," says Matheson. Nowadays, "people live in their houses, they get in their cars and drive into their underground parking at work, and go into the office, and back home again. There's no 'third place' where you know people and they know you."
Providing such a location is a major reason why Matheson and Musk offer breakfast, lunch, and dinner seven days a week at The Kitchen. It's not uncommon for some regulars to greet one another over morning coffee and share a glass of wine over dinner that night. "That's what people like here," says Matheson. "They come in, and they know the barman, and they know each other. You have chats, and you know what's going on. That aspect is one of the goals we've achieved, a place where people can catch up and just hang out."
Of course, the hottest hangout would sputter if the food didn't match the ambience. Combining their experience, the partners create flavorful seasonal dishes that are striking in their simplicity. South African-born Musk, who is 33, trained under André Soltner and Jacques Torres, and worked in several noted New York restaurants. Matheson, 37, hails from The River Café in London and worked with Ruth Rogers and Jamie Oliver, among others. "We try to let the ingredients speak for themselves," says Matheson. "Someone told us that the hardest thing we're doing here is (highlighting) the simplicity of the food, without all these sauces to mask mistakes." It's a light, clean style that shines in dishes like Fresh English Pea Salad with Mint and Pecorino and that resonates with the health-conscious citizenry of Colorado.
Come Together
The chefs' definition of community extends to local purveyors, and they proudly display a list on the restaurant's walls of farmers and producers who grow and create the foods they serve. When they receive something good from their farmer friends, they make the most of it while it's at its peak. Musk says it's not unusual during corn's prime season to see four or five dishes featuring it on the menu.
On Community Night, after everyone is seated, appetizers appear and might include a huge platter of hearts of romaine with anchovies and croutons, drizzled with garlicky Caesar dressing; heirloom tomato-bread salad with mozzarella, green and purple basil, and shaved fennel; freshly shelled English peas with arugula and mint; corn and lima bean succotash; and a dish of sweet red-heart plums topped with shaved pecorino cheese.
Main dishes include a vegetarian option; fish, such as grilled tuna served over mixed greens; and meat, such as grilled lamb with anchovy-Dijon dressing. Dessert may feature fresh fruits picked up that day at Boulder's farmers' market, a family-sized polenta cake the size of a hubcap topped with whipped mascarpone, and an icy watermelon-ginger sorbet. Matheson may also be prevailed upon to ladle melted dark chocolate from a saucepan onto your dish—and then leave the pot on the table so diners can serve themselves.
As platters are passed, conversation evolves from polite exchange to inquiries about work and children, to anecdotes and opinions related to the regional or world stage. By the end of the evening, diners depart sated with good food and the companionship of friends.
