Blondes I-REview: Kitchen: The Newest Addition to the Growing Glover Park Restaurant Scene

Last night, I ventured out with some gal pals to try out Kitchen, the newest sibling in the Latin Concepts family. It opened last week on the "strip" aka Wisconsin Avenue in Glover Park. Upon entering, the crowd was a bit sparse with only a few patrons at the bar. Ok, so it was still kind of early....we selected a table and seated ourselves. Here we go, I thought....
The Waiter &; The Wine:
So, our cheery waiter pops by the table to take our drink order. I request the standard Sauvignon Blanc only to find out they don't have any. HUH?!?! It was explained to me that they are using up their inventory left over from Ceviche and haven't received a new shipment yet. (Uh-oh, I think. This is not the right way to start off the evening.) Waiter Boy offers two Chardonnay choices, quickly returning to our table with bottles in hand. Our choices are Jerry Garcia Chardonnay or Bad Dog. (Ok, things are looking up!!) I have never tried Jerry Garcia, but since I am a die-hard (not tie-dyed!) Deadhead, I signed up for the band leader's brand. And, what a tasty choice! Did Jerry ever do anything that wasn't outstanding??
The Menu &; Dinner Selections:
I fussed and fussed over the menu as nothing jumped out at me. It's a menu full of southern comfort food with flair. There were several options that caught my eye, but none that seemed right - all had some sort of ingredient that I didn't care for. So, gal pal #1 decided that we should each get an entree that she likes (and coincidentally appealed to me, but were far too much food for me to eat on my own) and we'll split them. Ok! Sign us up for the lobster mac n cheese and the country fried steak with sausage gravy and biscuits! Waiter Boy pushed hard on mama's meatloaf, but that just wasn't where my head was - mark that down for next time. And, as all good servers do, Waiter Boy suggested an app for the three of us to share. The fried pickles looked intriguing, but since I don't actually like pickles this is not necessarily the best choice for me...yet somehow I keep thinking about them.... Gal pal #1 again takes the reins (she manages me so well!) and orders us the BBQ Shrimp & Grits. (Um, ew - it has thyme, which I hate and will likely ruin a perfectly good plate of shrimp & grits. damn, damn, damn. And then it arrives....) While I was thinking this app would be marginal at best, having been ruined by the damn thyme, I was super surprised at the tasty goodness that this dish was. I could have had that for dinner all by itself. YUM, YUM, YUM. I totally enjoyed my country fried steak, although I could have left the steak and just devoured the biscuits and gravy. O.M.G. I could feel them coagulating right on my hips, but damn those biscuits were well worth it! The lobster mac n cheese was good, but not fab. All of the lobster was concentrated in giant chunks on top, but a suggested improvement would be for the chunks of lobster meat to be mixed throughout the mac n cheese. Still a yummy dish.
The Encore - Dessert:
Um, let me just say - I have never eaten a Twinkie in my life. I hate yellow cake with white icing, so this all-American treat just doesn't appeal to me. Unless its FRIED! Holy Crap! We got this delightful dessert and it took all of my will power not to stab the gal pals with my fork to horde more for myself. I will NEVER share this again. I will need my own order. O.M.G.

In addition to the great experience we had I'd like to say the service was terrific - cheerful, sweet and GOOD. Waiter Boy had the whole downstairs and handled all the tables and diners with ease. It should also be noted that they serve a full brunch on both SATURDAY and Sunday. Not bad!!!

Rating: 3 1/2 Blondes out of 4 Blondes - its a definite spot to check out.

Post your reviews and experiences at Kitchen here on Blondes I-View.