Julie Ann Grimm
Stuffed buttermilk fried chicken at Dinner for Two.
S unday dinner meant one thing at our house: roast beef. While my brother and I heard tales of long-ago families in our Midwestern tree who enjoyed golden heaps of fried chicken without fail for the post-church mealtime, the table we sat around featured carrots and potatoes that had cooked with an oven timer all morning under a slab of chuck roast.
I must admit that as a child, I scorned my mother's efficient service too often. Now, I often wistfully stare at a warmed-up garden burger and think about her roast and what I would give to have it now. And, I still believe fried chicken is special and worthy of adoration.
When I made a plan to check the special prix fixe "Sunday Dinner" at Dinner For Two (106 N Guadalupe St., 820-2075), I didn't expect this bit of memory lane. Yet, when I see buttermilk fried chicken on the menu, I have eyes for no other.
Chef Andrew Barnes and his parents who run the restaurant with him, don't really need our help to pack the house for the $19.95 three-course fanfare—already a favorite among locals and a secret visitors love to discover. The hostess flares her eyebrows when we reveal that we don't have a reservation. "Sunday is a busy night," she says before happily squeezing us into a cute corner table in a jiffy. We were tickled to see mom and front-of-the-house manager Pam Barnes reset a table next to us with athletic precision and in record time. Andy, as always, was on the line.
Barnes—a Santa Fe High graduate who completed the Santa Fe Community College culinary program, then earned a degree from The Culinary Institute of America in New York—changes up the Sunday menu weekly, and the restaurant's to-die-for standards are still available for an extra charge. In this category, one of the best steaks in the city is his filet mignon, served crusted with cocoa, garlic and coffee, then drizzled with pomegranate balsamic reduction (add $10).
Since I had the pleasure of trying that on another visit, I homed in on the chicken and its promised stuffing of green chile and cheddar cheese while my companion passed over two tempting veal dishes on the menu to settle on crab cakes served over a salad.
We first warm up with French onion soup, one of the Sunday dinner special's two soup choices, agreeing that it has the appropriate degree of saltiness with the right amount of cheese oozing over an island of bread. The spicy fried onions sprouting from the top like palm trees take it to the next level.
When the glorious chicken appears, the thin and crispy batter is still sizzling and even my forensic examination leaves intact the mystery of how the stuffing took place. When I cut in, I exude, "There it is!" I doused the definitely real mashed potatoes with bacon gravy. (Yes, those two words roll off the tongue with glee.) Later, I dip the soft biscuit back into the gravy, no doubt a Sunday-approved combination.
On her plate, the crab cakes with plentiful vegetables are also tasty, even if the promised caprese salad doesn't materialize due to a tomato shortage. The salad she gets, which has a harvest theme and comes with grilled Brussels sprouts, is a worthwhile substitute.
Lastly, we bask in the giant desserts that arrive right on time. Bread pudding with a generous dollop of creamy vanilla sauce competes with German chocolate cake and its coconut-pecan frosting fantasy. "You girls will never be hungry again," Pam says as she sets them before us. I'm going to eat the leftovers as soon as I finish writing this.
The cake (pictured left) and the tableside Caesar, by the way, are made with eggs from the family's farm in a lovely chain of events wherein food scraps from the restaurant make a bulk of the diet for the chickens, cared for by dad and bread baker Gregory Barnes.
This kind of treatment is a steal for 20 bucks. Plus, there's a special wine by the bottle, in our case a Columbia Valley cabernet sauvignon for $25, making the whole meal a value worth repeating. Whatever Sunday dinner means to you, this family is ready to spread the table.
At a Glance
Hours: Closed Monday and Tuesday;
4 pm to 9 pm every other night
Best best: Better make a reservation for your
$19.95 three-course prix fixe Sunday dinner
