Race to Parker Garage

Maybe it was the charm of Parker’s Mainstreet, the friendliness of the strangers we were dining with or the passion with which the chef and owner spoke to us about their philosophy and plans. Or maybe it was simply the food itself. Whatever it was, our experience at Parker Garage, and at the Chef’s table at that, was one of those “slice of life” experiences you remember for a long time.

I had recently learned more about Chef Duy Pham and Operating Owner, Brent Walker when I wrote about their appearance on Food Network’s Carnival Cravings with host Anthony Anderson. Once the hubbub of the show’s airing was passed, I wanted to experience Parker Garage’s food myself. Open for lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch, I had the special opportunity to join several people for a Chef’s Dinner, sitting at a high-top table right next to the kitchen where all the action happens. Anyone can participate in a Chef’s Dinner, either choosing what they want or leaving it up to the Chef himself to choose the menu. Either way, it is interesting to hear about how Chef Pham wants to serve “real” food (not just “precious” food that is artistically-stacked, foamed or gelled just for the sake of being able to do it to top the next chef-but that’s all my commentary!) “I want to be real,” says Pham simply. “This is real food I can eat everyday.” Amen to that!

Trusting in the choices of Chef Pham, we started with a Big Eye Tuna Sashimi appetizer. The fish had been flown in from Hawaii especially for Chef Pham. Next, we tried a large bowl of Mussels in a delicate, flavorful broth with roasted tomatoes that plumped the mussels with flavor. With my go-to source of mussels closing down (Le Central), I was thrilled to find a new place to enjoy them. A beet salad and plate of Brussels sprouts, were both roasted into making even long-time enemies into fans.

For an entree, we had steak on roasted potatoes with asparagus. The meat was tender and flavorful and cooked perfectly inside. Colorado Striped bass with risotto was a big surprise for me since I will opt for red meat any day over fish. Sous Vide (prepared in a sealed pouch, slow-cooked in a water bath for many hours) cooked chicken was full of flavor, sitting on a simple sauce of condensed chicken cooking juices with a sweet potato hash. I couldn’t get enough of the vegetarian tiny truffle gnocchi with sauteed squash and artichoke hearts. It really won me over. With everything we tasted, I felt myself thinking “now THAT’S what XYZ is supposed to taste like!” That’s the biggest compliment I can think to give someone’s cooking – if, in its simple form, prepared purely, the flavor is that good, then you know what you’re doing!

But the food isn’t the extent of the Parker Garage experience! Walker and Pham have developed a partnership with Lone Star Ranch in nearby Elizabeth, Colorado. Soon Pham will literally be living on the 1000-acre property helping to plant, grow and source ingredients for the restaurant. That will take the Ranch-to-Table concept to a whole new level!

Pham has a particular interest in birds so he’ll be nurturing along different varieties of chickens, quails and ducks. He practically waxes poetic when he talks about the different breeds of chicken and their different personality characteristics. Walker and Pham envision people visiting the Ranch, seeing it as an “urban dude ranch” where people can work the land, help Pham in the kitchen and stay for dinner.

With so much thought, talent and interest going into all of their efforts at Parker Garage and back at the Ranch, it makes total sense to me why our meal was so memorable.

Parker Garage is located at 19420 East Mainstreet in Parker.