My husband’s tastes in food run the gamut. Doug will sigh over Rioja’s goat-cheese-and-artichoke-mousse-stuffed tortelloni (in artichoke broth with truffle essence and queso de mano cheese). Feed him a medium-rare Coleman ribeye with grilled asparagus, and he will make happy noises between bites.
But if you really want to see his eyes light up, say these three words: Chicken. Fried. Steak.
Maybe it’s the Oklahoma boy hidden not-so-deep beneath his latte-sipping exterior. But a good chicken-fried steak makes him extremely happy. And a good chicken-fried steak is hard to find. Breaded manhole covers drowned in “country gravy” that’s equal parts flour, hydrogenated fat and Elmer’s glue tend to pollute people’s impressions of this fine dish.
So we were driving into Colorado Springs from the west, poking through some of the small towns along U.S. 24. When we came to Green Mountain Falls, I started reading about the Black Bear Restaurant from Eliza Cross Castaneda’s “Food Lovers’ Guide to Colorado.”
“Chef and owner Victor Matthews offers an eclectic menu of both casual and fine cuisine … everything from hot wings and burgers to lacquered duck and Kobe beef … fresh organic products from Colorado growers and producers… red caviar crostini with fresh thyme and honey mascarpone … filet mignon Margherita with buffalo mozzarella and grilled tomatoes … by the way, Matthews makes a darned good Chicken Fried Steak, too.”
We stopped the car.
A dual approach
The Black Bear has been around since 1959. It has the dark-shingled, windowless look of a million mountain bars. When Victor Matthews bought it in 1999, it had been a great many things over the years, none of them much good.
Matthews decided that success would require a two-pronged approach. In the summer, people would drive over Ute Pass for a fine culinary experience, but from November to May, he had to feed the locals to pay the bills, and they want reasonably priced, everyday food.
So that’s what he gives them: barbecued pork ribs ($12.95 for a half rack), mammoth hamburgers made from a buffalo-beef mixture ($9.95), jalapeño poppers ($5.95) and yes, black Angus chicken- fried steak with homemade gravy ($13.95).
You can ask for that menu in the fine dining room and get the same quiet atmosphere and attentive, friendly service as the person eating duck or stuffed filet at the next table. Or you can eat in the bar and play some pool afterward.
Matthews is also a beef aficionado, treating meat like fine wine, with a Beef List, flights of beef and blind tastings. When we were there, the list included USDA Choice Certified Angus, American Extreme organic Kobe beef and a hand-raised 100 percent Limousin 4-H steer named Bunny.
A popular option at the Black Bear is the chef’s tasting menus. Matthews, or whoever’s running the kitchen, will deliver the Menu Gourmand, four to six “well-rounded and exciting four-star level courses” for $55 ($85 with wine pairings for each course) or a Menu Gastronomique, seven to nine “small and elegant five-star level world class courses” for $95 ($135 with wine).
As it happened, it was Sunday, student chef night at the Black Bear. The students take over the kitchen and offer their own tasting menu for $50. Wine pairings, also chosen by the students, boost the price to $75.
We went this route and were very pleased. It was actually a seven-course meal, including the basil mint neufchâtel amuse-bouche served with crusty bread and a glass of champagne, and the fish course (butter-poached tilapia with a beet beurre blanc, served with bok choy over a ginger asparagus purée) that lead apprentice Michael Kirkpatrick, running the kitchen that night, decided to throw in just for kicks.
Each course was a tiny work of art, from the Grand Marnier lobster bisque to the ricotta cake with white chocolate cream, in a pool of strawberry rose purée as pink as a baby’s toes.
The students come from one of Matthew’s other projects, the Paragon Cooking School on Sinton Road and its two teaching establishments, the Paragon Ballroom and the Cedars Jazz Club.
One of the students, Manuel Medina, walked from table to table in his whites, greeting guests. He told us about that morning’s trip into the mountains to forage mushrooms for the pasta dish he created, a foie gras porcini linguini.
We never did get our chicken-fried steak, but we had steak with garlic mashed potatoes and a white truffle demi-glace instead, served with Ripassa Zenato Valpolicella. Even without the country gravy, it was an experience worth repeating.
Lisa Everitt is a freelance writer and editor who lives in Arvada. Contact her at lisaeveritt@comcast.net.
The details
The Black Bear Restaurant, 10375 Ute Pass Ave., Green Mountain Falls, 719-684-9648, blackbearrestaurant.com. Lounge open from 2 p.m., dining room from 5 p.m. every day but Monday.
“Food Lovers’ Guide to Colorado,” by Eliza Cross Castaneda ($14.95, Insiders’ Guide/Globe Pequot Press)
