Colors in the East Village is one part restaurant and one part training-facility, offering free restaurant-skills training to hundreds of workers and turning out tasty seasonal food.
Restaurant Opportunity Center (ROC), a nonprofit organization advocating the improvement of conditions for restaurant workers spearheads it.
I was recently invited to sample their ever changing offerings.
Colors offers wine (California Chardonnay or a Côtes du Rhône, Saint-Roch ’12 $12/$48) or anything from the pretty full bar. Since everything on Colors’ menu is gluten-free, they serve homemade complimentary potato chips in lieu of bread.
The warm beet and pickled fennel salad ($12) is dressed with yogurt and brown butter vinaigrette, and sprinkled with toasted hazelnuts; the chilled roasted pear and veggie salad with balsamic vinaigrette ($12).
Don’t miss either the two giant pork & bacon meatballs in a nicely spiced tomato sauce ($11) or the creamy shrimp and bacon chowder loaded with lots of chunky fingerling potatoes ($14). The latter could be a meal in itself.
Their signature buttermilk fried dark-meat chicken comes topping a plate of potato puree drizzled with spiced honey ($18). The pork loin — sliced still pink in the center — is served over a cassoulet-like mixture of cannelini beans, bacon, sausage and caramelized endive ($27). The sweet butternut squash risotto was thickened with grana padano and garnished with chives ($18). The roasted cauliflower comes blended with parsnip puree, gigante beans and some pesto ($23).
Dessert that night was a dark chocolate cheesecake with a peanut crust ($8).
Next time you have tickets to Public Theatre, consider a meal at Colors, for good food served by those improving their restaurant skills to get a better job.
– bonnie
Colors
East Village
417 Lafayette Street
New York, NY 10003
(212) 777-8443
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