Who: The Caldwell
Where: 920 S. College Ave, Fort Collins, CO 80524, inside The Buxton Hotel.
About them: The Caldwell is a Southern-inspired bar and restaurant inside The Buxton Hotel, the boutique hotel that replaced the old Best Western University Inn. The concept centers on scratch-made comfort food, craft cocktails, breakfast, dinner and live music.
The Experience:
We had been curious about The Caldwell since it opened this summer, and the first thing that stands out is the room itself. The bar is modern and polished, but the cowboy hats suspended on ropes above it give the space just enough Western character without making it feel gimmicky.
We sat at the bar and Mike took care of us. He was friendly and attentive, although more reserved than engaging.
We started with the Warm Soft Pretzel Braids and Cast-Iron Cornbread. The pretzels were warm, chewy and served with beer mustard and warm pimento queso. Both sauces were excellent. The cornbread was also very good, moist and flavorful without the large pieces of corn you sometimes get in other versions.
For the main course, Karla had the Mushroom & Three-Cheese Flatbread and I ordered Ashley's Open-Faced Brisket Melt.
The flatbread was extremely well crafted. The crust tasted house-made, with a softer flour-forward texture rather than the coarse cornmeal texture you sometimes get underneath flatbread. The roasted mushrooms, mozzarella, provolone, parmesan, garlic oil and thyme all worked together very well.
The brisket melt was one of the highlights of the meal. The brisket was incredibly juicy, not underdone, not dry and not buried under barbecue sauce. The brisket, sauce and melted cheddar on the open-faced bread made for a rich, unique dish that I would absolutely order again.
We also had a chance to talk with Executive Chef Solomon "Sol" Shenker, who is originally from The Bronx and grew up around his family's restaurant and deli business before later spending time in Breckenridge. He told us the kitchen is held to a very high scratch-made standard, and that really shows in the food.
Sol also makes a rotating cheesecake each week, but they had already sold out. Fortunately, they still had the Peach Cobbler.
The Peach Cobbler was unbelievable. Despite being called Peach Cobbler Cups on the menu, the portion was massive. It came out warm with plenty of cinnamon and several portions of house-made whipped cream. The whipped cream was especially good because it was not overly sweet. It had more of a rich, creamy flavor that worked perfectly with the warm peaches and cinnamon. This was easily one of the best desserts I have had anywhere.
We finished with a Coconut Cream Martini, which was also very good.
The only real negative had nothing to do with the food. Around 5:45 to 6:00 the western sun comes directly through the windows and absolutely blasts the bar. It was extremely bright and hot for about 45 minutes. The staff mentioned the issue before we did and said blinds are already on order, so they are clearly addressing it.
Overall Impressions:
The Caldwell is off to a very good start. The menu is not huge, but I would much rather have a smaller menu executed at this level than pages of average food. The scratch-kitchen approach is obvious throughout the meal, from the pretzels and cornbread to the flatbread crust, brisket and dessert.
The restaurant was a little more than half full on a Thursday evening, with a mix of hotel guests and locals from the surrounding neighborhood. That is a good sign because it already feels less like a hotel restaurant and more like a neighborhood place that happens to be inside a hotel.
From a value standpoint, nothing seemed out of line with the current Fort Collins restaurant market. Considering the quality, scratch-made approach and portion sizes, the pricing made sense.
We will absolutely be back. We still want to try more of the dinner menu, we have not tried breakfast yet, and now I need to find out what Sol's next cheesecake is going to be.
Happy eating ! read more