Out to Eat: The Rookwood

Derek Didear of Clifton and Kristen Crosthwaite of Eden Park dine at The Rookwood. (Credit: David Sorcher | Metromix)

The old Rookwood Pottery building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It once housed one of America's first major woman-owned companies, it's where pieces of pottery now housed at the White House and prestigious hotels were created, and it's where Mount Adams' newest restaurant draws people in with history and the scent of dinner.

Fine pieces of pottery were pulled from those kilns years ago, and now fine food and delicious drinks are a part of the building's history.

Kilnin' It

With old kilns from the days of pottery converted into private dining areas and flat-screen TVs in the many rooms, the newly opened Rookwood has updated a few things from the building's heyday of the early 1900s, although a display case of original Rookwood pottery is a tourist attraction as well as a piece of history within the restaurant.

I was immediately impressed before we even stepped inside, having never been to the beautiful building. It has tons of seating and a full bar available, so we were seated right away. Our table was nice enough, but we wanted the full experience of eating in a former pottery kiln, so we asked if we could switch to the table inside one of the kilns in our section. The server obliged, and we found ourselves within the blackened walls of the kiln - updated with lighting and our own personal TV.

From Scratch

Former Nada executive chef Jonathan Mouch created for The Rookwood a menu of items that are all made fresh from scratch, including the hand-cut fries. The restaurant bills itself as a bar and grill serving traditional items with a modern twist. The Rookwood seems a step up from your usual bar and grill, however, with items such as the goat cheese and apple salad and sliced lamb sandwich.

With fall finally moving in, my boyfriend and I were in the mood for something to warm us up, and the corn and cheddar chowder with smoked ham, potato, corn and cheddar ($6) was the perfect fit. We also ordered drinks: a lemon martini ($8) for me and the Iris martini ($8) - named for one of the old pottery's glazes and made with Stoli Blueberi, pomegranate juice and Cointreau - for him. Mine was good, but his was better, so I opted for that on round two while my guy tried an Anchor Steam draft ($4).

For entrees I enjoyed the grilled chicken with spicy garlic broccolini, potato puree, bacon-onion-sage sauce and crispy shallots ($16). My boyfriend had Maria's skirt steak frites with fresh-cut fries ($16). Both meals were pleasing and we cleaned our plates, although the broccolini was a bit soggy from the spicy garlic sauce.

For dessert we ordered the warm chocolate torte served with a vanilla bean ice cream, whipped cream and a cherry ($6). My boyfriend took the server's suggestion of pairing it with a Breckenridge Vanilla Port ($4). The first torte that arrived tasted of burnt toast, so the server graciously brought us a new one, which we quickly devoured!

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