Happy Hour Upstairs at The Kitchen

Well-priced small plates and wines in the second-floor wine lounge

Happy hour at Upstairs at The Kitchen in Boulder is literally one hour between 5:30 and 6:30. We went there yesterday (Tuesday) evening with friends. It was a busy evening, with an Old World Classics wine class taking place. The long communal table in the bar area in the rear the stylish restaurant's Upstairs was set up for 14 participants, but at $60 per person, without an entire evening to devote and no reservations for the class either, we instead snagged a table for four in the front. The soft backless hassocks are surprisingly comfortable and are easier, conversationally, than the comfy sofas. Yesterday's vins du jour were both from Spain, and we each ordered the red, a Sierra Cantabria granacha ($5), by the glass.

Among us we chose (and shared) several appetizers. The Kitchen's wonderfully light hummus with cumin a bit of paprika ($4) comes with two slices of bread at this time of evening, so we also ordered some of the house-made flat bread that goes with it so well. The wood-fired mussels and chorizo ($5) consisted of 15 fresh, tender mollusks and half-a-dozen slices of sausage in a smooth wine sauce. The onion pizzetta ($4) was round, softand chewy with the goodness that a wood-fired oven brings to any bread-family food. The cheese board ($10) came with three cheeses, a small pile of roasted almonds and a small ramekin of honey in which to dip the accompanying bread. The bowl of tomato soup ($3) that my husband ordered was brilliant to look at, with its swirl of olive oil in the middle, and brilliant in taste as well.

I was a negligent blogger yesterday, because I left both the camera and notebook at home. That means some details like the three kinds of cheese and the white vin du jour that we didn't order are missing here. I can tell you that the happy hour menu (actually, The Kitchen calls it the Tasting Hour) is small but reasonably priced. With five glasses of wine among the four of us, that extra flat bread and sales tax, the bill came to a bit over $60 -- and none of us went home hungry for dinner.

The Kitchen is at 1039 Pearl Street, Boulder; 303-544-5973.