If you called Colorado Kitchen in the last week or two, chances are you got a letdown of a voicemail. It went something like this: “Our plumbing has been an issue for a while, but we can’t deny the inconvenience anymore.” Even so, it came as a surprise—especially to weekend brunch addicts—when Gillian Clark temporarily closed her restaurant in DC’s Brightwood for nearly a week. But the plumbing woes have been resolved, the cement has dried, and the griddles are back on. By last Thursday night, Clark and company were serving a special abridged menu: fried chicken and burgers.

Surprise, surprise—the pared-down roster of greasy pleasures was a big hit. Given the thumbs-up feedback, the restaurant has initiated a monthly Tuesday-night "Fried Chx & Burgers" tradition, which kicked off last night. The fat, thickly cut burgers (Clark grinds the beef herself), are usually served only on Thursday and Sunday. Her Carolina-style fried chicken has been even more of a culinary endangered species; Clark hasn’t offered it since Colorado Kitchen opened six years ago, when customers went so crazy for it that “they’d literally want to pick up a chair and kill someone if we didn’t have it,” she says.

Last night, Clark went through 40 pounds of bird and a half case of buttermilk. Served with collards and corn bread, the crispy, addictive chicken was the hottest item on the menu, outselling the burgers. If you missed the fun, Clark will reprise the menu on December 11 and January 8—and we hope, the second Tuesday of each month to come. The burger sells for $7.50; the fried chicken with sides is $12.50.

Colorado Kitchen, 5515 Colorado Ave., NW; 202-545-8280.