Cook Shop

After a rather soggy Urban Run last night, I got a surprise visit from Keren, who had ditched a pricey ($25 at the door) holiday party across the street. Being cold and wet, I wasn't in the mood to do much partying either, so we opted to go to Cook Shop on 20th and 10th avenue for some bites.

Cook Shop is owned by the same folks who run Five Points near SoHo, another restaurant Keren and I frequented a while back. Both offer gourmet "American" fare, but Cook Shop seemed a bit more upscale. For example, instead of bread and olive oil (as we were presented with at Five Points), we received bread as well as long, skinny croutons that we were supposed to dip in the cream fraise spiced with a bit of horseradish. And instead of typical burgers and chicken, the entrees at Cook Shop are more elaborate: diver sea scallops, Hudson valley rabbit, suckling pig.

We opted to share the chicory, suncrisp apple, maytag blue cheese, and hazlenuts to start, followed by the mushroom pot pie. Both were great--I especially loved the maple-cider vinaigrette on the salad and the buttery warm pastry top on the pot pie. And this one you didn't have to wait an hour to let it cool off before you could actually take a bite, unlike most pot pies I've had in the past!

As always, it was great to have din with Keren...she's always full of crazy stories and keeps me very entertained!