Upon opening the doors, you are greeted with bar full of people standing, laughing, and having a good time. The walls are lined with wine bottles and TV’s are spread between for entertainment. There’s a large shopping area full of merchandise including wine glasses, corks, platters, bottles of wine, and other items.
Off to the right sits the Cooper’s Hawk Lux collection of wines and the host stand. The staff look professional in their black attire, but also friendly and approachable with smiles on their faces.
The dining area is warm and inviting with earth tone decor, modern light fixtures, and candles adorning each table. Looking out the wall of windows I have the feeling that I am on the water. I then remember that technically, we are by a body of water. The back of the building faces a large pond and newly built apartment buildings. The sky shines a beautiful, bright blue through the shades.
The bread we received at the table was akin to an unsalted pretzel bun. We get several rounds of bread and I must say each one varied in softness. For example, the first one was not warm and a felt firmer with a drier texture, while the second one is steaming hot and bouncy to the touch. The whipped butter melts instantly, soaking into the bread.
Cooper’s Hawk also makes their own wine. They have a wine club where you can sign up for different tiers and bottles of wine for each month. You can find more information here. I order the Vin Chocolat Almond, my favorite. It is described as being “rich and sweet, with ripe red and dark fruit. This wine pairs well with most sweet chocolate desserts.”
I know I am only going to get one glass, so even though it is more of a dessert wine, I still order it because it is my favorite. It is served at room temperature since it is a red wine. It has a very strong fragrance of sweet, red wine and almond. The finish is smooth with a slight acidity. It is sweet and fruit-forward with a medium body. Compared to the Vin Chocolat, the Vin Chocolat Almond is much sweeter and complex in taste. The almond flavor really comes through in both smell and taste.
I order three things from the menu, an appetizer, entree and a side dish. Each one is absolutely delicious in its own right.
For the appetizer I order the Italian Sausage & Whipped Burrata Flatbread. It is topped with giardiniera, pesto, mozzarella, and grated parmesan. It is served on a wooden plank and is long and skinny in shape. The crust is thin and has a nice snap when bitten. The sausage is crumbly and cooked so the top is almost crispy.
The giardiniera is nice and tangy with its pickled, vinegar taste. Giardiniera is usually made with cauliflower, carrots, bell peppers, celery, and chile peppers. There is a slight heat from the peppers, but nothing overpowering or what I would even describe as spicy.
Burrata is a very soft cheese that is made from mozzarella and cream. It is the perfect cheese for this flatbread and added a nice dairy flavor and texture to the toppings.
For my side I order Mary’s Potatoes. They are described as being “whipped potatoes, butter, and cream.” They have the skins left on and are silky in texture. They weren’t overly salty and add a nice way to cleanse my palette between the flatbread and the entree.
I order the Gnocchi with Roasted Butternut Squash for my entree. It is topped with wild mushrooms, sweet onion cream, spinach, feta, and crispy onions. The crispy onions soon become soggy because of the sauce, but I just move them to the side and dive right in.
It is now the next day and I am still thinking about this meal. It is the best gnocchi dish I have ever had. The gnocchi are cooked perfectly, soft but still firm when you chew it. The feta is so soft I almost thought it was goat cheese. But it is tangy and adds another level of complexity to the dish.
The mushrooms are cut to the same size as the gnocchi and are bouncy in the mouth. The sauce almost tastes more like a mushroom sauce and doesn’t have an overpowering onion flavor at all.
The dish is both complex and robust in flavor, but also has a feeling of comfort because it is similar to eating a pasta dish or gnocchi soup. I would definitely recommend this dish. It is found on the vegetarian menu but is absolutely delicious and would make a fantastic meal even for those who enjoy eating meat.
We finish the meal off with their current dessert special, carrot cake. It is an elevated carrot cake with bits of coconut and pineapple sprinkled throughout. These add both another level of flavor, but also a bit of bite to the cake. The cake is served cold, which is perfect with the sweet and tangy cream cheese icing. The cake crumb is dense and moist and each bite has a perfect balance of spices.
Overall, I enjoyed my entire experience and not only recommend Cooper’s Hawk to others, but I am looking forward to going back myself.
Rating: 9.5/10
Words and photos by Jaime Herzog, Creative Director