Home Place: The Cook and the Bear in West Hartford

Thursday, November 9, 2017

The Cook and the Bear in West Hartford

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We finally made it! The Cook and The Bear is one restaurant I had been waiting and waiting to have an opportunity to visit. I loved the origins of this great collaboration between Millwright's chef and owner Tyler Anderson and the talented Jamie McDonald of Bear's Smokehouse.

Made on Premise BBQ sauces
served in cute lil' honey bears

The duo first came together at a farm to table dinner, and then paired up in a series of pop up dinners. The sheer popularity of these dinners demanded a permanent pairing, and hence, the inception of "The Cook and The Bear" resulted in a win win!

Small and cozy and located in the heart of West Hartford's popular Blue Back Square, the Cook and the Bear continues to win over the locals and offers up a casual barbecue menu in a fun setting.

Fresh Pickling Going' On!

Patrons order off a cute clipboard menu that features small bites, salads, sandwiches, snacks, entrees after 5pm, and smoked meats, sides, and combos.

The Cook and the Bear Clipboard Menu

A small but satisfying beer, wine, and cocktail menu is also available that features some fabulous specials!

So many of the cocktails at The Cook and The Bear are made with fresh ingredients. The marinated cherries served in many of the drinks are marinated on premise in bourbon and are incredibly delicious! So good that I thought they were made of chocolate!

Drinks at the Cook and the Bear
(Left) Draft Beer. (Right) 90s 2.0 Appletini

Wendy from CT Lifestyles and I shared this fun cocktail found below - the Tom Selleck! It was fruity-juicy, potent, and oh so tasty! And it was served up in a fresh scooped out pineapple.

Another great thing about their cocktail menu is that there are 'mocktails' available of several of their offerings - for those that want the flavor but not the 'punch'!

After sipping on some cocktails we moved on to our appetizers and starters enjoying everything we sampled! A simply MUST ORDER when you visit are the bacon wrapped dates!

Grilled Corn, parmesan, poblano

The Cook and The Bear Bacon Wrapped Dates

Bacon Wrapped Dates
Chorizo Stuffed - Spiced Yogurt

The Cook and The Bear Smoked Salmon Deviled Eggs

Smoked Salmon Deviled Eggs
Everything Bagel Spice

The Cook and The Bear Pork Rillette and Fried Green Tomatoes

Crispy Pork Rillette - Fried Green Tomato
Sauce Choron

Burnt End Sliders
Flavors of French Onion Soup

Charcoal Roasted Chicken Wings
Sesame Seeds - Buttermilk Dressing

Believe it or not - after sharing all those starters we found a little bit of room to move on to some smoked meats and proteins. We sampled some delicious thick cut pastrami, chicken, short ribs, and briskets.

Chicken-Smoked and Grilled
Smoked Brisket

Did someone say BURGER???

The Rodeo Burger
Wagu Beef - Cheesy Sauce - Onion Rings

And accompanying our proteins we ordered an assortment of sides.

Traditional in their origins, but each had such an interesting twist. Wonderful flavors to add to our meal! Mac and Cheese Gratin, Broccoli Casserole with Rodeo Cheese and Crispy Shallots, Cabbage and Fennel Slaw, and Grits with Fennel Jam.

Hard to pick a favorite, but if I had to it would be that amazing Broccoli Casserole!

Well, our dinner wouldn't be complete without dessert, and The Cook and The Bear rose to the occasion with some seasonal happy endings!

Think of flavors like pumpkin pie, and apple spice, and you've got just a bit of an inkling of what's in store for you at this incredible new barbecue restaurant!