04
Mar

Co-op Food & Drink- NYC

CO-OP FOOD & DRINK- NYC

107 Rivington St (Btwn Ludlow & Essex) New York, NY 10002

Date dined: 3.3.12

Co-op

Co-op is a new American restaurant that features locally sourced and sustainable foods and has a menu inspired by Executive Chef John Keller’s Seafood background (of Le Bernardin, Nobu) as well as Stephen Wong’s Japanese background (of Sushi of Gari, Megu).

Finding a place to host a 26 people for a birthday dinner at a restaurant that is lively but also has good food is quite a tall order. Co-op was the perfect solution for the dinner I went to last night. The back room was a big space with towering ceilings and big color photographs of New York icons and celebrities covering the walls. The center table was one long cross section of a tree big enough for the whole group. Places that are designed to accommodate groups of this size often don’t have the best food but I was pretty impressed with everything we were served in our Asian inspired meal of small bites.

We started with dishes of blistered shisito peppers with yuzu citrus glaze. Shisito peppers are one of my newest food obsessions but I thought they could have used a little salt to contrast with the sweet glaze.

Shisito Peppers

Next was a kale caesar which was a mix of Tuscan and purple kale topped with sliced Asian pears. The salad might have been better without the croutons which may not have been freshly made so they were a bit underwhelming.

Kale Caesar

The Co-op roll was a spicy tuna roll with spicy rock shrimp tempura and a bit of jalapeño for even more kick. This combination always seems to work but the freshness of the ingredients really made it delicious.

Tuna and Rock Shrimp Roll

The miso black cod was next and was served on butter lettuce and topped with shredded phyllo for texture. This was a nice new way to have a miso glazed fish.

Cod in Butter Lettuce

The mini ceviche tacos with aji amarillo sauce and mango-avocado salsa were crispy and refreshing. The fresh tuna was cool and finely minced in the crisp shell. The avocado salsa was smooth and creamy with just a hint of yuzu that added a nice tanginess.

Ceviche Tacos

The Co-op chicken lollipops glazed in a creamy siracha sauce and toasted sesame were reminiscent of the chicken satay at Philippe – a personal favorite.

Chicken Lollipops

Lower East Sliders: Sliders can often be somewhat disappointing leaving you wishing you had just ordered a regular sized burger. These little guys packed a huge punch.  Tender dry-aged beef with short rib and braised pork belly, white cheddar cheese and seasoned with a siracha mayo created a winning combination. A few micro greens, tomato and a cornichon pickle on top cut a bit of the richness.

Lower East Sliders

Dessert was a sticky toffee cupcake with bourbon cream and brown sugar buttercream. Gooey and dense, one bite of this sweet cupcake was just enough to satisfy.

Sticky Toffee Cupcake

Happy birthday Katherine and Christen!!

THEPICURIST with Emily and Erica

 

 

Filed Under: Drinks, Groups Tags: , 2 Comments

2 responses to “Co-op Food & Drink- NYC”

  1. Jordan Sanders says:

    That cod in butter lettuce with those crispy noodles on top looks absolutely absurd. I had a similar dish at another restaurant and it is a seriously good combination of taste and texture.

  2. Thakur says:

    That cod in butter lctutee with those crispy noodles on top looks absolutely absurd. I had a similar dish at another restaurant and it is a seriously good combination of taste and texture.

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