Nice But... [Coco in East Hampton MA]
We finally made it to Coco tonight. It's a small friendly place (but not so small as to be claustrophobic). Open kitchen. Exposed brick with some funky architectural and lighting touches. Bare wood tables on the small side. Chairs are comfortable enough. Service is professional -- attentive, unobtrusive. They were good about refilling the bottomless seltzer ($3.00) without being asked, which was very nice.
I had the beet salad first course. It was delicious, light dressing with perfectly cooked beet slices and a generous portion, too. Vinaigrette, some greens, some citrus, some crunchy bits (nuts perhaps). Spouse had the NE Clam Chowder. Spouse didn't like it, having assumed -- without asking -- that the soup would be thick and creamy with lots of seafood in it (Legal Seafood is spouse's chowder benchmark, I'm just sayin'). It was milky/brothy, with a lot of potatoes, a strong ham/bacon flavor and, he complained, not enough clams. I had a spoonful and found it tasty. So now you know -- it's a broth-based chowder, not cream.
I had the buttermilk fried chicken with garlic mashed potatoes and coleslaw. The coleslaw is very thinly sliced or shredded with an oil & vinegar rather than mayo dressing. It was quite good. The mashed potatoes were pleasant but not noteworthy.
The chicken I've been mulling over. I ate all of it. The breading was crisp, tasty and totally ungreasy, but not so flavorful as I was expecting (paprika, pepper, herbs, hello?). It was served with chili oil that I asked for on the side. I tasted the oil and chose not to use it. Perhaps the chicken really needs the oil to perk it up but I would rather that the seasoning be part of the breading, not oil poured on top. Sorry, chefs.
The chicken was a single breast, also a generous size. I think my reluctance to praise the chicken highly is due to the fact that a) I found the chicken JUST barely on the good side of overcooked (OK, maybe it was a bit dry as white meat can be) and b) I prefer small pieces of white and dark chicken on the bone to one big honkin' chunk of it. Eg, I'd rather have been served a leg/thigh/piece of breast instead of that big thing I got. I think one should have a choice of dark, white or mixed chicken in this case, it being FRIED chicken. Also, dark meat doesn't dry out like white meat.
My spouse had meatballs with polenta. Again, he was unmoved. I tasted the meatball and thought it was flavorful and rich-tasting -- perhaps a mix of beef, pork and veal? He had nothing to say about the sauce, greens or polenta. When pressed, he shrugged. (Spouse can be embarrassingly voluble about food he likes).
We skipped dessert because we were quite full (me) and or didn't see anything appealing (him).
So -- Coco Round I -- nice, but not exceptional, for me. Disappointing for him. Good service. Food came fairly quickly, and the place was about 3/4 full. Well-run kitchen.
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oh, I had been hoping for excellent. Still plan to try. I had wanted to go for my birthday which falls on a Tues so they are closed despite it being Valentine's Day.
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re: magiesmom
Spouse and I dined at Coco the day after Valentine's Day. The place was packed, with several people turned away. It was also somewhat noisy, with the music (good selection of standards) a bit too loud. My spouse had tomato dill soup and meatballs with polenta. The soup, she said, was subtle and delicious and the meatballs perfectly cooked, light and well sauced. I had the arugula salad. The balsamic dressing was not overdone and was well complemented by the walnuts and goat cheese. My main course was seared scallops with wonderfully light mashed potatoes. The scallops were a tad overdone, but good nonetheless. We shared a ricotta tart, and agreed it ranked with the best restaurant deserts we had ever had. As, I guess most people know by now, the menu is limited to four starters and four entrees. The wine list is similarly limited. My wife's Dragani's Montepulciano was suitably dry and tannic, and my Joel Gott sauvignon blanc was wonderfully fruity and tangy. The pours could have been more generous. Service was very good, especially in view of the crowded conditions, which kept the two servers dodging back and forth among the closely spaced tables. The food was good enough and the service so understated and efficient, a couple of short waits for things we asked for were not annoying.
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re: cabbagehead
I was also at Coco the night after Valentine's day. I have been a few times since they opened and have always loved the meals. For whatever reason, I found things to be a bit off this time. We had evening reservations and while we arrived a few minutes early, we ended up having to wait over 30 minutes past our reservation time to get a table. We were sent to the bar to wait, and I honestly thought they forgot us. I am guessing that perhaps they just got behind, but it would have been nice to have had expectations set. I might have just opted to eat downstairs. The bartender was great, so at least the evening started off on the right foot.
Once seated, we got visited twice by our server, to let us know about things that weren't available on the menu. Given the limited menu, this isn't really cool. I don't mind a small menu, but please make sure you have enough or have a suitable replacement for the replacement dishes when they run out. I actually joked to DH that if he came a third time to let us know what wasn't available, we were leaving.
We had the fried Brussels sprouts and enjoyed them immensely. The main dishes were fine, well cooked and spiced, but nothing that would make me immediately plan our next visit. I had the fried chicken and DH had sausage. By the time we got to dessert, we were ready to call it quits...and unfortunately, I hear the current dessert options are great.
So... While I have had excellent food and service previously (in the Fall), I was nonplussed this visit. Not sure I will rush back. Hopefully this was just the result of a crazy busy night and not a trend. :(. I was really looking forward to a good meal.
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re: cabbagehead
I wouldn't say things have deteriorated. Our service was excellent and we were seated without a reservation after a couple of minutes (OTOH, the restaurant never did fill up the night we were there -- four or five tables empty during our stay -- there was no reason not to seat us). There was nothing wrong with the food. It just wasn't exciting. My spouse commented the other day that he was expecting something more than "comfort food." I don't know that I would describe their menu as comfort food but it's not exciting, either. Pamelita's experience of a depleted menu is a bit scary. Perhaps it was just an off night. I recently read Ruth Reichl's book about her years as the NYT head restaurant critic -- she only wrote reviews after four or five visits.
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