Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant
Excited to get back to Dining post pandemic? Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant has created a extraordinary dining experience for it’s guest. From it’s modern dining rooms, scratch kitchen menu options, Napa-Style tasting rooms, wine club to their hand crafted wines. All stemming into a creative dining concept founded by Tim McEnery.
A post Valentines day lunch date at Cooper Hawk Winery & Restaurant was exactly what I needed to unwind from pandemic living. It had been so long since my husband and I actually dined in a restaurant that I almost forgot what it was like. Cooper’s Hawk reminded me of why we loved dining out so much. This was our first time dining at Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant located in Galleria Mall near Fort Lauderdale Beach. Don’t be fooled friends this is not your typical mall dining establishment. Located in Galleria Mall, a short ride up the elevator then you are transported into Coopers Hawk Napa style tasting room and bar area.
Although the tasting rooms in South Florida are presently not open due COVID compliance. We were still able to browse all of Cooper’s Hawk hand crafted wines available for purchase through their very popular wine club. As wine club member you can start with 1 bottle of wine for only 19.99 a month. Choose your club depending on if you like reds, whites, or sweet wines. The beauty of the wine club is that it is tailored to meet your wine needs each month. Wine club members pick up their monthly wines at a Cooper’s Hawk restaurant location, which allows them to stay fully engaged with the brand. Members also receive rewards, members-only pricing, and domestic and international travel opportunities, along with access to private Friends of Cooper’s Hawk events. Join the Cooper’s Hawk Wine Club, here to enjoy your own monthly selections of their hand crafted wines.
On the Menu
All of the Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant menu items available have been carefully curated by Executive Chef Matt McMillin. Each dish has been paired with a wine, labeled on the menu by bin number, as suggested by the winemaker.
What I appreciate about Cooper’s Hawk is the concept of a scratch kitchen meaning that the chefs are ensuring that all the ingredients are in peak season and that everything is made from scratch. I also learned that even though a menu item may be great and loved by guests. The Cooper’s Hawk chefs are always seeking ways to improve menu items by incorporating local seasonal flavors.
For instance, Cooper’s Hawk calamari is one the chef’s seasonal recommendations. Which makes perfect sense being that they located are so close to Fort Lauderdale beach. Large rings of calamari are soaked in a butter milk batter, that help to tenderize the meat so it does not get chewy. The calamari is then glazed in a sweet chili-ponzu glaze and served with a sesame-sriracha aioli dipping sauce. I would have never thought to pair a Prosecco with calamari, yet the suggested pairing is a sweet and sparking Prosecco. I was pleasantly surprised at how absolutely perfect the flavor notes from the prosecco enhanced sweetness of the calamari as if you almost having it directly from the sea.
My husband immediately went for Cooper’s Hawk version of Not your everyday mac and cheese. Braised Short Rib & Three-Cheese Mac is smothered in aged White Cheddar, Fontina, and MontAmoré Cheese, caramelized onions that melt in your mouth, slow-roasted grape tomatoes and garnished with toasted herb crumbs. My husband also had the Vin Noir 10.25 which is the suggested wine pairing for this artfully crafted adult Mac & Cheese. My husband truly enjoyed this dish. Let’s say there were no leftovers. His appreciation for slow cooked dishes runs deep. So much that I typically become the taste taster when he is experimenting with his own braised dishes at home. I can honestly say that I enjoyed the tiny bite he shared with me during lunch it was so good that I will be having it next time.
Since we were so close to the beach I was inspired to try the pistachio-crusted grouper in a mustard sauce served with a side of Mary’s potatoes, and asparagus. For this dish the suggested wine pairing is the GF BIN 74. I decided to actually try A4 the wine of the month. A4 is inspired by the aromatic palate of the eastern France having notes of fruits and spicy. The A4 combined with the pistachio crusted grouper was divine. One of my concerns was that the pistachio may make the dish to salty, when it arrived all of the flavors fuse together perfectly. I even ate my asparagus and I am not a fan of the little trees as my kids like to refer to them as. The next day I had some leftovers to enjoy again. If you are headed to Cooper’s Hawk and have not tried this delicious grouper I suggest you do. It is superb!
As a bonafide chocolate lover I could not leave without having Cooper’s Hawk chocolate cake. Made using Valrhona chocolate and hazelnut ganache served with vanilla ice cream. I was in chocolate heaven! Although my husband suggested we save some for the kids. Some how he and I managed to devoured all of the chocolatey goodness of this dessert. And if you saw my Instagram stories then you got a seek peek at how delicious this chocolate cake looks. My taste buds did a little dance as the rich chocolate mixed with vanilla ice in my mouth. But to really get the full experience your going to have to try for yourself.
Are you hungry yet? I am pretty sure your thinking about that Cooper’s Hawk chocolate cake. If you have not made a reservation yet then what are you waiting on? Get your calendars out and schedule your next date night out Cooper’s Hawk. I assure you that you will not be disappointed.
xoxo,
Cindy
