Oh that BBQ
By Todd Lyon
From the New Haven Register
 | | Head Chef Dameon LeBrun, Owner Rob Ryder and General Manager Dave Kennedy in the Cookhouse’s dining area. Arnold Gold/Register photo |
The Cookhouse brings its finger-licking good food to Branford
The ribs. So meaty, so succulent, falling off the bone. The glistening greens, the chicken legs spanked by spices and smoke, the melting slices of brisket, and so much more.
When barbecue is good, it’s very, very good.
It was a bit cheeky of me to visit The Cookhouse on its very first Saturday night, but I’d done some advance research and learned that the newly opened restaurant, standing proud in the former Ground Round on Branford Hill, had a whole history behind it, and I was confident that the place wouldn’t disappoint.
I was right.
The Cookhouse is a family-friendly barbecue restaurant run by a friendly family. Well, sort of: Actually it’s owned by Rob Ryder, who grew up in California and Connecticut and studied business at Cornell with a focus on independent restaurants (I didn’t know you could do that). After loads of hands-on experience in New York (Smith & Wollensky), Aspen (the Ritz-Carlton) and Mt. Kisco (Restaurant Luna), he decided to strike out on his own.
"On my half-day off per week, I started pounding the pavement," he smiles. "One day while driving around Connecticut with my broker, a DJ on the radio commented that his favorite bar was closing down that day. I said, ‘Do you know where this Reilly’s Red Barn is?’ and my agent said, ‘Yeah, it’s right there."
Rob stopped the car just in time to see the sheriff serve the owner with eviction papers. By the end of the day, he had signed the lease, and six months later, opened The Cookhouse in New Milford. That was in 1997. "At the time, there wasn’t much barbecue in Connecticut," recalls Rob, "but my family and I had a passion for it. We opened the first Cookhouse with eight items on the menu, and within a year and a half it was kicking."
The family he speaks of is primarily his dad, aka. "Fat Tommy," who is not fat, and until recently was the publisher of Readers’ Digest, and Miss Darlene, Rob’s mother who is very much a Southern belle from Louisiana. They stood beside their son, offering advice and consultation and, in Miss Darlene’s case, decorating services, while he went on to open five more restaurants, including The Inn at Newtown (1999), Harvest in Brookfield (2003) and Cookhouse barbecue restaurants in Darien (May ’05) and in a Harley Davidson dealership in East Hartford (’03).
Then came Branford. Rob, who’s spent many happy summers in Old Saybrook, started snooping around the shoreline and came across what was then the Ground Round. Its owner was getting ready to retire, and Rob saw a great opportunity to introduce Cookhouse barbecue to a new demographic.
After gutting the building, adding a second story loft and a special room for his meat smoker, Rob and his beloved staff opened the newest Cookhouse doors in April. And he’s been mobbed ever since.
No wonder. The Cookhouse is loads of fun and the place looks great, with its two rough-hewn fireplaces, big bar, booths and outdoor pavilion. That’s not all: The food is pretty great, too.
The menu is cleverly designed, with lots of options for sampling different ’cue and for sharing meals. The Tombo Combo Family Feast, for instance, is $69.99 for four people and includes heaping platters of pulled pork (made from Smithfield butts), beef brisket, smoked chicken and, of course, ribs — either baby backs or St. Louis ribs, prepared either dry-rub Memphis style, or Fat Tommy style, i.e. drenched in sauce and cooked fall-off-the-bone tender.
Such dishes are at the heart of the Cookhouse, but all the sides are there, too, including Hoppin’ John, mac and cheese, sweet potato fries, hush puppies and chili, and there are plenty of options for the barbecue-shy, such as catfish, meatloaf and steak.
Rob’s got a good thing going on: right location, right place, right price, right food.
Welcome, Cookhouse.
Todd Lyon of New Haven is a freelance writer. She can be reached at toddlyon@earthlink.net. |
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