Description
A lot of people have been following Daniel Mattern and Roxana Jullapat since they were young cooks at Campanile, through their stint at Ammo. Cooks County, which they opened with Claudio Blotta of Barbrix in the former Bistro LQ, is a cheerful place that feels like a wine bar but functions more as a restaurant, with actual appetizers and main courses, as well as Jullapat's aggressively homey desserts -- focaccia with roasted grapes, cranberry chess pie and hot beignets oozing chocolate cream. A perfect first-date restaurant? If you're persuaded by clams steamed in vermouth, nettle fettuccine with chanterelles, and beef tenderloin with sunchokes, I'm guessing it might be.
