Cotton used to be “our place”…

But then we:

i) got lazy and started eating at the Colosseum all the time (Salem, NH)

ii) discovered it’s only an extra 15 minutes to Boston and abandoned dining in NH. 

But I’ve been asking to re-visit our old spot, and Mr. Rabbit happily obliged me with dinner and a furniture-shopping expedition last Sunday.

Cotton bills itself as “American Bistro,” which means upscale-d comfort food, great cocktails, and a poster of Audrey Hepburn. They’re located in the mill-yard in Manchie, so it’s a pretty spot. Great weather had us sitting outside under the lovely grape arboretum. A quick mid-dinner downpour didn’t even disturb us (or the other outside diners) under the protection of large sun umbrellas and all that greenery. 

So, about the food… Cotton has switched up their menu since our last visit (a much needed edit since while the food is great, the same-old choices had become tired). The cocktail list also has some tempting additions, but we opted for a bottle of Spanish garnacha. It’s easy to find a value priced bottle of wine at Cotton, and we were happy with our fruit-y choice (Spain being the regular plonk provider chez nous).

We started with an order of perfectly grilled asparagus and Portobello mushrooms with plenty of thick shards of parmigiano, all dressed in a sherry shallot vinaigrette. A very satisfying start to the meal, but not at all heavy, so our appetites were just whetted. We were too hungry to remember a photo before we’d ravaged the plate. Sorry. 

I was craving crab cakes, so in lieu of two mains we opted to split an order along with the grilled pork special. Cotton’s crab cakes were definitely up to standard, chubby and meaty with a great salsa of black beans and corn and a light dressing of chipotle aioli.Now this shot is fuzzy, but note the huge shard of crab meat sticking out of my otherwise unappetizing looking bite. That’s crabby!

The pork special involved a large, juicy chop with a balsamic reduction served along with a potato and arugula salad that was a perfect summer-side. The meat was expertly prepared and generous enough that we both felt satisfied splitting the entrée (of course we’d had the crabbies too). Moreover, the plate worked well with the last of the wine.

Dessert was banana bread pudding with vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce. We’ve had this before and while it might err on the side of being slightly sweet and a touch heavy, isn’t that really want one wants from dessert… so this is a slightly spurious “complaint.”

Service was friendly and attentive, although we noted as an afterthought at the end of our meal that we didn’t get a bread basket. We didn’t miss it (obviously), but I find those sorts of oversights slightly annoying, so a slight demerit on service.

I read a recent food board thread complaining that Cotton was perhaps a little “off” lately, and I was concerned! Fortunately, that was was absolutely not our experience. A great meal in a very pleasant surrounding and for a completely reasonable price (approx $75 before tip). Complete satisfaction.

* Note: furniture shopping in NH is desolate unless you’re into country. The (very) bright spot — The Chair Gallery in Manchester (www.thechairgallery.com)… gorgeous and high-quality contemporary furnishing with a helpful owner who’s seriously into furniture design. We’re slowing putting together house-by-Chair-Gallery and love everything we’ve bought from them thus far.

www.cottonfood.com

Posted on July 22nd, 2008 by rabbit
Filed under: New England, Restaurant Reviews