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lockportlegend.com dining out
the Lockport Legend | December 6, 2018 | 21
The Dish
Cooper’s Hawk brings upscale cooking, abundance of wine to New Lenox
James Sanchez
Contributing Editor
Cooper’s Hawk recently
opened its 11th Chicagoarea
location in New Lenox,
only 14 miles apart from its
first location in Orland Park.
Ed Hammer, general manager
of the New Lenox location,
said people thought it
was crazy to open another
location so close, but when
considering Orland Park
Cooper’s Hawk has more
than 30,000 Wine Club
members — the most of all
33 locations across the country
— opening another location
in the south suburbs was
a no-brainer.
The move is already paying
dividends, as it has created
a buzz within the community.
In just a few weeks
after its grand opening, it
has eclipsed 1,000 Wine
Club members. To put that
in perspective, Hammer said
it took a new location in
Michigan more than a month
to hit that milestone.
“Everybody’s been ecstatic
so far,” Hammer said. “It’s
been very welcoming to the
community. So far, everyone
has embraced what we bring
to the table.”
But guests don’t have
to be Wine Club members
to enjoy the offerings the
winery and restaurant has.
Cooper’s Hawk features a
110-item menu, featuring
scratch-made, contemporary
American dishes, with
flavors from around the
world.
There is the Italian flair
with the shrimp and scallop
risotto ($26.99), in which
the seafood and rich, creamy
Carnaroli rice is mixed with
sweet corn, asparagus, peas,
spinach, Parmesan and
white truffle oil. Or customers
can have a taste of
France, with the red wine
braised short ribs ($26.99),
which is Hammer’s favorite.
That has been on the
menu since the franchise
first opened in 2005. The
braising technique adds a
depth of flavor to the beef,
and it is served with Mary’s
potatoes (whipped potatoes),
mustard sauce, oven-roasted
vegetables and
crispy onion strings.
Flavors from Asia can
be found in the ginger soy
glazed NY strip ($33.99),
accompanied by wasabi-buttered
mashed potatoes and
oven-roasted vegetables.
The Cooper’s Hawk calamari
($13.99) is glazed with
a sweet chili-ponzu sauce
mixture and served with
sesame-sriracha sauce. And
the pan-roasted barramundi
($25.99) is served with ginger
rice, a Thai lemongrass
sauce and vegetables.
The menu also features
South American cuisine
with the churrasco grilled
steak ($27.99), which is a
chimichurri-rubbed skirt
steak, alongside a cilantrolime
aioli, Parmesan fries
and vegetables.
But Hammer said the most
popular dish is an appetizer
inspired by south of the
border: Mexican drunken
shrimp ($13.99). The dish
features numerous shrimp
wrapped in bacon, doused
in a tequila lime butter sauce
and served with fresh guacamole.
“It’s been the No. 1-selling
item forever, and it will continue
to be No. 1,” Hammer
said. “We’re going through
an extraordinary amount of
this dish.”
Each dish on the menu has
a wine pairing, suggested
by the winemaker. Cooper’s
Hawk has wines to please
those new to wine or seasoned
drinkers, with more
than 50 wine selections that
are all produced with grapes
imported from all over the
Cooper’s Hawk
2307 E. Lincoln Highway
in New Lenox
Restaurant and Tasting
Room Hours
• 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m.
Monday-Thursday
• 11 a.m.-10:30 p.m.
Friday-Saturday
• 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday
Bar Hours
• 11 a.m.-10:30 p.m.
Monday-Thursday
• 11 a.m.-11:30 p.m.
Friday-Saturday
• 11 a.m.-10 p.m.
Sunday
For more information ...
Web: chwinery.com
Phone: (815) 320-7500
world by its winery in Woodridge.
For the wines alone,
Cooper’s Hawk has received
more than 500 awards, most
recently winning Best of
Class at the International
Eastern Wine Competition
and Best of Show at the San
Francisco Chronicle Wine
Competition in 2017.
The Napa-style tasting
room is what guests first experience
when entering the
restaurant. There, they can
explore and learn about different
wines through a wine
tasting and expand their
palates. For $7, guests can
do a variety tasting (eight
samples) of white and red
wines, from fruity to dark
and bold flavors, or a tasting
of all sweet wines. For $10,
the tasting includes a souvenir
wine glass. A Lux Tasting
($12) provides samples
of Cooper’s Hawk’s valued
wines. The selections in all
of the tastings rotate every
month and always includes
a sample of the Wine of the
Month.
December’s Wine of the
Month is Barbera Barbera.
The blend brings together
The pan-roasted barramundi ($25.99) is one of the top dishes at Cooper’s Hawk. The fish
sits atop a bed of ginger rice and is surrounded by blistered green beans, grape tomatoes
and a Thai lemongrass sauce. James Sanchez/22nd Century Media
Cooper’s Hawk’s traditional
Barbera — a red wine grape
— it has used out of California
with another Barbera
produced in Northern Italy.
For January, it is slated to
be the Artist’s Red Blend,
which is the official wine
for the 2019 Screen Actors
Guild award ceremony.
Cooper’s Hawk’s Master
Sommelier Emily Wines
tweaked the tastings to
make wine more approachable.
Years back, there used
to be only tasting notes on
the wine sheet, but Wines
incorporated a graph that
shows how much sweetness,
tannin, acidity, body and alcohol
is prevalent in each
drink. It also lists the flavors,
scents, origin and the type of
food with which it pairs.
“When I go into another
restaurant and look at a wine
list, you kind of go with
just what you know,” Hammer
said. “With what Emily
implemented, it makes you
Wine Club Memberships
Guests have four different Wine Club options: Variety,
Red Club, White Club and Sweet Club
Pricing
• Red, White or Variety: $19.99 monthly for one bottle
a month, or $37.99 monthly for two bottles
• Sweet: $17.99 monthly for one bottle, or $33.99 for
two bottles
Other benefits
• Discounts on retail wines sold at Cooper’s Hawk: 10
percent off purchasing 1-5 bottles, 15 percent off for
6-11 bottles, 20 percent off for 12 bottles
• 10 percent off on all carryout orders and featured
retail products
• Exclusive promotions for members
• Complimentary entrée during birthday month
• Access to member-only events
experiment with your palate
a little bit more.”
While having a drink or
waiting for a reservation,
guests can check out the artisanal
market that features
decanters, wine accessories,
gourmet chocolates among
other gift items. Combine all
those elements, and the restaurant
becomes more than
just a place to have a nice
dinner.
“With Cooper’s Hawk, we
want to offer customers an
experience,” Hammer said.