Cook & Brown Public House Named Top 25 Bar in America

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

GoLocalProv Food + Wine Team

This is how it's done: cocktails, the artisan way, gains Cook & Brown Public House a national reputation. Photo: David Dadekian.

Cook & Brown Public House has been recognized nationally for its cuisine, and this week, it's the bar's turn in the spotlight.

The small, intensely-artisan watering hole at Cook & Brown has been named by the James Beard Foundation as a finalist for Best Bar, and Men's Fitness Magazine profiled the East Side eatery in a brand new feature: The 25 Best Bars in America.

"Restaurants and chefs have long been heaped with praise and accolades for turning out taste-bud bending, ultra-flavorful food," writes MF's Sharon Feireisen, "while equally inventive bars and pubs have barely earned a few thumbs up on Yelp."

The "Oscars of Food" now honors drink as well

Men's Fitness celebrates the new "Outstanding Bar Program" as part of the James Beard Awards, which Feireisen calls the "Oscars of Food." MF featured all 24 of the finalists, plus an editor's choice to round out the Top 25--a round up of "everything from ultra-swank cocktail lounges to wine bars to Old West-style saloons—all tapped for their deep selections of beer, wine and booze (along with an atmosphere that inspires additional rounds and bad behavior)."

Cook & Brown

"Prepare to feel like you’ve been transported miles away from Rhode Island when you step into Cook & Brown Public House," writes Feiereisen. "Specializing in unique cocktails inspired by the classics, perennial favorites include the Bennet Fizz made with gin, green chartreuse, simple syrup, lime and soda and the Orange & Prosecco made with prosecco, cointreau, and orange blossom water."

Cook & Brown held its own against well-regarded bars in big cities including New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, as well as culinary trend hotspots like Seattle and Portland.

The only other New England watering hole to place in the Top 25 was Boston's Drink Bar, which got points for encouraging patrons to come up with the "concoction most likely to satisfy their current yearnings."

For the full list, go here.

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Comments:

Sean DeBobes

3:42pm on Wednesday, May 16, 2012

I do find the comments on being "transported miles away from Rhode Island" a little disingenuous. Cook & Brown is part of an excellent network of restaurants (many with amazing bar programs) throughout the City of Providence. On the contrary, a trip to Cook & Brown, feels like stepping into Rhode Island.

Wine Newsmaster

1:15am on Sunday, May 20, 2012

With all due respect to Ms. Feireisen, when I step into Cook & Brown, I don't feel like I'm anywhere but in Rhode Island. I realize that Ms. Feireisen is infinitely more knowledgeable about fine dining establishments throughout the country, but I don't feel like I have to suspend belief that such a thing can occur in Rhode Island--not at all.