Our Visit to Blue Coop

Saturday, we headed up to Thomasville for a date night. All day it had been threatening rain but the showers held off and we were able to walk around Broad Street and see lots of the new shops that have opened - wow there are very few vacancies! I enjoyed checking out Wiregrass Gallery (an artist co-op); we were both intrigued by the new Chop House on the Bricks; and we enjoyed a quick beer (Jenny Stout from Wrecking Bar Brewpub in Atlanta = yum) and snack at the Sweet Grass Dairy Cheese Shop. Then we headed to Sweet Grass's new Blue Coop restaurant for dinner. What a nice experience.

Front window (source)

Like the Cheese Shop, Blue Coop has a focus on local ingredients, working with farmers and making the most of seasonal items. The food was very tasty and the portions right-sized (that means not too big!) I apologize that my photos are not the best - the lighting in the restaurant is on the romantic side and I took the pics on my phone. The menu varies day to day based on availability 

He had the Apalachicola Oyster Stew for his starter - rich and delicious. The oyster I tried melted in my mouth.

I had the Burnt Beet Salad - the photo does not do it justice at all! The beets were sweet, crisp on the outside and tender-crisp on the inside. I've never had them prepared this way before - definitely a technique that takes advantage of their brick oven. 

For the entree, I had the lamb which was really good but didn't photograph well enough to share. He had the red snapper - aren't the hedgehog mushrooms gorgeous? 

As good as the food was (and the service as well - thank you, Tavis!), I think the bartenders outshone everyone. The drinks were truly outstanding. The bar specializes in small batch producers, the craft liquor industry, I guess you'd say. Since we don't really have any nearby they offer regional, national and international ingredients. The bartender came over to check on us and described all the steps involved in my drink, including how to make a shrub.

A section of one page of the binder of drinks menu. I enjoyed the Peach Tree Smash so much I had a second one. The video below shows the bartenders in action:

Le Boxeur from Sweet Grass Dairy on Vimeo.

The bartenders (source)

Locavore, localtarian, and foodie friends, this is definitely a place to check out!

Happy New Year and thanks for reading!

Blue Coop Restaurant
123 South Broad St
Thomasville, GA 31792
https://www.facebook.com/bluecooprestaurant