By GirlFriday:
We’ve all seen and heard much about the Horsefeathers project on this site, and we’ve also read about Martin Cooks a few times over the years (home cooking and the farmers market for example). However, this is an entirely new concept connecting the two, that I’m sure you’ll all be just as excited about as we are!
Local chef Martin Danilowicz is opening his first stand alone restaurant, aptly named after his established catering and personal meal delivery outfit, Martin Cooks. This is not your everyday dining concept though. Martin Cooks will primarily be a 12 seat, all at the bar, (complete with an open kitchen) reservation only restaurant, serving 5-8 course meals nightly.
The menu will change on a weekly basis, and will focus on seasonal, regional, progressive cooking and innovative techniques, which Martin has mastered through several stages of working in acclaimed national and international kitchens. The pre fix menu will start at $50, offering two seatings, one at 6pm and another at 8:30pm, Wednesday through Saturday. The meals will generally consist of an original snack selection to start, followed by soup and/or salad, then vegetable courses, pasta selections, before continuing on to protein, and finishing with dessert. Martin and his team will do their best to accommodate any dietary restrictions, as well as vegetarian/vegan and gluten free diets, which is why reservations are so important for this type of dining approach. The reservation book is also utterly important, when the objective to serve premium ingredients at reasonable prices. If anyone has been lucky enough to have Martin Cooks’ food at private functions, then they know what I’m talking about!
Breakfast and lunch service will be offered Tuesday through Friday with breakfast service starting at 8am and lunch service ending around 3pm. Martin Cooks is also exited to offer something we don’t often see around here, which is a killer brunch menu, for a much underserved Saturday brunch crowd. Stay tuned to this Facebook page for an exact launch date, as well as other significant opening announcements.
Breakfast will include offerings such as breakfast bowls, that have gained quite the following at the Winter Market at Horsefeathers, and housemade bagel bombs, among other baked goods, which will all be quite easy to grab while on the go. Lunch service, will focus mainly on serving smorrebrod, which are essentially Danish open-faced sandwiches, that can come topped with a variety of different ingredients, all on a dense dark rye-based bread. Of course, there will be many other selections rounding out the menu as well, ensuring that regardless of diet, you will be satiated.
There is sure to be something for literally anyone, at Martin Cooks. On the agenda are cooking classes, which will take place on Tuesday nights. The classes are a great way to get groups or friends, co-workers, and/or clients together, while giving them an unconventional way to spend the evening, share some dinner, and take something away – all with a full bar to boot.
And if cooking classes aren’t your thing, there is one final piece to Martin’s myriad services being offered at the restaurant. There will be a rotating selection of take-out dinners, pre packaged and ready to go on weeknights. Whether ordering a scrumptious pasta bolognese for two, complete with a fresh baguette, or an expertly brined and roasted chicken, served with a fresh quinoa or farro salad, or even some fresh steamed buns with pork belly or vegan beef, finished with pickled vegetables, hoisin, chiles and slaw, everything will be prepared to satisfy and excite.
Finally, Martin Cooks will continue to offer the catering services that he has built his business on. He will now have the option to cater in-house at the restaurant. At this point, Martin Cooks can accommodate groups up to 50, but that might change in the near future, as there is room to grow within the building.
If you are interested in learning more about the restaurant and can’t wait for the place to open, come sample some of what can be expected from Martin Cooks’ kitchen on Sunday, April 21st at the grand opening celebration* – an event that will be open to the public as an “open house” of sorts from 3-8pm. Guests can expect a delicious selection of menu offerings, including tastes and bites from the lunch, dinner, and to-go menus. There will also be a selection of wine, beer, and speciality cocktails for sale.
The grand opening celebration will feature music by David Kane and art installations by artist Max Collins. A visit to the Horsefeathers Market will provide a peek at how far along the rest of Horsefeathers Market and Residences is coming along.
Looking to try some eclectic cuisine in an inspirational setting? Come and raise a glass to one more incredible historic reuse project that shows progress and growth in a beloved neighborhood on the city’s West Side.
*Please take a minute and RSVP through their Facebook invitation page, if planning on attending the grand opening – it would be greatly appreciated for menu planning purposes.
Martin Cooks
Horsefeathers Market & Residences
346 Connecticut Street, Buffalo NY 14222
(716) 259-9306 | Restaurant landline, though no voicemail set up yet
(716) 713-1218 | Martin Cooks catering and voicemail