Cozy kitchens are a dream to cook in. There’s no theme, rhythm, or flow to the design. Rather, plenty of heirlooms and trinkets of halcyon days adorn the walls and fridge. Tools, dried pantry items, and spices cover the countertops and fill the shelves ready to be played with at a moment’s notice. The kitchen appears to have already been through the wringer, which only means, its threshold of pain is limitless. Julie Powell is well aware. Her teeny Manhattan cozy kitchen handles the heat and churns and burns one of the best Julia Child themed dinner parties around.

She cranks out bruschetta, a reminder that says simple dishes are more times than not better than intricate ones. One bites into the toasted sliced bread with summertime tomatoes, basil, olive oil, garlic, and red wine vinegar and they want to stop right there. Is it the quality of the ingredients or the fact that cooking cozy meals from a cozy kitchen makes food tastes better? It adds a je ne sais quoi. Even if the cook cooking is in a bad mood, the kitchen’s good vibe will bring love into the food no matter what the result is.

Her caramelized onions in the French onion soup are sweet without every being bitter and the cheese melts just right.

Tender chunks of beef in her bourguignon mean she uses the right piece of chuck. Any fancy filet mignon would have resulted in shredded beef. 

The excessive puff pastry petals on top of the deboned duck in pastry are the coup de grace. A whole duck filled with stuffing around pastry dough. No restaurant menu in Manhattan serves this, so when someone takes the time to bring back a classic that hardly anyone ever attempted in the first place, they deserve congratulations no matter what.

Dessert is Bavarian cream and chocolate cream pie. The crust is crisp and flaky with the rich custard fillings.

The only complaint is with the lobster. Way too tough. Hopefully, next time when the cook kills the bug, they kill it without having it sense fear. Hovering the live scavenger over boiling water is never a good idea when trying to produce tender meat. One slip of a blade through its head. That’s all you need.