A Year and a Half Later, You Miss The Cookhouse in New Milford?

I heard someone say "Tombo-Combo" for the first time in over 18 months the other day, and hearing that beautiful menu item one more time made me hungry and sad at the same time, that's tough to do.

Not familiar with the phrase Tombo-Combo? You never ate at The Cookhouse in New Milford. Are you getting nostalgic for that wonderfully-smelling business yet? Oh man, I am, and when I heard my buddy say my former favorite, from one of my former favorite places in the world, it hurt.

It was just before the Holiday season 2023 that we heard rumors from the community in New Milford that The Cookhouse, a 25 year BBQ joint institution that was located along Danbury Road (Rt. 7) in New Milford, was permanently closing their doors. For those with short memory, or weren't around for the glory days of that restaurant, The Cookhouse was one of the only true slow-smoked BBQ restaurants in the greater Danbury area in it's youth. Over the years, Texas and Carolina-style BBQ joints, like The Cue, Hoodoo Brown, and RW's in Brookfield (Remember them?), slowly ate away at The Cookhouse's market share.

Maybe it was the attention to detail, or the Cookhouse menu didn't evolve, or just got stale, but The Cookhouse closed for good on January 2, 2023.

It's not that New Milford was left without a BBQ restaurant, The Cue is open on Bank Street, and it's very, very good. I guess I miss the Cookhouse's location too? I'm surprised that almost 18 months after closing, no one has taken a chance on 31 Danbury Road yet. I'll bet that even a year and a half later, you can still smell those ribs inside the place.