‘Next level’ comfort food: 5-time James Beard-nominated chef brings new concept to Boise

After countless hours fine-tuning recipes, Scott Crawford feels confident about everything on the menu at Crawford Cookshop, his newly opened Crave Delivery concept.

But if you politely beg for a specific recommendation? Something for a newbie from Boise?

The five-time James Beard Award nominee does not hesitate.

Meatloaf, Crawford says. Or chicken pot pie.

“Honestly,” he explains by phone, “I think everyone thinks that they’ve had good meatloaf or good chicken pot pie. I think they really need to try those comfort items at next level.”

Next-level comfort food. That’s the sweet spot for Crawford, who owns the highly regarded Crawford and Son restaurant in Raleigh, North Carolina, along with Jolie, a French bistro, next door.

He likes to describe the Cookshop, which opened May 14 at Crave, as Americana cuisine. That means it has freedom to execute various American styles, with a nod to Southern food.

“Taking things people are comfortable with,” he says, “and adding layers of nuance.”

Among those nuances? Special consideration to time spent in a box — the Crave Delivery model. Located at 2900 W. Excursion Blvd. in Meridian, Crave’s virtual kitchens concoct gourmet eats in a 15,000-square-foot facility designed for food to-go. There’s no on-site dining. Customers order using the Crave Delivery app. Drivers transport meals to Boise, Meridian, Eagle, Nampa, Caldwell, Kuna and Star.

Crawford is in the process of building a brick-and-mortar Crawford Cookshop in Clayton, North Carolina. It will include seated dining, but the menu still will focus on takeout. The concept was born in 2020, he says, as Crawford and Son adapted to the pandemic.

“We developed a whole menu around that,” Crawford explains. “What will travel, and what will be hot and moist and delicious. ... We put a lot of thought into it. We didn’t just put food in boxes. We were doing things like making short rib meatloaf and really beautiful potato puree. And mushroom ragout over the short rib instead of the typical ketchup glaze, with a really nice sauce reduction.

“That leaves your shop and gets to someone’s home and it’s hot, it doesn’t lose its moisture, and it’s comforting. It really resonated with people.”

Crawford and his kitchen team “geeked out” experimenting with entrees that would shine, he says, adding their own culinary flair.

Take the Cookshop’s Classic Chicken Pie ($17), for example. In a nod to the South, “instead of the traditional crust, we made the biscuit crust that you could put on top,” he says.

Then they simulated time in a car. “How long would it sit before the top part of the crust stays crispy, but the bottom part of the biscuit that’s sitting on top of the braised chicken part would soak up enough of that? You want it to soak up a little bit of that juice — which is about 15, 20 minutes. Which is exactly how long it took people to get home.”

“That’s when it’s perfect.”

The Crawford Cookshop menu at Crave is limited to a handful of options. Along with that chicken pie and the Short Rib Meatloaf ($16), there are two other main dishes: a Pimento Cheese Burger ($12) and Pacific Petrale Sole ($18).

“We’re also really good with salads,” Crawford says. He recommends the Grilled Asparagus and Strawberry Salad ($12). “They’re two things that are in season that are perfect right now.

“We’re also very seasonal. We’re already working on summer recipes.”

Part of launching comfort food into the stratosphere is using super-fresh ingredients, Crawford explains. “Fresh herbs. We love using fresh herbs, things that make the food pop. So it never falls flat.”

At Jolie, Crawford even has a rooftop herb garden. It’s a not-so-secret weapon that helps take dishes over the top.

“It’s really simple,” he admits with a laugh, “but it’s true. We go and clip ‘em in the morning.”

This story was originally published May 17, 2021 at 4:00 AM.