Cooking Season

On Friday, August 9, 2013, my daughter and I had lunch at Cooking Season, 2644 Valley Avenue in Winchester. This place had closed earlier this year and had just reopened on Monday, August 5, under new management and with a new menu featuring a mixed Asian cuisine; I suppose it could be classed as Fusion.

This restaurant's new owners had previously operated Hunan Express, a Chinese restaurant with a drive-up window, at 2441 Valley Avenue, and closed it for good on Sunday, August 4, 2013.

Cooking Season is open every day, and opens at 11:00 AM, Monday through Saturday, and at 12:00 PM on Sunday. It closes at 9:30 PM Monday-Thursday, 10:00 PM on Friday and Saturday, and at 9:00 PM on Sunday. A lunch buffet is available until 2:30 every day except Saturday.

Take out service is available; the phone number will be (540) 722-0488, which was previously used by Hunan Express. It was expected to become operational sometime next week, but Verizon seems to have had some problem in arranging the transfer.

Cooking Season has its own parking lot. The entrance is on the right side of the building, toward the back. As you enter, the hostess and cashier's station is on your immediate left. A sushi preparation area is in the center rear of the room. The floor plan is pretty much unchanged from its previous occupancy, with two dining areas.

The entry area has booths along the wall to your left and also along both sides of a divider in the center of this room. The far wall has no seating because this is the location of the buffet table. The other dining area is in the front and is separated from the entry area by a wall with two openings. Seating here is a combination of booths and tables; some of these can seat eight.

The menu's main headings are Appetizers, Soup, Vegetable, Pork, Chicken, Beef, Seafood, Fried Rice, Lo Mein or Mei Fun, Chow Mein, Egg Foo Young, Chef's Special, Special Combination Platters, Asian Specialties, Japanese Maki, and Chef's Special Rolls. Each of these categories had a variety of selections.

My daughter and I elected to try the $5.99 buffet on this visit. I ordered hot tea; although it was not served in a teapot, the cup of hot water was not foam plastic, but a solid, ceramic cup with a saucer. The teabag held black tea. My daughter had water for her beverage.

The buffet table was divided into two sections. One has appetizers, salads, and desserts, along with two kinds of sushi. The other has hot foods, mostly stir-fried; these included meats such as chicken, beef, pork, and shrimp, served in various ways with vegetables. Some items were obviously deep-fried, such as crab Rangoon.

My daughter commented that the buffet items were somewhat greasy. I concur, and believe that ordinary vegetable oil may have been used, instead of something lighter, such as sesame seed oil. The next time I visit Cooking Season I plan to order from the menu before rendering a final decision about the food.

The place was surprisingly busy, despite have been open for less than a week. A majority of the patrons apparently had been customers of Hunan Express, and were warmly greeted by the staff.

This location was originally home to a restaurant called Passage to India, which operated for a number of years; my first meal there was in July, 2001. In October 2010 it was taken over by new owners who called it Angeethi Authentic Indian Cuisine. That folded in less than a year, and the premises were next used by the original Cooking Season in May of 2012.