The Healthy Critic
Cowgirl Restaurant
By Joy Pape
THE LOCAL DINER and honky-tonk, Cowgirl General Store, is a friendly place where you can get anything you want (almost). Michelle welcomes customers in front of the Hudson Street corner. Photo credit: Brian J. Pape, AIA.
We just wanted to meet for brunch, but where? There were several of us who have different food needs, and didn’t want to spend a ‘fortune’ to get together.
The West Village is known for having so many restaurants. BUT there is an “elephant in the room” for those of us who have been around for a while. I confess, I miss the local affordable diners with many menu choices.
One of my favorites used to be “Good Stuff” on 14th Street. No matter what time of day, we could find what everyone in the group wanted and never feel like we overspent. We lost “Good Stuff” during COVID. I’ll never forget walking over there to meet our friends for brunch as we did for years. It was September 7, 2020. We got there, but the door was locked with a sign that read, “due to the obstacles of the COVID-19 Pandemic, we will be closing permanently.”
Then we found a local staple, The Cowgirl, at 519 Hudson St., where we could find choices at a decent price. Michelle, general manager and co-owner, acknowledges that it’s known as multigenerational, multicultural and accommodating to a variety of diners.If you want downhome regular food, high carb, low carb, vegetarian and/or vegan; all you have to do is ask.
My advice for healthy eating? Check out the menu before going. Decide what you want, how you want it prepared, and what substitutes you may want. Ask for blackened or grilled rather than fried, vegan/vegetarian options or substitutes such as side salad or vegetable.
In addition to the food, Cowgirl is a honky-tonk bar famous for its hand-crafted, secret recipe margaritas and monthly events. Emily Duff’s band plays original music at 6:30 pm on the third Monday of the month. For more original music and comedy, check out Rex and Tex’s Texas Open Mic, on the last Monday evening of the month. Hope to see you there!
Learn more at: cowgirlnyc.com
Joy Pape, FNP-C, CDCES, CFCN is a board-certified family nurse practitioner, Certified Diabetes Educator and Specialist in Weight Management & Obesity at Weill Cornell’s Comprehensive Weight Control Center and has a private practice in the West Village.
