Not every trip that Bridgeport’s Cody Thrasher makes abroad or across the country is to find new twists on old food or to even find new food items to offer at his business place at the White Oaks development. When Thrasher opened up “Cody’s,” he promised a menu that would be “far from different.”

 

To help on that end, Thrasher has traveled nationwide and beyond to live up to that promise. Two years ago, I told the story of Thrasher heading to first to Turkey and then to his ultimate destination of Bangkok and Southeast Asia on a quest for new and exotic foods and twists on foods.

 

Two years later, in January of this year to be exact, Thrasher made another trip. This one with his brothers and his mother that was supposed to be more about following his family’s heritage (where his grandfather was from) and having fun. Make no mistake, Cody Thrasher assured me the trip was a success on both of those fronts.

 

When you do what Thrasher does for a living and have a unique drive that seems to be a family trait that comes from both mom and dad, even when you’re having fun you’re also doing a little bit of business. In this case, Thrasher’s most recent venture to Ireland turned into the perfect trifecta of family history, family fun and culinary samplings that he plans on incorporating into his Bridgeport business and already has on some fronts.

 

It all started the first week of the New Year when his contingent flew into Belfast, Ireland with a flight from Pittsburgh to Chicago and directly to Europe. After a couple of days in Belfast, the group went to the Giant Causeway where Thrasher said things were so beautiful it nearly derailed any thought of business that may have entered his head.

 

“It’s a natural phenomenon where the rocks protrude out of the ocean and are shaped like perfect octagons,” said Thrasher. “It looked like someone stacked them by hand put them together along the coast. That was hard to leave.”

 

But the group left, and headed to Dublin. He was there for four days and then hoped on a flight and headed back to the states. He didn’t leave before successfully enjoying himself and getting a culinary tip or two similar to past excursions beyond the borders of West Virginia.

 

“The Southeast Asia trip was really all food and I’ve spent time, probably seven or eight months while in college, driving around the country sampling food and went into Canada,” said Thrasher, a 2005 Bridgeport High School graduate. “This trip was more like going into Egypt and Israel in my mid-teens where not everything was about food, but I sure did learn some things. I can assure you that I’m introducing some of the items already and will have more, particularly leading up to St. Patrick’s Day.”

 

Thrasher said the food was light years different from Southeast Asia, which he fully expected.

 

“The food there is not something you see and you think, ‘wow, this is out of control.’ Basically, you had a lot of potato dishes, cabbage stews and Guinness,” said Thrasher. “For whatever reason, the basics worked there and it worked in a really big way.”

 

There was one thing that took Thrasher completely aback. It’s something he would hope to eventually find a way to incorporate at his Bridgeport location and even see others do as well.

 

“The biggest thing was the culture of happy hour. It’s not like it is here. Every single bar, every single day, by 5:30 p.m. people are singing and dancing, playing fiddles and guitars. The place was alive,” he said. “The great thing was that no one was crazy or out of control, but you had every age range in these bars all over the place and people from different generations of the same families were celebrating and having a pint together before 5 p.m. and well after.

 

“The weight of the day, the weight of the world, melted off everyone when happy hour began. How do you emulate that? That’s something I hope to try and find a way to emulate here and I imagine I’m not the first person to see that,” he said. “We want that. We want to see people loving life like this. It was pouring rain in Belfast and there was nothing but smiles all around.”

 

The experience was unique enough that Cody and his brothers Austin and Kaelin would head out on afternoons to have a few drinks. They would venture up cobblestone streets and into old bars with cooper railings and huge booths.

 

“They looked like they had stood the test of time and will always stand the test of time,” said Thrasher, who was also joined on the trip and a few pub runs by his mother Lotus MacDowell.  

 

Don’t think for a moment that the entire trip centered on beer. Thrasher said he was able to eat fish and chips from the oldest place serving them in Dublin.

 

“It’s more than 212 years old and it’s nothing more than a 10-foot square shop to get them from. I’ve learned from that experience the way to make proper fish and chips (French fries),” said Thrasher.

 

Thrasher said he took a keen interest in the way potatoes were prepared and in particular the look and taste of the French fries. He said he learned new techniques on bangers and mash (sausage and mashed potatoes), and the importance on so many items of how to properly use butter and cheese.

 

“We’re going to make improvements and put twists on things and we’ll be using butter and cheese in new and creative ways in a lot of items,” he said. “We’re going to punch some new flavor into our Guinness stew as well.”

 

One thing Thrasher said he thinks he’s incorporated even before the trip was having his restaurant feel comfortable to those that enter. He said the experience was unique in Ireland.

 

“We would pony up to the bar and everything would get quiet for a while. After 30 seconds, it’s all good and everyone was happy to see you,” said Thrasher. “It was like one of those old 1980s movies where someone walks into a bar and everything comes to a screeching halt. The funny thing was how after a few seconds it changed and you were part of the crowd and welcomed.

 

“It’s amazing what you learn and see on these trips that you can incorporate,” Thrasher continued. “I don’t where my next trip is, but I’m sure I’ll be bringing something back to Bridgeport.”

 

And I’ll be there to taste it.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows Cody Thrasher at the bar inside of "Cody's" at White Oaks, while the second photo shows Thrasher in the middle at an authentic Irish pub with brothers Kaeilin on the left and Austin on the right. Third photo shows the oldest place to get fish and chips in Dublin, while Cody enjoys a beer with his mother Lotus MacDowell in the bottom picture. Bottom three photos courtesy of Cody Thrasher.