Red Rooster

I took a field trip to Harlem a few weeks ago for dinner at Red Rooster, and let me tell you, the neighborhood is not the place it used to be (sketchy). Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not going to go skipping around there at night twirling my pigtails or anything, but the place has changed a lot in the past few years (majorly gentrified).

Chef Marcus Samuelsson opened this place less than a year ago with the idea of melding his roots (Ethiopian), his upbringing (Swedish), and his current home (Harlem) into an affordable neighborhood dining destination. The idea is interesting, but the execution left me pretty disappointed (and if you scroll down to see what I made ordered for dinner you'll understand what I mean).

Corn bread, honey butter, and tomato jam. The salt-flecked corn bread was delicious and moist, and the honey butter made it that much more enjoyable. On the other hand, the tomato jam tasted like mild Pace salsa. Not good.

Two of my friends ordered the fried yard bird, with white mace gravy, hot sauce, and shake (some sort of seasoning blend). This is a terrible picture, but the portion was generous, the skin nice and crispy, and the hot sauce complex and full of heat.

Blackened catfish and black eyed peas with fried pickles and lemon dill slaw. I didn't taste this (I hate fish), but apparently it was so good that by the time I looked back up from my plate it was all gone! 

Yams and sweet potato puree with bacon, horseradish, and maple. We shared this as a table, but we didn't finish it. To me, that speaks volumes. The puree was just too soupy. We turned our attention to picking the crunchy bits off the top and pulling out the pieces of bacon that were folded into the puree.

And now for the picture I've been holding off on sharing because it is just too disgusting to look at. Chickpea dumplings, fresh cheese, spinach, and peas. This is what I made the mistake of ordering. I was so hungry and humiliated by my choice that I ate the entire thing. It tasted fine (even verging on flavorful), but it was almost entirely texture-less and every time I caught a glimpse of it I felt ill.

 

In a nutshell, I don't recommend the trek to Harlem for Red Rooster. I've heard they have great cocktails, but I couldn't justify spending $14 for a drink on a Monday night.