Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: You know Harlem ain't hood no more when Martha Stewart rolls up to the Red Rooster.
The first time I went to Harlem was back in senior year of college and it was during NJ free transit week. My roommate and I were watching The Food Network and something about Chicken and Waffles came on. We both never had Chicken and Waffles and not having real responsibilities, in the middle of the week at 9 at night we decided to go on an adventure and get Chicken and Waffles at Amy Ruth’s. Imagine two Asian kids venturing into Harlem and we were by far the whitest people in the restaurant and the 116th street stop. Harlem still had that aurora of being “hood” and not the best place for 2 Asian kids to be venturing into late at night. Couple of chicken and waffles and years later, I headed back to Harlem to try out Marcus Samuelsson’s Red Rooster to find that there was actual white people there, a lot of them and when Martha Stewart rolls up, this officially marks (for me at least) Harlem as changed. Although she does not have any street cred, going to jail does not count (she went to like safe white collar jail!) she does walk in with a whole lot of swagger!
Marcus Samuelsson is like the culinary equivalent of Justin Bieber minus the underage fans, being Canadian and not looking like a pre-pubescent lesbian (I also believe that there is not disease or a fever that can be attributed to Marcus, but this cannot be confirmed). It comes to no surprise that Red Rooster, his newest venture has gotten a lot of buzz and everyone is heading way uptown to try it out. The food at Red Rooster is a copy of Samuelsson in which it has North African (he is Ethiopian), Swedish (adopted by Swedes) influences and southern comfort food (he is in Harlem). Given that our fair President just dined at this establishment a couple of days ago with guest for a dinner costing about 30,000 big ones, I ventured out here to see what 30,000 dollars looked like and tasted like.
I do not usually go into the whole décor and vibe of the place but it is worth noting at Red Rooster. The restaurant fits right into the neighborhood like a snuggie on a cat lady. It feels as if the restaurant has been there just as long as Sylvia’s, which a couple of doors down from the Red Rooster. The dining room is a bit small but the high ceilings and open kitchen neutralized the tight feeling and the art and the graffiti on the walls made it feel sheek and modern without overwhelming you or feeling that you left your shutter shades at home. The crowd is worth noting and it felt like that the people eating here got lost on the way to a Danny Meyers restaurant.
Food After the Jump!
