Red Rooster’s name honors the nearby legendary Harlem
speakeasy, where folk and jazz singers, authors, politicians, and other noteworthy
figures (such as Adam Clayton Powell Jr., Langston Hughes, Duke Ellington, and
Nat King Cole) would meet to enjoy music and drinks. The Red Rooster restaurant
is owned by award-winning chef and cookbook author Marcus Samuelsson, who was
the youngest chef to receive two three-star ratings from The New York Times
when he worked as Executive Chef at Aquavit (he left that restaurant in 2008). In
addition, Samuelsson won Top Chef Masters Season 2 and served as the guest chef
for the first State Dinner for President Obama. In addition to Red Rooster (and
Ginny’s Supper Club), the Samuelsson Restaurant Group currently owns Eatery
Social Taqueria (Sweden). Streetbird (Harlem), Bermuda (at the Hamilton
Princess), American Table (Lincoln Center and Stockholm), Marc Burger
(Chicago), Norda (in his adopted hometown of Gothenburg Sweden), and Kitchen
& Table (Sweden and Norway); Samuelsson also once operated New York restaurants
Riingo and Merkato (both of which are now closed), as well as C-House in
Chicago (also now closed). Marcus Samuelsson, who is Ethiopian-born but
Swedish-raised, opened Red Rooster in September of 2010.
On the Sunday afternoon that we visited, Red Rooster featured
a DJ; the music was a bit loud (because we sat in the bar area quite near him),
but the music gave the restaurant a good vibe. Décor includes vintage hats,
shoes, and clothing currently from Old Hollywood actress Lana Turner’s
collection; figurines, records, plates, books, and photos line the shelves around
the restaurant, along with local artwork. The front of the restaurant holds a
large horseshoe-shaped bar, as well as several high-top communal tables. The
rear of the main dining space features a semi-open kitchen, tables with
cane-backed chairs, and chalkboard-painted walls written with recipes and
food-related sketches. Outdoor sidewalk dining is available in the right weather.
In the front corner of the restaurant, guests can purchase simple food items
(including sandwiches, desserts, coffee, and cold beverages) and souvenirs (such
as cookbooks, T-shirts, and aprons) from an area called “The Nook”. Ginny’s
Supper Club is located in the basement of Red Rooster, and it offers a music
venue, private dining room (for up to 275 guests), and the location for a
“gospel brunch” with a soul food smorgasbord/buffet. The staff is dressed
stylishly and seems happy to be working there.
Red Rooster serves American comfort food. To start, we
shared the corn bread (served with sweet butter and a tomato jam) and the deviled
eggs (three halves set atop hummus to keep them in position and crowned with a thin slice of cured meat). For our entrees,
we shared the “yard bird” (two pieces of dark-meat chicken breaded and
deep-fried, served with mashed potatoes, collard greens, and pickles all set
atop a wooden cutting board), and the mac & greens (collard greens mixed
with tubular pasta and topped with cheese, served in a skillet set atop a wooden
cutting board along with a side of pickled vegetables and a small arugula salad
topped with a light vinaigrette and Parmesan cheese). All parts of the chicken
entrée were tasty, but we did not care for the mac and greens at all (it tasted
scorched, the taste of which must have come from the collard greens, which was
curious because we thought that the same greens on the chicken dish tasted
fine). Dessert was awesome: crème de coco (coconut panna cotta with mango
puree, toasted coconut, and tiny meringue disks for added crunch).
As fans of Marcus Samuelsson, we have wanted to dine at Red
Rooster for the past few years, but we never found ourselves in Harlem. We can
now say that we enjoyed a good brunch at Red Rooster!
