Even before winning last season’s “Top Chef Masters,” serving as guest chef at a White House state dinner, publishing cookbooks, and lending his face to a now-ubiquitous subway ad campaign, Marcus Samuelsson was a big deal. In 2001, the Ethiopian-born, Swedish-raised chef earned three stars from the Times for his highly refined, border-blurring cooking at Aquavit. At the time, he was the youngest to earn a three-spot, with William Grimes celebrating a “restlessly inventive” rising talent. So with the build-up to the opening of his new project Red Rooster—a 100-seat Nordic-soul spot in the chef’s backyard of 125th Street and Lenox Avenue—the expectations were high. No, the expectations were at the exosphere. —MR
Harlem rising
Samuelsson's arrival here jacks up Harlem's much-ballyhooed renaissance by, oh, a gazillion notches, bringing a bona fide culinary star to the nabe. I live in Harlem, and as any other local will tell you, there hasn't been this eye-popping a surge in high-profile openings in so short a time—one that's brought us a new bierhaus (Bier International), refined modern American bites (5 & Diamond) and even a fancy new location of an old fave (Dinosaur Bar-B-Que). During the course of several visits to Rooster, I've had freako "Twilight Zone"-y moments, wondering if I was indeed still in Harlem. For one thing, I don't remember ever having to make a reservation at a restaurant here. For another, we still had to wait another 20 minutes before finally bring seated. Samuelsson has that kind of a pull, and he's clearly turned Rooster into both a neighborhood spot and dining destination—during our second visit, Matt and I were seated next to a couple who schlepped all the way from Astoria, proudly proclaiming they were avowed fans of Samuelsson's cooking. —ALL
Good cop: Caesar salad, gravlax, duck liver pudding, meatballs, pulled pork
Not unexpected, Red Rooster shines brightest when the chef works within his Scandinavian comfort zone. A wonderfully salty red Caesar salad is named for its red lettuce leaves and shredded botarga (dried and cured tuna roe). A smoked fish duo (lox and lax) arrived with slightly pickled fennel and a port-wine mustard. One of our favorite dishes is called “Spiced Duck Liver Pudding” (talk about scaring your children). Flavorful slices of pastrami, a pudding of liver and almond flour, and pears soaked in white port all contrasted nicely. Swedish meatballs (marble-size and moist) were complemented by creamy mashed potatoes—we’re estimating a 50-50 starch-butter ratio—and red cabbage stewed with juniper. A pulled pork on toast worked well with charred pickled slaw. —MR
Bad cop: Corn bread, grits, lemon chicken, yard bird
There's an interesting schism going with Samuelsson's cooking at Rooster, and you can basically split the menu into two: refined upscale bites (aka the kind that flew so successfully at Aquavit) and relaxed comfort food (aka fried chicken). The problem with Rooster is that, on the whole, Samuelsson excels at the former and stumbles with the latter. Screwing up comfort food in Harlem? Tsk-tsk. Take the corn bread, for example, which was wildly inconsistent. On our first visit, it was a greasy affair that left an oily film on the plate; during a return trip, it was brittle and dried out. (The accompanying honey butter, though, was a delicious touch.) A bowl of grits was a mushy, watery affair—the grits themselves were drowned by a stew-y base of shrimp stock, with bobs of shrimp trapped like debris in a mudslide. A baked chicken came straight out of Rooster's beautiful metal hearth, but it left a noticeably greasy residue on the bed of couscous that sat beneath it—very unappetizing. But Rooster's biggest, and most egregious misstep, was its fried yard bird: On each occasion we stopped by, it was flavorless and overcooked to an unpleasant crisp. In an area teeming with, and proud of, its sterling fried chicken (Charles Gabriel, Amy Ruth's), it was a glaring boo-boo. —ALL
Bottom line
There's a wonderfully relaxed, convivial spirit at Red Rooster, which manages to hold on to its neighborhood vibe even as it's clearly become a dining destination to Samuelsson's traveling devotees. Just be sure to choose wisely: While Rooster flies when it comes to composed plates that belie Samuelsson's refined culinary pedigree, it also falters at the most basic kind of comfort food that should be a no-brainer for a restaurant staking its claim on a proud Harlem legacy. —ALL
Photo by Noah Fecks
Add a comment
Please log in to comment