Tag Archives: hamburger

Red Rooster

18 Mar

We have been quite busy in the NomNom household recently!  We’ve spent basically every free hour these last few months looking for a place to buy in or near NYC.  It’s our first time venturing into home ownership, and it has been a trip.  We have been able to explore lots of new neighborhoods that we probably wouldn’t have gotten to otherwise, and we’re currently waiting on a returned contract on a place in Riverdale.  (Cross your fingers for us!)

One place that we knew we would get to eventually, but eventually just became further and further away, was Red Rooster in Harlem. So when we were up in the area scoping out apartments, we decided to make a same-day reservation.

Red Rooster was created by celebrity chef, Marcus Samuelsson, who we loved watching win on Top Chef Masters Season 2.  We had a pretty good meal at his older NYC restaurant, Aquavit Cafe, during Restaurant Week. I’ve also always meant to go back to try their main dining room at Aquavit.

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First, we enjoyed a Bourbon Negroni with fig and pear infused Bulleit bourbon with campari and sweet vermouth.  It was incredibly well balanced and went down far too easily.

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I really enjoyed the copper bar and salt & pepper shakers.

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I knew I would struggle with my peppers allergy here, but I was especially disappointed to learn that I couldn’t have the chicken and waffle app (which was highly recommended) because they used paprika as part of their dredging.  But the waiter came back and gave me awesome news that they could do it without. And boy was I glad that they could!

To add to the goodness of this crispy, salty, sweet, doughly, meaty dish, the maple syrup was made with bourbon and it comes with a side of chicken liver butter. And oh it was good!

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Mike got the triple-double burger which came with bacon, jarlsberg, and rooster sauce.

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Sure enough, it was a double decker burger and it was pretty damn awesome. I also really liked the fries. Even though they didn’t have that perfect golden color, they were memorably crispy.

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We split a side of the mac and cheese which came out still bubbling.  It was a great balance of mac to chee and had an ever so slightly crispy top.  Very good.

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I went with the oxtail pappardelle with red wine braised oxtail, lacinato kale, green garlic-san marzano, and aged pecorino.  This was so rich and so filled with flavor, with excellent fresh pasta and a lovely balance of fresh garlic.

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For dessert, we tried the orange and white chocolate mousse with citrus salad, crunchy meringue drops, and mint anglaise.  It was an absolutely excellent dessert with the perfect balance of creamy, tart, citrus, crunch, mint… really wonderful way to end the meal.

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The word of this meal was absolutely “balance.” There were expert hands that mixed those cocktails, came up with those recipes, and cooked all those dishes.  There were interesting flavors that were great on their own, but when brought together, were really fantastic.  It was great to be able to taste food from Marcus Samuellsen after watching him cook on TV for so long and we must go back, even without an excuse to be in Harlem.

Total Nom Points: 7.5 out of 10

Total Nom Points: 7.5 out of 10

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Restaurant Week Winter 2014: City Hall

8 Mar

For Restaurant Week Winter 2014, we made 3 reservations: City Hall on Duane Street near West Broadway, Butter Midtown on 45th St near 6th Ave, and Villard Michel Richard at Madison and 51st St.

Unfortunately, upon showing up at Butter Midtown, we found out that they do not participate in Restaurant Week on Sundays, which was disappointing since our last Butter Restaurant Week experience at the downtown restaurant (which is apparently closed now?) was so great.  (And it became even more disappointing after we actually ate there… more on that in a review coming soon).

So our first Restaurant Week experience wound up being at City Hall in TriBeCa with some old friends and new friends.

The dining room is set up nicely so there are a lot of tables but it still feels somehow private.  The building and space is quite beautiful with a very Old New York feeling. They even have a lot of old pictures of New York backlit around the top of the walls.

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We were given some some (pickled?) veggies (carrots, pickles, green tomatoes) upon seating.

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And they quickly took our orders, which most of us took from the Restaurant Week menu.

I went with the lamb chops with a mint chimichurri over kale. This was absolutely delicious, with great lamb flavor and a nice fresh mint and herb sauce.  Not much needed to make lamb taste great, but this was prepared very well. I was especially impressed that they were serving it for Restaurant Week.

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Someone also got the scallops, which they said were tasty but the portion was SUPER small with one miniature scallop on the plate and one reasonably sized one.

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Another friend got the salmon appetizer, which was a nice portion over a risotto that had squash in it. It was very nice.

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Another person in our party ordered off the regular menu and she got the local field greens salad, which they seemed to enjoy.

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Mike didn’t get the Restaurant Week menu either, but the chef didn’t want him to go without anything so they served him a very, very small amount of French Onion soup.  It was about 1/4 inch in a small bowl with a crouton in it. While I appreciated the gesture a lot, it was a bit.. odd.  Very little soup and no cheese.  They would have been better serving it in a very small shot glass or something of the sort, because it just seemed funny when it was barely a bite in a cup.

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We got a side of brussels sprouts off the menu that the entire table split when the entrees came out. They were caramelized and very, very tasty.

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Two of our friends go the fish, but I cannot recall exactly what it was (and sadly, them menu is no longer posted), but it certainly didn’t photograph well. Luckily, I think it tasted better than it photographed and they both ate it all up.

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I got the beef bourguignon over wide egg noodles.  The meat was fork tender and I enjoyed the dish, but I do with the sauce had a bit more punch to the flavor.

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The regular menu offered Calves Liver “Milk-Fed” with sauteed onions.  I certainly was tempted to try this myself, and then I forgot to ask for a bite when it came (damn) but she gobbled it up and seemed to enjoy it.

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Mike’s regular menu choice was  the burger. It was a big burger and Mike chose blue cheese, which he said was a bit overpowering.  It wasn’t anything too special but it was a decent burger.

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For dessert, I got the chocolate with raspberry.  I remember enjoying it but it wasn’t overly memorable or special. Just a nice end to a nice dinner.

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A few other desserts that were all tasty but nothing to write home about:

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Overall, City Hall was a very good place to have dinner and the Restaurant Week menu was very good.  I don’t know if I feel the need to run right back, but I would absolutely recommend it if someone is looking for a place to eat in TriBeCa.

Overall Nom Points: 7 out of 10

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Delmonico’s Kitchen in Midtown

12 Dec

The original Delmonico’s is a New York institution and has been around for nearly 200 years.  I’ve been reading a very interesting, but very long book, called Appetite City and they have an entire (very fascinating) chapter dedicated to the history of the restaurant. When Delmonico’s first opened, there weren’t fine dining options in the city.  People were fed what was being served at inns, rather than being able to order their own food. So two brothers came together to offer New York City diners a menu, tablecloths, and food from a real “chef.”  The restaurant is famous for inventing some dishes we still eat (and love) today, such as Eggs Benedict, Baked Alaska, and Lobster Newburg.

We ate at the original for Restaurant Week a few years ago, and we were a bit underwhelmed.

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About a year ago, they opened up a midtown location called Delmonico’s Kitchen, just a few short blocks from where we live. We had been meaning to try it for a long time, however, we finally got there a few weeks ago to check it out. The restaurant had about a 20 minute wait on this Friday night, but there were seats available at the bar with the full menu, so we went for it.

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The bread basket they served had a very nice selection, with a few warm items and pink salted butter.

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I went with the boneless slow cooked short ribs with “baby spinach, sweet potato hash, red wine natural.”  I love short ribs, however, I was shocked at just how big this cut of short rib was.  It was more like a big piece of brisket with the taste of succulent, sweet short ribs. I absolutely loved this dish.  I did the happy belly dance while taking down half of the portion (and sharing with Mike) and took the rest home for an amazing short rib and egg breakfast the next day.

The sauce was rich but not overpowering and the meat had a great flavor.  The hash underneath somehow didn’t get the least bit soggy and maintained all the great flavors of each veggie.  Really fantastic.

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Mike went with the DK Double Burger which was described as “Our prime burger blend continues the legacy that began in 1837 when America’s first hamburger was served at Delmonico’s.”  How can a burger lover such as Mike not try America’s first hamburger?

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And it was a doozy.  At least 6 inches stacked high.

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I had no idea how Mike would manage to take a bit out of this, but he prevailed!

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And it was a really fantastic burger.  With a stack that high, one might expect it would all become a scrambled mess, but instead the thin burger bun was a great conduit for the flavorful, well charred meat and the collection of cheese and burger toppings.  Great burger. And the fries were pretty damn good too.

By taking back leftovers, we scraped up enough room to try dessert.  It all sounded great, but Delmonico’s is known for their Baked Alaska, so we decided to try their midtown version.

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This was a beautiful piece of art.

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Lovely cherry and chocolate ice cream inside on a chocolate cake/crust base, covered in marshmallowy soft meringue and browned ever so slightly on the outside.

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A beautiful, tasty, and decadent dessert.  It felt special.

The whole meal really felt special.  Those short ribs were some of the best I’ve had and I am sure we will be returning with guests as the weather grows colder and we stay closer to home.  Glad to have this in the neighborhood.

Total Nom Points: 8.5 out of 10

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