Harlem may sometimes seem out of the way, but it’s definitely worth the trip to Red Rooster, especially this time of year. The outside of the restaurant is covered in Christmas lights in December, giving it some holiday cheer. The décor on the inside is difficult to beat, with photos and fun objects covering the walls. I was a big fan of the large glass wall filled with shelves of glasses and wine bottles at the back of the bar, and had trouble looking away. Rather than the fried chicken, which Red Rooster is known for, I went for the cornbread…and a lot of other food. 
While the only reservation we could get was at 9pm, we got there early and waited at the bar to enjoy a few cocktails and get our cornbread as soon as possible. The plate arrived with two pieces of thick cornbread, each resembling slices of pound cake, and honey butter and tomato jam. The cornbread was crazy delicious, moist with real pieces of corn inside and the honey butter was incredibly tasty slathered on top. The tomato jam, albeit a bit sweet, also added a nice flavor to the bread.
The drink menu offered a variety of wines, beers, and cocktails. And the guys behind the bar know what they’re doing as they shake up those cocktails while they’re dancing. It happened to be DJ night, so there was fun, loud music playing in the bar area. I was also so intrigued by the interesting eclectic mix of people at the restaurant, standing by the bar and grooving to the tunes.
Once we were seated, we had already had time to peruse the menu carefully and went with a side of the mac and cheese (so cheesy delicious), side of the grilled broccolini. For my main course, I went with the catfish. Everything was fantastic and I was sufficiently stuffed at the end.
But, of course, there’s always room for dessert. The cake special of the night was a gingerbread cake with mocha buttercream frosting—definitely something to put you in the holiday spirit and disappeared pretty quickly off the plate.
And now I already can’t wait to return to Red Rooster to try more of the dishes, like the wings, and for more of that cornbread! It’s definitely a place to try. No matter what you order, you won’t be disappointed.
Finding delicious 