Restaurant Reviews

Ever since I heard about Red Rooster’s Sweet Potato doughnuts, I knew that this new Harlem restaurant was on my list to enjoy. In typical Shelley fashion, I scoured google for their menu and reviews.  It looked like my type of restaurant, a potpourri of all that the Ethiopian born, Swedish raised Marcus Samuelson could create.  So of course when a friend offered to take me to dinner (my choice), Red Rooster was at the top of my list.

I was instantly turned on by their Mac & Greens, a meld of Gouda and comte cheese baked with fresh greens.  That sounded splendid, however I’m still to be the judge of that as I didn’t get a chance to taste it. The lady next to me ordered it, and it struck me as a light pasta dish, much like an alfredo cheese sauce and wilted greens, with melted cheese on top.  Womp, womp. I like mine Southern style, baked with cheese oozing from the sides.

So after perusing the menu, I decided to start with cornbread served with honey butter and tomato jam.  The honey butter was an easy sell, because I used to make honey butter as a child. There’s nothing like it on hot biscuits in the morning! The tomato jam, tasted more like homemade tomato soup which I would have savored warm by itself.

I love how the cornbread reminds me of pound cake!

The first course was so satisfying that I literally could have eaten this and stopped.  Psyche! But it really was delicious, it reminded me of two of my favorite things :cake and bread with fresh butter.  I was feeling light and wanted something to compliment the mood.  I zoned in on their Chickpea Dumplings served with fresh peas, lightly stewed tomatoes, wilted spinach, shaved asparagus, currants and farm cheese.  It was like Italian gnocchi met the Moroccan spice isle!

My friend who was a little more skeptical wasn’t sure what to order, so of course he turned to me for help.  Curious about the lemon dill slaw that came with the Blackened Catfish and Black Eye Peas, I was pleased and ready to sample when his plate arrived.

We were too full for dessert, but I did get a chance to witness the Sweet Potato Doughnuts live and direct with their oozing sweet potato puree center. The table next to us ordered them and I was instantly inspired to create my own batter.  Although I haven’t put my skills to the test, between my sweet potato pancakes and sweet potato bread pudding, I think I can handle it. Since Marcus was readily available that night, speaking with patrons, I should have asked him for his secret during our brief encounter.

So clearly, you’ve seen that the food is nothing to play with, but even if you just want to drink in one of the swankiest places in Harlem, the decor at Red Rooster evokes comfort and class in one fell swoop of red, black and white.

The mini market in front of Red Rooster

Our table is empty now, dinner was on point. It's ready for you now.

You know how much I love to talk.  Anyone who has spent enough time with me has inevitably endured one of my passionate play by plays of some meal that rocked my soul.

This Sunday my friends, I bring you the brunch of Brunches honey!  Four Seasons Hotel treated me and my Spelman Sister / Foodie Friend Andrea (@atlfoodwriter) to one of the most heavenly 3 hours of our lives.

In this rare case, I can show you better than I can tell you! Allow me….

Warning: Staring at these pictures, may cause stomach grumbling, mouth salivating, phone dialing, reservation making, car starting, Four Seasons arriving for brunch….#imjustsayin

This is what the Obama’s must feel every time they enter a restaurant.  Or perhaps the cast of Cheers where everybody knows your name!  The minute I walked in, everyone….and I mean EVERYONE called me Mrs. Chapman (how lovely).  I was seated with my girl and we feasted our eyes on the menu.

The waitress then inspired our drink orders by telling us the Special of the day was a fresh Cantaloupe Apple medley. Sold!  The best part, they kept our glasses full without us ever having to ask.

We decided on the buffet and paced ourselves.  I mean, where does one start with 9 different stations to satisfy your palates desires?  I chose my sweet tooth and indulged on a glazed waffle with berries.  I dubbed them with my (Sir Lancelot sword) aka knife Waffle Doughnuts!

Slow and steady wins the race.  I only had one of those babies but I needed to plan my love fest on the rest.  Next I opted for savory.  The crepe station was near and the crepe man confessed his love for my natural hair.  One crepe was coming right up.

Goat Cheese Green Onion Mushroom Crepe

Andrea returned with a seafood platter that made me drool.  The crepe was tasty but I didn’t finish it.  Again, slow and steady wins the race.  We took a detour and one of our hosts gave us a personal guided tour of their edible shop.  I marveled at their pickled okra, spiced pecans and Salted Honey Caramels which they leave on their guests pillows!  AND they source the honey right from their rooftop! That’s right, they have their own beehive y’all!  Talk about local and sustainable.  I love Park 75 at Four Seasons Hotel!

Finally it was time for Round 3.  I was proud of myself at this point, pacing and portioning was the name of the game.  On to the seafood! Their Crab Macaroni & Cheese is to LIVE FOR!  If not for anything else, make sure you take your next breaths for this dish!

Crab Shooter, Crab Mac & Cheese, Stuffed Clams, Crab Stuffed Mushrooms

Admittedly, I took a long break after this round. Unlike other popular Atlanta brunch spots, the staff at Park 75 isn’t in a rush to seat as many tables as possible.  We had our food and conversation to indulge in, time to let it nourish our souls and bellies and an incredible wait staff to serve our desires.  It doesn’t get much better than this!  Next was the Omelette Station with every filling in the book served alongside your choice of cured bacon, fresh sausage, grits, pulled pork, hash browns and biscuits that melted..Mmmmm.  I prefer scrambled eggs and the chef obliged while Andrea had a Smoked Salmon Benedict.

Smoked salmon benedict

Omelette Station at Park 75- Four Seasons Hotel Atlanta

Wowzers! Can I tell you how much I love my job!  My mom always said I would be a traveling food writer.  I never took her seriously.  I’d wonder, who gets paid to travel and eat?  Now I know. I do Thanks Mom for speaking it into existence before I really knew.  Next was the Salad Bar which really was a pimped out Exotic Vegetable Station that would turn anyone into a vegetarian!  Their purple potato salad was just one Ridiculous OMG! Whaaaaat!?!?!? Let it be known that if there was a Noah’s Ark Pt. 2, I would ensure that purple potatoes and the chef who made this are on board!

Purple Potato Salad from The Pimped out Salad Bar at Park 75

I remember the first time I heard of Lox…it was a hip hop group from New York with one of my faves JadaKiss. While this may make you dance it’s no song.  A NY Breakfast staple of bagels, cream cheese, red onion, tomato if you like and smoked salmon or other smoked fish.  Yummmm! This was Round??? Wait what number are we on?

Lox Bagel

Lox Bagel Bar at Park 75

At this point, my mantra of slow and steady wins the race is out the door.  I am FULL! I hadn’t even touched the dessert and you know my sweet tooth was yearning.  I barely even finished all the food that I had before, nibbling here, noshing there and only devouring it if it truly spoke to my heart. So I made a pact with myself.  One more Waffle Doughnut for the road because those proved themselves to be necessary in life and a smorgasbord of desserts to taste.  Bam! That’s how you handle Park 75 Brunch!

Waffle Doughnut with caramel, chocolate and whipped cream

Caramel Flan, Chocolate Cheesecake, Chocolate, Peanut Butter & Passion Fruit Mousse Cones and Berry Custard Tarts

Go ahead and click here for your all access pass to Park 75 Brunch.

Last night I got to kick it with some of my favorite foodies|chefs|restaurateurs in DUMBO, Brooklyn at BrooklynExposed.com : Tasting Brooklyn Event.  I couldn’t even wait to write about it, so I taped a quick video so you could see the Yumminess that occured.  I also thought it only responsible to post some of the pics that didn’t quite make my Top 10 List in the video.  After all, I wouldn’t deny you the opportunity to drool

 

Cappucino Cupcakes.

Duck Okra Gumbo from Tchoup Soup

Ayala Herbal Waters : Lemongrass, Mint Vanilla | Lavender Mint | Cinnamon Orange Peel | Ginger Lemon Peel

Gnocchi a la Bolognese from Osteria Il Paiolo

Chocolate Cupcakes

Crab Cakes from Fairway Market

Chocolate Caramel Corn

Chicken Rollatini with Carrots & Broccoli (Chinese | Italian Fusion)

Described as the place to be for Locavores, Flexitarians (that’s me shawty!), Vegetarians, Vegans or anyone who wants to eat less meat, the NYC Veggie Food Fest was filled with foodies in search of pure, unadulterated deliciousness. I’m sure they found it.

The Altman Building was home to numerous vendors, yummy samples, special performers and guest speakers and some thousands of festival-goers who stood in line for estimated times of an hour or more to taste and see the goodness of plant based eating! Give thanks for VIP, we zipped right in and began our tasty adventure.

One of my first introductions to vegetarianism was in Boston in 2004 at their Vegetarian Food Festival and I remember being in awe that “meatless” dishes could actually satisfy. The NYC Vegetarian Food Fest featured some of THE best empanadas I’ve ever tasted. Seriously people, they rivaled the ones I ate daily for my summer study abroad in Dominican Republic.

I don’t think I’ve ever spilled the beans on my fetish for Macaroni & Cheese, especially the kind with a minimum of three cheeses because vegan cheese rarely makes the cut. Nevertheless, I managed to be converted to this “Mac & Cheese” feature with buffalo chicken, bread crumbs and fresh herbs by The Loving Hut! What!? That = God, total #winning situation.

Now you do know of my passion for vegan baked goods, I feature them all the time here. Liz Lovely sampled a snickerdoodle cookie that could take American Cookie Co. down any day. It was a total close your eyes and moan type of moment. Yummmmm!!! Oh and then there was this protein bar handcrafted by Simply Bar, which was right on time since I’ve been integrating vegan sources of protein (like spirulina) into my diet.  Not to mention that the owner rocks and gifted me two samples! I <3 Simply Bar!

I could go on and on, but I think I’ll let my assistant Nikonisha do the rest of the talking. Enjoy

1st Annual New York Vegetarian Festival

Wheat Free, Gluten Free Crackers

Sheefa Salad Sprinkles

Coconut Bliss Ice Cream

Plantain, black bean, cilantro vegan empanada from V-Spot in Park Slope, Brooklyn

Menu from IEatGrass.com by Ayinde. The Mac & Yease left much to be desired but the mock tuna was cool.

Nuff said.

Self-watering herb garden. My green thumb is missing, so this would really help a sistah out!

Loved the names of the pickled veggies from Ricks Picks.

O-M-G! Their Mediterranean salad dressing was the BUSINESS! I bought a bottle and had salad for 4 days JUST so I could use this dressing. Needless to say it's finished and the sellers are only online. Pity. I'd totally make a weekly grocery store run for this if it was available.

I've never been a huge marshmallow fan, but I think it's cool to have vegan marshmallows for those who don't enjoy the pig variety

I normally don't do protein bars, but these rocked my LIFE! I really enjoyed their lemon coconut and cacao coffee!

The name alone was photo worthy.

The line was incredibly long for their nachos and grilled cheese, so I passed. I've yet to find a vegan cheese that tastes like the real thing. As much as I dig vegan food, there really is no stand in for Gouda, Havarti and Feta. #imjustsaying

I just knew that this was gonna rock my life. After my experience with cassava cake in Brasil, I was ready! Not even my tastebuds were slightly amused. #fail

Fruit uncensored

Pity I didn't get the name of the company, this would come in useful when I need vegan "milk" chocolate and white chocolate

Necessary.

Awwww, of course you're not sweetie!

Cocoa Tea

Tofu Mafia! Watch out now

You all know how I feel about brownies! I mean the fact that chocolate can be molten and made to create orgasms in your mouth is an absolute GIFT people! There is nothing and I mean nothing that can top chocolate!

UNLESS……………

you take a buffet, place it in the beautiful Four Seasons hotel, promote it with the dynamic team of M-Squared PR, drape it with beautiful linen, fill it with a plethora of chocolate inspired desserts who’s only aim is to take your palate on a journey beyond heaven and surround it with dim light so that the experience is just you and Chocolate.

Yeah, the Celebrity Chocolate Buffet is the only thing that can top chocolate. I mean truthfully, it’s a good thing that this event only happens once a year. Because if it was year round, my man and I would have an issue. #cheatingonmymanwithchocolate

By the way, don’t feel bad that you missed this because there’s always edible goodness in store.  Be sure to indulge in Hotel Restaurant Week, April 2-9. Until then, allow me and my camera to share the decadence that entertained my soul’s palate for 2.5 hours.

*Note- I had an incredible slide show on Cincopa and then they stopped working and lost my images.  I won’t be using them again! THEN, in a web domain change, IX Web Hosting lost 1/2 of my images so I’ve been manually been updating each post.  It is now July and I have no idea what I was eating back in March during this post. Please excuse the lack of descriptions but do enjoy the yummy pictures that I luckily had saved on my Mac

Me and my fellow foodie/Spelman sister Andrea Irvin. Tweet her @atlfoodwriter. I asked Sir Shakey Hands to take our picture, please don't get to dizzy while viewing

The chocolate waffle bar was sheer decadence!

Melissa Carter of Q100, the celebrity host and Andrea @atlfoodwriter

Clockwise- Some chocolate ginger goodness, Gold Specked chocolate dessert, whoknows? chocolate something and Peanut butter brownie.

Clockwise- I remember this green white chocolate mousse being the MOST divine!, a white chocolate cake pop, mint chocolate macaroon and white chocolate raspberry mousse tart.

Clockwise- I forgot, I forgot, Chocolate cake pop and Chocolate Caramel popcorn.