Red Rooster

125th Street in Harlem has long been known as the “main street” in Harlem. The legendary Apollo theater is located there and I haven’t been there since my friend and TWM commenter, Biff was in town back in 2010. It’s time for an overdue visit to look and explore around 125th Street in Harlem, so it’s uptown we go!

And here we are at 125th St. a.k.a. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard. Let's take a look around.

I don't get to Harlem much, that's one of the things I like about doing this blog. It forces me to get outside of my comfort zone and take a look at things and neighborhoods in New York I normally wouldn't take the time to go to. I've never really walked around 125th street and imagined it would have a lot of Harlem-flavored stores, mom and pop shops, soul food diners, but when I got here that wasn't the case. It's pretty much just one chain store after another. There's the odd wig shop and hair weave/braid salon, but outside of that, pretty much all gentrified chain stores. Pretty disappointing. I wanted to get a shot of the Apollo Theater sign, but decided that would be a better shot for the nighttime. So I needed to improvise and salvage this Harlem post. And my one rule of thumb when a blog gets stuck—get thee to a bar toot sweet! There's one restaurant/bar that opened up about a year ago called The Red Rooster on Lenox and the couple times I've tried to go to the bar it's been packed. It's just about 5:00 PM now, so let's ditch these chains on 125th street and check it out.

And here we are, The Red Rooster. Let's go see if there's a spot at the bar to sit and wash the memory of those chain stores away.

Look at this, plenty of seats available at the circular bar in the front room, let's go snag a stool.

And here's friendly bartender Virgil with a bottle of Red Stripe, things are looking up!

Cheers from the Red Rooster in Harlem.

There's a wall of bottles and glasses behind the bar, separating it from the dining room.

The bar has a wooden base and a shiny copper top.

Okay, some time has gone by, Virgil's day shift is over and as the early evening sets in, Santiago takes over at the bar.

As you can see, the bar is starting to fill up now. I'm glad I've got my seat all locked away!

There's a group of women down at the end of the bar that have been laughing, taking pictures and having a good time. I have a feeling they're visiting from out of town. Let's go say hi and see if I'm right.

And I was right! They're here all the way from the other side of the country, Los Angeles. They've all been to New York before, but this was their first time in the Red Rooster. From left: Renee, Monica, Alice and Jomel. A lovely group of pretty women!

Here's the dining room behind the bar. It's a spacious and open area.

Here's the kitchen in the back of the dining room. Looks like they're gearing up for a busy night.

When I return to the bar, it's all filled up, luckily I've still got my space. Here's a shot to my right...

And to my left. This is a popular place!

And now the lovely Tiffany has come on board to bartend. No offense to Virgil or Santiago, but she's definitely the prettiest of the trio of bartenders on duty tonight!

Okay, time for dinner, I need something to soak up the beers I've had or I won't make it out the door.

I got the Mac and Cheese which comes with a salad. It looks great!

The Mac and Cheese has collard greens in it which gives it a nice soul food touch. Really delicious!

Wow, that hit the spot! Sylvia's is still my favorite Harlem restaurant, but this ranks a close number two.

Ah, night has fallen and it's out the door we go!

The sign looks a lot better at night, all lit up.

Okay, time to go get that shot of the Apollo Theater sign.

Here's a painting on a roll down gate on 125th Street, sure beats a Dunkin' Donut sign!

And here's the Apollo Theater sign, all aglow. There's a sidewalk shed covering the lower portion of the sign, so I just took the neon portion.

And I thought this would be a fitting closing shot, a woman on the corner in a Statue of Liberty outfit! Goodnight and see you all tomorrow!

Further Reading: Wikipedia, New York Magazine and Harlem World (bad news in this link!)

There is a rose in Spanish Harlem.

Surprise link, click on it...I dare you!