Restaurant review. from the New York Times. 09-03-2011.

THERE were four elderly black women in hats at Red Rooster Harlem the other night, across the aisle from a group of white men who had come north to 125th Street by subway. Also present were a mixed-race family sharing apple pie, a stroller beside them; an Asian same-sex couple, drinking wine; and mixed-gender black couples eating Swedish meatballs. Above them all was a Philip Maysles painting depicting the artist Norman Rockwell staring into a mirror and painting a portrait of himself — as Ruby Bridges, the African-American girl who integrated an all-white elementary school in New Orleans in 1960.

The scene was unusual, notable, a view of a city many believe in and few ever see, at least in the presence of Caesar salads and steak frites. New Yorkers are accustomed to diversity on sidewalks and subways, in jury pools and in line at the bank. But in our restaurants, as in our churches and nightclubs, life is often more monochromatic.
Not so at Red Rooster Harlem, which the chef Marcus Samuelsson opened in December. The racial and ethnic variety in the vast bar and loft-like dining room are virtually unrivaled. The restaurant may not be the best to open in New York City this year (though the food is good). But it will surely be counted as among the most important. It is that rarest of cultural enterprises, one that supports not just the idea or promise of diversity, but diversity itself.

By SAM SIFTON

Published: March 8, 2011

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