349 E 13th Street (near 1st Ave)
New York, NY 10003
212-533-6212
Rating: Addictive
Cuisine: American/Southern
Entree Price: $10-$22
Hours: Bar is open 4PM-2AM 7 days a week; dinner is served M-F 5:30PM-1AM
Most addictive dish: bacon peanut brittle
Review
Some people claim that the Redhead is a “Southern Cooking” restaurant, and since both grits and fried chicken are found on the menu it does get the good ‘ol boy nod. But after those familiar fixin’s, the menu evolves and does what I wish restaurants in Texas could have done in my small town – it realizes the potential that has rested in southern food since its inception and drags that heritage into 21st century New York in a space that is as cozy as a Crawford front porch with a distinctive east village worldliness. Yes, bar seating is plentiful here as are comfy velour banquets basked in that “yes we know what we’re doing” warm light.
Confirmed southerners know that everything is better with bacon (and The Redhead’s nod to this notion gives them even more Confederate cred), so you know you’re going to have to start with the bacon peanut brittle. It’s the perfect salty/sweet beginning, but you might want to ask for a toothpick. The grilled quail and fig salad is so yummo that even the most committed carnivores can love their greens, and their signature fried chicken with cornbread pudding is easily the best in the city (although it does seem a bit overpriced at $17). Most items on the menu embody the best that southern cuisine can be with few exceptions (the oyster stew just didn’t work). And the desserts, while not at the level of the mains, are solid and full of southern tastiness. The strawberry and rhubarb cobbler is the winner in my book.