After a long sleep we rose to head up to Harlem for the infamous Red Rooster Gospel Brunch. It was a nice day, so we decided to walk up through the Upper West side. The New York marathon was on so we had to take a route a couple of blocks west of the park, but it was a beautiful day for a walk. We wandered past the Lincoln Centre and up through the Upper West Side, briefly stopping to browse an antiques and vintage market. We were looking for coats – one for my bridesmaid and one for the groom – mine was sitting in the hotel room waiting to be hemmed.
As with many things in New York, the estimated time it would take to walk was underestimated by google maps – I suspect it probably works it out for New Yorkers who don’t always pay attention to the don’t walk signs. We had to hustle through Harlem in the end and we were about 15 minutes late but made it in time to get brunch before the performance started.
Ginny’s Supper Club, in the basement of Red Rooster felt just how it was supposed to feel like a 70s style club modelled on the speakeasys of the 30s. Buried away in the basement, the cavernous room, divided to include a private dining area if required, is decked out in maroon, red and wood with a wooden floor and bills from all the musical acts who’ve played plastered on the columns flanking the stage. It felt homey, it felt like New York, it felt like Harlem.
The Gospel brunch was a buffet style affair with the extensive menu laid out across the back of the room. We were seated right at the front near the stage and promptly offered drinks. Coffees were great and my bloody mary was excellent. Then it was time to head to the buffet. The only problem with buffets is that I basically want to try everything and then I look like a pig because my plate is so heavily laden. Dan is always more conservative, picking just the things he is really excited by but then he always goes back for at least seconds. So here goes with my overladen plate – tasty and juice fried yard bird (chicken) – hard to do both but Red Rooster succeeds, collard greens (great if they are done well and these were), Mac and Cheese (with collard greens – absolutely wonderful), scrumptious cornbread madeleine, waffle, brisket and a devilled egg. Don’t be turned off by the devilled egg. I have tried to make them before with an average result but these were sublime.
And then the centrepiece of the brunch – the gospel performance. The performance was led by two charismatic performers and a group of high school students form a performing arts program in Harlem. The program supports students from across New York state and surrounding areas to board and study at no cost to their family so they can soak up the spirit of the performing arts in Harlem and learn their craft. They were amazing, even if some were a little nervous. It was the perfect way to experience a gospel brunch – the voices of the future and the Harlem family behind Red Rooster are to be applauded for their commitment to the arts and the community, especially this project. Teaming up with infamous chef Marcus Samuelson has allowed them to highlight the talent in this gentrifying neighbourhood.
The performance was mostly contemporary music with a Christian bent and a few actual hymns thrown in – it included a cover of Purple Rain in tribute to Prince. It also included audience participation – This little Light of Mine is a familiar hymn to those who grew up in the 1980s and was often successfully sung in rounds. Here it was the subject of a traditional passing of the microphone. Dan got caught up in this with three lines of the song at the end. It was fun and fitted with the nature of the performance. The performance was amazing, the food was excellent, and the venue tied it altogether for the perfect Harlem neighbourhood feel. A perfect Sunday morning (even if I didn’t see anyone in a “church crown”.
After brunch, we decided to wander back through the park. It was a crisp clear autumn day and an enjoyable walk, except for when we pulled up alongside the marathon – Americans are really good at encouraging the runners but it is so loud! Not conducive to a leisurely stroll through the park at all. We left the park eventually and headed back towards our hotel to chill out before we headed out for the evening.
We had decided a trip to New York should involve a Broadway Show so we had chosen The Book of Mormon for a few reasons – it was created by the minds behind South Park and Team America, it was supposed to be funny, the songs would probably be funny too and it was totally irreverent. It turned out to be an excellent choice. Without wanting to include show spoilers in a travel blog let me just say this – it is all those things and more, filled with pop cultural references, irreverent dialogue and laugh out loud jokes, it was well worth the admission price. The theatre – the – is an old theatre and a tight squeeze. We were jammed in a couple of rows from the front, a process was needed for the toilets and bar at intermission and the orchestra (in this case band) pit was below the stage but all of that seemed insignificant. [That’s Entertainment – Billy Bragg – Billy still remains one of my favourite interviews. He was eloquent and thoughtful and what is on stage is what you get. A genuine musician, Not a rock star.]
Without time to get dinner before the show, we headed for the nearest diner. Our long walking excursion meant a sit-down meal was preferable to a street cart hotdog but the one we chose was a mistake. It wasn’t particularly cheap and the pizza was average and the mac and cheese virtually inedible. We were so tired by that stage, we just took a couple of bites and then headed back to the hotel to sleep.
Days to wedding – 4
