Streetbird in Harlem Delivers Delicious Soul Food and Unique Hip Hop Culture

With hip hop music blasting from a boom box, walls covered with colorful graffiti, and a pair of Converse sneakers hanging from the ceiling like a chandelier, Streetbird Rotisserie - the latest restaurant in Harlem by the famed Ethiopian-born, Swedish-raised chef Marcus Samuelsson - feels more like a museum than a restaurant. But this interior design, a unique homage to Harlem during the era of hip hop, is only the "first course" to an amazingly delicious experience you will have at Streetbird Rotisserie.


Specializing in soul food with an expansive menu that highlights the namesake bird, Streetbird whips out some of the best chicken dishes I have ever tried. The restaurant recently launched brunch - everyone's favorite meal of the week - all day on weekends. Who can say no to good ole' chicken and waffles for dinner on a Saturday night?


Don't expect the ordinary from Streetbird's Chicken & Waffles ($13.50). Instead of boring, flabby buttermilk waffles, you get delectable red velvet waffles with crispy edges and moist inside. On top of the waffles are two pieces of perfectly fried, tender chicken with pieces of scallion. Top it off with bourbon maple syrup, and you get all the flavors, from sweet to savory, as well as all the textures, from crispy to juicy, in each and every bite.


Streetbird's rotisserie chicken is everything you dream of. The chicken is seared slowly in heat to produce crispy skin, while sealing in the flavor and juice of the meat inside. The Half Bird & Stuff ($21) includes half chicken served on a platter with creamy mashed potato and Notti Greens, or roasted green beans with chili and peanuts.


For sides, I would recommend the Auntie's Cornbread ($5) and the Jack Fried Rice ($6). The two big pieces of corn bread are thick and dense with actual pieces of corn in the bread. The Jack Fried Rice, sauteed with kimchi, egg, and scallions, is seasoned nicely with slight kick of spiciness from the kimchi.


After feasting on the delicious food, be sure to walk around the restaurant to admire the arts by Harlem-based multimedia artists, including graffiti painting, colllage that depicts Harlems' street activities and artisitc culture, and black and white photographs of the Harlem community. Streetbird is a must visit restaurant - both for its amazing food and unique culture.