I loved Artisan, and was sad when it closed. However, life moves on and it was time to try Rooster, the new restaurant in its place. The interior has not changed that much, which I found comforting. The servers were extremely friendly. Rooster's menu is unique and has a large selection of bagels with house-made cream cheese and different kinds of smoked salmon. I went for the "Mentch" which was a bagel, cream cheese, and choice of smoked salmon. Served on a wooden tray, you assemble your creation yourself, which also comes with capers, red onions, and tomato slices. I'm not big on cream cheese, but the lemon dill version I chose was very flavourful. I had the lemon coriander gravlax, and fond the flavour to be a bit subtle, but enjoyable. Overall it was a good, light lunch and paired with a glass of freshly-squeezed orange juice, very satisfying.
On a lunch trip during the week I had the Rooster Benny. Thin slices of lemon coriander gravlax were artistically laid atop a perfectly medium poached egg, on a bagel with crispy breakfast potatoes on the side. I had the hollandaise to the side as well, into which I dipped a few potatoes. It was creamy and had a mild dill flavour with a hint of acidity. A very decadent dish.
