After reading and commenting on each other's blogs for months, Colleen from What's Baking in the Barbershop?! and I figured out that we live relatively close and decided to get together for dinner. We chose to meet at Redd's in Rozzie, a small restaurant in Roslindale Village that neither of us had been to before. Part of what inspired me to go there was reading about Redd's commitment to being a responsible local business on its website. This means they work with local farms, brewers, fishermen, and bakeries; source food and wine that is seasonal and responsibly raised; use antibiotic- and hormone-free meats; and recycle and compost three-fourths of their waste. That sounded good to me and so did the menu.
As soon as Colleen and I walked in, the bartender greeted us and asked us if we needed a table. We were led through the bar area to the dining area. The bar definitely looks like a fun spot to hang out and watch a game; the dining area is a little brighter and very family-friendly. We also noticed a not-yet-open patio on the left side of the restaurant, which would be fun to check out when the weather warms up.
We ordered some drinks to get started. I went with the Gin Blossom, which is made with grapefruit cardamom gin, St-Germain, and bubbles. It was definitely my kind of drink. Colleen got Hoponius Union by Jack's Abby Brewing. The cocktail, beer, and wine lists are all really interesting (there's even a "Unique Wine" section).
Our waitress brought over some bread, which we snacked on while we waited for our appetizers. Redd's gets its breads from Fornax Bread Company (another Roslindale spot I need to check out), and we found them really tasty.
We shared some hushpuppies with sweet onion and bacon ragout. The crispy hushpuppies were delicious on their own but even better with generous spoonfuls of the flavorful ragout.
We also tried the crispy avocado with buttermilk dressing, which was just awesome. I loved the contrast between the crunchy fried battered outside and the soft creamy inside.
For dinner Colleen got the local grilled cheese, which is no ordinary grilled cheese sandwich. It comes with sharp cheddar, roasted sweet potato, pickled red onion, and spicy aioli. We both agreed that putting sweet potato on a grilled cheese isn't something we'd think to do, but she enjoyed it and thought the pickled onions added a lot of flavor too. She tried the buttermilk mashed potatoes on the side, which were super buttery, creamy, and indulgent.
I went with the real Lexington NC pulled pork sandwich, which was so big that despite my best efforts I couldn't finish it. The pulled pork comes piled high on a huge soft roll with a generous heap of slaw and some bbq sauce on the side, which tasted cider vinegar based. I kept pouring some over the pork as I tackled the sandwich.
And while I couldn't make it all the way through my sandwich, I can never say no to dessert, so we split the Taza chocolate tart. This takes 10 to 15 minutes to bake, so we were able to chat and take a break from eating before it arrived. The dessert consists of chocolate cake in a tart shell and comes out piping hot and topped with a scoop of mint ice cream. It's definitely decadent and definitely worth saving room for.
When our waitress brought our bill, it was accompanied by two small cookies. We forgot to ask what they were, but they tasted like peanut butter and lime to me, and somehow that combination of flavors worked (that may not be what they really were). The cookies were so soft and chewy too.
It was awesome to finally meet Colleen in person, and we liked the food, service, and atmosphere at Redd's so much that at the end of the meal we were both talking about going back and about how it's the type of place our husbands would enjoy too. I'm so happy to have found another great restaurant in my new neighborhood.
Have you been to any Roslindale restaurants?
