A few weeks ago, I reviewed Asia Cuisine which has, arguably, the most extensive menu in downtown Ithaca. That gave me the idea to revisitThe Rook, which I hadn’t reviewed since July 2021 and which has, arguably, just the opposite:  the most limited menu in downtown Ithaca, to check out any changes that might have been made. 

There was, indeed, a significant change, and it was a big improvement.  In 2021 my opinion of the best “fried chicken” in Ithaca was served on paper in a wax paper lined cardboard container and I was offered plastic cutlery to work my way through it.  Now, all the food is served on proper crockery with real silverware. 

Did you notice I put the words “fried chicken” in quotation marks? That’s because it’s listed that way on the menu, however it has no resemblance to the usual fatty fried chickens served in so many restaurants. This half chicken ($22) is tasty, crunchy, juicy, and tender.  This finish is achieved by cooking the bird in liquid before adding just the right amount, and assortment, of herbs and spices before putting it in the fryer with some duck fat.  It leaves me with the impression that it was slowly baked or roasted, rather than being fried.  And speaking of slow cooking, the chicken comes atop some wonderful juicy, tender collard greens which, I was told in response to my query, are stewed for seven hours. The collards are cooked in the traditional southern style with ham hocks and their juices as well as garlic (just a hint) onions, (again just a hint), butter and salt and pepper. Collard Greens are also offered as a side dish ($7).I usually don’t buy collards for home cooking because I find them difficult to cook to a tender level.  At The Rook they are as tender as I’ve found in Ithaca. 

Regular readers of these reviews might remember that I set high expectations for restaurants that offer only a few entrées because staff can concentrate on purchasing, and using, a limited number of ingredients and seasonings for their main courses and should have mastered the art of almost perfect cooking of these limited items. 

I’m happy to say that The Rook lives up to those expectations. 

If you don’t count a cheeseburger as an entrée, there are only four on offer. One of the remaining three is Pork Schnitzel, ($23). It’s delivered to the table as an eight-inchslab of finelycrustedcornflake coatedpork loin topped with some house made spaetzle, diced mushrooms and a small mound of greens.  It’s one of the more tender pieces of pork I’ve had. 

The other two entrées are Salmon ($28) and Seasonal Pasta ($22). 

Two desserts ($8-$9), including chocolate mousse are on offer.  I once had the Cake Du Jour which was a mascarponecake with some red wine poached prunes inside and a bit of crème fraiche on top.  It was fine. 

The Rook is long and narrow and very noisy.The music is loud and reverberates against an unforgiving brick wall that runs the length of the restaurant. There is room for less than four dozen diners including eight seats at the bar and the restaurant usually fills by 6:30 PM. I hope when theymove, which is tentatively planned for late summer, staff will find a way to lower the noise level. 

Beverages: The wine menu at The Rook is as spare as it can be with only fouroptions, all of which ($11-$12 by the glass and $44-$48 for a bottle.) are inadequately described. There’s just one red, one white,one rose, and one sparkling. Names of the vintners and vintages are not supplied.  All we are told are countries of origin: France, Spain, Hungary, and Italy respectively.  

I once had a can of their cider, Farm Flor, ($8) which came from Newbury, NY andwas sugar free so was quite dry, which I like. There are seven beers on offer, none of which were familiar to me, and ten cocktails.  

If you go out for dinner and choose a restaurant for food quality, and don’t mind a limited number of offerings and a lot of noise, I think you’ll really enjoy The Rook. And I don’t know of a better “fried chicken” or pork schnitzel anywhere.  

Tid Bit: Parking on the street