BADABOOM — Restaurant in New York

The beautiful thing about life is you can learn something everyday. I, for example, never would have thought orange wine and rotisserie chicken would pair so well together until I came to Badaboom.

I made the push to Bed Stuy to meet Ryan from the Supervinobros on Instagram, as we bonded online over our respective niches of rotisserie chicken and wine. What a crazy sentence to type.

We clicked right away, and began chopping it up about what a crazy place the internet is. As we were having a bro-down and becoming real life friends as opposed to just internet friends, my heart sank as I scanned the menu and saw the prices. A half roasted chicken with potatoes was $32, and a whole one was $58. $58 for a whole bird!?!?!?!! That’s the most expensive one I’ve ever seen.

I immediately turned to him and whispered, “Bro I hate to be this guy and I know this is your spot, but $58 for a chicken is CRAZY. I don’t have to make a video because if I do I have to mention the price…” He said “Nah do it, at the end of the day they price it like this, so they have to be comfortable with people knowing.” Respect.

Once my heart stopped racing, we took a look at the rest of the menu and the wine list. The wine list was his realm, and he began selling me on this orange wine that would pair well with the chicken. In the most confident tone he began describing the wine: “It’s from this north eastern Italian region that borders Slovenia that is one of the cradles of the natural wine movement and they ferment the grapes this certain way because” yadda yadda yadda. I tried to keep up, but it was a different language to me. It was like Neil deGrasse Tyson explaining astrophysics to a 5th grader.

After he finished his dissertation, I said “Yup that sounds great!” We settled on a whole chicken w/ potatoes ($58), roasted carrots ($14), and Asparagus ($16).

Once I got past the sticker shock, this chicken was pretty damn good. Oddly enough, in my quest to find the best chicken in New York City I haven’t hit many French restaurants, which is ironic because France is the birthplace of the Tissi.

This chicken was absolutely delectable. It was a light, herb-based seasoning with a subtle buttery flavor. It was cooked perfectly, with even the breast being extremely tender. I’ve found a tender breast harder to find than one of the Legendary Pokemon. The wine paired so well with it too. I can’t say it was worth $58, but there is no bird on the planet I’d pay that for.

The potatoes were also phenomenal, as they sit under the chicken in the rotisserie oven and collect all the juices falling off.

All in all, I’m thankful for this experience. We need to add this duo to the greats: Shrek and Donkey, Kobe and Shaq, Danson and Highsmith, and orange wine and rotisserie chicken.

IG...

Long but I hope helpful review ahead...

I was excited to try this new restaurant in the neighborhood as there are very limited options for dining, almost none really. The bright blue exterior and warm lighting was very inviting every time I passed by. Decided to go in for a solo weeknight dinner with the hopes this would be come my "spot", a go to for a weekly, if not more often, dinner. Having dined there, I don't think that will be the case. Here's why...

FOOD: Clearly the roast chicken is the star of the menu -- the restaurant calls itself a "French chicken rotisserie restaurant serving bistro bangers" on IG after all. I didn't go for the chicken because I was solo and the only options are whole or half. Instead I opted for the steak frites, indeed a "bistro banger" and one I've had many times all over the world. It was mid. Nothing remarkable whatsoever. Flavor of the steak was minimal, fries were alright. 2/5 I also ordered the Leafy Green Salad, which is your typical lettuce/frisee combo tossed with a light, salty dressing. Made for sharing but I thought it was the best thing I was served so I ate it up. Nothing special, but a solid salad. 4/5 Overall this is a small menu and that should mean each dish is thoughtfully selected and prepared. Based on my one visit, I didn't think they quite nailed the food. Another strike, there aren't good options for solo diners.

WINE: I love orange wine so was pleased to see a glass offering on the menu. I ordered the Barbichette which was tasty and well chilled. Nothing bad to say about it. 5/5

SERVICE: As a solo diner I don't expect much nor do I need much. I ordered quickly, ate and scrolled my phone. I was checked on several times by two different servers. I did notice however that other diners, groups of two or more, were greeted with more enthusiasm. They were talked to about the menu and wines, chatted up, intro'd to the restaurant. I didn't get any of that so it felt more of an afterthought. 3/5

COST: This by far is the main factor in my not making this "my place". I'm sure the restaurant is pricing their menu as they think appropriate but this is definitely way out of place for the neighborhood. I'm a high-earning individual but even I won't sustain a $75 (pre-tip) weeknight dinner for one on any regular cadence, especially not for food I found to be just alright. This is such a glaring gentrification indicator. 1/5

I may return with a friend or two to try the chicken and split some other dishes to really give it a chance but I'm not as gung ho about it as I was before. The place was quite full the night I went and always looks bustling in passing so I'm sure they're doing well, I just don't know how sustainable it is, particularly to the neighborhood in...

Good food. Bad service. The hostess needs more training. The highlights:

Asked hostess to move us to another table because I was under a fan and in front of the AC but was told by the hostess “all the tables are spoken for”…I wasn’t asking them to take a table offline…I was asking to be moved and the other tables were empty for the rest of our meal I asked the hostess who our server was only to be told “I need a minute” and she never came back; 15 to 20 min to meet our waiter and be offered water Forgot a side dish (hate when servers go off memory but can’t actually remember) Fish and chocolate mousse were excellent

I usually only leave good reviews because I’m a business owner myself, but this is the worst service I experienced in...