Red Cow Rochester — Restaurant in Rochester

I want to start this review by saying this review is based upon being glutened and nothing to do with customer service, atmosphere, etc. I had such high hopes for this place after I’ve read other reviews on the find me gluten free app, but I got severely glutened last night. 10/22. This specific location only had 2 reviews on the gf app and usually I won’t go anywhere unless there is several reviews but I decided to try because of the separate fryers. The customer service there is AMAZING and the server was extremely knowledgeable about Celiac Disease vs gluten sensitivity. I was ensured that they use separate fryers and they get new oil and ingredients. He also stated he marks it as a allergy in their system and the cooks will know it is for Celiac. My husband and I ordered the gluten free Buffalo Cauliflower which is breaded but it is supposed to be breaded with gluten free breading. We placed our order and I went to the bathroom to wash my hands right after and within 5 minutes our appetizer was sitting on our table. I immediately questioned if it was actually gluten free because for a gluten free appetizer to be cooked for Celiac that quickly just seemed odd to me. I was so nervous to eat it but decided to try because the waiter ensure me they took proper precautions. For main course I ordered the boneless wings which are listed as being gluten free but the bone in ones are not. I ordered the buffalo boneless wings and dry rub with a side of truffle fries. The boneless wings looked like they were gluten free and took time to come out. The breading looked very different on the wings vs the buffalo cauliflower. Our meals took about 15-20mins to come out which to me is a very fair wait time but the waiter apologized for it taking so long and he was going to comp one of our items. We had no problem waiting as we have waited way longer before for gluten free meals elsewhere. I felt much more at ease about eating the wings and fries. On the drive home which was about 20-30mins I started feeling off. Once I got home my heart started racing as it does with being glutened and I started getting nauseous. 10 minutes later I was violently ill. It took about 3 hours of constantly getting sick and severe stomach pain to be able to move back to my bed. I feel much better this AM but feel like I usually do after I’ve been glutened. I am a very sensitive Celiac so there was cross contamination somewhere or something was not completely gluten free. Needless to say I won’t go back which is unfortunate because the food tastes amazing, the customer service was amazing, everyone worked as a team and despite being insanely busy they were on top of things. I gave 2 stars for the customer...

The Red Cow is a nice modern style corner restaraunt that checks all of my boxes, albeit maybe a little too modern for my current state of techno-status. Haha.

Upon entering I was promptly greeted and asked for my seating preference. The table was in a plesant spot and offered a nice view outside. They do offer outdoor patio seating, but I'm not one to take advantage of that due to street noise. My host was polite and puntual with menus and flatware.

My server was also very polite and offered a variety of drinks, including still or sparkling water for the table. I also asked about the beer menu (insert struggle of not being up to date of technology) and was a little disappointed by it being only available via a QR code versus being in print. To be clear, my only reason for being a little disappointed is because my 6 year old phone does not play nicely with QR codes. After mentioning the above, my server understood by not missing a beat and asked what type of beer I normally drink. I told her what I like and she was able to offer a few suggestions, from that I chose a local pilsner brew.

Now for the food. As it was my first time here, I asked for a suggestion based on what the Red cow is known for. I chose 'The Blues' from their burger list because I really enjoy bleu cheese. I went with a medium-rare patty and truffle fries as my side. The thick hand formed patty was a perfect medium-rare doneness without looking greasy and was presented nicely on the plate. I was very impressed with the flavor of the combined bleu cheese and apricot jam. My first bite of the burger gave me all of the flavors evenly. in additon to the sweeter apricot jam, the buttery toasted bun was a fantastic subtle compliment.

The truffle fries were a perfectly appropriate side to go with this burger. Even though there is a small side dish of dip, I did not use much of it. This meal is what I would consider an "adult burger and fries". An elevated flavor take on the classic burger meal.

Both the burger and fries paired nicely with my chosen pilsner brew that was slightly more hoppy than the traditional.

All in all I would highly recommend the Red Cow to anyone looking for an elevated burger and...

I’ve eaten here a few times and have had decent outcomes. Tonight was a bit different. I just ordered a simple chicken tender basket with the Tennessee hot rub. Either I was fooled the past couple of times I ordered it, or tonight was an exception, but it was almost as if the lid fell off of the spice shaker and it just doused my chicken, because holy were these HEAVILY seasoned tonight. Now, I enjoy spice, but man this was a bit too much for probably anyone’s liking. I tried to get off what I could and still ate the rest, but it wasn’t as tasty as the previous times given the amount of seasoning. Just felt overpowered. I didn’t open to eat it until getting home, so I wasn’t about to turn around and head back for a remake.

Second, I’m not even sure how legal a practice like this is, but if you pay in cash, even if you give them exact change, they still round up to the nearest dollar? My total came to like $17.56, and I handed them a $20 and $0.60, expecting to get $3 back. Instead, I was only given $2 back. When I inquired about the short change, the person told me that they round up even if you give them change… I asked my “lawyer” friend (ChatGPT) - so obviously I take the response with a grain of salt - the legalities of this practice, and apparently it seems like I was right to expect my $3 back. It seems like a super shady practice to just automatically upcharge like that, even if someone gives the change to cover it. This is why we have physical money. And to anyone who cries “it’s just a dollar”, yea… it is $1. It obviously matters enough to the business to have a shady practice and keep that dollar, so why would I not want it back if it’s my money to begin with? Those extra dollars really help with weekend farmers market runs when most stands like you to pay in cash anyways.

Whatever, I guess i’m feeling a little extra spicy tonight… probably got it from the...