Rider
“The food is beyond incredible and it is connected to National Sawdust where you can indulge in drinks and food while you're watching a performance.”
“I really like the no tipping policy but despite this the waitressed we super attentive, very friendly and the service fantastic.”
“The roasted veggies, mushroom ragu, soft egg with foie gras, duck, and parnsip bread with ice cream were our favorites.”
Rider
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
2 reviews
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KenScale: 7.0/10
Summer is here, which means that I make more trips outside Manhattan to Brooklyn, especially in the Williamsburg and Carroll Gardens where there are a lot of restaurants and bars I've been wanting to check out and have better excuses to drag my Manhattanite friends to venture outside their comfort zones. Rider, which opened up at the new National Sawdust performance space in Williamsburg, looked a promising gem in the neighborhood, with food coming out from chef Patrick Connolly, an award winning chef who made his name in Boston before coming over to the Big Apple. Unfortunately, the dinner didn't quite live up to my expectations.
The eclectic menu at Rider seems like you could thoroughly enjoy the combination of different ingredients and techniques throughout your meal. It was the issue with consistency that proved to be problematic. I've had fantastic crudo dishes at various places in the city, but the fluke crudo with salmoriglio sauce and garlic chips turned out tasteless, and the fluke seemingly prepared days ago. On the other hand, mushroom Bolognese with black truffle tofu and breadcrumbs had nice combination of flavor to balance out the disappointment from the crudo. One of my dining companions who had previously visited this place warned me about the overly aggressive seasoning of dishes she had tried. Indeed, steamed clams that came with bacon, coconut, lemongrass and cilantro stems didn't have to come out that salty, and the French dip accompanied by roasted marrow bone and prepared horseradish became more and more inedible due to the heavy seasoning the more I bit into the dish. In other dishes, texture was the issue. Duck breast with nduja stuffed dates, parsnip and hazelnuts came out just about right in seasoning, but the duck meat itself wasn't quite tender enough to give this dish a high score. Even the dessert dish we had tried turned out funky, and not necessarily in a good way. Chocolate tart itself had nice sweetness to it, but did the kitchen really have to add fresno chile ice cream next to it, with the spicy kick from the ice cream undermining the flavor construction of the entire dish? I'm all for creative mixing of ingredients, but it seems like the kitchen needs to really think through how they work together to create some semblance of balance in flavor and texture.
Getting a reservation at Rider isn't particularly difficult, and the dining space was not quite full on a gorgeous Saturday evening. There is full bar with some concise cocktail and wine menus. I liked the minimalist décor of the space with industrial feel to it, but it didn't quite offer the warm neighborhood vibe I would expect from a restaurant in Brooklyn. It seems Rider may be trying too hard to impress diners at the expense of consistency. I hope the kitchen can re-explore their approach and fix some issues in execution.
Swung by for brunch on a Sunday and chose to sit at the bar with the promise of free rosé. The bartender was a young guy, very friendly and explained everything on the menu.
We decided on the cheeseburger for research purposes (as part of my personal NYC burger quest). It scored an 86/100 on our scale, which translates to a great solid burger: juicy patty, good bun, appropriate bun to meat ratio, excellent side of fries. It's a more unique flavor profile with the sauerkraut and thousand island dressing, a play on a Reuben. We also ordered the Big Baby Donkey, which is basically a breakfast burrito (literal translation provided by the bartender) slightly smothered in salsa and guac, served with excellent homefries (could only be improved with some hot sauce). The burrito itself was underwhelming and a bit bland, since I was expecting more chorizo flavor.
Overall a pleasant brunching experience, but I think I would prefer the options on the dinner menu. Gratuity is included.