Roseadah’s – Auburn, NY - Wright Writes Food

Have you ever had a hankering for a good, fresh-made burger but also a strong desire to try something new at the same time? That’s what led us to Roseadah’s. Definitely off the beaten path if you didn’t Google “food in Auburn, NY” or already hear about Roseadah’s, you would have no idea they are there, which is a blessing and a curse at the same time. We went in on a Tuesday at 4:45 and there was one table finishing up and the rest of the dining room was empty. On one hand, it was quiet and service was prompt. On the other hand, empty dining rooms at the start of peak dinner time is usually not a good sign. This time, the lack of business didn’t make a lick of a difference.

We were immediately greeted by the one waitress working, which also turned out to be the owner, Tracy. She was extremely polite and pleasant and took our appetizer and drink order immediately. We started with the Mattie Street Mozzarella Sticks, advertised as gluten free, hand-cut mozzarella battered in-house and served with marinara. We didn’t even realize they were gluten free at first, but it didn’t matter in the slightest. Lightly crispy, big ol’ logs of mozzarella cooked to just the right amount of melty and stretchy cheese but not gooey and overly stringy, these were a perfect indicator of how the rest of our meal was going to go. We asked for a side of the zesty ranch as well, which was also delicious but packed a solid amount of heat on the back end, so be prepared if you are sensitive to spicy.

Chelsea went straight for a Build Your Own Burger, cooked well done with lettuce, American cheese, bacon and garlic aioli and a side of mac and cheese. The burger was quite large, touted as an 8oz Angus beef patty and they were not kidding. Thick, cooked well done but still shockingly moist instead of heavily charred and like a hockey puck, Chelsea quickly found herself doing a happy food dance in her seat with each bite. The garlic aioli brought a lot of flavor to an already well-made burger and cemented it as a must-have for her. Her mac and cheese was sticky and extremely cheesy and definitely felt homemade versus a pre-made sauce and had a light sprinkle of bread crumbs on top for a bit of crunch. 9.5/10 for her, marked down the 0.5 purely because it was a LOT of food for a single plate. Chelsea finished the burger but ended up taking the majority of her mac and cheese home to have for lunch tomorrow while I’m at work.

Also wanting a burger, I felt like regretting my life decisions again and decided on “The Nater,” an 8oz Angus burger served in between a grilled cheese sandwich filled with mac and cheese and topped with two more slices of bacon, it was basically a massive patty melt with bacon mac and cheese instead of caramelized onions. And I’m not mad at it. I ordered my burger medium-rare and it came out a perfect medium-rare, so that was a solid start. The whole sandwich was, much like Chelsea’s, concerningly large, and overflowing with the same sticky mac and cheese that Chelsea had. This monstrosity was so huge I could only eat half before I could feel a cheese boulder forming in my stomach from how heavy it was. Speaking of heavy, this is not a handheld burger by any means, I strongly recommend a fork and knife because of how MUCH of it there is. I went with sweet potato fries for my side which were cooked to a perfect crisp and didn’t carry a heavy oil flavor like some sweet potato fries tend to do. I would definitely eat a burger from Rosedeah’s again, but that Nater was a massive undertaking for someone who was wholly unprepared for how much burger there was going to be.

Feeling like we needed something to balance out the insane amount of burger we both tackled, Chelsea wanted to try the Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake for a dessert while I felt like punishing myself and got a slice of Sky High Peanut Butter Pie. The lemon blueberry cheesecake was light and had layers of fluffy white cake instead of a standard graham cracker crumb crust. Meanwhile, like the big ol’ dummy I am, I went for a super dense and heavy peanut butter pie that fused itself to the already heavy cheese boulder I had from the mozzarella sticks and mac and cheese. I am not a smart man. Don’t get me wrong, the pie was absolutely delicious, but intelligent decisions were not made as I sit here with a food baby forming in my belly and fighting off the coma my meal is trying to induce.

We are definitely beyond thrilled with everything about Rosedeah’s. Tracy was fantastic to talk to and quick to take our orders and bring everything out. She was an absolute delight the entire time and, as someone who has been in the food service industry his entire life, I was thoroughly impressed with the fact that she is the owner who also isn’t afraid of being the only person working the Front of House AND works in the kitchen on a regular basis as well. She makes it a point to have as many gluten free options as possible (including desserts) as well as just about every item on the menu being able to be modified to be gluten free as well. And just to top it off, she has dedicated gluten free fryers to eliminate any chance of cross contamination between fried foods. Every bit of Roseadah’s was impressive from first impression to last bites, and we cannot wait to go back and try more of Tracy’s impeccable food. Card payment is accepted but not tips via card, so be sure to bring some cash to cover your tip. Roseadah’s was worth the drive to Auburn and we will definitely be back.