Category Archives: food

Harlem Restaurant and Retail Month continues, don’t miss it!

Posted on October 22, 2011 | 2 comments

Harlem Restaurant and Retail Month is happening right now and there is still plenty of time to get out there and enjoy the benefits.  The month-long event which takes place twice a year in the Spring and Fall, showcases Harlem’s premiere restaurants all located in area of Central Harlem, from Morningside to Marcus Garvey Parks and 110th to 125th streets.  During this month, diners can enjoy a prix fixe meal at any of the participating restaurants for $20.11; and shoppers can purchase select items at retail stores for $20.11.  The promotion runs to October 31.   

The restaurants that are participating include: 5 and Diamond Restaurant, 67 Orange Street, Chocolat Restaurant Lounge, The Harlem Tavern, Lido Harlem, Moca Lounge, Native Restaurant, Nectar Wine bar, Red Rooster Harlem, Ristorante Settepani.

And for retail, the following places are participating: Bikram Yoga East Harlem, Brownstone Fitness, EG Bodywork, Franz James Floral Boutique, Harlem Flo Floral Atelier, Harlem Flo Lifestyle Boutique, Harlem Skin Clinic, Harlem Vintage Wine Store, Karrot Health Food Store, Katrina Parris Flowers, Land Yoga.

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Posted in 125th Street, 5 and Diamond Harlem, Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd., art and culture, baking, Bars, bier international, business, Cedric French Bistro and Bar Harlem, Community, drinks, entertainment, Events, food, Frederick Douglass Blvd., Harlem, Harlem Tavern, Lenox Avenue, Lido Italian Restaurant and Bar, Red Rooster Harlem, restaurant row, restaurants, shopping, spending

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Casting Call: Food Network Star and Chef Bobby Flay is looking for Food Entrepreneurs

Posted on October 18, 2011 | 1 comment

Listen up Harlem! This is a casting call blog post! And it is about an exciting opportunity. Bobby Flay’s Rock Shrimp Productions is  currently developing a new show for the Food Network.  The title of the show is still unnamed. However, it is going to center around Food Entrepreneurs.

Rock Shrimp Productions defines Food Entrepreneurs as individuals who left their day job and are currently in the process of opening a food store or restaurant before mid December with…no culinary experience and are taking a risk to pursue their passion of launching their own food business.  These individuals must be planning to open a brick-and-mortar space (restaurant or singular food ideas welcome) before the end of 2011.

In addition,  the Food Entrepreneurs should preferably in, but not limited to, the greater New York City area (NY, NJ, CT). Those chosen will receive culinary business coaching from a major celebrity chef and restaurateur, as well as nationwide publicity.

So if you are a Food Entrepreneur and want to rub elbows with Bobby Flay, the celebrity chef who did a Throw Down with Melba’s Restaurant in Harlem, contact Heather Briggs at hrb@embassyrow.com or learn more about the project on Facebook.

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Posted in 125th Street, 5 and Diamond Harlem, Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd., art and culture, baking, bier international, business, Cedric French Bistro and Bar Harlem, Community, drinks, entertainment, food, Frederick Douglass Blvd., Harlem, Harlem Tavern, Lenox Avenue, Lido Italian Restaurant and Bar, New York, New York City, NYC, Red Rooster Harlem, restaurant row, restaurants

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Head to Italy at wine tasting dinner at Lido Harlem

Posted on October 17, 2011 | Leave a comment

Aside from the Harlem pub crawl tomorrow evening (October 25 18), there is another option on what to do! This option involves drinking fine wine and eating delicious food! Lido Italian Restaurant and Bar, located in the corner of 117th Street and Frederick Douglass Blvd.,is having a wine tasting dinner on the 25th from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m with Andrea Wobensmith, a wine expert. Wobensmith will take guests through five wines and pair them with the food served at Lido Harlem. In addition, Wobensmith will help guests with pairing wines for their own future use, such as a home party. The cost for the evening is $85. To make a reservation, call 646-490-8575.

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Posted in art and culture, Bars, drinks, entertainment, Events, food, Frederick Douglass Blvd., Harlem, Lido Italian Restaurant and Bar, restaurant row, restaurants

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Harlem In the News: Dining Establishments and Real Estate receive high praise

Posted on October 16, 2011 | 2 comments


Recently, the Village of Harlem received high praise mainly on two fronts, real estate and dining establishments.

In the eating out area, both DNA Info and The New York Daily News raved about how there are several great places to dine uptown and some of those dining establishments have received positive reviews in Zagats.

In the NY Daily News, they mentioned Red Rooster and Lido Italian Restaurant and Bar in one sentence, specifically stating that Zagats says these dining establishments are “the new stars to watch.” The article also mentions “Covo Trattoria & Pizzeria, where happy hours go until midnight, most dishes are less than $15, and the outdoor dining is a Zagat top pick.”

In a separate article, The New York Daily News raved about how Levain Bakery has the best chocolate chip cookies in the City. No surprise there. Their hot and cold coffee is not bad either. Try it.

DNA Info spoke to our favorite Harlem Gal and the women behind Eat In Harlem, Sakita Holley, about how Harlem now has several restaurants “to suit any mood.” Holley endorsed several eating out places starting from East Harlem all the way West. Milk Burger, 67 Orange, Hudson River Cafe and more received a thumbs up from Holley.

Of course, what’s driving all these great new and interesting restaurants in Harlem is real estate or is it the other way around? The Wall Street Journal reported recently that “the number of Harlem apartment sales rose to the highest level since September 2008, according to analysis of city records. But they were only slightly above sales reported in the same quarter in 2010.” The article goes on to say that Harlem is not only performing well in the real estate area, it’s even attracting buyers who are from the second largest economy in the world-China!

Check out all the articles in their entirety below! And that’s Harlem In the News!
Harlem Restaurants to Suit Any Mood
Harlem’s Culinary Treasures
Best of New York
Harlem Attracts Post-Slump Buyers

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Posted in 5 and Diamond Harlem, apartments, bier international, Community, drinks, food, Frederick Douglass Blvd., Harlem, Harlem Tavern, Lido Italian Restaurant and Bar, New York, New York City, real estate, Red Rooster Harlem, restaurant row, restaurants, review, spending

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Drink up at the Second Annual Harlem Bar Crawl set for October 25

Posted on October 13, 2011 | Leave a comment

The women behind Experience: Harlem, i.e. Angie Hancock, along with the help of a few others, is organizing a Harlem Restaurant and Bar Crawl October 25. It is their second pub crawl and as expected, they have lined up all the great eating and drinking establishments on Frederick Douglass Blvd in Harlem for one night of cocktail specials. In addition, the organizers will donate $1 from each purchase to Food Bank NYC to benefit food kitchens in Harlem.

How can you participate? Go here and purchase a bracelet for $20. This will allow you to take advantage of drink specials from 6:00 p.m. to 10 p.m. at anyone of the establishments listed in the photo. And if you purchase your bracelet now, you will receive a two-for-one special. That means a $10 savings. Not bad! Hey, don’t take my word for it. It’s all outlined on Facebook!

See you at the Harlem Bar Crawl.

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Posted in 5 and Diamond Harlem, Bars, Cedric French Bistro and Bar Harlem, Community, drinks, entertainment, Events, food, Frederick Douglass Blvd., Harlem, Harlem Tavern, Lido Italian Restaurant and Bar, restaurant row, restaurants, spending

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Gwyneth Paltrow and Mark Ruffalo seen dining at Lido Harlem?

Posted on October 12, 2011 | 2 comments



If you walked by the corner of Frederick Douglass Blvd. and 117th Street tonight (October 12), you may have noticed Gwyneth Paltrow and Mark Ruffalo were dining at Lido Italian Restaurant and Bar in Harlem? Well, sort of. They were actually in character for their upcoming movie called Thanks for Sharing. The entire scene was a dining out scene at Lido Harlem. Hope they mention their location in the script!

This is such a big compliment for Lido Harlem. They haven’t even been open for a year and now they have big name movie stars filming in their restaurant. The film scouts clearly liked the design and layout of the restaurant or they would not have chosen it. When you take pictures of Lido, it is very photogenic. The place comes out vibrant in pictures.

I had a quick exchange with Mark Ruffalo as I stopped him to take a photo. I told him the food at Lido Harlem is excellent. He said, “yeah, I’ll have to tell my wife about it.” You do that Mark! There is some great dining out places in Harlem and Lido Harlem is one of them!

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Posted in Bars, business, Community, drinks, entertainment, fashion, food, Frederick Douglass Blvd., Harlem, Lido Italian Restaurant and Bar, New York, New York City, NYC, restaurant row, restaurants

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Harlem Harvest Festival 2011 turned into a Samba Festival

Posted on October 9, 2011 | 1 comment



Yesterday’s second annual Harlem Harvest Festival was a complete success filled with plenty of locals and lots of great vendors to visit and shop at! If you missed it, you missed something special-especially watching a mass of Harlemites learn to samba. That part of the agenda was a HOME RUN! The entire day at the Festival was just beautiful-in my view. Didn’t attend? No worries. The event was covered by NY1, click here to see the video or you can view photos of the Harlem Harvest Festival here! Have a great day Harlem!

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Posted in art and culture, Community, education, entertainment, Events, food, Free!, Harlem, music, New York, New York City, NYC, shopping

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The Catskills come to the border of East Harlem

Posted on October 8, 2011 | Leave a comment


While most of us will be attending the Harlem Harvest Festival today, let’s all start making plans to head East next weekend…to East Harlem that is. Manhattan Country School brings the Catskills farm to the border of the barrio in their annual Farm Festival on Saturday, October 15th from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. “Parent volunteers turn East 96th Street between Madison and Fifth Avenues into an urban carnival, offering family friendly entertainment including rides, games, crafts, a silent auction, raffles and live music. The MCS Farm Festival offers a variety of homemade baked goods, a wide variety of delicious ethnic cuisine and fresh produce from their farm in Roxbury, N.Y.”

Admission is free and all from the public are invited. Tickets for food, games and rides will be available for purchase. In the event of rain, festivities will take place indoors.

This sounds like a great event for family and friends! Hope to see you there next weekend!

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Posted in art and culture, baking, Community, education, entertainment, Events, food, Free!, Harlem, health and wellness, New York, New York City, NYC

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Society Cafe in Harlem to close it’s doors

Posted on October 7, 2011 | 3 comments

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Readers informed HarlemGal Inc. to check out Society Cafe’s Facebook page pronto! Why? There is an announcement saying they’re closing this weekend! I went to their page and here is what Karl, the owner, wrote informing his friends/patrons.

Society Coffee…One Last Time… (A note from Karl)

“Dear Loyal Guests,

After seven years of serving the best coffee, red velvet waffles, and shrimp & grits in Harlem, I have made the difficult decision to close Society Coffee on Monday, October 10. A pioneer on Frederick Douglass Blvd, Society has been a true labor of love and a place I’ve called home. Over the years I have shared Society with thousands; I’ve watched people meet each other and fall in love, I’ve watched families begin and grow, deals get done, and business plans get written. I’ve watched college students work, friends hang out, and poets write. I’ve met so many great people who have changed and elevated my life.

Rooted in the richness of the Harlem community and the transformation on Frederick Douglass Boulevard, Society Coffee leaves with a sense of pride and appreciation to all our friends who made each day unique and flavorful. Society has served its purpose and has set neighborhood standards for a new generation in historic Harlem. We were always very close and involved with the community and it remains in our hearts. 67 Orange Street will continue to operate and serve great cocktails.

I would like to personally thank you for all your support these past years. To show you our appreciation, I would like to cordially invite you to our closing party Monday, October 10 from 5pm-7pm.

Meanwhile, please come by this weekend and enjoy brunch with us or just say hi. Thanks again for seven great years.

Sincerely,

Karl Franz Williams

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Posted in drinks, food, Frederick Douglass Blvd., Harlem, restaurant row, restaurants

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The family behind Harlem’s Sylvia’s Restaurant serves up education through annual fundraiser

Posted on October 2, 2011 | Leave a comment


The family behind Harlem’s famous Sylvia’s Restaurant are very well-known for serving up delicious fried chicken or mac and cheese, however did you know they are known for something entirely different and it’s not on the menu? It’s called education. In 2001, the family behind Sylvia’s Restaurant started the Sylvia & Herbert Woods Endowment Scholarship Fundraiser and to date, it has sent more than 60 students from the area to college. The Woods created this Fundraiser in 2001 and are having it on October 28th at the City College of New York City.

If you would like to participate or attend the Fundraiser, contact Crizette Woods at cwoods@sylviasrestaurant.com. The rate sheet for the Fundraiser is also shown below.

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Posted in 125th Street, Community, education, food, Harlem, Lenox Avenue

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