Category Archives: food

New Middle Eastern Restaurant opening August 15 in East Harlem


There is a new restaurant opening up in East Harlem this coming Monday and the owners are shouting it out on twitter. Habibis, a quick-serve Middle Eastern restaurant, is opening its doors at 52 East 125th Street in Harlem and will be offering a menu of halal food, such as grilled meats, gyro, and falafel, as well as sandwiches, salads and desserts. Vegetarian meals will be offered as well, with options such as falafel, hummus, baba ghanoush, and a variety of salads.

Habibis’ menu is available online. Click here to check it out.

Harlem happy hours happening everywhere: Chocolat, Lido Harlem & Milk Burger

It is hump day and you’re not sure where to go for happy hour in Harlem. Here are a few choices for your consideration and recommended in order!

Those of you who know me on Facebook are a witness to my many execursions to Lido Harlem. I am always there and have more reasons to be there now given their happy hour specials. I recently learned from Susannah that from 5:30 – 7:30 every day, seven days a week, Lido Harlem is offering 1/2 price beer & wine, $5 well drinks and $5 Lido specialty cocktails. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights Lido is now offering a late night happy hour starting at 10 p.m. to close. I believe they are offering a late night menu as well! If Lido’s happy hour is anything like their food, it will be consistently good.

Chocolat has the best schedule for happy hour in my view. It starts at 5 p.m. and lasts until 8 p.m. If you can’t make a happy hour that ends at 7:30 rush on over to Chocolat on Frederick Douglass Blvd and 120th. They offer a selection of flavored martinis for $5 and small plates ranging from $5 to $8. I have had all the small plates and they were all quite good.

And last, the much talked about burger joint in East Harlem has a happy hour. If you want to be one of the first to check out Milk Burger’s happy hour, head on over soon and early or on your day off. They start at 3 p.m. Yuck. Clearly, they want people to drink early. I hope they change that time. It’s hard enough to make it to happy hour at 5 p.m. I recommend this place (see details below) because it is on the rise and experience it now while it is still relatively a new place in East Harlem.

Have a great time at happy hour. See you around in Harlem!

Imagine a food coop in Harlem?

Click on photo to launch video

Brooklyn has a food coop that is very popular and provides fresh organic fruits and vegetables for the surrounding area. Imagine if Harlem had something similar? It is not that far out of reach and there are a lot of Harlemites on Facebook realizing that by sharing the Pop-Up Co-Op video. Why are Harlemites passing along this information? Because it is a great food/grocery idea set out in different phases that will benefit Harlem now and for the long-term. Also, it is a well needed service for our community and locals want to see this idea succeed.

What is Pop-Up Co-Op? It is the first phase of several where the end goal is to have a complete food coop in West Harlem. The Pop-Up Co-Op will sell organic coffee by the cup from a takeout window with one full-time worker recruited from a local youth program. The next phase will be to integrate organic vegetables along with increased staffing and so on and so forth. This initiative is on Kickstarter and has ten days left to meet its goal of raising more than $22,000. If you want to help out and learn more about Pop-Up Co-Op, click here.

Top ten reasons on why Harlem is one of the best places to live in New York City

Apr 14, 2010 @ 7:19

By HarlemGal
This is a blog that writes about all things positive about Harlem. We tell our stories from “nuestros corazones.” Unfortunately, we don’t have data, grids or a fancy magazine to back up our stories. We only have words, life experiences and a love for all things Harlem. And what better time to use these descriptions and tools than right now-especially given the recent edition of New York Magazine.

To profess our reasons on why we believe Harlem is one of the best places to live in New York City, we created our own Top Ten List. Sorry Dave. We have to borrow a page right out of your playbook to make our point. Here we go….

Top Ten Reasons on why Harlem is one of the best places to live in New York City:

10. Harlem is almost 400 years old. And guest what?….we will still be around for another 400 years! Isn’t lower Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn suppose to sink under water?

9. Harlem is very green. We are near several three parks: Central Park North, Jackie Robinson Park, Morningside Park, Riverside Park, Riverbank State Park and Marcus Garvey Park. Harlem also has St. Nicholas Park, which a reader told us “is one of the most historical (along with Hamilton Grange, City College, Hamilton Heights and Striver’s Row near).” Shouldn’t we count Riverside Park too? Then that would be four parks we are near.

8. We are home to the highest institution of higher learning in the State of New York, Columbia University. Park Slope kids will be living in Harlem when they get older and head to Columbia.

7. We have many different neighborhoods and some of their names are sweet, like sugar, or romantic as Spanish.

6. We are one of the happiest according to a recent survey. To tell the truth, we are very happy in life. However, we are not happy with New York Magazine right now….

5. Because you can have a date with red, not Red Butler, but red as in red velvet cake at Lee Lee’s Baked Goods on 118th Street. Delicious!

4. We have famous songs about or that mention Harlem that are as diverse as its people. Harlem River Quiver is by Duke Ellington. Angel of Harlem is by U2. Spanish Harlem Incident is by Bob Dylan and Across 110th Street is by Bob Womack.

3. We have some serious wide sidewalks where there is plenty of elbow room for you and your baby stroller. Parts of the Village are like walking through a football field.

2. We have the famous Apollo Theater. Need we say more.

1. And the number reason on why Harlem is one of the best places to live in New York City, because This blog is going to go negative for once on its blog. We don’t believe or give a flying hoot about Nate Silver and his recent findings. Politics done right does not necessarily mean neighborhoods done right!

Nate, come up and visit us any time. We will show you all the great things Harlem has to offer!