Category Archives: New York

Celebrity-filled weekend at Melba’s Restaurant in Harlem, Ashton Kutcher spotted

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It was hopping at Melba’s Restaurant in Harlem this past weekend (well, it always is from what I witness)! But according to Melba’s Facebook page, she had some celebrities over for brunch at 114th Street and Frederick Douglass Blvd., which is where Melba’s is located. The celebs that stopped by were Ashton Kutcher, and Tamar and Vince.

This past Saturday, the TV and film actor Ashton Kutcher was in Harlem dining at Melba’s. It must have been for brunch because another website reports he was in the West Village at night for dinner. There is no word from Melba’s Facebook page on whether his new girlfriend, Mila Kunis, was with him? Hmmm…

Then on Sunday, Tamar Braxton and Vincent Herbert from the new TV show Tamar & Vince paid a visit to Melba’s Restaurant. This married couple is currently out and about all over New York City promoting their new television show, according to online reports. However, Tamar and Vince must know good food cause no matter how busy their schedule was this past weekend, they made time to dine at Melba’s Restaurant in Harlem.

If I was a celeb (or not), I would be hanging at Melba’s too! Us Harlemites know, the food there is delicious!

West Harlem’s Morningside Heights to get its own glossy magazine

Read all about it right here. You’re the first to learn that Morningside Heights, a section of Harlem located on the Westside, is getting their own general interest magazine reporting on all aspects of living in the area. The magazine will be named…Morningside Heights (of course) and plans to profile “local people, business owners, restaurant reviews, calendar of events, trends, and ideas that capture the spirit of life in Morningside Heights” in West Harlem.

The publication debuts in December and will be mailed to 5,000 residents of Morningside Heights. Interested to know more about Morningside Heights magazine, email morningsideheights@hibu.com.

NY Mag’s Grub Street lists Twelve Harlem bars to check out



Yesterday afternoon, Grub Street, New York Magazine’s blog, posted about the bars to bottoms up at in East,Central and West Harlem. Some of the establishments mentioned are no surprise that they made the cut, such as Ginny’s Supper Club, 67 Orange, bier international, Harlem Tavern, Corner Social, etc. What is a surprise is that Grub Street mentions some great places to check out in East Harlem, new places, and along Adam Clayton Powell Jr Blvd that rarely get mentioned but deserve the recognition, such as Shrine (very fun place in my view), Harlem Public, its brand new, and The Duck, who wouldn’t want to head to East Harlem and drink at a place that’s named ‘the duck.”

Where Grub Street misses the mark is naming Harlem Lanes. Isn’t that place closed? Clearly whoever wrote the blog post has not been to Harlem or did not do their research or Harlem Lanes is not closed.

It’s a comprehensive bar list by Grub, but Harlemites know best. Tell us if Grub overlooked a particular drinking establishment or if they got it right!

To read the entire article, click here.

The Harlem International Film Festival starts September 19 at the Schomburg Center

The 2012 Harlem International Film Festival starts tomorrow Wednesday, September 19 at 7pm at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, located at 515 Lenox Ave (at West 135 Street). Opening night begins with the World Premiere Showcase of Theodore Collatos’ film MOVE and the New York Premiere of HERMAN’S HOUSE.

The Harlem International Film Festival runs from September 19-23, 2012. For more details visit www.HarlemFilmFestival.com.

Signage says Vinatería coming soon to Harlem

It’s official! Vinatería is coming soon to Harlem at 2211 Frederick Douglass Blvd. The owners have finally hung up signage on site recently for passerby’s to see and it says coming soon on their website as well! According to its Facebook page, Vinatería will be “a casual restaurant that will offer a market-driven menu with global influences and will offer the highest quality wine and food at a reasonable price, while providing friendly, attentive and knowledgeable service.” Hmmm…interesting. Wonder what the menu will look like!

If you recall, this commercial space was to be the home of the Cupcakery, but clearly that did not work out. Now this particular block from 119th Street and 120th Street on FDB will have two restaurants on the westside of the block, Chocolat at the northwest corner and Vinatería at the southwest corner. Moca and Bad Horse Pizza are on the opposite side of the block. Stay tuned for more info on Vinatería…

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Harlem to star in Lenox Avenue, a web series

The Huffington Post reports today that actor and filmmaker Al Thompson is working on a digital series “that showcases Harlem’s influential culture” in Lenox Avenue. According to the article, Lenox Avenue is centered on three friends as they navigate through the challenging dating scene in Harlem, which is a lot of territory to cover when it comes to “looking for the one.” And Mr. Thompson is from Harlem (born and raised), so he’s been witnessing its change and felt it was time for Harlem to be depicted in a positive light on the web other than the stereotypical TV series or films we have seen in the past, such as New Jack City or New York Undercover.

To read the entire article with Al Thompson, go here, or go to LenoxAvenueSeries.com to learn more about the web series.

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Attend Savor The Season-Uptown in Harlem September 18

Chef Marcus Samuelsson of Harlem’s Red Rooster and Maritza Wellington Owens, Chief Executive Officer, of Harvest Home Farmer’s Market have come together to create Savor The Season-Uptown. Savor The Season will showcase the ‘best of the best’ chefs who work north of 110th Street. Guests will enjoy tastings from eight different restaurateurs, bakeries, wines curated by The Winery and beers and spirits curated by the up and coming Harlem Public. The event will take place the evening of September 18 at Dinosaur Bar-B-Que banquet hall, located on 125th Street and 12th Avenue.

Participating restaurants will be Red Rooster Harlem, Creole, Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, Jin Ramen, Le Monde, Moby Catering, Melba’s, 5 and Diamond, Levain Bakery, and Tonnie’s Minis.

To learn more about the event and order tickets, click here.

See Esperanza Spalding, a new show added at Harlem’s Apollo Theater


If you were not able to purchase tickets to attend the October 26 performance of Esperanza Spalding, you’re in luck! There is another option! Due to overwhelming demand, a second show for Esperanza Spalding’s Radio Music Society tour has been added on Saturday, October 27 at 8 pm at Harlem’s famous Apollo Theater on 125th Street. The presale is happening now and ends Wednesday, September 12 at 10 pm. Use the code ALIST. Tickets, which are going for $40 and $60, will be available to the public Thursday, September 13 at 10 am. Click here to purchase tickets.

September 11, 2001, a day to remember always

Today is a day to remember forever. We will never forget it. In honor of 9-11, I am posting pictures of The Freedom Tower. I have pictures of the World Trade Center Towers. However when I look at The Freedom Tower, it reminds me of the past, but it also makes me think of the future… I love you New York City!

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Harvist in Harlem makes NY Times Fall Restaurant Preview List

Around this time every year, The New York Times publishes a list of all the new restaurants opening up in the Fall and one Harlem establishment made the cut: Harvist. Harvist will be located at 40 West 116th Street in the My Image Studios and “will serve Cassandra Quinlan-Ashford’s rustic fare with Southern and Latin-American influences, including skirt steak with salsa verde, chicken and dumplings, and red velvet cake.” To date it is the only restaurant planned in this commercial space in Harlem, which is also home to the Kalahari Condominium.

Marcus Samuelsson also received a mention about another restaurant he is opening up in the City, but in the Lincoln Center area of Manhattan.

Check out the complete list here.