Category Archives: restaurants

Need another excuse to go to Red Rooster Harlem, try The Nook

Marcus Samuelsson’s PR folks were busy today alerting all the traditional and mainstream press about how The Nook at Red Rooster Harlem is now open. We received notice early in the day (October 15), but no time to distribute until now. Apparently, The Nook, located inside Red Rooster at 310 Lenox Avenue, is open seven days a week, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday; and from 10:00 a.m. to 5: 30 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays.

According to the release, “The Nook sells specialty savory items and sweets created by Red Rooster Harlem’s pastry chef, Deborah Racicot.”

Interested to learn more, check out the menu below.

Save the Date: East Harlem Harvest Festival happening October 26-27

Central Harlem just completed its Harvest Festival. Now its time to plan for East Harlem’s Harvest Festival taking place at 116th Street and Park Avenue. I believe its the first one and organizers are making sure it lasts all weekend.

On October 26, a celebration of culture and cuisine is planned. How to make you’re own brewski is on the agenda at the Urban Garden Center and Sugar Hill Beer is involved. That will be good and those 21 years and older can participate. A Hookah Lounge will be set up thanks to Kiosk Restaurant, a delightful Moroccan restaurant in East Harlem. And for children, the East Harlem Harvest Festival will be planning a Recycling Game, pumpkin carving and a class on how to make healthy food provided by Culinaria Festival!

So no need to worry about making plans for the weekend of October 26-27. Head on over to the eastside of Harlem for their Harvest Festival. See you there.

Visit Harlem’s Astor Row Cafe on Lenox Avenue

Looking for a new place to hang in Harlem? Try Harlem’s Astor Row Cafe on 130th and Lenox Avenue. It’s a charming, Latino-owned, corner cafe that offers fair trade coffee, soft drinks, lemonade, fresh-baked pastries, omelets, salads and sandwiches. And on Yelp, they get 4 out of 5 stars on 20 reviews submitted.

Astro Row Cafe also has special events, such as Flamenco and Paella Sunday’s that offer all you can eat paella and sangria for $25. And for those of us who are computer nerds and take their gadgets with them, Astor Row Cafe in Harlem offers free WiFi.

To learn more about Astor Row Cafe in Harlem and its owners, read the article by DNAinfo or to visit the place head to 404 Lenox Avenue at 130th.

Attend Harlem Pop-up Green Market October 11 in Harlem

More information has come in regarding the pop-up farmers market planned for October 11 at The Harlem Treasure Chest. According to a flier, this event is being organized by the Frederick Douglass Boulevard Alliance, Grow NYC Green Market and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer. It starts at 4 pm and ends at 9 pm on the corner of 117th Street and FDB. Prepared food will be provided by 5 and Diamond Harlem, Lido Harlem and Harlem Tavern. For additional details, see flier below.

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Update on The Harlem Pearl

This past weekend, HarlemGal Inc was the first blog to introduce The Harlem Pearl, a four-day to go detox plan, which will be located at the old newspaper kiosk on 112th and Frederick Douglass Blvd. There was a lecture planned for this evening, October 2, at 5 and Diamond Harlem. However, that event has been cancelled. The organizers of the event have provided additional information on the Plan in the interim, such as a complete description of the Plan along with an Aging and Reactive Foods List.

The Harlem Pearl will be opening soon. So stay tuned for more information.

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Introducing Belle, a new restaurant coming to Harlem by Chef Darryl Burnett

The restaurant scene in Central Harlem continues to grow with new places planned for this year and 2013. Recently mentioned was Vinatería, which is opening up (hopefully this year) on Frederick Douglass Blvd and 119th. Maison Harlem on 127th Street and St. Nick is getting close to opening up. That place looks practically ready. Chef Stephen Putnam, the former chef at Lido Italian Restaurant and Bar, recently announced he is planning to open up his own restaurant in Harlem in the near future.

Next up is Darryl Burnett, a former chef at Bergdorf Goodman, 5 and Diamond Harlem and a resident of Harlem. Burnett recently announced on Kickstarter that he is starting his own restaurant in Harlem, which will be called Belle. As for location, Chef Burnett says Belle will be located “in the center of Harlem’s restaurant row and within walking distance of other new and hot Harlem restaurants, bars, and lounges.”

According to Burnett, Belle Harlem will be a “casual dining restaurant focusing on Southern classics with a modern vision with touches of French, Italian, Moroccan and Asian.” Belle Harlem already has a Facebook page where friends can see some of Burnett’s delicious creations. I have experienced Chef Burnett’s delectables and it is fantastic!

Interested in helping Chef Darryl Burnett and his Belle restaurant, go here to learn more.

Old Harlem newspaper stand becomes The Harlem Pearl by 5 and Diamond and The Lyn-Genet Plan

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For those of you wondering what’s up with the old Harlem newspaper stand at 112th Street and Frederick Douglass Blvd and why it was getting a makeover? HarlemGal has the answer. This old vintage newspaper shed, which is owned by the owners of 5 and Diamond Harlem, will be turned into The Harlem Pearl, which is where The Lyn-Genet Plan and 5 and Diamond Harlem are coming together to bring to our community The Plan’s 4-Day Detox to go. More info to come on The Plan.

This is good news! What a great use of this space! And it’s being used for something extremely meaningful and helpful to us all, which is our health. I love this new partnership and what it means. Way to go Lia and Selene! What do you think about this? Do you like how the space is being used?

And guess what, we are all invited to learn more about The Harlem Pearl. Hint: save the date of October 2 in the evening. Stay tuned for more…

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!

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.

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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