Category Archives: restaurants

Harlem Shambles plans to open in Livmor Condo

Looks like commercial retail space in Harlem on Frederick Douglass Blvd is slowing getting scooped up! It appears from the photo below that the Livmor has sold (or rented out) some of its commercial space to a business called Harlem Shambles. I have never heard of this business and looking online for information, the only item I could find is Harlem Bespoke blogging that Harlem Shambles is a butcher shop! Hmm. I wonder what type of products they will be offering? Just meat! Or seafood too? And what does this mean for Best Yet and Central Market that are not too far away?

This is certainly a different addition to the other businesses that have opened up on FDB and that are getting ready to open soon! Recently, I blogged about how a yogurt store and nail salon are opening up side by side in the Gateway Condo located at 2098 Frederick Douglass Blvd.

As always, stay tuned on when Harlem Shambles will be opening. I am sure it will be soon!

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Money Series: How Harlem spends their money

Household Spending 10027 12 month avg

I have been living in Harlem since 2006 and have witnessed enormous change since then with new restaurants opening on every major avenue, buildings popping up throughout upper Manhattan, and more new faces lining Harlem streets. With all this change, I have always wondered about spending. How do we, i.e. Harlem locals, spend our money? Where does all of our money go?

I researched the topic and unearthed some interesting numbers via an online money management tool on how we spend. In the Money Series, I will share data discovered by zip code from shopping to health & family to food & drink and more! First up is 10027 of Harlem.

On a 12 month average, household spending for 10027 includes: $568 for food &

Food and Drink 10027 12 month avg

drink, $269 is for dining out and $299 is for groceries. Next on the list is health & family. Harlem locals from 10027 spend a total of $552. The majority of the figure goes to insurance and school & child care with $166 and then $156. The remaining total is divided among four other categories shown in the graph.

After food & drink and health & family, house & income rounds out the top three

Health and Family 10027 12 month avg

spending categories. This part of Harlem spends a total of $472. Two-hundred and six dollars goes to utilities. One-hundred and twenty-four dollars goes to home improvement and $122 goes to phone. The remaining $20 is for home maintenance. The graph below displays the remaining areas of spending for 10027.

House and Home 10027 12 month avg

All figures are based on ages from 18 to 65 years of age and above, all households (married with kids or without, male or female single with kids or without), and income starting at $20,000 to $125k and above.

Next up in the Money Series is how Harlem locals from 10030 spend!

A little bit of Poland comes to 67 Orange Street in Harlem

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This past week I attended 67 Orange Street’s Cocktail Educational Series in Harlem and let me say, I have a new-found appreciation for that cocktail I order and for the person behind the bar making it. I had no idea what (or the hard work) that goes into a drink until I went to 67 Orange, located at 2082 Frederick Douglass Blvd. I had my cocktail breakthrough this past Tuesday where Zu Vodka, bison grass vodka from Poland, was the guest of honor.

Karl, the owner of 67 Orange and his guest from ZU, gave a quick presentation on ZU and then presented handcrafted cocktails with ZU Vodka. I had the Smokin Thyme, which included fresh raspberries with thyme, agave, lime juice,shaken with Mezcal, St.Germain and Zu. It was very good.That drink was right up there with my usual order at 67 Orange, the Baxter Street.  I gotta have that jalapeno flavor-even in my drink! If you like some caliente flavor to your cocktail, try the Baxter Street!

To learn more about what goes into a cocktail and find new appreciation like I did, check out the CockTail Educational Series at 67 Orange in Harlem. Their next series takes place August 2!

Atomic Wings in Harlem turns a page…for the better

By HarlemGal and Austin2Harlem
There’s that saying “give me a second chance.” Sound familiar? We
decided to act on that attage by giving Atomic Wings in Harlem another try recently. Why? Because we know for a fact that Atomic Wings, located at the northeast corner of Frederick Douglass Blvd and 113th Street, is entirely under new management (they have nothing to do with prior management) and their menu has changed. And we can confirm, Atomic Wings, which reopened May 13, is not anything like it was before. We know. We use to go there. Atomic Wings in Harlem has started a new chapter and it is definitely for the better.

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The new owners are David Singh and Bobby Singh. They are from Queens and the Atomic Wings franchise is their first endeavor into the food business. Don’t be alarmed that they are not seasoned food chain owners. From what we witnessed, they want to succeed in Harlem. They care about the customer and appear to be very focused on making the Harlem customer happy. What steps have they taken to try to please the Harlem customer? Plenty.

First, there is a decrease in prices on the menu. “The items on the menu are .50 to .75 cents less than the prior menu,” says David Singh. They want to offer some saving to their already affordable prices. A plate of chicken wings at Atomic Wings costs $8.99 for 10. At Rack and Soul, a plate of 6 wings will cost you $10.95 according to a takeout menu we have.

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There are signature salads on the menu. Instead of having a long list of salad options, Atomic Wings has narrowed the choices down to four options. The reason is they want to focus on quality not quantity.

Atomic Wings in Harlem now offers pulled pork sliders and chipotle fried shrimp sliders. No more hamburgers, folks! Their strategy is to focus on the quality. We tasted these two items and they are a home run! We highly recommend these items. The country buns are very fresh. The pork was tender topped with cheddar cheese. And the fried shrimp was very meaty. We recommend ordering these items with sweet potato fries. Each plate is $7.99 and plentiful.

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the chicken wings. Atomic Wings has new sauces. They have added honey mustard, jerk BBQ, sweet and tangy and chipotle BBQ sauces. Out of the new sauces offered, we tried honey mustard, sweet and tangy, and garlic parmesan. We both loved garlic parmesan the best. Not that the other sauces were not good. We just like the garlic taste! And we liked eating our chicken wings boneless. However, customers can order them either way-with bone or without.

I can’t recall if waffle fries were on the prior menu. However, the ones we tried at the new management Atomic Wings were excellent. They were big and crispy. Even after setting on the table for a while, the waffle fries remained crispy. They did not get lumpy and sloppy after while. We also recommend trying the waffle fries.

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Home delivery is available by Atomic Wings. Go on GrubHub or their website or call, and they will deliver. Their commitment is to deliver within 35 minutes with a 14 block radius.

If delivery is not your preference, dine in at Atomic Wings. They offer free unlimited wi-fi and they will soon offer beer. They have applied for a beer license and hope to get approval in the immediate future.

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While we have outlined all the improvements at Atomic Wings in Harlem and encouraging Harlemites to give them a second chance, readers are probably wondering, what happened to the previous place and why did Atomic Wings close? From what we have learned from various sources is that the place was poorly managed. The old management had five owners, there are only two now, and rent and taxes got backed up so much they could never catch up. Once rent and taxes become a challenge, the state and Feds come into the picture. And most of us who walked by the Atomic Wings saw the obvious signs on the wall.

We hope this restaurant review will give you a better understanding of Atomic Wings and that Harlemites do what we did, which was to put the past behind on the old and give the new Atomic Wings a second chance. We just did and are very pleased to report a second chance resulted in two happy bellies. The food was dee-li-cious!

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Celebrate Harlem Week with Marcus Samuelsson with Macy’s A-Go-Go Food Truck

I have more details about Marcus Samuelsson’s July 31 participation in “Macy’s Chefs A-Go-Go,” a national food truck tour showcasing the Macy’s Culinary Council. The Macy’s Food Truck is rolling into upper Manhattan-126th Street and Riverside Drive to be exact-with our fellow Harlemite during Harlem Week, a month long celebration of the culture, arts, civil rights, politics, religion and community education. Perfect timing! Love it!

From noon to 4:00 p.m., Red Rooster Harlem owner and Chef Marcus Samuelsson will be on board at the Harlem stop, cooking his signature recipes and dishing them out for free! And guess what Marcus will be cooking? He will be serving catfish sandwiches with fried caper slaw and sweet potato fries! Yummy! That sounds delicious for lunch on Sunday, July 31.

If you have not tried Marcus Samuelsson’s cuisine, here is your opportunity! And the best ingredient in Marcus’ food that day, it’s FREE! See you at 126th and Riverside, July 31 at noon! Cheers!

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Burger drama in East Harlem could prove profitable for Milk Burger

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There is a burger-gate happening right now in our own backyard. The owners of East Harlem’s Milk Burger, located at 2056 Second Avenue, are currently fighting off accusations that they cloned their menu and website from the popular and expensive Shake Shack. This all came about when SeriousEats.com blog posted about Milk Burger’s marketing material looking very similar to Shake Shack. The burger drama happened in the last 24 hours.

So where does the burger drama currently stand? Milk Burger has taken all previous material down from their website and has a static page up. The owner has given interviews explaining it was a mistake executed by an intern, and a ton of free press has been given to an East Harlem establishment that most businesses could only dream of!

In summary, this whole burger drama talking place between David (Milk Burger) and Goliath (Shake Shack) could prove profitable for one business here. Milk Burger just opened. They are not the Rupert Murdoch of hamburgers. I believe the owner. It was an honest mistake. He probably just looked at the material that was presented to him for sign off and quickly approved it. Now there is only one place to potentially go from here when you’re starting a business at the bottom…and that’s up!

My advice to the owner of Milk Burger, start drafting the apology letter to Shake Shack and a big fat thank you note to SeriousEats. You are about to get some serious burger business! Who is going with me to eat at Milk Burger in East Harlem?

Lido Harlem joining sidewalk seating club soon?

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Back in May, I told you about how Lido Italian Restaurant and Bar was petitioning Community Board 10 to receive approval for sidewalk seating. It appears they have received the green light based on these photos! Walking by the Harlem establishment, located on the southeast corner of Frederick Douglass Blvd and 117th, last night there was white metal fences on display perfectly lined up outside the Italian eatery. The way the fences were placed it’s an obvious signal that Lido Harlem are joining the sidewalk seating club very soon, which includes bier international, 5 and Diamond, Harlem Tavern, Les Ambassades Red Rooster Harlem, Settepani, Nectar, Chez Lucienne and more! Maybe they will open the sidewalk seating to patrons this weekend?

This is good news. Harlemites have another place to hang while dining that offers outdoor seating! Congrats to Susannah, her business partner, chef and their entire team! Way to go!

Next time I stop by Lido Harlem for dinner, this chica wants the seat right outside on the sidewalk. Can’t wait!

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Macy’s Chefs A-Go-Go Food Truck with Harlem’s own, Marcus Samuelsson

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I came across an advertisement in The New York Times-dining section this week talking about Macy’s first-ever food truck featuring Chef Marcus Samuelsson. With anything that says “first-ever,” I inquired further to see what’s up with our fellow Harlemite. This is the deal. “Macy’s Chefs A-Go-Go,” a national food truck tour showcasing the Macy’s Culinary Council, is rolling into New York City this month with two stops. One of those two stops is happening in Harlem!

On Sunday, July 31 Marcus Samuelsson, who owns Red Rooster Harlem and resides in the area, will be at 126th Street and Riverside Drive from noon to 4 p.m. on Macy’s Chefs A-Go-Go Food Truck cooking his signature recipes and dishes for those that pass by the food truck for FREE! That’s right! The food Marcus will be cooking on the food truck will be given out for free! I don’t know exactly what Marcus will be cooking yet. However once I find out, I will pass along!

So if you haven’t tasted Marcus Samuelsson’s fabulous food creations before, now is your chance…and for free! All you have to do is go by Macy’s first-ever food truck on July 31, which will be parked with Marcus inside at 126th and Riverside Drive.

For those interested in the first stop of the Macy’s Food Truck, it is happening this weekend, July 16, downtown at Union Square’s Farmers Market with Chef Todd English.

See you at the Macy’s Food Truck in Harlem!

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Cedric French Bistro and Bar chooses red color scheme similar to other Harlem establishments

I was walking along St. Nicholas Avenue this past weekend and could not help but notice the brand new awning hanging outside the old Mojo Harlem, which will now be-and hopefully opening soon-Cedric Bistro. In April, The New York Post was the first to report that “a hot new bistro was coming to Harlem,” at St. Nicholas and 119th Street. The Post also noted that Cedric would open in June. That did not happen. However, if you walk by Cedric you can see the work they are doing. They have their bright red color awning on display outside. Also, if you peak in on one of the windows, it’s clear red will be used in various parts of the restaurant, such as on seat covers and on their newly built booths. Red appears to be a popular color in Harlem lately when it comes to opening new establishments. For Cedric, Red is a nice transition from the previous color scheme, which I believe was more plum and purple tones.

Can’t wait to see the final touches on Cedric in Harlem. They should be opening in the summer as well! Stay tune…

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Harlem’s Honeycomb Burgers aiming to open by end of summer

I was at Chocolat recently enjoying their happy hour (more on that later) and while there I inquired about the status of Honeycomb Burgers, located on Frederick Douglass Blvd between 119th and 120th Street. The word is they are hoping to open the place by the end of summer. Harlemites can hopefully expect a new burger joint around August or mid September. We all know the drill when it comes to opening these establishments. Deadlines are very fluid. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that the hamburger prices will be reasonably priced at Honeycomb Burgers in Harlem!

Leon Ellis, the owner of Moca and Chocolat, owns Honeycomb Burgers. He is clearly expanding his restaurant business in Harlem and will soon dominate this particular block in Harlem once his third business opens. Good for Leon and best wishes for continued success! Can’t wait to have a burger there!

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