Tag Archives: restaurant row

Harlem Tavern starts to build roof for outdoor space

20111116-085353.jpg

20111116-085401.jpg
Back in September, HarlemGal Inc. blogged about how Harlem Tavern, located on the northwest corner of 116th Street and Frederick Douglass Blvd., had plans to weatherize its outdoor space. According to these pictures taken last night (November 15), the work has begun!

Having a roof cover their outdoor space is a great idea. I am so happy that Harlem Tavern is taking this approach! Now we just need to see evidence of heating lamps to go along with that new roof!

Chocolat in Harlem reopens after health violation by the City

20111114-073921.jpg

20111114-073943.jpg

20111114-073957.jpg
A reader informed HarlemGal Inc over the weekend that Chocolat Restaurant and Lounge, located on the corner of 120th Street and Frederick Douglass Blvd, was closed and had a big old health violation sticker slapped on the double doors. I went by to check out it over the weekend and someone on site told me they would reopen Saturday night. I went by yesterday (Sunday) and Chocolat was definitely open with people inside dining.

My guess is the Health Department came by announced and found several health code violations. Then slapped them with a fine and closed their doors until they corrected the violations. That’s my guess. What do you think?

Harlem Tavern making plans to weatherize its outdoor space

20110926-073548.jpg
We went to Harlem Tavern this past weekend. We ordered appetizers, drinks and enjoyed sitting outside. While there we wondered, what’s gonna happen to all this outdoor space once the weather changes? We asked. Harlem Tavern plans on building a marquee, a roof like shelter, projecting above the outdoor space. The marquee would have indoor heaters and the shelter would be clear where possible. Maybe on the side walls, but unlikely the roof? The plan is to build the marquee in the next few weeks. And of course, this is all dependent on approvals and costs.

So if you were wondering like we were about whether all that door space was gonna close down for the late fall and winter or stay open, the plan is to have it available! That’s going to be awesome to have winter outdoor seating at Harlem Tavern, don’t you agree?

Happy Hour begins at Harlem Tavern


For those of you who have wondered whether Harlem Tavern will participate in a happy hour because all you really want to do is drink there and not necessarily dine, the answer is now a yes! Harlem Tavern announced Sunday evening that they will now have a happy hour. It starts tomorrow, Monday, August 22 from 4-7 p.m. Their happy hour specials include $5 well drinks, Bud Light, Shock Top, Yuengling, Red Sangria, delicious Moscato and red wine. Harlem Tavern happy hour is from Monday-Friday.

This is a nice addition to the other establishments that provide happy hour specials as well.

Drink up Harlem! To read prior blog coverage on Harlem Tavern, click here or go to the category tags on the right hand side of the screen!

The 5 and Diamond Harlem launches ‘Monday Mac and Cheese Mania’

After a busy weekend in Harlem and Monday work day approaches, who wants to cook Monday evenings? I certainly don’t feel like it the majority of the time. The folks over at 5 and Diamond Harlem, located at 2072 Frederick Douglass Blvd., know how rough us Harlemites have it on a Monday after a long weekend. To help alleviate with the busy schedule on Mondays, 5 and Diamond has launched an easy Monday menu along with laid back prices.

The new Monday night dinner menu includes five different mac and cheeses. Its’s called “Monday Mac & Cheese Mania” ranging from $8 to $12 dollars a plate. The 5 and Diamond is also offering five different types of sandwiches. Two out of the five are burgers priced around $10.

In addition to the new Monday menu, 5 and Diamond is adding a little fun to the evening.  DJ Whutevva from Power 105.1 will be spinning pop, rock, hip hop and R & B from 5:30-9:00 p.m. With the music ending at 9 p.m., patrons can still make it home early with plenty of time to get ready for work the next work day.
So if you don’t feel like cooking a meal on a Monday and don’t want to spend a lot, check out Monday Mac Mania at 5 and Diamond in Harlem!

Why is Questan’s in Harlem dark for a Wednesday night?

A reader asked us if we noticed that Questan’s, located at 2113 Frederick Douglass Blvd., is closed tonight, July 27. I hadn’t really paid attention until I checked on my home from dinner tonight. I walked by and it is in fact dark tonight, Wednesday, July 27. That’s kind of odd for a Wednesday night-especially during the summer. Maybe they are getting ready to celebrate their two-year anniversary? They opened up for business in August 2009.

Does anyone know what is up? Why is Questan’s closed? Diganos (Tell us).

Update: An HG twitter follower says it has been closed for a few days now because it is changing management and that there is a notice on the door that states: “Closed and under new management. Making changes to serve you better.” Stay tuned…

20110727-112041.jpg

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.

20110722-122207.jpg
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.

20110722-122156.jpg
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.

If there are signature salads, there have to be signature sauces to go along with 20110722-122231.jpg
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.

20110722-122257.jpg
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.

20110722-122307.jpg
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!

20110722-122216.jpg

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!

20110711-122235.jpg

20110711-122246.jpg

Want to work at Harlem Tavern?

20110709-095255.jpg

20110709-095312.jpg
If you are looking for work and have experience in high volume restaurants, head on over to Harlem Tavern, located on the corner of 116th and Frederick Douglass Blvd., with your resume! They are looking for people with 2 to 3 years of experience in working in the restaurant business.

Please pass this along to anyone who know who is looking for work and would like to work at Harlem Tavern! Have a great weekend!

Sign says Harlem Tavern officially opening July 1

Jun 30, 2011 @ 12:05
By HarlemGal
A reader provided us with a nice photo this morning about Harlem Tavern! I believe the photo says it all-opening day at Harlem Tavern starts at 5 pm, July 1! See you there! And a big thanks to our reader!!! You know who you are! You are the BEST!

20110630-120424

20110630-120449

20110630-120506