Tag Archives: restaurants

Three Harlem restaurants make Michelin ‘Bib Gourmand’ best places under $40 list

Posted on July 5, 2011 | 2 comments

Sep 29, 2010 @ 16:24

By HarlemGal
Michelin “Bib Gourmand” restaurant picks under $40 for New York City were recently announced. Two Harlem restaurants made the list again and one new Harlem restaurant was added. El Paso Taqueria, located at 1642 Lexington Avenue or 237 E. 116th Street or 64 E. 97th Street, made the list for the very first time! Congrats to the Spanish Harlem restaurant known for cooking and serving good Mexican food!
Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, located in the West Harlem area and Zoma, located on the southeast corner of 113th Street and Frederick Douglass Blvd. made the list again! Good for them!
In total three restaurants made the list. Click here to see the complete list. Who else from Harlem do you think should have made the list of best restaurants under $40?

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Two Harlemites set to launch Harlem Delivers

Posted on July 5, 2011 | Leave a comment

Jun 9, 2010 @ 17:52

By HarlemGal
Michael Leopold and Steve Friedson, who reside in Harlem and have been for five years, were brainstorming one day about how they would like to have an abundance of food delivery options in Harlem right at their finger tips. Leopold and Friedson love their Harlem community they live in, however, they feel there is limited food delivery options in the area. After wishing and brainstorming further, they decided to put those thoughts into action. The result, a service called Harlem Delivers. Harlem Delivers is exactly just that, a delivery service that will bring food to Harlem residents only from outside food vendors. Leopold, a co-founder, tells HarlemCondoLife that they already have six Upper Westside food establishments that have signed on the dotted line to deliver their food products to Harlemites. They are: Soy y Sombra, a Spanish restaurant, Gabriela’s, offers Mexican, Earthen Over, serves Indian, Bodrum offer Turkish cuisine, Fusha West, and Blossum, which is no meat and Kosher.
But don’t start dialing up to order some dinner just yet. Harlem Delivers plans to open at the end of June, if they have all the staff power in place, and they are only offering the initial service to a targeted area, which will be from 145th Street to 149th from Frederick Douglass Blvd to Edgecomb Avenue. Once the business is launched and they have this particular area fully serviced, Harlem Delivers hopes to expand the business and service throughout Harlem. “Our strategy will be similar to a business like Fresh Direct. They expanded zip code by zip code,” said Leopold.
I asked about where local businesses/restaurant establishments fit in their business strategy and Harlem Delivers plans to work in partnership with them as well. Leopold said they already have one local business that is interested! So sit tight hombres, all of us in Harlem may soon get to order food delivery from wherever and whenever!

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5 & Diamond in Harlem launches supper club and cooking class

Posted on July 5, 2011 | Leave a comment

Jun 6, 2010 @ 18:03
By HarlemGal
Ever wondered about how to learn to butcher, prep, cook and serve lamb? Well, now is your chance to pick up that skill right here in Harlem at 5 & Diamond located at 2072 Frederick Douglass Blvd.
Starting Monday, June 7, Five & Diamond is launching its first bi-weekly supper club/cooking class. For $55 bucks a person, you can learn all the attributes of lamb! And the interesting part of this course aside from learning about the lamb,  is you’ll get to learn from bad boy chef Ryan Skeen. Hmm…could be fun and interesting! Let’s just hope the cooking class is much better than his hand/keg stand shown below.

Five & Diamond flier

Photo by Joannie

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Red Rooster lands on Lenox Avenue, Marcus Samuelsson to be cooking in Harlem Fall 2010

Posted on July 5, 2011 | Leave a comment

May 7, 2010 @ 18:07

By HarlemGal
Can I just say from the start, I adore and appreciate our HarlemCondoLife.com readers very much! They’re like a Tonnie’s cupcake! Awesome! Seconds from when the Crain’s New York story broke about Red Rooster landing at 310 Lenox Avenue, a HCL reader notified us right away with the news! A big thank you to Tero!
As soon as I received that heads up, what did I do next? Aside from responding to our reader, I picked up the phone and called Marcus Samuelsson’s flack. Here’s the chisme!
The lease was just signed this week so the ink is barely dry. Samuelsson and his team are aiming to have Red Rooster open for customers this Fall. I probed a bit further. The PR rep did not want to comment on why 310 Lenox Avenue versus other locals throughout Harlem nor say anything about length or amount of the lease? The rep said “those type of details are for Marcus to answer and that’s not possible right now since he’s out of the country.” Hmm, I wonder if our celebrity chef and local Harlem resident gave those folks quoted in Crain’s the green light to say something about the location of Red Rooster? Given that Marcus is not available to confirm this wonderful news himself, I seriously doubt it. It seems like someone or somebody stole a little bit of Samuelsson’s thunder! If so, that’s not cool!
As for my thoughts on the Red Rooster location in Harlem, to be honest I was keeping my figures crossed that it would land on Frederick Douglass Blvd., however, after walking over to Lenox Ave to check out the space tonight (Friday), I can see why Samuelsson choose that location. It’s right next to Chez Lucienne, Sylvia’s and the planned Hyatt Hotel backed by Emmitt Smith and partners. Also, 310 Lenox Avenue is right by the 2/3 subway line. Uptowners and downtowners can easily get to Red Rooster. In addition, all those Bravo TV viewers, who watch Samuelsson on Top Chef Masters-Season 2, and plan to or regularly visit the Big Apple will trek up to Harlem. Double hmm. Can you say the words “tourist invasion is upon us…soon…again!

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Harlem’s Just Wingin It premieres April 20th on Construction Intervention

Posted on July 5, 2011 | Leave a comment

Apr 2, 2010 @ 11:30

By HarlemGal

We now have an exact date on when Just Wingin It and its makeover premieres on the Discovery Channel’s new series Construction Intervention. Below is the episode description released to the media by Discovery:

Just Wingin’ It
Premieres Tuesday, April 20 at 10PM ET/PT

Nestled on the busy streets of Eighth Avenue [also known as Frederick Douglass Blvd.] in Harlem, Walter Lewis always wanted to give back to his community by opening a neighborhood restaurant. Being a firefighter wasn’t enough for Walter. He wanted to open a business that helped this community thrive while providing a safe hangout for local youths. Walter’s dreams came true when he opened Just Wingin’ It in Harlem. Unfortunately, a bad construction job forced him to shut his doors indefinitely – only a few months after opening. Walter has always been there for his community and now Charlie and his team are going to be there for him. The redesign of this small restaurant includes a brand new layout that can handle heavy customer traffic, new restane into this soon-to-be community hot spot.

Half of what is mentioned above I did not know about so I cannot provide much comment. The only item I can attest to is this part of the description: “this soon-to-be community hot spot.” I like the sound of that! HarlemCondoLife could not agree more! Especially on FDB from 110th to 125th Street. That area is becoming a hot spot due to new restaurant establishments, grocery store, wine store and several condo developments!

In closing, I have a quick question for Walter Lewis. When are you opening up for business? Please tell us so we can come by for food and see the new place! By the way, Just Wingin It is located at 2190 Frederick Douglass Blvd. in Central Harlem.

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Café Amrita: The Harlem Chameleon

Posted on July 5, 2011 | Leave a comment

Mar 31, 2010 @ 1:00

By Austin2Harlem

Café Amrita, located at 301 West 110th Street, can be almost anything you want it to be. In the morning, it’s a bright, airy spot for coffee, hot chocolate and a breakfast sandwich or toasted bagel. At lunch it’s a good place to grab a quick and delicious grilled Panini.  The roast beef and swiss Panini is my favorite along with chips. Hang out a little later in the evening as the lights are turned down and it transforms into the perfect neighborhood watering hole.

If you show up before 8 p.m., you’ll be treated to happy hour specials including $4 draft beer and $5 wine. I generally order Samuel Adams on tap or Blue Moon. After happy hour ends, it’s just a buck more, so feel free to stick around and enjoy the game on the big screen TV or just chat with the friendly patrons and staff.  You can choose from the numerous small tables or grab a stool at the long wooden bar.

No matter when you visit, you’ll find Café Amrita in Harlem to be a warm, relaxed, and a welcoming venue filled with tasty food and drinks at reasonable prices. Throw in the affable mix of Harlem locals, and it may just become your favorite place to spend an hour…or three. I know that for this recently transplanted Texan to Harlem, it’s a spot where you’ll often find me hanging my hat.

Cafe Amrita
301 West 110th Street
New York, NY 10026
t: 212-222-0683
Open from 8 am to around midnight -1 am every day

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Harlem’s local gems

Posted on July 5, 2011 | Leave a comment

Mar 5, 2010 @ 7:30
By HarlemGal
While Best Yet Market celebrates its grand opening March 5, HarlemCondoLife would like to echo the words that one of our readers left on our site: “don’t forget about the local gems that were here before [Best Yet].”  Those comments are smack right on! We must continue to support all of our local businesses.

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There are several places of business close to our new supermarket that offer excellent products. HCL agrees with our reader that Harlem’s Patisserie Des Ambassades, located right across the street from Best Yet, offers delicious breads and pastries. I have purchased baguette’s at Les Ambassades before and they are absolutely delicious. Go purchase bread there. It is very good! And their pastries are scrumptious as well. There are a wide variety of pastries to choose from at Les Ambassades, such as fruit tarts, danishes, tiramisu, creme brulee and more. The food is darn tastie as well. But I won’t elaborate about the food just yet. Stay tune for a restaurant review by a HCL blogger.

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As for other places close by that offer excellent desserts and bread rolls is Lee Lee’s Baked Goods and a few blocks east  on 116th and St. Nicholas is Make My Cake.

We encourage you to visit Lee Lee’s, Make My Cake and Les Ambassades. They won’t disappoint. Take our word for it!

Patisserie Des Ambassades
2200 8th Ave
(between 118th St & 119th St)
New York, NY 10026
(212) 666-0078

Lee Lee’s Baked Goods
283 W 118th Street close to FDB
New York, NY 10026
(917) 493-6633

Make My Cake
121 St. Nicholas Ave (at 116th St.)
(212) 932.0833

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Harlem’s Gospel Uptown featured on CNN

Posted on July 5, 2011 | Leave a comment

Feb 18, 2010 @ 0:34
By HarlemGal

Click here to see Gospel Uptown on CNN

Anderson Cooper of CNN’s 360 came up to Harlem on Tuesday, February 16 to tape a news story called Investing in Harlem. In the video piece, Joe Holland, the owner of Gospel Uptown (GU) was featured and given the opportunity to tell viewers why he invested in Harlem through GU, created jobs and the obstacles he faced in opening his establishment.

I assume  since the story was on 360 the evening of February 16 and played all day on Wednesday (February 17) on CNN, Gospel Uptown will be very busy in the reservation area – if not more.  Let’s hope so! And way to go Gospel Uptown!

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UPDATE: Marcus Samuelsson will open up a restaurant in Harlem, Red Rooster is the name

Posted on July 5, 2011 | Leave a comment

Feb 10, 2010 @ 23:29
By HarlemGal

I am quickly learning that any move Chef Marcus Samuelsson makes it’s like hot cakes. I saw all the online chatter Wednesday (again) and a post on Twitter about Samuelsson opening up a restaurant in Harlem. As we did with our first post about this topic, we  headed straight to his PR rep directly to ask: is our Harlem neighbor going to be opening up a restaurant where he lives or not? Are Harlemites going to be able to enjoy his culinary expertise uptown, instead of downtown? The answer is ….a big YES! The new restaurant will be named Red Rooster and his goal is to open this place in 2010. The exact location and menu have not been decided yet, per his PR rep.

This is more good news for the restaurant scene in Harlem and a milestone for Samuelsson. Apparently, he has lived in Harlem for six years now and this will be his first restaurant in Harlem.  Thanks to him and several other restaurants in Harlem, we are starting to have more and more options to choose from when it comes to dining out in Harlem. My only hope now is that Samuelsson moves to open his restaurant in a timely manner.  There is that old business recipe “time kills the deal.” You take too much time and …well…a lot of things can happen! Let’s hope for the best and start placing bets on where Samuelsson’s restaurant will land. Any guess?

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Crowds seen at Harlem’s Frizzante, Good food and design attracts

Posted on July 5, 2011 | Leave a comment

Jan 19, 2010 @ 10:00

HarlemCondoLife

By HarlemGal and Austin2Harlem
We enjoy dining out in Harlem and this past holiday weekend was no exception. For our Friday night outing, we decided to check out one of the newest food establishments in Harlem, Frizzante Italian Bistro & Bar, located on the corner of 117th Street and Frederick Douglass Blvd. Like most Harlemites, we wondered when this place was going to open up. After our visit, we now feel the wait was worth it.

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Let us start off by saying, Frizzante did not disappoint. We walked in around 9 PM and most tables were taken. Our first thought was “are we in Harlem?” Where did all these people come from? We didn’t recognize anyone in the place. It immediately felt like a downtown Italian bistro in Little Italy. The layout of the place is very well done with hanging lights, big wooden tables and a beautiful corner bar showcasing numerous wine bottles.

When we were seated, paper menus were provided with the words “CASH ONLY” on it. As we quickly scanned the menu, the price point diminished the cash only aspect because most items on the menu were below $10. BONUS! We were quite impressed. Now we were thinking, the next bonus will be if the food matches or surpasses its prices. And it did!

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We started off with Antipasto misto: proscuitto, mortadella, soppressata and capocollo served on a nice round white place; and Cuori de carciofo alla Milanese: pan seared artichoke hearts. Both starters were simple, but very tasty. The artichokes were breaded and served with lemon wedges. We sprinkled a little bit of lemon juice on top and the item tasted like you were biting into a meaty artichoke. The cured meat was wonderful as well. We liked the proscuitto and the salami-like meat. Eating the meat with the garnished type red onion gave it a kick.

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For our dinner plates, we had the Lasagne di carne, the meat lasagna, and the Scaloppine di vitello al limone, veal in a white wine and lemon sauce. Both dishes were absolutely delicious! What we were impressed the most by was the meat lasagna. It had no cheese, but it didn’t need it. It was scrumptous without it. The veal was lean and tender. You could cut it with your fork. This dish was served with roasted potatoes, but not that many. The meat was good, but they could have provided just a tad bit more potatoes. Between the two dishes we preferred the meat lasagna. However, you cannot go wrong with either one if you decide you’re in the mood for some veal.

As for dessert, we would have ordered some. After being open for only one day they were not ready to serve dessert or liquor. Frizzante does not have their liquor license yet. Not too worry, they allowed BYOB. We went to the little bodega on the corner of 116th and FDB for some brewski. However, we saw most patrons going to The Winery, Nectar or Harlem Vintage for a bottle of vino to go along with their dinner. Those establishments had to be happy that night and will be for a while until Frizzante gets their liquor license.

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Overall, we had a wonderful time dining at Frizzante. We saw some discombulation, but it was minor and plus Frizzante has only been open for a few days now. Between the two of us our bill was a total of about $45, not including tip. We were extremely pleased with the food and with the fact that we did not have to venture downtown and pay a ton of money for a nice Italian meal.

Frizzante Italian Bistro & Bar
2168 Frederick Douglass Boulevard
New York, NY 10026-2001
(212) 866-0525

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