Tag Archives: restaurants

Seasoned Vegan signs lease at 55 St. Nicholas Avenue in Harlem, aims to open January 2013


The owners of Seasoned Vegan recently notified their KickStarter backers via email that “after much hard work, preparation and long anticipation” they have signed a lease for restaurant space at 55 St. Nicholas Avenue, right at the corner of 113th Street. The note states they “used the money from KickStarter for the down payment… and that they plan to open at their new location in Harlem in January 2013.”

Congrats to Brenda and Aaron. As always, looking forward to another dining option in Harlem.

Reminder: East Harlem Harvest Festival October 27 from noon to 6 pm

It’s Thursday and I am already thinking about the weekend. I am planning on heading on over to the eastside of Harlem, 116th Street and Park Avenue, for its first Harlem Harvest Festival. The event celebrates East Harlem’s restaurants, bakeries and vendors of La Marqueta public market.

Several restaurants will be participating where one can purchase small bites from Agua Fresca, Kiosk, Hot Bread Kitchen, Soul Fixins’, Creole Restaurant and Music Supper Club, Evelyn’s Kitchen, Luca Bosco, Corbin Hill Farm, Spaha Cafe, Tanto Sabor, El Kallejon Botanas Bar, East Harlem Cafe, Lloyd’s Carrot Cake, Coco Le Vu and Nafi’s Hot Pepper Condiments.

There will be Beer Flights available in the Beer Garden at Urban Garden Center and there will be a Make Your Own Brew Workshop hosted by Celeste Beatty, the founder of Sugar Hill Beer of the Harlem Brewing Company. The Children’s Zone at Urban Garden Center will have a cooking demo by Culinaria Festival, face painting, pumpkin carving and the Cutie Patooties workshop. Dimitri Gatanas of Urban Garden Center will be hosting garden related workshops like How to Build Your Own Terrarium and “Plants in Suspension” Dimitri’s version of the Japanese art of Kokedama.

Hope you can join in on the fun. The event starts at noon October 27 and will end at 6 pm. So plenty of time to head on over to La Marqueta at East 116th Street and Park Avenue. See you there!

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.

Aromas Boutique Bakery & Cafe opening soon in East Harlem


The folks behind Aromas Boutique Bakery & Cafe have reached out saying they are scheduled to open in East Harlem on October 22nd. Their new home is at 2248 First Avenue between 115th and 116th Streets. This new business is owned by “natives of East Harlem and they are excited to be opening in the area where they grew up.” Some of their featured desserts will a Red Velvet Doughnut, Bourbon Hazelnut Sticky Bun and out of this world Pumpkin Cake. Yum!

Aromas Boutique Bakery & Cafe already has a website up and ready to go. Check it out!

Aromas Boutique Bakery & Cafe
2248 First Avenue (between 115th & 116th Street)
New York, NY 10029
Phone: 212.360.0010
Fax: 212.360.0012

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.

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.

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.

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.

Harlem’s Cedric French Bistro and Bar turns one


Another Harlem dining establishment is celebrating its first anniversary! Cedric French Bistro and Bar is hitting their one year mark and they are inviting everyone over to celebrate with a champagne brunch tomorrow, August 18 from noon to 6 pm. Head on over, they are offering free mimosa’s for those that dine there. And congrats to Cedric French Bistro on reaching this milestone!