Harlem Days

As many of you know, I now work uptown at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.  Since moving back to NY in 2005, This is the first time I've worked outside of the midtown/40s blocks.  There were some adjustments made to my commute and I had to get an unlimited metro card again (not happy about that added expense) but overall, I'm happy to be working up there.

I came across my grandparents' birth certificates and saw that my great-grandparents, lived in the same area, and at one point, down the block, from the Schomburg.  My grandparents were Harlemites up until my father and uncle were toddlers, before they moved on up to Mt. V, so it seems appropriate that I'm getting to know the area that my dad's side of the family called home for a good portion of their lives.

The first way that I am trying to get to know Harlem is through my stomach. So I'm just going to talk food ...

Harlem is a VERY dangerous place for food, especially, if you like Soul or West Indian food.  I feel like you can't walk two blocks without encountering a Soul, Fried Chicken or West Indian place...cuisines that I happen to really enjoy.  When I'm feeling hungry and I haven't brought my lunch to work, I have to resist the urge to get macaroni and cheese or a beef pattie, and I'm frequently left craving a Cosi Sandwich or soup from Hale and Hearty.  But then again, I manage to get a sandwich for $5 bucks or a whole meal from one of the soul food buffet places (not Mannas...I'm through with them...see below) and spend at a maximum $6, so it's balances out, sort of.

These lunch time challenges made me eager to find good lunch places in the Harlem area, and if I'm trying out lunch, I should find good dinner places too!  (I'll talk about dinner in a later posts) This quest to explore Harlem began when I started working up there in November and continues today, so I'm going to bring you up to speed.

Oui, Oui Crepes and Pizza - They had just opened when I stopped by in November, and I wanted a crepe, but the guy who makes the crepes wasn't there.  So I got a slice of pizza.  It was mediocre, but now that they've been open for awhile I'm going to check them out again soon.  Hopefully the crepe maker will be there.

Spoonbread - I've gone there multiple times.  The first time I got the chicken salad sandwich, fries, a slice of cake and punch.  Based on that order, I hope you understand why I say it's dangerous to have lunch in Harlem.  The sandwich was really delicious and tasted like my mom's chicken salad.  I don't remember the cake and the punch was just spruced up fruit punch.  But the two other times I've gone to Spoonbread they haven't even had the chicken salad.   How hard is it to have chicken salad everyday?  And if it's difficult, make it a special, not a regular menu item.

Manna's - Probably the most prevalent Soul Food buffet franchise in Harlem has a location down the street from the Schomburg.  On the whole their food is fine, but I got their macaroni and cheese twice and both times it was SWEET.  Mac and cheese  should NOT be sweet.  So I'm done with them.

Jacob's - I heard from one of our volunteers that Jacob's was opened by a guy who was a chef for Manna's.  It's another soul food buffet place.  I was nervous that their mac and cheese was going to be sweet, but it wasn't so they are my go-to buffet place.

Trattoria Amici - Misha and I made a lunch date and strolled down Lenox and paused by the door to consider this place.  At first we thought it was closed, but an eager young guy, who actually was the chef, greeted us with a smile and convinced us that the restaurant was indeed open.  I got the penne a la vodka and thought it was really tasty.  I wish it were a bit cheaper, but it was good.  I've gone back a few other times because the chef, Modu, is friendly and they have $5 drinks during happy hour.  I'm not eating cheese right now, so I need to stay away from Italian places, but I'll go back at another time for lunch and try something different. 

88 Chinese Restaurant - I hadn't had Chinese in a while and needed something without cheese. My colleague recommended this place and I was pleased with what they offered.  The lunch special is good.  For $5 I got my usual, Broccoli with Garlic Sauce and plain Fried Rice, and Chicken with Rice Soup.  I wasn't blown away, but I certainly wasn't disappointed.  It wasn't oily and had a nice sauce.  When I'm in the mood for Chinese I will turn to them.

Oh and there is a place across the street in Harlem Hospital.  I was a little nervous about eating there, because I didn't expect anything in the hospital to taste good.  But they make very very delicious grilled chicken wraps. I  round out my sandwich by adding some onion rings from a Halal truck that manages to park itself right in front of the Schomburg everyday.  A grilled chicken wrap with a side of onion rings...yum yum yum yum yum...my preferred lunch time meal.


Ok, those are all of the places I've visited for lunch.  For all of this week I'm going to be brown bagging it to work, but there are many more eateries to try.  Slowly by surely I'll get to know the neighborhood, one meal at a time.  :)