It's a Beautiful Day for a Woodland Walk

Central Park Conservancy organizes monthly Harlem Meer Social Hours and this month's event, a Woodland Walk, is scheduled for this evening. Get to Central Park's Charles A. Dana Discovery Center, located inside the park near 110th Street between Fifth and Lenox Avenues, by 6:30, and you'll experience the beauty of the park at dusk. The walk is guided by Central Park Conservancy horticulturalists.

Next month's event is Seasonal Picnic Recipes. Meet at the same spot on Thursday, May 12 at 6:30 and Chef Margaret Hoffman will show you how to incorporate fresh Greenmarket products into picnic menus. Complimentary refreshments will be provided.

See the Central Park Conservancy Website for more information.

Earl's in New York Press

I'm very excited to have my review of Earl's Beer and Cheese, the new bar that opened on Park Ave between 97th and 98th aves, in the latest issue of New York Press.

If you haven't been to Earl's yet, perhaps this preview of the piece will entice you:

If the allure of microbrews and the 1970s basement vibe isn't enough to draw you uptown, perhaps the seasonal pickle plate ($6) and selection of local cheeses ($9-$15)—what Earl's humbly calls "bar food"—will. Cescari and co-owner Adam Clark originally thought they'd serve only cheese-focused bar food, but when they gave free reign over the menu to chef Corey Cova, who recently spent time in Momofuku Ssam Bar, the menu was upgraded. Cova is constantly trying out new dishes, but one semi-regular standout is the Beer-Cheese ($6). Inspired by a dish Cova had in a beer hall in Prague, it's a basket of toast with raw garlic to rub over it, served with a spicy cheddar and cream ale sauce. Another standout is the grilled cheese with cheddar, kimchi, pork belly and a fried egg ($8).

Earl's Beer and Cheese
1259 Park Ave
(between E. 97th & E. 98th sts.)
212-289-1581

James De La Vega, Running Coach

While running the women's half marathon in Central Park yesterday it seemed that every time I looked down I saw James De La Vega's motivational message written out in caulk. These little notes all along the running loop kept me going strong.

(Updated) James De La Vega's East Harlem

A collection of artist James De La Vega's work throughout East Harlem.


James De La Vega, Running Coach

Here Comes the Sun

Mattress Message

De La Vega Fine Art

Swimming Up Stream

Dresser Dreams

Spring Awakening

Among the Snow and Trash

A Busy Day

Dreams Nearly Washed Away

The Sidewalk Philosopher Strikes Again

Become Your Dream…

Recession Advice from an East Harlem Couch

The Original Patsy's

Taken the other week while having an Italian Harlem adventure.

Patsy's Restaurant Review

Location:
Patsy's Pizzeria
2287 1st Ave, near 118th St.
Phone: (212) 534-9783
Cash Only

East Harlem Gets Its Groupon

Cafe Ollin is the latest East Harlem establishment to offer a deal on Groupon. It's great to see uptown joints getting in on this great marketing tool. The coupons are sure to bring new customers up to the area with these fantastic deals. In the last few weeks I've purchased Groupons from East Harlem Cafe and Lloyds Carrot Cake Cafe. It's entirely possible that I'll be paying for meals solely with Groupons this weekend.

Café Ollin Gets the Serious Eats Treatment

The foodie Website Serious Eats has found their way up to East Harlem, and they are loving the sandwiches at Café Ollin.

"About the size of a catcher's mitt and packed with enough ingredients to stock a small bodega, the juancho cemita ($10) at Café Ollin in East Harlem is closer to a meal than a grab-and-go sandwich."

I'm partial to the tortas myself. Whatever you order Café Ollin, chances are you'll love it too.

Café Ollin
339 East 108th Street, New York NY 10029
212-828-3644
http://www.cafeollin.com/

Here Comes the Sun

A little bit of sunshine from James De La Vega on this rainy day.

Carrot Cake Coming Soon

It looks like Lloyd's Carrot Cake will be expanding to a second location in East Harlem. The new shop will be located on Lexington, between 99th and 100th Streets, next to Vinyl Wine. That is going to be a pretty delicious block.

See the East Harlem NYC Lloyd's Carrot Cake review.

East Harlem, The Basics 4 (Vintage Style Edition)

Entrepreneur, writer, editor, vintage stylist, life enthusiast and all around creative gal Sammy Davis has some great advice for East Harlemites.

Pizza: Sam's Famous Pizzs
116th & Lexington

Coffee: SpaHa Cafe
between 116th & 117th on Lexington

Brunch: Orbit Cafe
2257 1st Ave., at the corner of 116th St.

See the East Harlem NYC Orbit review.
As noted by Levi in the comments, Orbit is closed indefinitely for renovations.

Groceries: Pathmark @ 125th BUT there is an Asian fruit market I love on 3rd avenue between 115th & 116th called Lee's Fruit Market

Laundry: I forget it's official name ... on 115th between 3rd & Lexington

Take-out: oh oh! you gotta visit these guys! Makana's Hawiaan BBQ & Sushi! It's on 1st Avenue between 115th & 116th -- JUST opened

And then specifically for you, best thrift store or shopping locations?
Goodwill at 123rd & 3rd Avenue.

Take a look at Sammy's site. http://sammydvintage.com/


If you're an East Harlemite and would like to tell us your "Basics" shoot me an email. Gloria.Dawson@gmail.com

East Harlem NYC in the New York Daily News

This blog is featured in today's Upper Manhattan section of the New York Daily News. Pick up a copy or check it out online. I'm thrilled to be included! A big thanks to reporter Clem Richardson for reaching out to me for the piece.

Love is in the Air at Earl's

Have you been to East Harlem's (or is it in the way Upper East Side?) awesome new bar Earl's Beer and Cheese? Yes, your prayers for a local bar have finally been answered, and the food is way more than you could have imagined...unless you imagined pork belly, kimchi grilled cheese paired with obscure but awesome microbrews –– because that's exactly what they've got.
If you haven't been to Earl's yet, you must check it out, and there's no better time than Valentine's Day (gentlemen,that's February 14th, please note). They have a fantastic meal lined up with wine pairings from their brother shop Vinyl Wine. The second course of pork belly confit (hmmm, does someone have a thing for pork belly? I think yes.) braised in duck fat with avocado puree and pickled red onion has my mouth watering. $50 a person, give them a call 212-289-1581. As Michael Faircloth, co-owner of Vinyl Wine said on Facebook yesterday, "Every Kiss Begins With Earl's!" I couldn't agree more.

Earl's Beer and Cheese
1259 Park Ave
(between 97th St & 98th St)
Manhattan, NY 10029

The New New Harlem in New York Mag

File this under: Not quite East Harlem, but it's still nice to see uptown getting some love. After spending an evening at Harlem's Bier International, I was excited to open my new issue of New York Magazine and see an extensive feature on Harlem. Bier International (definitely worth heading over the west side and checking out), Red Rooster, Aloft Harlem hotel and dozens of other hot spots are reviewed. The issue is worth picking up so you can explore the other new new Harlem.

Furthering Your East Harlem Education

Are you the sort of East Harlemite who loves to impress friends on walks around the neighborhood with your stories of famous figures who've lived here? Or maybe you're a new neighbor and want to learn about the history of East Harlem. Then there are no better books for you to own than Christopher Bell's East Harlem and his follow up book East Harlem Revisited. They offer readers a visual tour of the emerging area from the early 1900's to today. Bell, who was raised in East Harlem, strings together the complex and ever changing history of the neighborhood. My favorite sections were the stories of Italian Harlem, I love to think about men playing bocce in the parks around here. I was also excited to learn that playwright Arthur Miller and actor Al Pacino were both East Harlemites.

East Harlem and East Harlem Revisited are published by Arcadia Publishing.

Full Disclosure: Arcadia Publishing sent me East Harlem Revisited and my dad lent me East Harlem, which he owned, when I moved into the area. Hmmm, he probably wants it back.

Two Sides of East Harlem

No where else in East Harlem is the area's status as emerging neighborhood more clearly defined than it is on Lexington and 110th Street. An abandoned building, with boarded up windows, sits around the block from one of the largest, and for lack of a better term most luxurious, luxury buildings around. The juxtaposition always startles me.