Two bakeries have opened on Lexington Ave in East Harlem. Lloyd's Carrot Cake has opened their second location in East Harlem. The new shop is located on Lexington, between 99th and 100th Streets, next to Vinyl Wine. And, Giovanna's, the Italian restaurant on Lex between 100th and 101st streets, has opened a bakery next door to their original outpost. Sweet!
Sauce and Lady Walk East on 109th Street, and keep going…and going a bit further –– just pass the giant brightly-lit car wash that floods the street in an eerily glow sits Piatto d’Oro. This Italian restaurant is a quirky hidden gem, decorated with lots of pinks and mint greens, plenty of those classic black and white snapshots, and pink roses on the tables. The décor, the tunes (Louis Prima, of course) and the adorable and attentive Italian staff are staples of many Italian joints, and truth be told I was having a bit of déjà vu. But, “What was it exactly that was making me feel like I’ve been here before in the best way?” I asked myself. Well, I knew instantly what Piatto d’Oro reminded me of when my meal was placed in front of me, and I suddenly wished I had ordered spaghetti and meatballs so my date and I could spaghetti kiss a la Lady and the Tramp. If the waiter came out with an accordion I would have done a few Lady-like shy blinks and kept right on eating.
As any respectable Italian joint knows, it’s all about the sauce, and Piatto d’Oro delivers on that and more. My date and I tried the fried zucchini appetizer ($5.95), penne with vodka sauce ($10.95) and the chicken Sophia Loren ($15.95) (yeah, it's a big breast of chicken (get it?!), and it's stuffed with prosciutto and mozzarella with a shiitake mushroom brown sauce). Everything was completely devoured and then the sauces were soaked up with bread. Go here with someone you're comfortable eating a lot in front of.
Piatto d'Oro 349 E 109th Street (near 1st Ave) 212-828-2929 They also do take-out and delivery. Also see New York Magazine's review.
I apologize that these photos are a bit "Law and Order" crime scene-esque. The Hipstamatic App can be a bit addictive.
It has become a beloved museum of the old-fashioned barber trade, attracting political leaders, entertainers and underworld bosses who mixed with the neighborhood’s declining corps of Italian men, as well as the generations of Puerto Rican and other Latino men who have displaced them... But now the rental pressures of a gentrifying neighborhood are threatening to close his shop, which along with Rao’s celebrity-packed restaurant, is one of the last relics of Italian East Harlem.
The USDA's new Food Desert locator map was dissected by the Village Voice this week, and it turns out that East Harlem is not considered a food desert after all, at least not according to the USDA. According to the Village Voice, this may have something to do with the how the USDA identifies food deserts and that the USDA may consider efforts like fresh produce carts acceptable access to produce. The Voice notes, "if it's hard to identify food deserts across the country using nothing more than algorithms, then within New York City, where "grocery store" can mean "corner deli" and "mile" can mean "two trains and a bus ride," it's virtually impossible."
A community supported agricultural share or CSA is a great way to support local farms and get very affordable farm fresh produce. New York City offers plenty of options for CSAs, but I've never heard of a CSA up here in East Harlem. Now, the produce isn't grown here, of course, it's grown Upstate, but the pick up is at La Marqueta and supports the farms that sell their produce at that market. Breezy Hill Orchard, one of the vendors at La Marqueta, is offering shares for pick up from June to November. Vegetable and fruit shares including strawberries, carrots, apples and egg shares and pasta shares are available. A full vegetable share costs $375 for the 20-week season, a full fruit share is $220 and a half is $110, the egg share is $75 and the pasta share is $85. For more info head up to La Marqueta at 1590 Park Avenue and 116th St, or call Ann the CSA coordinator at (845) 2266-3979.
Small Mexican joints line the streets of East Harlem and many are worth stopping in for a torta or taco to go, but Cafe Ollin is a place where you can and should sit and stay for awhile. Walking inside the nondescript restaurant you'll no-doubt immediately notice the bright blue painted walls. The walls don't look jarring, as you might imagine, instead they are fun and festive and welcoming, as is the overall vibe of the place. Let that festive feeling dictate your beverage choice and pick out one of the brightly colored drinks from the case in the back. There's no alcohol here, but you can get your fill of Mexican style fruit and even Sangria flavored colas as well as traditional soft drinks. Now it's time to start snacking, and you can't go wrong with a crispy tostada to start. For your main I'd suggest trying a torta or cemitas, they come filled with traditional ingredients like beef, chicken and chorizo, or you can go more experimental with ham, pork and pineapple or cactus and potatoes. I've been working my way down the sandwich choices on the menu and haven't been disappointed yet.
Have you been to Cafe Ollin? What's your favorite sandwich?
Cafe Ollin 339 East 108 Street New York, N.Y. 10029 (212) 828-3644
DNAinfo.com has a great piece and accompanying video about the film Nightlife, which is part of the Tribeca Film Festival. The film centers around the "unexpected bond between a pair of Manhattan teens — one from a Harlem project, the other from the tony Upper East Side."
We just recovered from SpaHa (short for Spanish Harlem) and now the Wall Street Journal notes that new business owners are starting to call the eastern side of 125th St, where new businesses are popping up like Wild Olive Market and Sade Skincare, "the New Harlem East." "It contrasts with the many cellphone-, linen- and sneaker-store-lined strips nearby."
Neighborhood nicknames always remind me of an episode of How I Met Your Mother where two characters are convinced of the merits of a certain area of New York City called DoWiSeTrepla. They are told it's "the hottest neighborhood in NYC. The deals are amazing. Much more affordable than Dumbo or Tribeca." They later find out DoWiSeTrepla stands for "Down Wind from The Sewage Treatment Plant." Neighborhood nicknames make me nervous.
Read about the new businesses in New Harlem East, East Harlem or whatever you want to call our neighborhood here.
I love the new stores, but I'm not sure about the new name. What do you think about SpaHa or New Harlem East? Do you like these nicknames or does East Harlem work for you?
In the latest edition of New York Magazine the Underground Gourmet guys make their way up to East Harlem's Earl's Beer and Cheese, and they give it a stellar review!
...on several forays to this northern hinterland, we found much more: an ebullient but civilized young crowd mercifully free of frat-house yahoos, good tunes played at conversation-friendly decibel levels, and a bar-food menu that never failed to surprise or satisfy. Having said that, culinary pilgrims should note that the space is tight and, unlike most of the city’s so-called gastropubs, it’s decidedly a bar rather than a restaurant. You are kindly asked to order from the bartender, and depending on the night and the hour, if you’re not lucky enough to wriggle into an inside seat at the single communal table...
And you thought it was crowded before! Here's hoping East Harlem residents can still squeeze into our favorite pint-sized pub!
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.
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).
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.
