New Yorkers below 96th street rarely venture above the park for more than a chicken-and-waffles feast or an amateur night ticket. Well, the joke's on them. Harlem is a thriving neighborhood in every sense of the word--great community spirit, great street life, great architecture, great arts and culture...pretty much great everything. The lifeline of this neighborhood is 125th Street, a thoroughfare known for the Apollo Theater, a zillion stores, and players strutting their stuff. With some of the tastiest grub in town, bargains lining the streets, and locals who keep it real, Harlem is a nabe for New Yorkers who like a little gruff.
For better or for worse, Harlem is changing. Bill Clinton keeps his
office on 125th Street. Chi-chi cupcake cafes push uptown. And chic
French bistros hold shop next to grubby bodegas. Even as American
Apparel wrangles itself a spot across from the Apollo, the nabe retains
a sense of gritty pride. 125th street crawls with vendors selling
everything from fur vests to coco helado. A random TV in the wall next
door to the Apollo plays Soul Train on repeat. Storefront churches fill
Sunday mornings with Gospel ballads. Just journey uptown to check it
out, and leave the credit card at home--125th is still a cash-only kind
of street.
A mind-boggling number of writers, artists, and civil rights leaders
made names for themselves in Harlem, and the community doesn't want
anyone to forget it. At the tip-top of Central Park, Duke Ellington
sits at an oversized grand piano; the statue was erected in 1997.
Shockingly, this young memorial was the first to be dedicated to an
African-American in New York City. The Morris Historical District houses Marcus Garvey Park, renamed after
the famous civil rights leader in 1973. On a more literary note, visit
Langston Hughes Place, the street where the poet lived. Look for the
ivy-covered building halfway down the block, but just snap a photo. The
home went on the market in 2009. Then, check out his first residence at
the still-operating Harlem YMCA. The facilities became an oasis for
black visitors and artists during the Harlem Renaissance, when many of
New York’s hotels, theaters and restaurants were segregated. The list
of short-term residents reads like an artsy walk of fame, with Hughes,
Ralph Ellison, Claude McKay, and James Baldwin all calling the 135th
street location home.
Food, music, and entertainment happily
collide in Harlem. The Apollo Theatre is easily the area's most notable
landmark, with everyone from Ella Fitzgerald to the Jackson Five
kicking off their careers on that stage. The 70-year-old Amateur Night
show still runs on Wednesdays, just prep for a line. Even more musical
greats--Billie Holiday, Bessie Smith--haunted the Alhambra Theatre and
Ballroom. If it had been around, we like to think they all would have
chowed at Sylvia's, a soul food institution that has dished out piping
hot fried chicken, waffles and mashed potatoes since 1962.
Stroll
the residential blocks for a complete view of changing Harlem. Sure,
brownstones sell for upwards of a million dollars, but row-houses with
shattered windows and planked doors remain. Harlem is a neighborhood in
flux, but it's not the Upper West Side. That means old-school New York
tactics still apply. Walk fast, with purpose and with a sense of
direction (even if you managed to get lost in the very
easy-to-understand grid).
Nightlife
Dive bars,
underground jazz, and live music spectacles mesh for a diverse scene.
Catch a show at the landmark Apollo Theater (Harlem residents, bring
proof of address for a discount); sip fancy cocktails at 67 Orange Street; or slip into the Lenox Lounge for classic jazz. Watch indie movies (a lot about Harlem) at Maysles Cinema.
Restaurants
Don't
give soul food all of the credit; Harlem dining is increasingly global.
Kick off the morning at Il Caffe Latte with steaming lattes and
breakfast wraps. Settle in at Patisserie des Ambassades for
French-Senegalese entrees. For straight up Senegalese, try Africa Kine. Head to Amy Ruth's or Sylvia's when home-style cooking
beckons.
Shopping
With everything from Champ's to M.A.C. makeup, 125th street anchors Harlem shopping. H&M stocks the same trendy threads as everywhere else, without the long lines. Gem, a two-story department store that looks like a spruced up garage sale, rules for apartment needs. Street vendors fill any other gaps. Everything you want is here, guaranteed.
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Monday, February 11, 2008
Posted By:
Rob Tallia
Photo:
Rob Tallia
Shrine Bar & Restaurant
You might not want to come for the food (sandwiches and salsa mainly), and somehow the 11-piece funk band I saw last Friday still managed to put me to sleep (although I was only 20 feet away), but the uptown vibe is alive and well at Shrine. Schedule confusion with the bands, haphazard service, stiff cheap drinks, crazy people, and general disorganization coupled with absolutely no pretension or bullshit whatsover—this is what going north of 110th Street in Manhattan is all about. Check the schedule for bands—mainly world music-slanted but with plenty of local Harlem/Columbia acts interspersed—but really, it’s all about the experience. Show up with no preconceived notions and you’ll be fine; it’s a good recipe for life, and for Shrine in particular. Forewarned is forearmed.
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Thursday, November 01, 2007
Posted By:
Vanessa Vichit-Vadakan
Photo:
Amy Ruth’s in lower Harlem bills its establishment as a “Home-Style Southern Cuisine Restaurant” but we know what that really means: fried chicken! Choose light meat or dark plus two side dishes (go for the greens and the macaroni and cheese) and enjoy the drippy, juicy, not-too-crusty chicken that comes out hot and fast. You can get fried chicken (or fried shrimp or fried catfish or even a ribeye steak) atop waffles if you like. Maybe you’d prefer to order by the names of the dishes which are given in honor of some of the many celebrities that come through the door: The Ludicris, perhaps (four fried chicken wings)? Or the Africa Bambaataa (fried whiting)? Expect generous portions, great service, and a deep urge to go back as soon as possible.
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