Harlem resident and Columbia School of Journalism grad student Neha Singh Gohil passed along her article on wine tastings at Harlem Vintage, the boutique wine shop on Frederick Douglas Boulevard and 121st Street. Neha gave us permission to post the whole article, and we are more than happy to take up that offer.

After reading the article, you will want to check out Harlem Vintage's February events calendar. In addition to Saturday events covering winemakers of color (4:00pm to 7:00pm on the 10th, 17th and 24th), there is a Rose Champaign tasting on Tuesday the 13th from 5:00pm to 7:00pm and a Valentine's Day bubbly tasting on Wednesday the 14th from 6:00pm to 9:00pm.

Wine tastings serve as meeting place for Harlem residents, old and new

By Neha Singh Gohil

Just before dinner on a recent Saturday evening, people assembled around a long wooden table in Harlem. Edmund Floyd, a black bodyguard in a beanie, has lived in the neighborhood for nearly 20 years. Next to him, Pablo Joo and Nelson Rosado, Latino roommates who moved in just three months ago, clutched shopping bags from Citarella, a gourmet grocery store. Kyla Kupferstein, a black Jewish educator who freelances for magazines in her free time, stood at the end.

These people hadn't met before, but they all shared this: All are Harlemites, and all love wine.

Wine tastings at Harlem Vintage, a boutique wine shop on Fredrick Douglass Boulevard and 121st Street, have always served as a gathering place for West Harlem locals. In an area where almost everyone has an opinion about the new neighbors, nobody brings up gentrification here. The small wine shop became one of the first places where Harlem neighbors - new and old - can come together to enjoy a sip of wine and a laugh on the weekends.

Continue reading "Sunday Reading: Harlem Vintage" »

Posted by Chris at 08:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

So concludes another campaign with another victory. And this being the case, this is the third instance in a year's time that I am reassuring ConEd that I will not forget to pay the bill, pleading with the credit card company not to charge a late fee, and re-introducing myself to Cheryl and the cat. ("Seriously, you know me. I live here, with you. We sleep in the same bed.")

Thankfully, my being around has absolutely nothing to do with Harlem rockin' along. Here is some of what I missed posting on:

Zoma, the Ethiopian restaurant on 8th Ave at 113th Street is now open, and Cheryl and I had a very enjoyable dinner last month. Inside, the decor has a refined simplicity, which was complemented by the noticeably attractive staff and clientele. Also, the chic minimalism sets a nice, even background for the complexity of flavor and spice found in every dish we enjoyed that night. I ordered the Tibs Wett, strips of sirloin simmered in a spiced stew with berbere, kibe, garlic, cardamon, coriander and more. Cheryl ordered the Zoma Tibs, cubed filet mignon pieces marinated in Tej, green peppers, red onions and a special sauce. Both entrees tasted pleasantly authentic, not watered down for wider appeal. But be warned, as someone who often measures what I eat in pounds, not servings (serious), even I was challenged by the rich flour-less chocolate cake.

· Zoma [Official Site]
· Zoma Review [via UPTOWNFlavor]

Harlem Vintage, whose recommendations were enjoyed by guests at both our housewarming and New Year's parties, will soon be opening a wine bar next door to their location at Frederick Douglass Boulevard and 121st Street. Following up on rumors found online and in the Harlem Fur inbox, a rep did confirm that the construction next door is their's, and the bar's projected opening is this summer.

· Harlem Vintage [Official Site]
· Harlem Vintage Grows [Curbed]

And everybody is still building stuff all the time everywhere.

· Around the Block Construction [WATPA?]

Posted by Chris at 05:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Billie's Black, a new gourmet soul food restaurant on 119th between Frederick Douglas Boulevard and St. Nicholas Avenue, opens today, Friday, June 23rd.

UPDATE: As per a photo taken this morning, it seems Billie's Black still has a ways to go before opening.

UPDATED UPDATE As per Harlem Fur tipster flip, Billie's Black did open on Friday, and hosted a packed house!

NEXT: On Saturday, June 24th, Tribal Spears Gallery at 2167 Frederick Douglas Boulevard, between 116th and 117th Streets, holds an opening reception in both galleries from 7:00pm to 10:00pm.

The Tribal Gallery features sculptural artists Keith Anderson (California) and Yuko Ueno (Japan). The Johnson-Byrd Fine Art Gallery features abstract artists Derrie Clemmons (Chicago), Spencer Eldridge (Harlem), and Va Ronique Paronneau (France).

Tribal Spears Cafe offers a solid selection of coffee, tea and small edibles good for both gallery goers and those looking for place to access a free Wi-Fi connection.

Posted by Chris at 08:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Harlem Fur tipster John let us know that Melba Wilson, of Melba's on Frederick Douglas Blvd. and 114th Street, is the person buying Native on Lenox Avenue and 119th Street. Melba tried to re-open Minton's Playhouse with Robert De Niro in 1999. Will she have better luck with Native?

Posted by Chris at 03:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Harlem Fur tipster Sebastian from Street Easy wrote in yesterday to say that Elle & Lui, the Moroccan restaurant on 119th and Frederick Douglas, closed. Although Cheryl and I expected this to happen, as the place was almost always empty, it still put a pain in our hearts. Elle & Lui was by far our favorite restaurant in the neighborhood.

This restaurant should have stayed open. The dishes were expertly prepared; different olive flavors would come through in the homemade hummus, the fragrant lamb tangines was amazingly tender with robust accent flavors from the honey nutmeg sauce and caramelized prunes, and even the tea had an air of being carefully selected by the chef.

Cheryl and I talked with the owner and chef on a couple of different occasions and asked why he thought attendance was so low. He said, in his opinion, people still see Harlem as a bedroom community. There may be many people here with million dollar plus residences, but they still work and go out in other neighborhoods. It's not like he didn't do his groundwork in promoting Elle & Lui. The owner attended community and police precinct meetings and came to know the heads of at least two neighborhood home owners' associations, one with more than 400 members.

As for the restaurant moving into the space opening June 23rd, Sebastian says it will be serving gourmet soul food. Uptown flavor dug up the low down on the details. Billie's Black is the name of the new restaurant. They have kept the same phone number and have a website up here. In all seriousness thou, I would like to echo Uptown's sentiment that another soul food restaurant, gourmet, pedestrian or otherwise, is not what Harlem needs.

Here is to hoping that Elle's chef will soon be using his talents somewhere new.

Posted by Chris at 11:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Posted by Chris at 09:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Hard up to wet your whistle in Harlem? Well Gabriel, blow that horn. It's the rebirth of the be-bop womb. Minton's Playhouse is set to reopen for the first time since 1974, dig? And yes, the bar is stocked.

The Fur has a history of the joint shorter than an epic Ken Burns documentary:

In 1938 tenor Saxophonist Henry Minton opened Minton's Playhouse using a part of the dining area in Harlem's Cecil Hotel.

Although the club had a house band, it was the after hours sessions that earned the joint its reputation as a place of innovation. The house band would play earlier in the night. Later, jazz greats like Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Mile Davis, Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Thelonious Monk and other musicians of the time would experiment with their music, eventually giving birth to Be-Bop.

Minton's ran for 32 years straight before shutting down after it switched over to disco. The Cecil Hotel changed to. It became a single room occupancy hotel for men down on their luck. The neon signs for both places remain, with the Cecil Hotel's on the corner of 118th and St. Nick and Minton's on 118th between St. Nick and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard. Minton's is featured in the 116th Street 2/3 subway stop's glass mosaic.

In early February of 2001 the Cecil Hotel suffered a cigarette-sparked fire that injured twelve people and resulted in the death of at least one man. Had fire inspectors not been near-by when the fire broke out, the results may have been much worse.

Since closing in 1974, Minton's has seen a number of attempts by high-profile people to reopen the venue. Robert De Niro with restaurateurs Drew Neiporent and Melba Wilson (who opened the new Melba's on Frederick Douglas Boulevard) tried in 1996. In 1999, Wall Street hot-shot Kevin Ingram sought to reopen Minton's, but getting caught trying to launder $2.2 million in a federal arms money sting gave him little time to devote to the project.

Now it seems Minton's time to return is here. Harlem jazz club impresario Earl Spain and the owner of both Minton's and the Cecil Hotel, Housing Services Inc., will be opening the venue Friday, May 19th at 3:00pm. Live music begins, again, at 9:00pm.

Let Harlem Fur take you inside for a sneak peak.

Continue reading "Be-Bop, Be-Drunk: Minton's House Set To Play Again" »

Posted by Chris at 11:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

An article in today's New York Times about the restaurant situation in Harlem mentioned something I had not thought about before. State law prohibits serving alcohol within 200 feet of a school or place of worship, and as the article points out, "in some sections of Harlem, there is a church on nearly every block."

I live in one of those sections.

Most of us are familiar with some version of the equation Brian Washington-Palmer, the owner of Native on 118th and Lenox, gave in the article: "food pays the rent; alcohol pays the profits." I had assumed when I moved here that when Harlem reached a critical mass, bistro style restaurants like Native and Elle & Lui would start popping up. Given the number of Harlem churches in my area (Lenox between 116th and 125th), that might be a little more complicated.

But for those who mistakenly think that Harlem is a culinary desert, I politely direct you to Uptown FLAVOR.

Posted by Chris at 07:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I'm not sure what this place is actually named. "Les Ambassades" is on the menu and signage out front, and "Patisserie Des Ambassades" is the name for looking it up on Switchboard and Yelp. Who cares. It's a high diplomatic mission of Senegalese flavor to the French pastry kitchen. The place deserves nomenclatural immunity.

Plus, the restaurant also has breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a weekend brunch.

Whatever the official name, it's at 2200 Frederick Douglass Blvd, right around the corner from Elle & Lui.

Gratuitous confection photos after the jump.

Also, UPTOWN flavor spots a new restaurant on 145th, El Puerto, and is looking for reviews.

Continue reading "Culinary Plenipotentiaries: Patisserie Des Ambassades" »

Posted by Chris at 10:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Last Saturday, when I was walking Scott's dog to Morningside Park, I passed Elle & Lui, a Moroccan restaurant on 119th Street between Frederick Douglas and Adam Clayton Powell Boulevards.

Cheryl and I decided to stop in tonight, and it was the best random decision we have made in a long time. The place looks great, and the food was incredible. Elle & Lui is worth it for the hummus alone, and they have a hookah if you decide to stick around.

I have photos of the interior and our excellent dinner after the jump.

Continue reading "Elle & Lui Is A Real Moroccan Delight" »

Posted by Chris at 11:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (1)

When taking Cimbi to Marcus Garvey Park yesterday, I noticed that opposite Settepani on 120th off Lenox is a recently opened Champaign and caviar bar, Emperor's Roe.

Cheryl and I asked our friends Greg and Sara to try it out with us last night, and we gave it a thumbs up.

The owner told us it has only been open a week, and it shows great promise for summer, as the sides open up onto the sidewalk. Plus it also offers sushi, wine, beer and liquor, which might be a more frequent choice than the caviar, which quickly shoots up to $220 for a serving.

So, I guess whomever was overheard saying this was wrong.

Posted by Chris at 05:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)