Hugo "Harlem Moto" O.'s Profile

Astor Row Café came in riding the wave of new establishments that have been blooming along the Lenox Avenue corridor after Red Rooster laid anchor. The place is owned my Manny and Rosa Peña, Manny having a wine specialist and Rosa, a former bartender. The first thing you will notice when you walk in however is how refreshing the interior design is. With so much natural light bursting in you will feel as though you were transported to another region of the world...maybe Berlin, maybe Madrid. The place is spacious with plenty table seating as well as a coffee bar (my recommendation) where you can witness the duo of hosts that is Manny and Rosa. You will immediately be be disarmed by a huge smile from Manny whose laid back attitude is more reticent of a bartender on a beach somewhere in Fiji than a cafe owner in NYC. Manny will walk you through your menu options very slowly until you can almost recite the ingredients in every plate back to him...in his own very unique sense of humor. That's the best part of parking at the coffee bar.

Although I'm sure the menu is still finalizing ARC(Astor Row Cafe) already features some delicious sandwiches featuring some of the tastiest and leanest Iberian Prosciutto this side of the continent. Manny will no doubt brag to you about the fact that the specialty ham is as good and healthy as eating salmon. He takes exceptional pride in putting together your desired sandwich. The sandwiches come in a multi-grain bun or pita. Whatever you choose to cloth your prosciutto in it will taste nothing short of amazing. A light spring salad serves as your side dish. I chose the 'Jamon Iberico de Bellota' sandwich on a bun. Bobi went with the 'Paleta Serrano' on a pita and requested some fresh mozzarella to be added.

Seeing as I was riding the tail end of a bad cold I decided to have some honey ginger tea with my sandwich. I warn you, though, to prepare yourself for the mule's kick you will experience when you sip on this hot beverage. It tastes as if some fresh ginger root was just chopped up for you and set to stew in a slow cooker for days. By the time I left, my throat was clearer and I was breathing better. Read into it what you want. Bobi had a cappuccino which I sampled and I though it was one of the best I've had in a very long time.

Having licked my fingers clean of whatever flavor had been left behind from my sandwich I decided to try something sweet. There were an assortment of mini cupcakes, cookies, and muffins on display. Nothing stood out to me so I opted for a safe choice and asked for the blueberry muffin. Having developed a bit of rapport with Manny he looked at me intently as if parsing the words of my request to which he shook his head in disapproval. "No", he said. To which I decried "What do you mean 'No'?" "I have something much better for you", he says. He then reached for a small nondescript, rectangle-shaped box out of which he pulled out a wrapped loaf of some kind. After he unwrapped it, he cut a thick slice of this mystery loaf and set it to warm in the toaster oven. He walked away and proceeded to charm the next wave of patrons who walked in amazed at the fact that this cafe apparently sprouted out of nowhere. 8 minutes later he transferred the now warmed slice of 'something' to a plate in front of me with 2 forks with out ne'er an explanation of what I was about to taste. Somehow we both knew this was a taste-first-and-describe-later situation. So I sliced into it with for the first morsel. All sorts of synapses fired off in my brain and my tongue in response. At first it tasted like warm banana bread but less sweet and richer in texture. I looked at him for some sort of descriptor as to what I was ingesting. "Yellow Plantain Loaf Cake" he simply says and walks away. I was dumbfounded. Who in their right mind decided to make a loaf of yellow plantain cake? He said he'd tell me but that would require him killing me immediately after divulging that secret. I told him I'd back to him on that request.

I must admit I fell in love with this café. The interior design is fresh and inviting, but I was mostly struck by the warm and humorous demeanor of Manny...and Rose who at one point was dueling him for who can create the best milk art on top of a cup of cappuccino. That was cute. In my opinion their personalities are the greatest draws of this new establishment. They're both very welcoming. Judging by the droves of people who not only walked in but sat down to eat & sip some coffee, I can tell this place is going to grow on the neighborhood (both old and & new) and set down some deep roots.I surely want to be around to see them succeed.

Note:My bill for 2 sandwiches, one cappucino, and one honey ginger tea came out to $26 which was more than fair. Manny told me the yellow plantain cake was on the house for which I was grateful.

A quaint little gem in West Harlem. This place filled the gap left by Cafe Largo and it has excelled in every respect except for the space constraint. But the food, cozy ambience, and pricing is so worth it! Coffee is strong just the way I like it. Every Sunday I have to choose between the Lemon Ricotta pancakes at Pisticci or the Western Scramble+ Strawberry pancakes at Truffa. Let me tell you the choice is far from easy. Brunch here is an absolute delight. The first thing that will hit you when you walk is that there is about as much seating space as a typical NYC livingroom. Do not let that dissuade you. One advantage to the small space is that since you are right in the face of your waiter, he or she will always see when you need something. As the place fills up right quick my best advice is to either call ahead to get an idea of what the wait time is or preferably go there, leave your name and number with the waiter and you'll get a call when a table is ready. You should get a call typically within 15-20 minutes. So what can you possibly do while you wait? Glad you asked.

Some ideas on how to kill time:

1. Feeling lazy? Sit on the bench located in the bus shelter which is right in front of Trufa and pull out your e-reader or tablet.
2.  Take in some culture with the new Peter Woytok sculptures located in the tree lined mall that bisects Broadway. There's one right across the street and one on 137th and Hamilton Place. See map here.( http://www.broadwaymal... ) They're truly awesome and perfect for photo ops.
3. Grab some of the best Spanish café con leche in all of Manhattan at 'Flor De Broadway' located a block and half south. Ask for a 'Negrito' for a delectable shot of espresso. WARNING! This also THE SPOT for one of the best Cuban Sandwiches in all of Harlem. As tempting as it looks and smells...focus! Remember you're getting brunch at Trufa!
4.If you're like me and like rummaging through thrift shops, there is a little hole-in-the-wall storefront, 'Case del Ahorro' half a block north and across the street from Trufa(3454 Broadway). Given the space constraint you can kill about 10 minutes there if you peruse through the books.
5.I got 3 turtles and collectively 3 cats between myself and my mom. Like me, you may also need some pet supplies which you can get at Pet Ark just two doors down from the Thrift Shop.
6. Pick out a wine bottle for dinner. On the corner of 140th and Broadway, two doors down from Trufa is 'Ray's Wines'. The place underwent some major renovations last year and their wine/alcohol selections are pretty darn good. Prices are quite comfortable too.

And now your phone is ringing. Go enjoy your brunch!

Update 01/26/2012

Tasted the take-out the weekend. This place still brings the goods like no other place! Just take a look inside at that chicken and you'll see nothing but fresh white meat! I cannot be more pleased that they brought back such a standard of excellence after all these years.The rice is finger-licking good! The wings are to die for! The lo-mein is slamming! I got a hug from the owner who asked me about my mom and brother (that's some history). My order took a bit longer than usual but that's because the place was literally swarming with old customers and new ones. I still have not tried the sushi. Still stuck on the take-out for now!
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New Home Sing closed down two years ago because of a fire. I am surprised this place has not been reviewed in the past. In fact I am pretty sure I did and Yelp probably removed it. As far as chinese take-out spots are concerned It is by the far the cleanest, tastiest, freshest chicken-frying chinese restaurant in all of Harlem and Washington Heights. And it has been that way forever. This place has been around for over 30 years with folks coming in from the Bronx and across the George Washington Bridge. When it shuttered its doors it literally devastated this West Harlem neighborhood and left all of us scurrying to find a decent substitute coming in at a distant second place.

I am soooo happy to announce that they will be re-opening tomorrow January 18th, 2012. They have completely remodeled the location and added square to their space. They will now feature a sushi-bar as well! I hope to sample their Chinese food and sushi tomorrow and get back to everyone. Yay!

I know it seems implausible or perhaps even "fixed" to see Andres & Kim get so many 5-star ratings and flawless reviews but I assure this is no gimmick. My wife knew of Andres's work and knew a long time before the wedding planning even began that he was the right man for the job. Andres works with his wife, Kim and the both of them are the "dream team" of photography. This is no exaggeration. Well before any of the shoots were decided upon Andres and Kim invited my wife out to lunch and just got to know about us and how we met, etc. That was truly impressive to me. This team is not made of some people you hire to do the job and they split. They take their time to know the couple and get a feel for their style which carefully informs the way they plan to shoot the event. It almost feels like you're interviewing for them. We had Andres and Kim do our engagement shots in Brooklyn and then had them to come with us on our wedding cruise to the Bahamas. It was a 3-day cruise with the wedding taking place on Sunday. It was like having old family friends with us. The entire time it would slip my mind that he and Kim were actually here for work. We shared dinner moments and some great conversations leading up to wedding day. Our wedding took place in Nassau, Bahamas by the beach. Rather than utilizing a Gipetto style method (pulling all the strings) commanding us where to stand or twist our head at every moment, Andres would give very simple suggestions and only relied on momentary flashes of genius to ask us to take a certain pose or walk in a certain direction. They know exactly how to shoot in any environment are masters at reading how much natural light is available. It's truly amazing just to see them in motion. Upon receiving my prints for both photo-shoots my wife and I literally sat silent in awe of what the final product was. Every shot is imbued with purpose and precise timing. It was like I was looking at a photo shoot for GQ or Elle magazine. These guys are that good! The truth is you can gauge the quality of their work by just looking at their portfolio and whatever you pay will seem to pale in comparison to what you are getting in return. What will not be so obvious until you meet them is that in them you are gaining new friends and an extension to your family. They are amazing people apart from their great work. You will want to make them the official chroniclers of your family photos for years to come. I know I do. It makes you want to find excuses or any event to have them take pictures of you just for the heck of it.

Let's see if the old writing muscles still work....

So what used to be a swanky but little known lounge (Revival) in Harlem has become a populated BBQ joint. From the outside it looks like a Dallas BBQ. Even its menu seems to have been copied and pasted from Dallas BBQ right down to the big goblet they serve frozen drinks in. How this place is not getting sued is a surprise to me. The place still had the exposed brick from the last patrons which made it looks nice. I wanted to try somewhere new and I payed the price for it.  Now I know the place has only been open for a week at best so for me to start nit-picking at the service hardly seems just. The staff was courteous and the wait time was tolerable. The food however missed a couple marks.

Even though I go for ribs anytime I order Dallas BBQ I was having lunch and I would've ended up taking a nap at my office. I went for the pulled pork sandwich. It was tasty! And it was served on a soft potato bread bun. Delicious! The fries were a bit soggy. I guess they were left in the fryer for a bit too much. The coconut shrimp was adequate but nothing to write home about. My gf and brother ended up getting a good ol' cheeseburger and somehow in between the time it took to get some mayo my gf lost her appetite. So we eventually ordered her some macaroni n' cheese. I tried a little. Personally it tasted like the mac n' cheese I'd get at Crown Fried Chicken. Quite underwhelming.

My brother and I eventually flagged down one of the owners and as politely as we could let him know the fries and the mac n cheese had issues. He didn't seemed too surprised but was apologetic. He mentioned they were still tweaking the menu items. He was gracious enough to remove the burger and mac n' cheese from the bill.

Overall the experience was pleasant. I have not tasted the ribs or chicken yet but I do want to try them. For now, stay away from the mac n'cheese and check your fries. But do stop by.

This place is the brother (or sister) companion to Baton Rouge up on Sugar Hill, Harlem. I had never been to this place so I used the excuse of a "business meeting" to crash this joint! One of the first innovations of this place is that "coupling" bar which caught me by surprise. It's a table that extends from the bar itself but you can sit on both sides of it. I'm a sucker for gimmicks and that one worked.

To begin we were served these little corn muffins with pineapple which just kick-started my appetite into hyper drive. I was yearning for my appetizers. We ordered a sampler that comes with jerked Wings, BBQ Wings, Cod Fish Cakes, Catfish Strips for about 22 bucks. It's a bit expensive I'll admit but after our group of 3 were done with those appetizers there was very little room left for our actual en trees. No lie! My sister had the snapper and I couldn't help but taste it. Melted in my mouth it was so good! I doggy-bagged it with the quickness. Only thing that sucks is that I wasn't drinking that night and there was no live music scheduled. Oh well! Guess now I GOTTA come back!

The service was average. The place was a little small, but cozy although they did accommodate a group of 8 somehow. I was impressed. I honestly couldn't fathom where they stick the band. By looking at some of the pics on their website it looks like the musicians play right up against the bar. But other than that the place is a cool, fancy place to take a date or go out with your friends for a dinner date. Don't come here if you're on a budget though.

Que chuleria! Cuidao con el Cojito, loco!

There's a reason that with 79 reviews this place maintains over 4 stars. It's the shizzits! Came here for restaurant week. Everything was on point. Even walked away with a $25 off coupon for next time!  And don't miss out on their mojitos which are deceivingly sweet but will sneak up on you! I reached my happy zone quick!

I have to say that because I've been eating latin food all my life I've felt uptight about paying top dollar for food I can basically get on the block. But these types of fusions and reinventions of classic cuisines make it worth it! I'm def comin back!

"...and in walk the biggest f@ckin Dominicans you have ever seen!"

These words describe the facial expressions on my Mexican friends when my brother and I walked into this little hole in the wall restaurant a couple blocks from City College. It was a cold night. We were on our way to get some cuban sandwiches when he says "what the hell is in here?". I didn't know other than what the sign said.

This place used to be home to our second favorite pizzeria (Vicky's) until it closed and rebirthed as a Mexican eatery. Not that i don't like mexican food. It's just we felt betrayed by Vicky leaving us and all so we never broke bread here since then. The thing is that this place is oddly wedged in between a bodega and a residential building entrance. Then to make matters trickier, the door is tinted. Shady-ville! You feel me!

So we agreed to go in for a beer. Who knows, it might be a secret strip joint in our backyard and we never knew! So we walk in and...cue in the first line of this review. Everyone stops and turns around. We cool y make ourselves to a table in the back and order a couple Negra Modelo beers. The place felt like the last stop one makes before dying. Quite depressing! but the cute waitresses kept us from sheding tears as the in-house DJ/Karaoke master sang mexican tunes that he cued up on his laptop. Think of the movie "El Mariachi" where the dude has the one-man-band setup with the casio keyboard....only here it's a laptop.

We didn't get to try the food, but it didn't seem like the compadres were there to eat...simply drink away their sorrows. If you ever lose a loved one to cancer, break up with your sweetheart, or end up missing your favorite shows to death because the WGA strike...come here! Have a beer on me!

All hail the Return of the King...of Cuban Sandwiches that is!

Disclaimer:
So I am cheating a bit. I actually reviewed this place. But in all fairness it closed and opened up at a different location and if I just update the business info part of it, you won't know! I mean how many of you actually go down the list of my past reviews looking for updates! Ok, maybe the two anonymous "fans" I have. But that's it!

I used to eat at this restaurant while I was still duck high. In its past incarnation the cuban sandwiches were THE BARGAIN OF THE CENTURY at $2.50. After they were asked to leave because of some new luxury apartment going up in their building (bleh!!!) they took refuge in a Dominican Bakery called La Rosa. I don't know what happened, but the Department oh Health shut down La Rosa (indefinitely it seems) and its "cuban connection" along with it. Needless to say I had to cold turkey with out my ceremonial Cuban sandwich on Sunday afternoons. It went like this for more than six months.

About 3 months ago, it reopened...this time the Cuban spot taking the steering wheel. They completely remodeled the place and it looks AMAZING. Don't be mislead...they didn't go all trendy and chic-like. The place looks like a page cut out of a Cuban photo album in the 60's..lively, colorful...Havana in all its glory! Hard to put my finger on it.  

The sandwiches are now $3 which is still more than fair and still taste out of this world! I am not joking. You will not find better tasting Cuban sandwiches in all New York. They paint the outsides of the bread with garlic which gives it an extra kick! The place is also serving the whole spectrum of Spanish food (rice & beans, plantains) as well some tasty pastries. The only thing missing are some pub tables with high seats to take advantage of the middle space. Otherwise, it's perfect.

Why has no one approached me about this place?! It's borderline criminal that in all my years I had never walked into B.A.J. From the outside the place looks more like a jazz shop than anything... somewhere to get some cool jazz memorabilia.

The way it works is that this place is a true jazz shrine but at the same it's a cafe/lunch/dinner spot where you can hear live jazz throughout the day for free! Seriously! They have a set that comes in at 2PM, another at 5:30PM, and then the last one at 8PM. When walking in, the place feels like the gift shop you would find at a jazz museum. There are posters, hard to find jazz CD's and DVD's, tiles with imprinted photos of different Harlem streets, jewel boxes, books, etc.

When you go further back into the place you find what I call the "jazz annex". This is the backroom where beautiful jazz paintings flushed with vibrant colors adorn the walls. I cannot explain in words the emotions expressed by these portraits (part of an exhibit by Kazuo "Kaz" Ooka). I could almost hear the music coming off the paint. The back room also had little tables & stools set up much like a coffee shop. Towards the back wall was the setup for the musicians. By the time I got there the afternoon "shitft" had left. Gordon, the fellow who runs the place, told me stick around for the 5:30 trio. He passed me a menu and told me to have a bite until they arrive. And here is the beauty of it all: the menu was for Taste of Harlem Seafood.

Gordon, who had stepped out after I placed my food order, came back in with a bag of take out food.  While he was pulling out the food I didn't make the connection at first. As he started to bring out the different food items and set them up on disposable plates I had the "AHA!" moment. The guy had gone to pick up the order from the fried fish joint! Not that it took anything away from the experience. The half an hour or so I spent there already told me this was a very casual place. As I was downing my fish sandwich & fries the trio had finished tuning their instruments and began to jam.

There was no big audience; a friend of the drummer and another young fellow who was obviously a regular as he went ahead and adjusted the spot lights to set up the ambiance just right. And there I was as the three musicians covered some beautiful jazz numbers. I was in heaven! This is the way jazz should be enjoyed (at least in my mind). A fried fish sandwich and sweet melodies.

I immediately remembered some of the places that I've neglected recently out of sheer laziness like Minton's, St Nick's Pub, Showman's...some of the the last vestiges of classic Harlem music. Whereas at one point Harlem was teeming with jazz spots, now you only have a handful of places to get your fill.  I am glad B.A.J. is there to get the job done.

I loved B.A.J. For me it was nothing short of amazing. Whereas other bigger music venues have their place in traditional night life activities, B.A.J. felt like a comfortable laid back place where you can kick back after work and get a little bit of happiness into you...and some fried fish if you're hungry. Ya' dig!