July 24, 2011
Live, From New York, it’s Saturday Night Cheeseburger. Your host this evening is Sylvia’s and featuring the Ready For Prime Beef Player, Marty Wombacher. Ladies and Gentlemen, from all the way up in Harlem, Sylvia’s!
Okay, the last two nights I've stuck pretty close to home, so I thought we'd travel all the way up to Harlem tonight, in spite of the still blazing heat. I found a place called Chez Lucienne which is a French Bistro in Harlem that's supposed to have great cheeseburgers, so that's tonight's destination. I'm covered in sweat already and I've only walked three blocks so far!
Wow, it looks like a sauna down there. Away we go!
Goddamn it's hot down here and it smells like a combination of urine and moldy ass. Everyone's doing the heat stroke Zombie walk.
Come on train! Don't be in vain.
Ladies and gentlemen, The White Stripes!
Finally!
It's a crowded car, but at least the air conditioning is working, so I'm not complaining.
And here we are, Harlem uptown Saturday night.
Alright, here's the place, Chez Lucienne. Let's go inside I have a powerful thirst and appetite by now!
Goddamn, it's packed in here!
The bar is tiny and there's not one seat open. Shit, time for plan B.
The Red Rooster is right next door and just opened last year. I've been meaning to check this place out, so let's do it.
The bar here is big, but there's not a seat to be had here either. Looks like I need to develop plan C.
And plan C would be the legendary Sylvia's restaurant.
Let's check it out, if there's no seats in here, I'm going to the nearest deli and getting a sandwich and a beer. I'm about ready to faint from heat exhaustion and hunger.
The main dining room is crowded, let's check out the bar.
I see the bartender and two pretty women...
And one empty seat! Eureka! Let's go snag it.
And here's the two lovely ladies seated next to me: Gabriella and Nneka.
The friendly bartender on duty is Blake and he's pictured with the pretty hostess, Grissel who we met last year on the bar crawl.
Here's Blake in action behind the bar.
Fresh cornbread is served, which means my meal is not far behind.
I know it's Cheeseburger Saturday Night, but you gotta get the chicken and waffles when you're at Sylvia's, it the rules. I'll get a cheeseburger next week, I promise!
Here's a picture of Sylvia on the wall...
The Queen of soul food!
Bottles of Sylvia's signature hot sauce lined up on a shelf to buy and take home.
President Obama enjoying the food at Sylvia's. He's here with Rev. Al Sharpton who got reflected out in my photo. Sorry, Al!
Soul royalty! The Queen of soul food with the Godfather of soul music, James Brown. I feel good!
That was a great meal and now it's back out into the heat. Goodnight everybody and see you tomorrow, after dark.
Further reading: New York Magazine, 365 Bars, One Stop Harlem and NY Times.
You Might Also Like: Daisy May, Daisy Dukes and Daisy Buchanan.
Five Songs About Harlem
Spanish Harlem by Ben E. King
The Harlem Shuffle by Bob and Earl
Harlem by Duke Ellington
Spanish Harlem Incident by The Byrds
Harlem Hospitality by Cab Calloway and His Orchestra
Summer night in Harlem, man it's a really hot,
Well it's too hot to sleep, and I'm too cold to heat.
20 Comments
Reader Comments (20)
French bistro are always small and often packed, it's because we don't wash everyday and like to smell at each other, especially wet underarms ! yum yum!
You were very resourceful last night. Plan C was it and chicken and waffles sounds weird but I've had it and it's wonderful. Did you hang out in Harlem after dinner or head back home right away? just curious. Byrds clip was good,,, they did a lot of Dylan songs.
Chicken & waffles ? UFB ! .... I never would have placed the two together ? ...... but then again I had never heard of shrimp & grits (another odd combo in my mind) ..... but it was great once I tried it !
@Zioum Zioum: Does Jason practice these rules now? Inquiring minds want to know.
@Al: Their chicken and waffles are great and it really hit the spot. I love those old Byrd tunes too, what a band!
@GENE: It's a great combination, I was leery at first, but I love them now. I've never had shrimp and grits, I'll have to look for it!
Fried Chicken and waffles...is this something I should try at home, or does Sylvia's have a special recipie? As for the chick in the black and white stripes...two puppies fighting under a blanket...nice!
@Jaws: There's lots of recipes online, all I ask is you don't use Lego waffles! "two puppies fighting under a blanket" Ha ha ha! Good one, Jaws!
Hmm, Harlem, waffles, chicken, cornbread, all nice things. That said, I'm sticking with a theme.
@csp: Ha ha ha! Great one!
Kari pointed out Sylvia's to us when we were in Harlem - I hope you go back and try the Red Rooster sometime. My cousin sent me their menu back when they first opened as a possibility to try in NY, and we didn't make it there. It looked delicious though.
sorry plan A and B didn't pan out...good thing that MAD is flexible w/o any rigid rules like 365...looks like you ended up w/ a great meal sans the cheeseburger...
sorta feel like a fried chicken myself...the a/c and all available fans stopped functionin' ...just 'bout the same time...damn conspiracy i say...off to walk that lonely street to try and find something to move the air...
We don't windsurf in Harlem.
~Charles Rangel
You must understand as a kid of color in those days, the Harlem Globetrotters were like being movie stars.
~Wilt Chamberlain
rr
@Britta: I will definitely try the Red Rooster again, it's supposed to be great. Probably why it was so packed in there, maybe I'll try it some Sunday.
@rr: It was a great meal! Your air conditioners are broke? That must truly suck with this heat! Double quotes today, and both of them are great! Okay, I'm off to go meet the Half Empty Glass crew!
@ Marty; Don't forget to wear your 'Sip Ahoy' Jersey (hint hint).
Oh, hi there Gabriella
Just youtubed 'Across 110th Street' by Bobby Womack in honor of the MAD Uptown Saturday Night
I liked the applause clip! I thought I was too old to get the "clap!" We had a cool refreshing rain here in Pekin today. The sweet refreshing rain cascaded down, down, down as the air made a dramatic change from sticky and humid filled, to chilly and almost frosty! All of the memories of scorching, hades-like heat immediately evaporated and I was transported to a place of sparkling springs and shade trees on a cool april morning, drinking ice cold beers. I decided to dive into the the water and the shock of the cold made Mr. Winky say bye bye for a moment but that was O.K. because everything was a welcome relief from the blast furnace kind of heat we had been experiencing for weeks on end and thinking that maybe, just maybe we would never see rain and cool mild temperatures again. The sun is going down here in Pekin and it's getting hotter and muggier than before it rained. Shit!
yeah my cousin lives just a few blocks away, but sadly we didn't make it there. Maybe another time. Glad it was there as a standby for you.
@Jaws: I'm wearing it tomorrow night, hopefully with Uncle Waltie!
@Danny Maness: Please, and I mean, PLEASE, never give us a "Mr. Winky" update! Sorry to hear about the muggy, huggy, buggy temprasoars in Pekin!
@kari: You should definitely check it out on your next trip.
i like Harlem.....
@fitzy: Me too.
Ah, Sylvia's. I had such a great time (and a great meal) there during my last visit! Glad you snagged that seat at the bar and got to enjoy the company of such lovely ladies. TO HARLEM! And Bill Withers, too! Lovely Day is my all time favorite song.
@Biff: TO HARLEM!