Tuesday, September 7th, 2010—Bar 240

Day 240—Monday, September 6th, 2010
Sylvia’s
365 commentator Al noticed that the Collective, where I ate at Saturday had chicken and waffles on the menu. It sounds like an odd combination, but it’s featured at a lot of soul food restaurants and I’ve always wanted to try it. And I’ve heard the place to eat it is the famous, Sylvia’s restaurant, way up on Lenox Avenue in the heart of Harlem. That’s quite a trek via subway, so I decided since it’s a holiday, I’d treat myself to a cab ride and arrive quickly and in style. There’s a first time for everything, right?

As I made my way out my building, I ran into this fellow at the doorway. I promised to keep his identity secret, so we'll call him, "Stan." I invited "Stan" along, but he was heavily medicated and couldn't make the trip uptown. Maybe next time.

The sun is setting, so all is well in my world.

TAXI!

And now a few photos from the taxi ride to Harlem. Zing...

Zang...

Zoom.

And here we are at Sylvia's Restaurant. I love the lit up sign.

There's a lot of people enjoying the end of summer by eating inside.

But I need to find the bar and here it is. And I've got my choice of seats, lucky me.

Friendly bartender Andrew serves me up a bottle of locally brewed Sugar Hill beer. Andrew's a singer in the band, Stereoboro. Check them out here: Stereoboro, and here: Stereoboro on facebook.

And here I am doing my patented "pointing at the beer bottle" pose.

The bar from my point of view.

Here's the main dining room which is directly opposite from the bar.

Here's the food counter where you can eat and order take out as well.

And here's the other dining room which is located left of the main one.

Here's a photo of Sylvia with James Brown. The Queen of Soul Food Meets the King of Soul Music.

Here's a signed photo to Sylvia from the Temptations.

There's many more photos along the walls in Sylvia's.

Grissel is the lovely hostess and Ernest is one of the friendly waiters on staff for the evening.

Andrew is busy back at the bar.

And the condiments are set out for the dinner order, including Sylvia's custom made hot sauce.

First up, homemade corn bread.

And to cleanse the pallet, Grissel serves up another Sugar Hill beer.

And here's the main course, fried chicken and waffles.

Delicious! The way to eat this is to douse the chicken with hot sauce, let the butter melt on the waffles and pour the syrup on and enjoy the sweet and savory tastes.

I couldn't finish the entire waffle, but I did a pretty good job of cleaning the plate.

And for dessert Andrew poured us each a shot of whiskey on the house.

Glasses are clinked...

And cheers to you all! Goodnight, everybody!

Review
Sylvia Woods opened up her restaurant in 1962 and soon became known as the “Queen of Soul food.” This Harlem eatery has become a legend in New York City and as such it’s a must stop for tourist’s as well as neighborhood locals making the cliental quite a diverse mixture. The restaurant has two separate dining rooms and a food counter for take out and eating. There’s a small bar that seats about a half a dozen and you can eat there as well.

Speaking of the bar, it’s a full alcohol service bar, but you come to Sylvia’s to eat. So let’s get right to the menu. There’s a full breakfast and lunch menu here and the dinner entrees include: Syliva’s World Famous Bar-B-Que Ribs; Grilled Catfish; Fried or Smothered Chicken and Grilled Pork Chops. I can heartily recommend the Harlem Style Waffle and Fried Chicken. And if by any chance you still have room, there’s red velvet cake, double chocolate cake and peach cobbler for dessert.

Sylvia’s
328 Lenox Ave. (Near 127th St.)
212-996-0660