Sylvia's, New York's best Southern Soul
Written: Sep 22 '03 (Updated Dec 10 '03)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Food and Presentation: |
 |
|
| Ambiance and Decor: |
 |
|
| Quality of Service: |
|
|
|
Pros: Excellent food, cooked perfectly, and served in good sized portions.
Cons: Usually a wait to get in on Sundays.
The Bottom Line: Sylvia still runs the place. It's a simple atmosphere and the waiters are friendly.
The food is mighty good!!
|
|
|
| popsrocks's Full Review: Sylvia's |
This review was first posted Oct.16th 2002. It now has a proper home. The review has 2 VH CL ratings, 12 VH from advisors, 45 VH from others in the community and 1 H. Please take a moment to read and rate. Thanks you.
New York is a very diverse city in its people and therefore in the restaurants that serve their customers. One has been around forty years and it still thrives.
THE NEIGHBORHOOD
As a very young child I lived in Harlem for a couple of years, on 116th street. It was a changing area. My mom who grew up there is Italian, my dad was a mix of Spanish, Native American, French, German, Irish, and English. Quite a mix.
The neighborhood had an influx of Puerto Rican folk coming in at the time. My mom and dad did most of their shopping on 125th street. This area was predominantly African American.
I tell you all this to give you an idea of the multi-cultural environment I grew up in. I also know a bit about the area. It did run down terribly in the seventies, eighties, and early nineties. 125th street which was once the hub of shopping uptown became a street of boarded up storefronts. It now thrives once more and is a perfectly safe place for a Sunday afternoon Brunch.
Sylvia
In the midst the declining days, a black woman, named Sylvia, opened a small restaurant on 126th street and Lenox Ave. She did this in 1962. This was not a good time socially or economically in Harlem. She started by first getting locals to eat at her place. She served good southern cooking. The people loved it and she built up her business on Bar-B-Q ribs with a special sauce that is at first sweet to the taste and then hot on the tongue. Her southern fried chicken is the best. Crispy, not greasy, and falling off the bone on the inside. Another item that has been on the menu for years is her turkey with down home stuffing!
THE CROWDS START COMING
She continued her business and then word started to get around. People from downtown started taking the buses and trains uptown to 125th street and then walking a couple of blocks to the place. That wasn't the end. Taxi's started bringing up those from Park Ave. and then the limos with celebrities started coming. Sylvia's started getting so popular that she expanded to the building next door taking up the corner to almost halfway down the block.
Now when I lived there I knew nothing of Sylvia's. I was reading a best of restaurant guide and there in it, as one of the best restaurants in New York, is Sylvia's!!
OUR EXPERIENCE
Not having been to the neighborhood in many, many years I felt an urge to go. I drove in with my wife. We went twice, both times on a Sunday and we were able to get parking on the street. There is public transportation available, buses, train, and cabs.
We went in and had a twenty minute wait. That was both times. The place is busy. As we went in we saw a bar and then a series of small rooms. There are pictures on the walls of Sylvia's yesteryear and of celebrities that have eaten there in the past and recently. It's a real who's who of people. We were seated in the last room. Every table was full. The crowd was mixed both in age and race. We also overheard some German visitors. We talked with them and found out they had read about it in a travel book.
It really seemed that everyone was there to enjoy the food. I watched as plates were brought to tables. Big smiles would lighten up everyones faces!
We ordered drinks, they have a full bar, then checked out the menu. Besides some of the items I mentioned earlier they also had smothered chicken and pork chops. You can't leave without having collard greens and candied yams. Those are some of her specialties.
I had the ribs and my wife had the chicken. Both were amazing!! We enjoyed the meal so much that my sides were splitting because I didn't want to leave anything and we weren't going home afterwards. Do I hear gluttony here. It sure was good!
The meals were priced at about ten to fourteen dollars per huge portion. They also have a lunch menu Monday through Saturday. I don't recall the price of the deserts but I do remember the tastes. The Rubarb Pie ala mode was delicious!
Sylvia herself still roams the kitchen and dining rooms. We did not get to meet her but she does make her rounds. She is making sure the quality of her food and the smiles of the patrons continue on.
A SECOND VISIT
The second time we went I took my mom and a friend. She hadn't been in the neighborhood in thirty years. It brought back good memories. It's good to see the area cleaning up and still improving. Much to the delight of some and resentment of others Bill Clinton recently opened an office on 125th street just cross town a bit. This is also home of the famous and still running Apollo Theatre.
Our visit with my mom was just as delightful and delicious. The second time we went Sylvia had Gospel singers entertaining. I was told they would be there every Sunday. It was fantastic! They went from room to room singing.
It's been a year since I have been there. It's about time to go again.
Monday through Saturday 7:30AM till 10:30PM
Sunday 1:00PM till 7:00 PM
Sylvia's
328 Lenox Ave. (between 126th and 127th streets)
NYC, NY
1(212) 996-0660
More NYC eats
Stardust DinerA great place for before a show in Times Square. Aspiring actors are here.
The Manhattan Chili Company good quick eats before a show.
ESPN Zone A sports bar, arcade, and MORE!
TGI Friday's Times Square Location.
Ollies, Broadway
Sylvia's, a southern soul restaurant in Harlem
Fraunce's Tavern Lower Manhattan. GW ate here.
New York City as told by a Noo Yawka
Recommended:
Yes
Kid Friendliness: Yes
Vegetarian Friendly: No
Notes, Tips or Menu Recommendations I like the back room. You have a bit more natural light and the singers seemed to spend more time there.
Best Suited For: Friends
|
|
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.