Fernandes Steak House

We went to Fernandes for my boyfriend's birthday. The restaurant has it's own parking in the lot across the street. From the outside Fernandes Steak House is beautiful. The restaurant has 2 levels. I called a week in advance to make reservations and the host took my name and had us down for a 2:30 reservation. We were a few minutes late and when I got there I gave them my name but they said that they didn't have the reservation down. Annoying but all was good because we were immediately seated on the second floor. The second floor was packed with big parties there for events.

The second floor

I loved the vibe. Very inviting. There is a free salad bar which was a let down because the lettuce and veggies did not taste every fresh.

Bacalhau Grelhado
Grilled Cod Fish w/ Vegetables & Potatoes

Our waiter was awesome and was very knowledgeable about the dishes. He warned my mom about ordering the wrong type of fish. The cod fish was blah. Dry and lacking the proper seasoning.

Camarão Parmigiana
 Breaded & Fried Shrimp w/ Tomato Sauce, Mozzarella Cheese & Pasta

I really enjoyed this dish. The shrimp so delicious and the pasta was great as well. The tomato sauce was delicious and tangy. 

If you've never been to a Brazilian steakhouse, they offer Rodízio, where they bring you rounds and rounds of barbecued meat. Yup meat.

Lots of meat.

Meat again. 

Meat forever. 

                                                                       Unlimited meat.

Grilled Pineapple

                                                                         Fernandes Steak House

Sofrito

The bar, right as you walk into Sofrito

Sofrito is a Puerto Rican restaurant that has a bar and dance floor area in front. The lighting is very dim. The vibe is very lounge/club like. We waited a long damn time to be seated even though we had a reservation. Too damn long. 

The dining area

The music is so loud that you cannot have a conversation with the person sitting next to you.

Mini Piononos

These had a weird texture. Wasn't my fav.

Calamares Fritos

The calamari was delicious and crisp. 

Shrimp Empanadas

These were amazing. I will revisit just to have these again. 

Camarones al Ajillo

Sofrito Paella

Very unflavorful Paella. I was very disappointed in this dish. The lobster and shrimp was very scarce. Cheap.

Avocado

I hate avocado...but it looks yum.

                                                                  Sofrito

Sylvia's

Hello Harlem. Sylvia's is a historic staple in Harlem and that becomes apparent just by walking up to the restaurant. You see locals laughing with Sylvia's staff and walking down the street with Sylvia's take-out. The wait staff is super friendly and seems to know every damn body that walks into the restaurant.There is an outdoor sitting area right out front with a perfect view for people watching..dinner and show.

When we walked into Sylvia's, it seemed super crammed with customers and waitstaff trying to move about. The host told us that it would be a 25 minute wait but we asked about the outdoor seating and we were told that there was no wait for that. Sold. I believe the high that day was around 65 so it was pretty nice outdoor dinning weather. Everybody in Harlem was out that day due to the warm weather and it provided us with great surroundings for our meal. We heard great classics playing in the background being blasted by the old timer street vendors.

 Our waitress brought us our menus and we put in our drink order for a pitcher of iced tea to share for the table. A cheaper deal than than getting 4 separate drinks. It took about 15 minutes for us to be served our complimentary cornbread and the iced tea that we ordered. I figure that the customer's seated inside get faster service. The cornbread was the worth the wait. I'm not even really a big fan of corn bread but it was really fluffy, warm, and delicious. The iced tea was yuck and the glasses were not clean as I saw hair/fibers floating around in my glass. I also looked in my friend's glasses and I saw the same thing. I stayed thirsty for the entire meal.

Once we put in our meal orders, I'd say we waited another 15 minutes before our food was brought out. The garlic mashed potatoes were light and fluffy. They were seasoned nicely and contained some skin, which I love. The only thing that would elevate the taste would be some damn gravy..who wants mashed potatoes without gravy?! I was told that the collared greens were amazing grace as was the fried chicken.

The fried shrimp was pretty good. It came with 2 dipping sauces, one a tauter sauce and one tangy marinara sauce. Both were yummy with the shrimp and complimented it nicely. The macaroni was yum. Nice and baked and nicely seasoned and yum. Overall my dish was yum.

I was told that the chicken and waffles was delicious. A hood classic after all. 

The cheeseburger was amazing like one of the best burgers I've ever had. Why is this burger not talked about more?! That damn burger was just so flavorful. It must be in the seasoning or they are sprinkling some crack on it. The french fries are trash though. Don't eat them ever.

The peach cobbler was boss. My final advice would be to bring your own beverage, perhaps some lemonade smuggled into your purse because their drinking glasses are dirty as hell. Enjoy the amazing corn bread. Get the burger but substitute it with another side because the fries are soggy trash. Get some peach cobbler and waddle out of Harlem. Goodnight.

                                                               Sylvia's

Hibiscus

This place is completely off the map and I mean completely. I would have never even know about this place if it wasn't for my West Indian mother. The restaurant is located in the basement of a hotel. There is a nice waiting area stationed between the buffet room and the dinning room. Strange configuration as hungry people waiting to be seated have to watch dinner guests walk back to their table holding plates of delicious food on Sunday's which is the buffet day.

Waiting Area and Dining Room Entrance

Hibiscus is a Caribbean restaurant with Island favorites such as jerk and stew chicken. They also serve many American dishes as well. I would call it "mamma's cooking" because It tastes just like the food my family makes. It's just some good home cooked food. I normally frequent the Sunday Brunch where there is a full buffet located in the room across from the dinning area. The dinning room has a great feel to it, elegant but relaxing, welcoming and a casual aura. There is always live music for the Sunday brunch which is so old school and awesome. The music just adds such a great feel while supporting local musicians. The dinning crowd normally consists of families and older people. I have never waited more than 15 minutes to be seated so I would say reservations are not needed. 

Grilled Vegetables, Red Beans and Rice, Salad, and Stewed Chicken

Hibiscus serves sorrel which is a great Caribbean drink. Try it mixed with sprite. Once you are seated in the dining room. You can head straight to the buffet which offers a great variety; rolls, salad, fresh vegetables, plantain, fish, rice, spicy pasta, chicken, ham etc. What I love is that everything they serve at the buffet is healthy for the most part. So refreshing from the normal unhealthy mess that has become the American norm for dinning. There is also a dessert section of the buffet where there is a big spread of fresh fruit, cakes, pies, and pastries offered. 

Salad, Eggplant Rollatini, Spicy Pasta, and Red Beans and Rice

 I've never tried anything at Hibiscus that I didn't like. Everything is truly filled with flavor and delicious. Hibiscus is perfect for family brunch and dinners. Also a great place to try Caribbean food if you have never had it before. The buffet is $34 per person. Amazing Caribbean food.

                                                           Hibiscus

Sushi Palace

All you can eat sushi...why did I do it to myself? I decided to try sushi palace due to a recommendation from my co worker. The place is no frills. No decor, no polite hostess to great you, no aura or feel to this place. We were seated immediately and the place is filled with tiny tables placed very closely together. I could feel the strong gaze of the man at the table next us. He was practically breathing on me. Ugh. A waitress came over to take our drink orders. She did not speak English. Great. Nor did she offer us a drink menu. We were given 2 menus. 1 sushi menu and one kitchen menu. The choices on the kitchen menu were very limited. My boyfriend does not eat sushi so this was a huge let down.

The Kitchen Menu

The Sushi Menu

On the menus you just mark off what you want. You can put numbers if you want more than one serving of a particular dish at a time. I immediately filled out my menu as I am a quick decision maker. My boyfriend on the other hand was still looking his menu over. Another waitress came and grabbed my menu from the table, handed me another menu, and quickly walked away. We had no idea what had just happened. No communication from her at all and this was our first time there. I figured that she had given me an updated menu or something but she quickly came back with my order. Leaving my boyfriend sitting there without food. At that point I could sense that my boyfriend was very frustrated and I suggested that we leave but my boyfriend knew I wanted to try this place so he assured me that we could stay.

Edison Roll

I ordered the Edison roll first. Of course I had to wait until my boyfriends meal came before it could try this but after I tried this roll I decided that it was pretty tasty. There is spicy crab on top with shrimp tempura and spicy tuna inside the roll. My only complaint was that there was a lack in freshness but again this is all you can eat sushi so..

Beef Nedimaki

Once my boyfriends meal finally came we discovered that it  was super small pieces of beef on a skewer. This just wouldn't cut it. My boyfriend is 6'2 and he was starving. I suggested again that we could just leave. Instead he called over a waitress and asked why he had only received such as small portion of food. The waitress did not speak English and called over the one waitress who could speak English. She told my boyfriend that he could order multiple quantities of the dishes by writing the number next to the dish on the menu. The portions are still super small and its just so lame.

Yaki Tori

 For our second round we went with the chicken, the sweet potato roll, and the Rainbow Dragon roll. All were nasty. Just inedible.

The Sweet Potato Roll

Rainbow Dragon Roll

 They have this policy where you cannot leave food on your plate and there was no way I could eat the nasty food so I stuffed all the food in a napkin and put it in my purse. Ugh.

                                                             Sushi Palace

Top's Diner Part 2

Tops will be delicious today, tomorrow, and forever.

Santa Fe Wrap

Triple Decker

Chicago Burger

                                                                      Tops

Mac's Doughnuts

During my trip to Pittsburgh I was introduced to Mac's Doughnuts by my boyfriend. He graciously brought some back to our hotel room for breakfast. 

The glazed bowtie was the best and I mean the best glazed doughnut that I've never tasted. Soft, sweet, and delicious. The other favors that I sampled were nothing special and I must say that the chocolate glazed was stale. The maple doughnut was not my cup of tea at all. The peanut topping did not compliment the doughnut at all and the frosting was not tasty at all.