Amy Ruth's and Harlem Tavern

Saturday was another one of me and Podz' "neighborhood days" where we pick a 'hood and just walk around, checking out all of its unique spots.  Today's spotlight is Harlem, a neighborhood I've scarcely visited in all my five years in New York but one I am now obsessed with.  Harlem is undergoing a second renaissance.  I was nowhere near being alive for Harlem Renaissance #1 so it's pretty cool to get to see round two.  This time, instead of Jazz and literature, the focus of the neighborhood's rebirth seems to be food related.

We started the day at Amy Ruth's, a famed soul food restaurant that I've been dying to try.  I had to find out if what I was hearing was true: the food is as good as any I'd find at home.  My prayers have been answered.  The fried chicken was just as good as any I could find in Savannah and the waiter had no problem bringing me honey.  (Based on the looks I get when I request it, I've learned they don't use honey as a fried chicken condiment up here.  Sad.  They don't know what they're missing.)  Though my chicken and waffles didn't come with a side, I had to order some collards and ooooh boy were they perfect, especially when I added a little hot sauce.  Podz walked into the restaurant saying she didn't like collard greens and left saying she must have just been eating the wrong ones.  Her side of choice was mac and cheese and I would offer it up as a throwdown competitor against Mildred's.  Mildred would win, of course, but Amy Ruth's is the most similar version I've found.  The best part of the meal: after five years of searching, I found a restaurant that serves sweet tea.  And I must say, it is just the right amount of sweet.  That alone is worth the subway ride to 116th St.  The food tasted like home and - what's this?! - the prices are as low as they are at home.  It's a little piece of the South in Manhattan.  My oh my what a wonderful find.

Time for a break to walk off our massive meals.  After lusting past the gorgeous apartments springing up all over the place, we stopped at the hub of stores like Marshall's and H&M to stock up on cheap, cute goods.  I walked away with a picture frame and a full outfit to wear that night for $34.  Bargains like that deserve a celebratory beer so we stopped at Harlem Tavern for drinks.

The new indoor/outdoor spot was packed with a mix of Columbia co-eds and families with young kids.  People from every race and age group gathered for the relaxing atmosphere.  Everybody loves a good beer garden.  Huge screens inside make it the ideal spot for game watching and the lily pads of red umbrella'd tables outside make it a perfect place to sip a $7 beer on a warm day.