Raymond Zamanta Mohan and Leticia "Skai" Young

LoLo's Seafood Shack

Chef Raymond Mohan and Leticia Skai Young are elated to share their passion for travel and island flavors at LoLo’s. The LoLo’s experience is inspired by the Locally Owned, Locally Operated seaside eateries; referred to as lolos, they encountered while living abroad in the British West Indies. Chef Mohan has created a variety of nostalgic offerings from island styled BBQ to coastal comfort foods of the Cape to Caribbean street eats like johnny cakes.

Born on a market street in Guyana, Chef Mohan’s culinary interest developed as a child while accompanying his mother to the market to shop for the family’s roadside stand. They sold Guyanese specialties such as mavi, sardine sandwiches, and Indian specialties. Mohan’s love of culture and food set the stage for his career once they moved to United States.  A graduate of New York Restaurant School, Chef Mohan apprenticed under renowned chefs, Wayne Nish at March Restaurant; Jean-Georges Vongerichten at Vong; and David Burke before becoming Douglas Rodriguez’ Chef de Cuisine at Patria, Aquarella in Puerto Rico; Pipa, and Chicama, a Peruvian ceviche bar.  

Leticia was born in East Harlem and is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and the entrepreneurship program of the French Culinary Institute.  

LoLo’s Seafood Shack was awarded Best New Harlem Eats 2015 by the Amsterdam News and is a NY Times Critic pick featured on ABC, CBS, NBC, Eater, NY Post, and the NY Daily News amongst others.  We invite you to dive on in to our secret backyard!

Charles Gabriel

Charles’ Country Pan Fried Chicken

After 30 years in business, Charles Country Pan Fried Chicken continues to be a hot spot for Harlem residents seeking authentic fried chicken and Southern cuisine at affordable prices. They also feature an “all you can eat” buffet for $15 per person.

Located on 132nd Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard, Charles Country Pan Fried Chicken is known for its skillet-fried chicken and communal atmosphere. Popular dishes include fried chicken, smothered pork chops, turkey wings, chicken and waffle, collard greens, yams, black-eyed peas and a mixture of okra, tomatoes and corn. He pan-fries his chicken.

One of Charles’ famous customers was Whoopi Goldberg. Charles has been featured on the Food Network, Daily News, New York Magazine, Time Out Magazine, G Q Magazine, Village Voice and Crain’s. Charles had a Zagat Rating of 27 in 2002.

“I cook Southern…People that are from the South, they know how Southern food tastes and how it’s prepared,” said Charles Gabriel, 67, owner and founder of the restaurant.

His hard water fried chicken was featured in “Fried & True: More Than 50 Recipes for America’s Best Fried Chicken and Sides,” a book published in May by Lee Brian Schrager and Adeena Sussman. The authors described his food as “the most authentic Southern fried chicken” found “smack in the middle of Harlem.”

Gabriel was born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina with 12 brothers and eight sisters. Since the age of seven, he and his siblings sharecropped. At home, they would cook fried chicken, biscuits, rice and gravy as well as make sandwiches.

He worked at Copeland’s Restaurant for 12 years. The entrepreneurial spirit hit him so he sold food at a table in the park and eventually in a truck. In 1984, he opened his restaurant.

The restaurant gives back to the community, too. Gabriel has provided food at no cost for neighborhood block parties and some nonprofit organizations.

The restaurant is located on 2461 Frederick Douglas Boulevard at 132nd Street and is open Monday to Thursday 11 a.m. – 2 a.m., Friday 11 a.m. – 4 a.m., Saturday 11 a.m. – 4 a.m. and Sunday 12 p.m. – 2 a.m.

Yvette Leeper-Bueno

Vinatería

Yvette Leeper-Bueno owns Vinatería, the charming and beloved Harlem neighborhood restaurant and wine bar at 2211 Frederick Douglass Blvd. A lifelong New Yorker, Yvette maintains longstanding roots in Harlem- from her parents first meeting on 122nd Street in the fifties, to the renovated townhouse on 112th St. she has shared with her husband and sons for 12 years. 

Before opening Vinatería in early 2013, Yvette was already an entrepreneur, opening her own clothing design/manufacturing business and children’s clothing boutique, Leeper Kids. Eventually her entrepreneurial spirit, love for good food and fashion, and devotion to the Harlem community led her to open Vinatería on its up-and-coming strip of Frederick Douglass Blvd. Vinatería was the first restaurant of its kind in this neighborhood, fostering a spirit of inclusivity and offering an accessible but extensive wine program with rare finds, a thoughtful menu of Spanish and Italian-influenced seasonal dishes, a convivial atmosphere and fresh, contemporary design.

Almost three years later, the neighborhood has seen a resurgence that some have compared to a second Harlem Renaissance, and Vinatería remains a pioneer in this transformation. From subtle details like the herbs lining the windowsills, to the art selected for the walls, Yvette’s gift for all things aesthetic and her attention to detail is clearly manifested throughout the space. 

Last year, Vinatería was named by the Financial Times as one of the five best Italian restaurants in New York City. Vinatería has also been featured in the New York Times for its unique design and décor.

Kenichi Tajima

Tastings Social Presents Mountain Bird

Chef Kenichi Tajima was born in Tokyo, Japan, and attended the prestigious Seikei private school but discovered the joys and cooking using seasonal ingredients as nurtured by his mother. 

Ken has mastered traditional French culinary arts at Culinary School in France and Japan. In France, Kenichi cooked at Michelin Star dining and Bistro before he came to New York. Mountain Bird opened in 2013 and gets its name because the menu is all things fowl and poultry related, served in ingenious ways.

The whimsy of Chef Kenichi’s food when mixed with the affordable price and authentic atmosphere makes Mountain Bird a necessary part of East Harlem and to the city’s landscape

Aliyyah Baylor

Make My Cake

Aliyyah Baylor is a renowned Chief Baking Officer (CBO) of Make My Cake Bakery and Cafe. She is a third-generation baker who learned by watching her mother and grandmother cook. Aliyyah was born and raised in Harlem, NY and attended North Caroline A&T University where she received a Bachelor’s in Food Science. Some of her hobbies include traveling with her Kids, watching Football with friends and family, and of course baking.

From Harlem to Hollywood, MAKE MY CAKE®, a third generation-owned bakery beloved by A-List celebrities, local tastemakers and globe-trotters in search of that certain sweet something, serves up decadent southern-style recipes prepared by using centuries old secrets of heritage baking, inviting flavors and a generous dash of love.

Heralded by celebrated culinary countess and co-owner, Aliyyah Baylor, a Food Network favorite who has been featured on Throwdown with Bobby Flay, the brands’ two retail locations in Harlem have caught the eye of the mainstream media, as well. According to Florence Fabricant, a venerated food writer for the New York Times, the popular Red Velvet Cake baked at MAKE MY CAKE®, is a “Dark red two-layer cake with decided chocolate overtones and a straightforward cream cheese icing, perhaps a classic.” In addition to the New York Times, MAKE MY CAKE® has been featured in the New York Daily News, New York Post, Washington Post, New York Times Magazine, and Daily Candy and on local television stations.

Aliyyah credits her mother, Joann Baylor and her maternal grandmother, a southern matriarch lovingly known as “Ma Smith”, whose roots stretch from Alabama and Mississippi to New York for training her in the craft, fostering her entrepreneurial spirit and respect for community. MAKE MY CAKE®, which humbly began with Ma Smith selling baked goods from her kitchen in the 1940’s to friends and neighbors who wanted a special cake and dessert to commemorate their special occasions now serves bus-loads of discerning customers a day and boasts a celebrity clientele that includes comedic mavens, Tina Fey and Whoopi Goldberg, the casts of the soon to be released film, ADMISSION, blockbuster shows 30 Rock and Law & Order, as well as, Alicia Keys and power couple Jay-Z and Beyoncé.

Stop by one of the two MAKE MY CAKE®, Harlem-based retail locations or visit makemycake.com today and discover for yourself the home-baked taste that keeps people of all walks of life coming back from more. It’s sure to be love at first bite.