Harlem crossroads of African, Asian & Gotham faves
The B train’s first stop in Harlem is W. 116th St./Eighth Ave., an area known as Little Senegal for its West African community. Thanks to many new eateries flocking to the nabe, there are diverse dining options within two blocks. You can savor Senegalese home cooking, $4 tasty bagel sandwiches or Pan-Asian dumplings and bubble tea.
The daytime menu at fouryear-old Pikine focuses on just handful of dishes daily. Think of the limited menu as an excuse to return often for the superior Senegalese food from Amadou Ba, who named the restaurant after his hometown on Senegal’s western coast.
If you’re lucky, you’ll find the national dish of Senegal, or thiebou djeun: It’s a $12 platter large enough for two featuring smoky, spicy, tomatoey fish stewed with sweet potatoes, cabbage, cassava and eggplants cooked till fork tender then served over broken red rice. Or you might have theibou yapp, $12, braised lamb over rice heavily seasoned with black pepper and served with a side of sweet smothered onions, and bit of the coveted crispy crust that forms on the bottom of the pan of rice. Both dishes are topped with a whole stewed Scotch Bonnet chili, meant to be sliced and mixed in as you like. At dinner — served until 3 a.m., says Ba, whose father runs multiple restaurants in Senegal — there are grilled meats like chicken, steak, and lamb on the menu. The latter, says Ba, is his bestseller: He goes through 200 pounds every night. Pikine: 243 W. 116th St., near Frederick Douglass Blvd., (646) 922-7015
BThe owners of four-month-old Bo’s Bagels learned how to make proper NYC bagels the hard way: They taught themselves. Andrew Martinez and Ashley Dikos started perfecting their chewy, flavorful bagels two years ago at home, where their 24-hour fermented dough once overtook their refrigerator. Eventually they scored a commissary kitchen spot and a stand at a Harlem farmers’ market.
Now, with two years of bagel-making under their belts, they’ve opened a real store where they can serve bagel sandwiches like the “Ashley” (scrambled egg whites, avocado, purple onion, jack cheese, sriracha sauce), or a sausage, egg and cheese, $4, on a “CCBO” — otherwise known as a bagel laced with three kinds of cheese. Other standouts include bagels topped with zaatar spice or white and black sesame seeds.
Bo, by the way, is a mash-up of the names of Martinez’ two children: Brady and Olivia.
Bo’s Bagels: 235 W. 116th St., near Frederick Douglass Blvd., (917) 902-8345
Whether you’re craving things fatty and fried or fresh and light, the tiny, twoyear-old take-out shop called Harmony has you covered.
On the light side, you can sate yourself with steamed veggie dumplings, raw vegetables and dips or the salads that take up one whole side of Harmony’s quirky, mainly Pan-Asian menu. Make up your own, or go with more established (and decadent) options like an $11.75 kale salad. The curly greens are chopped small and tossed with apples, cucumbers, carrots, shredded cheese, plenty of creamy honey mustard, and a pile of fried wonton skins.
Those wontons also appear in multiple ways of the snacky side of the menu: They’re wrapped around chiles for “jalapeño poppers” ($6.50), or dressed with bacon, scallions and cheese for “nachos” ($7.50). Other crispy delights include pan-fried chicken dumplings ($6), coconut shrimp spring rolls ($5.75), and fried chicken sandwiches with avocado and bacon. There are also bubble teas like the $4 “mango my heart,” filled with heart-shaped jellies.
Harmony: 390 Manhattan Ave. near W. 117th St., (212) 222-0827