Friday, May 4, 2012

Food for the soul

Amy Ruth’s 
113 West 116th Street 
Harlem, NY 10026 
www.amyruthsharlem.com

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A beautiful mural in Harlem

So this past weekend, I was training for my Yosemite Half Dome hike by walking 280 blocks from downtown Chinatown all the way to uptown Harlem and New Jersey. It's inevitable that I would get tired, hungry, and super cranky. Thus, my boyfriend knew exactly what I needed to make things better… some soul food for his unsoulful girlfriend. So we stopped by Amy Ruth’s for some comforting, delicious and artery clogging worthy food to reward ourselves. 

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Corn bread on the house

Before we even placed our orders, we received a basket of complimentary corn bread, which was absolutely heaven at the moment since we were completely famished. It was warm, perfectly sweet with the right amount of cornmeal and we slathered it with butter and some maple syrup. Yum!

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As I slowly regained my energy back, I studied the restaurant menu carefully, featuring every permutation of comfort food with famous African-American themed dishes. Amy Ruth’s is well known for their famous chicken and waffles... but we just didn’t feel like having any waffles for dinner.

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The President Barack Obama fried chicken with collard greens and mac & cheese

So instead, we ordered the President Barack Obama entree. You have the option of choosing your chicken fried, smothered, baked, or BBQ, with two delicious sides of your choice. I stuck with the classic fried chicken since it's essential and vital to Southern cooking. The chicken was juicy, well seasoned, with just the right amount of crisp without being too greasy, and mmmm-mmm finger-lickin’ good. I merrily gobbled the tasty chicken, and washed it down with some good ol’ Kool-aid.

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The Reggie Harris Southern honey-dipped fried chicken with fried okra and potato salad

Our side dishes were really good as well. The potato salad was good, with a nice touch of dill. The fried okra did not have that gooey slimy texture, and it tasted awesome in a deep fried batter. The leafy collard greens were excellent with just enough salt and flavor. Macaroni and cheese? Nummy in my tummy! I can't wait to try all the other sides next time.

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Neal shoemaker's peach cobbler

We barely had room for dessert, but we managed to squeeze in a warm peach cobbler at the end. The atmosphere here was comfortable, with good hip hop music playing in the background. Despite the service being a little bit slow, the staff was friendly and accommodating.  

Amy Ruth's was one of the most satisfying and hearty meals I ever had. Although my thighs felt guilty for enjoying soul food this good, it definitely satiated my hunger and my belly could not be happier. Going to Amy Ruth's is an experience. One that I recommend to all, for good quality southern comfort food where you eat with your soul, by keepin' it simple and real. Yes, I'd walk another 280 blocks for Amy Ruth's in a hearbeat.


Mickey’s rating: 9/10 
Price range: $$

Amy Ruth's on Urbanspoon

2 comments:

  1. If you're thirsty.. you HAVE to order the Kool-Aid of the day. When in Rome!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I loved this place. Really good home cooking and great staff.

    ReplyDelete

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