HARLEM — Chow on root-beer jerk chicken legs, lobster rolls, veal meatballs or polenta fries from dozens of restaurants on Fredrick Douglass for just $5 each.
The Food and Drink Boulevard, the fourth annual food crawl along Harlem’s restaurant row, offers people a chance to taste the neighborhood's best restaurants for a reasonable price, organizer Angie Hancock said.
“I definitely recommend going with friends because everyone can try different things and really sample everything,” she said. “The problem is just going to be your stomach is not going to be able to hold all of the food.”
The culinary event will take place May 5 from 6 to 10 p.m. $10 tickets are still available online.
When the event started five years ago, only six restaurants participated. This year there are 16 restaurants, Hancock added.
“It’s great fun," she said. "There will be over 1,000 people going up and down the boulevard. It’s almost like a ten-block block party.”
Each participant gets an armband, a map of different restaurants and the menu they've prepared for the occasion. Special appetizers and cocktails will be $5 at each restaurant.
For new restaurants, it’s a chance to show off what you can do.
“I heard people come in and it’s really quick,” said Lance Knowling, the chef at Blujeen. “They just pick up small plates and boom, boom, boom.”
Knowling is preparing a couple of different appetizers for the event. He's dishing out biscuits and wild mushroom gravy, the root-beet jerk chicken leg with mint chutney, shrimp and grits with lemon butter and fresh chive, and mini red velvet donuts, he said.
The restaurant, on Fredrick Douglass Boulevard near 116th Street, had its soft opening two weeks ago. Despite being a newcomer, they are already getting regular customers, Knowling said.
“We’ve had customers come in every day for three days,” he said. “We got a lot of repeat business for a place that’s been open for a couple of weeks.”
Other participating restaurants include LoLo’s Seafood Shack, Streetbird Rotisserie, Lido, Vinateria, Levian Bakery, and Silvana.
