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Where is the Nearest Soul Food Restaurant in your Community?


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Where is the Nearest Soul Food Restaurant in your Community? 

 

 

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Sometimes, when I get in the mood for Soul Food, I will try again and again to find a restaurant in my community, but all the while I am searching, I know that I won’t! It has been so frustrating! I reminisce back years ago when I lived in Durham, North Carolina when I would love to go to this one famous restaurant and indulge. It was called Pan Pans. But even before I left Durham, that restaurant had closed down. I remember when it was located nearest Highway 85 nearest a hub of hotels and how it was always jam packed with people, but nevertheless, I was always able to be seated rather quickly and the food was always fresh and good. But the owner soled his restaurant and opened up a smaller place in the nearby shopping mall, which even though, I think he was pressured to do, I know it was a good decision. That older restaurant seem to become in need of repair and the restrooms were too small imo. However, the restaurant in the Northgate Mall seemed to be even smaller! But worse, was that the owner later soled this restaurant to Orientals and eventually, the food was terrible. I stopped going because the last time I went, I ended up getting sick and had to go to the emergency room! And, although it may not have been the food from the restaurant that made me sick, the food looked bad imo. And the ratings became terrible. I finally heard too, that restaurant closed permanently! So then at times, I would drive for two hours to Virginia to another restaurant in a small town and this one never let me down! It was called Carolina Barbecue and oh Man!—it was so good! But guess what!? The building recently burned down!

 

So then, I have decided to do some research and see if there are other Soul Food restaurants around these days. After reading comments from a recent thread here, I decided to list some restaurants that I would like to visit one day. I was surprised not to find any nearby places in Maryland! Where I was at the time, I searched and searched and had to resort to trying to cook some soul food myself! For the first time, I made me some Pigs’ Feet!—And it cane out really good, so good that my eyeballs almost rolled back in my head. LOL! I’m the only one in my family that loves this kind of soul food. LOL—and yeah, I’m from the north! I don’t know what is wrong with these people around me! I know there are some soul food restaurants that serve Fried Chicken and maybe Collard greens and ‘call it a day’ but, I believe that a good Soul Food restaurant should also serve foods like Chitterlings, sweet potatoes, black-eyed peas and etc. And, in my experience, Black Americans are by far, not the only people that love Soul Food. I remember one year, I decided to go to Golden Corral for Thanksgiving Dinner for the first time because I did not feel like cooking, and well, the Collard Greens tasted awful and, they ran out quickly. Thankfully, standing in front of me was a White woman, and she went **** off! LOL! She started fussing out loud! She ranted that there was not fatback in the Collard Greens and they had the nerve to run out! LOL! I was so happy she told the cooks a thing-or-two! And then at one time, I too, had to tell the cook how I felt at another store.

 

I used to love to go to the Whole Foods Store near Duke University and buy from the buffet because at times, they would prepare some wonderful Soul Food, but this one time, they served Collard Greens and I had to throw them away—and they were expensive. They were labeled, ‘Southern styled Collard Greens’ however, they were seasoned with, well, I don’t know, but it was horrible. So, after a few visits, I just could not take it anymore, so I knocked on the back door and asked to speak to the chef. Well, a very nice Hispanic man came out and he said that he was ‘the head chef’ and, I thought, “Uh Oh, I don’t know how this is going to turn out”, but anyway, I laid into him! I pointed at the label and told him that “this is NOT Southern styled Collard Greens!” I had my hands on my hips, and I looked at him like--- Well, I said, “Come on now…” He dropped his head and started laughing. And then he said, “Look, come back Thursday, I promise you, I will get it right. I promise you will like it.” LOL, I started laughing too. And I said, “Alright now. You got me?” He said, “Yes, I got you.” And, he was right. He got it right! By the time I got there, two days later on Thursday, I almost missed the pan—it was almost sold out! WHEW! So anyway, I thought it would be good to list some Soul Food Restaurants across America that seem to have a good rating and/or a good history or at least at one time or another. I not visited any Soul Food Restaurants in Sanford, Florida but I see a really good listing for one! And then too, I see a lot of places that have closed down. So sad. But because of the history, I think it may be good to list them too. There is an upcoming Soul Food Festival in Central Florida!

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This Soul Food Restaurant is in SAnford Florida and it has good ratings.

 

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CAROLINA BARBECUE!!! --Sadly the building burned down!

Emporia, Virgina

 

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Pan Pans--at Northgate Mall, Durham, NC-- CLOSED DOWN

 

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Pan Pans in Northgate Mall

 

 

 

 

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One of my favorite Soul Food joints when I lived in Motown was STEVE'S Soul food.


Image result for steve's soul food detroit

They have a bunch of spots today but this is the original one and the one I had been going to since I was a kid.

 

 

 

 

Another one I like was Beans And Cornbread......

 

Image result for beans and cornbread soul food southfield



This is there newest restaurant they opened up in the suburbs right outside the city.
These cats had....like.....15 different types of cornbread....LOL.

I used to go there just for the fried catfish and corn bread alone.

They call this restaurant a "bistro" and try to play to the more "buppie" type crowd of Southfield.

 

 

 

 

But worse, was that the owner later soled this restaurant to Orientals and eventually, the food was terrible. I stopped going because the last time I went, I ended up getting sick and had to go to the emergency room! And, although it may not have been the food from the restaurant that made me sick, the food looked bad imo.


Lol @ "orientals".  I haven't heard that term in a while.
I'm glad you got better but it's interesting that you mentioned getting sick because on my way home I stopped and got some Chinese food and paid for it but on my way out the door I heard one of the cook coughing and harking up real hard and spitting.
If I could hear it all the way in the front lobby you KNOW it had to be hard....lol.

I took that food out of the restaurant and THREW that shit away into the first trash can I saw and drove on home...lol.
Some of these people who come from other cultures are nasty as hell.

Now speaking of Orieintals and Soul Food.......

Chinese tend to eat a LOT of pork products and I remember a few Chinese people used to come into a Soul Food restaurants in the hood (not one of those pictured) just to get pig's feet and chitterlings!


And like you said I also noticed how Whole Foods seems to have a lot of what we would traditionally call "soul food" in their hot foods buffet selection.

I haven't been to a Whole Foods in a minute but I remember they routinely had things like macaroni and cheese, yams, collard greens, corn bread, black eyed peas!!!
This is pretty much SOUL FOOD being served in a wealthy white store.

Another thing that I found interesting about Whole Foods is the fact that you can walk around drinking liquor while you shop....lol.

It's a damn shame so many OTHER people have to serve the public traditional AfroAmerican food because so many of our people are so LAZY and STUPID (I'm sorry but somebody's got to say it!) that they can't even cook for themselves anymore and other people come in and take advantage of the opportunity.


Girl how in the WORLD did you manage to create a thread that invoked hunger, nostalgia, happiness, and anger in me all within a 5 minute time period???

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1 hour ago, Pioneer1 said:

Lol @ "orientals".  I haven't heard that term in a while.

 

You probably have heard it in a while because it is considered derogatory (@Chevdove) when used to describe people.

 

Yeah Chinese people don't waste much of the animal either. I had some chicken feet in a Chinese restaurant a few years ago they didn't even bother to take off the toe nails... also disgusting (to me), but they throw down in general when it comes to food.

 

And hey, white folks make great "soul food" too. They do more with bacon than GW Carver did with peanuts. 

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Troy

I know you don't believe in the concept of race, but what I've found out years ago was that we as people of African descent CAN NOT eat everything Whites and East Asians eat.

Many East Asians can eat just one bowl of rice with a few pickles slices in it and work all damn day. I've worked with White people who live off of ramen noodles and Monster energy drinks AND drink every night and still show up to work on time, do their jobs, and even think straight enough to practice racism.


I don't know of any AfroAmerican who can live that same lifestyle without getting sick.

I'm not sure what these other people are made out of but our people can't eat like them and get the same results. Our people need fruits and vegetables and lean meat to stay healthy and think properly.

 

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On 5/26/2019 at 7:09 PM, Pioneer1 said:

...I took that food out of the restaurant and THREW that shit away into the first trash can I saw and drove on home...lol.

 

@Pioneer1 I NEVER LAUGHED SO HARD! LOL. WHEW! I think I would have called back and complained too. I hate having to toss my food and after spending money. But, I've done it more than once! 

On 5/26/2019 at 7:09 PM, Pioneer1 said:

Chinese tend to eat a LOT of pork products and I remember a few Chinese people used to come into a Soul Food restaurants in the hood (not one of those pictured) just to get pig's feet and chitterlings!

 

Yes, I agree. As a Navy Brat, I have found that many Phlipino people love Soul Food. 

On 5/26/2019 at 7:09 PM, Pioneer1 said:

Girl how in the WORLD did you manage to create a thread that invoked hunger, nostalgia, happiness, and anger in me all within a 5 minute time period???

 

Oh yes!

 

On 5/26/2019 at 8:15 PM, Troy said:

You probably have heard it in a while because it is considered derogatory (@Chevdove) when used to describe people.

 

 

@Troy Really!? I didn't know this! 

 

Okay, I have another FAMOUS SOUL FOOD RESTAURANT that I have been wanting to visit:

 

It's called SWEETIE PIE'S and this is the one thing I regret not being able to visit when I lived in St. Louis, Missouri for a short time. I drove by the small cafe located on FLORISSANT Street by accident when I was actually looking for the restaurant that was located downtown. I was given the wrong directions. And, as i drove about a mile or two down Florissant and decided to make a U-turn, I suddenly realized that I was in another 'infamous area'!!! I was turning around in a parking lot directly across from a convenience store called FERGUSON MARKET and when I got home and youtubed it-- Well, It was the very Ferguson market that MICHAEL BROWN went to before he took off running down the street and was later shot and killed! I couldn't believe it!

 

I also passed by the QT convenience stor on that same street that was the place where people later marched and demonstrated. I was so shocked to stumble across this historic street and had no idea until after I got home, where I had driven. i think maybe, the owner of Sweetie Pie may have started out in this area before she opened up her famous restaurant downtown.

 

This restaurant is so famous that people actually travel from across America to visit and, people wait in long lines outside just to be seated. The owner, Robbie, was once a background singer for Tina Turner. 

SWEETIE PIE'S SOUL FOOD RESTAURANT

 

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I heard that there has been a lot of legal problems that occurred recentely and the owner was filed suit against by her son. But however, she became so well known that other restaurants were supposed to have opened up in other states. 

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@Pioneer1 You've given me a reason to want to visit Detroit! I would love to sample Steve's Soul Food and Bean's and Cornbread!

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19 hours ago, Pioneer1 said:

....drink every night and still show up to work on time, do their jobs, and even think straight enough to practice racism.

 

Lol!

 

19 hours ago, Pioneer1 said:

people of African descent CAN NOT eat everything Whites and East Asians eat.

 

Yes this is true but it has nothing to do with race. Some so called Black people and white people are lactose intolerant and others are not.

 

16 hours ago, Chevdove said:

This restaurant is so famous that people actually travel from across America to visit and, people wait in long lines outside just to be seated. 

 

For this very reason I tend to stay away from the very "popular" restaurants that gain notoriety because of some celebrity's endorsement. The food usually is not better than other restaurants in the area and I'm not waiting on a long line to eat Soul or any other kind of food.

 

Red Rooster in Harlem is one of those popular restaurants. Their food is "ok" and over priced. The restaurant right next to it, Chez Lucienne, is better. I think it is also Black owned. 

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Damn good question.

 

It is in the music, the food, the way people talk, walk, and greet each other. It is in the style of dress and hair. It is what we read and how we dance it runs throughout the community.

 

It is that thing that Harlem (NYC really) has lost. I mean we make do in spots here and there, but without our own community there is no soul.

 

People who never lived in a Black community can't really get it. The little gated community I live in is nice and comfortable but it has no soul... the community is too new and the people too transcient or self absorbed.

 

Gentrification has sucked the soul out of Harlem. 

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Troy

The larger majority of Black people seem to be lactose intolerant while the large majority of White people do not seem to be.
There must be a genetic reason for this.

I'm not sure about Native Americans or East Asians but I haven't heard of their traditional cultures involving milk or other dairy products in their traditional diets.

I thought Sylvia's was supposed to be "the spot" in Harlem....lol.
I haven't actually eaten there. I was about to years ago but the line was so long it was all the way outside and I had a plane to catch so I just skipped it.



Del


Where's the Soul in a Black community?


It WAS in the poverty and struggle.

Historically speaking, the most tight knit and FLAVORFUL communities are those with a high level of poverty (NOT destitution) and working class populations densely packed together.

No matter where you go on the planet despite the nation, this type of grind FORCES people in the community to be creative and cooperate with eachother and this is where you'll find the best music and the best food.


I didn't grow up in poverty but the neighborhood I grew up in had FLAVOR.
It had CHARACTERS in it kind of like Fat Albert and his gang.....lol.
Dudes with buck-teeth, boys who stuttered, old women who'd sit on the porch all day and watch everything that went on on the block, and loud music playing from people's houses.  As boys we used to "come get" eachother and MAKE you leave the house unless you were "on punishment" (something you rarely hear today).

You drive down most Black neighborhoods today and you don't see too much of that.

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2 hours ago, Troy said:

 

It is that thing that Harlem (NYC really) has really lost 

That's what I meant. 

Some stores weren't just about their goods. The Beauty Shop, the barber shop, the butcher, the candy store. the news stand the deli. When I was a kid people talk to shopkeepers. I use to give my watch as collateral to the pizza guy when I didn't have any money.

 

It's hard to do at the mall. 

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2 hours ago, Pioneer1 said:

The larger majority of Black people seem to be lactose intolerant while the large majority of White people do not seem to be.
There must be a genetic reason for this.

 

I don't know if your percentages regarding lactose intolerance is accurate. I'm not lactose intolerant.

 

Yes lactose intolerance is a function of one's genes, but that has nithing to do with race.

 

@Delano yeah Amazon runs the largest supermarket in Harlem. 125 street has the same stores one would find in suburban Toledo.

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There used to be a legendary herb shop in Harlem the Hardest Hard. Even one of the Kennedy boys went to Harlem for dope.

 

In 1979, David Anthony Kennedy, a son of Robert F. Kennedy, was found after having been mugged in what police described as a shooting gallery at 116th Street and Eighth Avenue in a place called the Shelton Plaza Hotel. Mr. Kennedy was not charged with a crime. He died of an overdose of cocaine and other drugs in 1984.

 

That's from NYT https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/21/a-notorious-harlem-shooting-gallery-goes-condo/

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On 5/28/2019 at 1:29 PM, Troy said:

For this very reason I tend to stay away from the very "popular" restaurants that gain notoriety because of some celebrity's endorsement. The food usually is not better than other restaurants in the area and I'm not waiting on a long line to eat Soul or any other kind of food.

 

@Troy Tha's funny! But, I don't plan on wating in any long line to eat in any restaurant if I can help it. And yes, I read some reviews about this particular restaurant in that the food is not all that great. However, I think perhaps, the owner became popular because they have shows there at times. 

On 5/28/2019 at 8:25 PM, Pioneer1 said:

The larger majority of Black people seem to be lactose intolerant while the large majority of White people do not seem to be.
There must be a genetic reason for this.

 

Yes, I agree. @Pioneer1

On 5/28/2019 at 10:36 PM, Troy said:

Yes lactose intolerance is a function of one's genes, but that has nithing to do with race.

 

@Troy I don't know how to define 'race' but I have read about people being linked to lactose intoerance based on being of AFrican descent and/or having Neanderthal makeup. Like you said, anybody can be lactose intolerant today because we are all mixed.

 

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@Chevdove It is not "my" definition of race that I'm using it is the scientifically determined objective definition which sasy all human belong to the same race.  @Pioneer1 likes to attribute characteristics, like lactose intolerance, to people based upon their skin color. That is the definition of racism.

 

@Delano as a kid we rarely went to a restaurants to eat. By the time I was in college we started to dine out a bit more -- mostly chains like red lobster.  By the time I was out on my own I really started to dine out by then Jack's Nest was had closed.  I believe I went once.  It was just that soul food restaurant downtown to me. B Smith's was perhaps the most popular, upscale soul food restaurant downtown Manhattan (she has locations in Union Station in DC and in the Hamptons (all very nice).  There was another spot too the name escapes me know but it is closed. One location remains in Martha's Vineyard, but I have not visited that one yet.  

 

Most people think chicken and waffles started in LA, but it was Harlem.  

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  • 3 years later...
On 5/30/2023 at 6:45 AM, DanjumaTela said:

I think we need more interesting places to dine out!

 

We do need more 'interesting' places to dine out!

This post made me think about another thread I posted about a restaurant in Houston, Texas, I came across after I posted this thread;

TURKEY LEG HUT! 

 

 

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On 5/31/2023 at 2:33 PM, Troy said:

@DanjumaTela welcome to the forums... I think. nI'm keeping my eye on you. 🤨


Lol....was there something in that LINK they provided that provoked that response?

I was going to click on it but for some reason I saw your emoticon and decided to read your post first and now have decided not to click...yet.
Restaurant Fussen sounds like a GERMAN spot...lol.

 

 



Chev

I've heard nothing but GOOD things about the Turkey Leg Hut down there in Houston.
I said the next time I'm down there I'm definitely going.

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@Pioneer1 I normally would have banned at account up front, as there were several signs it was a spammer, but I approved it by mistake. 

 

When I read their first post I completely missed the link. It was a spammer, a clever one, but spammer nonetheless.

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great answer @ProfD :)

 

I am near many actually. TO be specific, Black Eateries are the primary small black business in the area and most make money and get non black clients, even before the last twenty years. 

BEcause I saw this friday, friday fishday , I will choose , Lighthouse

One is east side one is west side in manhattan, the oldest is the west side

https://www.lighthousefishmarket.com/8th-ave-menu

And I have to play the song I always think about whenever fish is on the meny, any day, whether home cooked or out there

 

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23 hours ago, Pioneer1 said:


Chev

I've heard nothing but GOOD things about the Turkey Leg Hut down there in Houston.
I said the next time I'm down there I'm definitely going.

 

I would love to visit too.

If you do go, then please let us know of your experience! 

 

 

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richardmurray

 

🤔 Thank you for this song, I actually find it very interesting for a number of reasons.

I didn't research it but it sounded like it was recorded in the 50s and I've noticed a few observations of the lyrics:
 

1. Sam is talking "jive" to Jimmy's wife

This lyric suggests that even back in those days it was common and even comical for men to mess around with other men's wives.
I wonder how common WAS this in our communities back in the 50s?


2. People were having fun and "high" at the fish fry

Although it doesn't necessarily refer to being high off of drugs, the fact that he puts people being "high" in a song lets me know that people back then were aware enough about what it meant to be high.
It makes me wonder how common were drugs and getting high at that time.


3. The party was raided by the police

Makes me wonder how common was it for Black parties to be raided by the cops back in the 50s.
And why....or what excuse was given...for these raids.


4. People were carried off in a "Black Mariah"

This really got my attention because just a week ago I was listening to someone....it may have been Tariq Nasheed but I'm not sure....who said that police paddy wagons used to be called "Black Marias".  I didn't pay it too much attention until it was mentioned again in this song and I took this as confirmation.
For decades I hadn't even heard of the term "Black Mariah" before...not even from the older cats I used to sit and listen to;  and now all of a sudden I hear about it. 
You live and you learn.




Chev



I would love to visit too.

If you do go, then please let us know of your experience! 
 

LOL...if you weren't married (or atleast didn't talk about your husband so much...lol) I would say LET'S GO TOGETHER.
We'd sit there all day munching on greasy turkey legs and arguing over who the real Israelites and Caucasians are....lol

 

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"Guuuurl stop playing.....
You know damn well Moses didn't sit up and write that shit!"

 

 

But instead, I'll settle on your advice and take some pictures and maybe even a couple videos of the TLH if they let me next time I'm in Houston....lol.

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7 hours ago, Pioneer1 said:


 

LOL...if you weren't married (or atleast didn't talk about your husband so much...lol) I would say LET'S GO TOGETHER.
We'd sit there all day munching on greasy turkey legs and arguing over who the real Israelites and Caucasians are....lol

 

🤣 @Pioneer1 I believe that you are flirting with me! 

You are too much, you made my day! 

 

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@Pioneer1

Quote

I wonder how common WAS this in our communities back in the 50s?

Statistics are not known but I can say this having been fortunate to speak to black people who actually lived back then. These things did happen but it wasn't common or a plague. Remember the USA in itself in the 1950s is miscomprehended. There is an idea that people didn't know about debauchery or sexual activities. This isn't true. It wasn't some wild rampant as some suggest but it was also present. It connect to the next point.

 

Quote

It makes me wonder how common were drugs and getting high at that time.

 

Well drugs have been common throughout the entirety of human history. But when he speaks of getting high he is refereing to high as in jubilation. Remember the black community in the usa was a much more christian community and still had remnants of our enslaved days where black people treated being high as being free from this world of enslavement. Be careful reading in modern sentiments into the past.  And to that, Black people were mostly moonshine drinkers, tobacco smokers. These are drugs but they are common. Like Marijuana today, most black people have never been hard drug takers. But the reason is simple, most hard drugs require money. Cocaine isn't cheap, ala why black people were able to afford crack, its derivative. Most hard drugs are too expensive for black folk.  Now comprehend, moonshine is potentially  a hard drug in that moonshine can be over 90 proof which is strong alcohol content, near 50 but moonshine can be 110 or 120 proof, that is damn near pure alcohol. So when you say common drugs, well, Alcohol is ever present in the usa in general, all communities. I hope your not suggesting black people should be beyond taking any drugs. The kings of the nile sold wine. 

 

Quote

And why....or what excuse was given...for these raids.

Well, I can tell you for sure that the NYPD has to get a cut of all crimes, as we speak right now at hunts point where the women walk naked around at 1am , the pimps are paying law enforcement in one way or the other. So why? why is to make sure the underworld comprehends who has to get their cut. Remember the NYPD was started by Bos Tweed as a place for Irish street gangs. And excuses were not given. What people consider legal oversight for law enforcement is a relatively new creation. In NYC something called the Nap commission <a msispelling> was started in the 1970s by mayor lindsey to begin managing law enforcement in nyc.

Quote

You live and you learn.

we all do:) 

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On 6/3/2023 at 5:13 PM, Pioneer1 said:

Lol....it wouldn't be the first time.

 

Get out! Well, you learn something new everyday! Much love for you! @Pioneer1

 

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On 6/2/2023 at 7:09 PM, richardmurray said:

 

BEcause I saw this friday, friday fishday , I will choose , Lighthouse

One is east side one is west side in manhattan, the oldest is the west side

https://www.lighthousefishmarket.com/8th-ave-menu

And I have to play the song I always think about whenever fish is on the meny, any day, whether home cooked or out there

 

 

Nice song! @richardmurray

 

I googled the restaurant and it seems amazing! 

The Light House Fish Market

I love seafood! And this restaurant seems very classy.

This is a picture of the street it is located.

 

 

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The entrance lobby 

 

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