Eating out frequently can be disappointing, but there are times when the experience is gratifying, like at Pan Pan Fifth Avenue Restaurant Cafe, sitting on the corner of 111th Street in Harlem. This bistro-style eatery pleases the palate and uplifts the spirit.
Delicious Southern cuisine at affordable prices is the bill of fare here. The breakfast menu [prices range from $2.00 to $5.75] offers the basic staples: eggs, grits, sausages, chicken livers, salmon cakes, and chicken and waffles. And, of course, buttery biscuits.
The luncheon menu [$2.95- $7.95], including hamburgers, french fries and chicken wings, is an abbreviated version of the dinner menu. Some of the choices on the dinner menu [$5.75-$12.95], are: roast chicken with stuffing, barbecue ribs, oxtail, fried fish, fried chicken and boneless charcoal broiled shell steak. Vegetables include candied yams, black-eyed peas, macaroni and cheese, potato salad, collard greens and string beans.
There are a few Caribbean dishes, curried chicken, curried shrimp, peas and rice; and for non-meat eaters, a vegetable platter.
My sister Paula and I arrived for dinner at 5 pm on a Sunday and was pleasantly greeted by the cashier who took us to seats near a window. A few minutes later, the waitress came over, smiled, and after introducing herself asked us if we would like a cup of coffee while waiting for dinner. We found this welcoming pleasing.
Friendly service, “is stressed here”, says owner Leon Ellis, a Jamaican reared in Alabama. “I tell my staff that I don’t care what a person looks like or orders, just make sure he or she gets good service.”
While sounds of Jazz alternated with sounds of Reggae in the background, and as neon beer signs glowed in the tall, picture windows, we made our selections. Paula chose fried chicken and macaroni and cheese [$6.95], and I, baked chicken with stuffing [$6.95]. We both ordered collard greens, seasoned with smoked turkey. [Pork is never used here for seasoning.]
The fried chicken cooked by a special process was oil-less yet moist. Of the vegetables, the chunks of yam resting in a delicately spiced syrup, and the cheesy macaroni tasted like mo’. So did the corn bread, which was light, moist and very flavorful.
In sampling some of the other dishes we found the black-eyed peas tasty but a little salty. However, the hickory smoked, barbecue baby back ribs and the barbecue short ribs of beef were tender and succulent, the sweet, tangy sauce, divine. As for the oxtail, the meat fell off the bone. Everything tasted fresh. And Mr. Ellis explains why “We cook small amounts of food at a time.”
Desserts [all $2.00] include cakes, pies, peach cobbler and ice cream. Excellent choices are sweet potato pie and the big seller, Rummy Yum Yum Cake, highly recommended by Gourmet Magazine. Although slightly uncooked, Paula ate her slice with gusto. When she couldn’t finish the generous portion, she asked for a doggie bag.
Beverages include the usual, coffee, tea, soda or drinks from the full service bar. We chose the coffee which we found flavorful and full bodied. “Our policy is that coffee be made from freshly ground beans and a pot be kept for no longer than one hour,” commented Mr. Ellis, who was sitting at our table sporting a flat top haircut that complemented his black shirt and black pegged full pants.
“You know, good coffee can make loyal customers,” he continues, following up his claim with an interesting anecdote. “A woman came in one night and ordered a cup of coffee as we were closing. We made a fresh pot. Now she’s a steady customer,” he says smiling proudly.
Perhaps, her loyalty is due to another quality that makes dining at Pan Pan so interesting — a sense of satisfaction. It is obvious from the casual and familiar manner of the multi-racial clientele that this is a nice place to eat.
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