Outside Mobay Uptown
MoBay Uptown is a home cooking fusion of Cajun, Caribbean, Asian and Southern influenced cuisine at 17 West 125th Street in a cozy brownstone on 145th Street in Harlem. Prices are higher than usual for this type of food, but then again it’s far from being a paper plate takeout joint. Decked out with cozy booths, snug two-seater tables, and dangling star-shaped lights, the dining area is often caressed with the sounds of live jazz, smooth reggae or R&B on their tiny performance space.
A husband and wife team in the kitchen, each respectively from Jamaica and St. Louis, rustle up a unique flavor stemming from their combination of Chinese seasoning and Jamaican sauces. Your first bite will undoubtedly be cornbread served with raspberry cream sauce. Menu standouts include cinnamon packed candied yams; bammy, a Jamaican staple of crisp fried yucca or cassava cakes; meaty, unusually tender baby back ribs dry
Bammy Bread
rubbed, slow smoked with Mesquite for 10 hours, and slathered in honey barbecue sauce spiked with rum. My favorites are melt in your mouth fried catfish with grits, smoky flavored collard greens, grilled salmon with a side of sweet plantains, and mac and cheese that’s good enough to be a main dish on its own.
You absolutely have to try their signature and aptly-named Rummy Rum Cake. As light as angel food, this dessert packs a punch that will make you think twice about visiting the glowing red bar for an after-dinner drink. If you’re visiting on the weekend, praise the Lord with their Sunday Gospel Brunch!
I walked past this place a lot when I was visiting Harlem this Summer. My firends’s discouraged me from trying it because the place has a bad reputation in terms of service. Some of the dishes you describe don’t sond very authentic either but I’m sure I’d be happy with the rum cake.
Hey there, I’ve heard service can be spotty @ Mobay but was fine when I visited. Don’t forget, the dishes here are fusion so authenticity is based more on an individual’s preferences.