Mo’Bay

Photo: Shannon Taggart

FRIDAY
Opportunities for eating, dancing and worshipping abound uptown—head to Harlem and you’ll see a side of NYC that most tourists never experience. Set the tenor of the weekend with a lunch of fried chicken, collard greens, macaroni and cheese, and red velvet cake at Miss Maude’s Spoonbread Too (547 Lenox Ave between 137th and 138th Sts, 212-690-3100), a favorite with Harlem Hospital’s doctors.

Work off your midday meal with a turn through the visual arts gallery at Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture (515 Lenox Ave at 135th St, 212-491-2200), one of the country’s premier centers for research in African-American culture, before heading over to the African Mart (116th St between Fifth and Lenox Aves), where you can score earrings from Mali, batik cloths and loads of beads.

St. Nick’s Pub

Photo: Shannon Taggart

The after-work scene at Mo Bay (17 W 125th St between Fifth Ave and Malcolm X Blvd [Lenox Ave], 212-876-9300) is always entertaining—besides, they serve traditional Caribbean fare, like jerk chicken and shrimp with savory cabbage.

Old-school salseros have been keeping mambo alive uptown since Eddie Torres, the “Mambo King,” popularized the “New York on 2” Palladium dance-club style in 1965 (he was also the driving force behind the ’80s resurgence of what used to be called “Latin” dance). Fridays from 6pm to midnight, they’ll be dancing on the third floor of the Harlem State Office Building (163 W 125th St at Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd [Seventh Ave],212-961-4471, 6–11pm, $10) to everything from Eddie Palmieri to the Spanish Harlem Orchestra.

Meanwhile, single buppies will be grooving to R&B in the outdoor sculpture garden at The Studio Museum (144 W 125th St between Malcolm X [Lenox Ave] and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. [Seventh Ave] Blvds, 212-864-0014; 7–11pm, $7), Harlem’s best art institution. Late night, head seven short blocks north on Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard to Harlem’s newest small club, The Shrine (2271 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd [Seventh Ave] between 133rd and 134th Sts, 212-690-7807) for finger food, drinks and live music.

Rest weary feet at The Harlem Landmark Guest House (437 W 147th St between Convent and St. Nicholas Aves, 212-694-8800. From $150), an inn that offers beautifully appointed rooms named after famous Harlem icons such as Billie Holiday.

Les Ambassades

Photo: Katie Ackerman

SATURDAY

Jessie Hamilton offers an excellent salsa class ($5) from 9am to noon on Saturdays at the Harlem YMCA (180 W 135th St between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. [Seventh Ave] and Malcolm X [Lenox Ave] Blvds, 212-281-4100)—conveniently located next to the flavorful steamed veggies and soy burgers served up at Café Veg (2291 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd [Seventh Ave] between 134th and 135th Sts, 212-491-3223).

Pass the afternoon with Harlem Is Home Tours (212-658-9160), whose guides will speed you around to various architectural neighborhoods including Strivers Row, with its wrought-iron appointed facades.

Dig into Senegalese-inspired seafood dishes at Les Ambassades (2200 Frederick Douglass Blvd [Eighth Ave] at 118th St, 212-666-0078), where you may well see Marcus Samuelsson, Aquavit’s famous chef, stop in for takeout.

Follow dinner with jazz and cheap drinks on “Sugar Hill” at St. Nick’s Pub (773 St. Nicholas Ave between 149th and 150th Sts, 212-283-9728)—late-night snacks, such as crispy fried shrimp and potatoes, can be procured from Devin’s Fish & Chips (747 St. Nicholas Ave at 147th St, 212-491-5518). If you like organ-based jazz and stiff martinis, hit Showman’s (375 W 125th St at Morningside Ave, 212-864-8941) and Minton’s Playhouse (210 W 118th St between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd [Seventh Ave] and St. Nicholas Ave, 212-864-8346) before heading for bed.

Camaradas el Barrio Bar & Restaurant

Photo: Shannon Taggert

SUNDAY

Churches abound in Harlem. The lines to get into Abyssinian and Convent Avenue Baptist churches are notoriously long, so try one off the beaten track. You’ll want to see praise dancing at The Bethel Gospel Assembly (2-26 E 120th St between Mt. Morris Park West and Fifth Ave, 212-860-1510), or hear the thunderous sounds of the McCollough Sons, a spectacular brass band that serves as the music ministry at The United House of Prayer for All People (2320 Frederick Douglass Blvd [Eighth Ave] between 124th and 125th Sts, 212-864-8795).

Traditional dinner-breakfast combinations like chicken with waffles and shrimp with grits began when ladies were “broads” and men were “Macs” back at the now-defunct Wells, which was frequented by nightlife workers, numbers runners, street pharmacists and show girls in need of a substantial breakfast before passing out after a hard night. Staying true to that tradition is Amy Ruth’s (113 W 116th St between Malcolm X [Lenox Ave] and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. [Seventh Ave] Blvds, 212-280-8779), which serves the waffles warm, the grits creamy and the shrimp crisp.

Work off the calories at a dance lesson at Santo Rico (2403 Second Ave between 123rd and 124th Sts, 212-289-1302). The “Ladies Style” class ($15) at 2pm teaches the subtleties of the upper body (head, arms, hands, torso and hips), which give salsa its distinctively sexy look, while the one at 4pm offers a basic rundown of the steps.

Dine on new-wave Puerto Rican cuisine, complete with music, at Camaradas el Barrio Bar & Restaurant (2241 First Ave at 115th St, 212-248-2703), a renovated workers’ public house. Try the mofongo (garlic-flavored, mashed fried plantains), skewered satay chicken, spicy calamari and chocolate empanadas.

The River Room view

Photo courtesy of The River Room

IF YOU CAN STAY...

Don’t miss Harlem’s storied Cotton Club (666 W 125th St between Broadway and Riverside Dr, 212-663-7980), a stuccoed building underneath the Henry Hudson Parkway. On Monday nights ($15), you and your partner can swing on a 600-square-foot mahogany dance floor to the sounds of trumpet player Al Pazant, formerly of Count Basie’s orchestra. The restaurant, which serves Southern cuisine, is designed to evoke memories of the Prohibition era with its near-touching tables, red walls and low lighting.

Devotees come from uptown, downtown and even Japan to dance here in retro outfits to the 13-piece band: You’ll see everything from poodle skirts and fishnet stockings to zoot suits and spectator shoes, though uncostumed beginners are welcome.

Barbara and Ben “G” Rodriguez and Mambo Baby’s Francisco Navarro, hosts of the Wednesday Latin Dance ($10) held at La Maganette for over 20 years, have moved their social uptown to The River Room (145th St at Riverside Dr, 212-491-1500), which might be the most beautiful setting in the city for salsa. This glass-walled restaurant inside Riverbank State Park has a Creole-inspired menu and an outdoor veranda that offers unobstructed views of the George Washington Bridge and the Little Red Lighthouse, made famous by the children’s storybook of the same name.

Also on Wednesday nights, the social at Julia de Burgos Cultural Center (1680 Lexington Ave at 105th St, 5pm–midnight) serves up a live band and a hot dance floor. And by hot, we mean that you should dress like you’re going to the gym.