NYCReview
photo credit: Noah Devereaux
Jacob Restaurant
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There’s something magical about a good buffet. Maybe it’s the fact that you can serve yourself with a spoon the size of a children’s tennis racket. Or maybe it’s that feeling of endless possibility you get when you see all those dishes just sitting there like musical notes waiting for you to arrange them into food jazz on your plate. If you want to know what we’re talking about, check out Jacob Restaurant.
This is a buffet in Harlem where you serve yourself and pay by the pound, and it’s a very useful spot to know about if you’re nearby. It’s quick, convenient, and great for the price - and we appreciate the fact that you can stop by and fill up a container of good food with precise portions of exactly what you want, in whatever combination you deem necessary.
photo credit: Noah Devereaux
The buffet setup here consists of two large islands with roughly 20 trays each, and you’ll find everything from macaroni salad and quartered avocados to a mound of oxtails and some baked salmon covered in a sauce the color of the Grand Canyon. It’s a big selection with lots of potential for self-expression in terms of what you do you with your plate, and it leans heavily toward soul food - which happens to be the best stuff here. The fried chicken is crispy and well-seasoned, the mac and cheese comes topped with a thick layer of melted cheese, and the yams are rich, creamy, and sweeter than an acoustic version of “All You Need Is Love” at a beach wedding in which both participants seem genuinely interested in one another. We also like the smoky collard greens with just the right amount of acidity.
Once you’ve made all your selections, bring your styrofoam box to the register where a cashier will weigh your food (it’s $6.49 a pound) and ask if you’re staying or going. Choose to stick around, and you can hang out in a dining room with a bunch of plain wooden tables and a flatscreen TV playing the news, or, if it’s nice out, you can eat at a table on the sidewalk out front. Unless it’s a weekend when there’s live music, it’s pretty easy to find a seat - because a lot of people here just take their food to go.
It doesn’t matter if you stay or go - what’s important is that you experience the lawlessness and infinite possibility of Jacob’s quality buffet. We also think it’s important that you throw a rib on top of whatever you get - but, seeing as how Jacob’s is all about free will, self-determination, and big styrofoam containers of food that you choose for yourself, we’ll let you decide whether or not you want to do that.
Food Rundown
photo credit: Noah Devereaux
Fried Chicken
photo credit: Noah Devereaux
Pork Ribs
photo credit: Noah Devereaux
Beef Short Ribs
photo credit: Noah Devereaux
Oxtails
photo credit: Noah Devereaux
Mac And Cheese
photo credit: Noah Devereaux
Collard Greens
photo credit: Noah Devereaux