Charles Gabriel was born October 12, 1947 near Charlotte, North Carolina. He was one of twelve brothers and eight sisters. His parents were sharecroppers. The family – including Charles from the age of six – picked cotton from 6am to 6pm on a nearby plantation. In the evening, his mother would cook for the entire family. In his mother’s kitchen, Charles learned to prepare the food we all enjoy today.

At seventeen, Charles moved to New York City to work for an older brother who had opened a restaurant on the Upper West Side. A few years later, he began working at the legendary Copeland’s Restaurant in Hamilton Heights where he stayed for over twenty years rising to the position of head cook.

By the mid 1980’s, Charles decided to go off on his own. He started cooking out of his Harlem apartment, putting a folding table in front of his building to serve his first customers. One day, a woman asked Charles whether he wanted to buy her food truck. They agreed he would pay her $25 per week until the food truck was paid off. Charles ran his food truck for five years; building his reputation in Harlem and beyond.

Charles’s first brick and mortar restaurant was on 8th Avenue between 152nd and 153rd Streets. His “take out” spot was soon joined by his “breakfast” spot and his legendary “buffet.” He operated all three locations for over twenty years.

Now, in 2021, Charles is opening a new series of Charles Pan-Fried Chicken restaurants. He’s starting in Harlem and the Upper West Side and then, who knows.

Pi Bakerie draws on the experience and vast background of mediterranean culture, with its roots originating from Greece. Our recipes are carefully selected and date back to our ancestors. We have kept our recipes traditional and have added our own signature , This signature is unique as it draws from previous experience and recipes. Over the years we have perfected this in order to offer you the ultimate tasting experience. Our recipes come from various areas and regions of Greece as well as southern italy. Each region has its own culture and flavors, we fuse those flavors together with contemporary baking to bring you our heritage and our love for the mediterranean cuisine.

Previously known as Mei Li Wah, this beloved Chinese bakery has been a staple in Chinatown since the early 2000’s, hosting visitors from all over the world. Their menu is recommended to Chinese cuisine lovers alike, many stopping in to try any number of their famous buns. Their most beloved menu item is the Baked Roast Pork Bun. We encourage you to stop into this fun little shop in Chinatown to try their other menu items.

Established in 1933, Fong On is a family-owned tofu shop that has been in the Eng Family for four generations and counting. Originally prepared one block at a time, the Eng family ramped up production using barrels starting in the 1940s; a tradition that they still utilize today.

Many things have changed over the years including flavors, toppings, and selection, but the Eng family still proudly produces the same great tofu that New Yorkers have enjoy for many years. Today, Fong On is a ready-to-eat tofu bar offering freshly-made hot or cold Tofu Pudding with customizable toppings, as well as homemade Sticky Rice Cakes and Soy Milk.

Madame Vo and Monsieur Vo are two modern Vietnamese restaurants in the heart of the East Village in New York City. The creation of husband-wife duo Chef Jimmy Ly and Yen Vo, Madame Vo opened in 2017 specializing in homestyle cooking, noodle soups, and comfort foods. Monsieur Vo opened in 2022, focusing on original takes on street food, drinking food, as well as large-format meat and fish.

It all started when would-be Chef Jimmy met Yen, who had moved to New York from Houston to pursue a career in fashion. Back in Texas, Yen was used to eating traditional southern Vietnamese food at the hundreds of Vietnamese restaurants in town. So when a friend introduced the soon-to-be couple, Yen wanted to know: “Where can I find good Vietnamese food in New York City?”

In 2022, the team unveiled Monsieur Vo — an elegant and modern Vietnamese meat and seafood restaurant in the East Village that spotlights Vietnam’s ăn nhậu culture, referring to the beloved tradition of celebrating and bonding over savory foods and plentiful drinks.

Taking over the space that previously housed Madame Vo BBQ, which closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, Monsieur Vo is a totally new and original concept that expands beyond Vietnamese barbecue with reimagined street dishes as well as more large-format meat platters like a Bun Bo Hue Beef Shank (grilled shank marinated for 24 hours in a Central Vietnamese soup base then brushed with lemongrass-shrimp butter).

Dainobu, a Japanese grocery store, which was established in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan in 1916, has been continuously owned and operated by four generations of the Dainobu family. In 2008, Dainobu established its first Japanese grocery store in New York City and went on to open 5 more around the city. Most products are also available online for nationwide shipment.

Dainobu’s goal is to provide a space for both Japanese and non-Japanese clients to experience Japanese food culture. It strives to bring authentic Japanese food to the United States by working with top Japanese manufacturers and trading companies as well as collaborating with Japanese restaurants in the U.S.