Ginger & Hollie's Sweet, Spicy Grill

This Bedford Stuyvesant soul food best spot should probably just start catering! Their inability to keep a consistent schedule and the fact that they close down for months at a time has taken a toll on their business. Customers are skeptical of rumors about health code violations as reason for unscheduled closures and there is no food grade posted in the restaurants window. In its better days however, the food spoke for itself! Always delicious, mouthwatering dishes, shrimp & chicken anyway you like it (grilled, fried or jerked), steaks, stuffed salmon and tilapia all made fresh when you order. There is a bit of a wait but always worth it. A nice location with minimal seating, soft lighting and sometimes music. The servers and cooks are ALWAYS polite, the sides (mac & cheese, yams, spinach, collard greens, etc.) are always hot and delicious. With their last re-opening the prices have spiked steering customers away, the menu changes on the days they are open and there are no set hours or days of operation. Hopefully Mama's Kitchen can redeem themselves, they were definitely a jewel to the BedStuy area

Halsey Street Grill

I like to think of Halsey Street Grill as the new rival to its neighboring soul food spot Royal Rib House which located just down the block. Unlike the Royal Rib House, Halsey Street Grill offers inexpensive combos and they are open 7 days a week. Behind the partitioned glass the food is laid out buffet style allowing you to get a good look at your food before you order but because of the small size of the restaurant and antsy servers sometimes you may feel rushed into making a quick decision. The sides range from steamed veggies, yams and rice and hand cut french fries. The seafood has to be the best value with a 10 pc. jumbo shrimp and chips combo for $7! The turkey wings were a bit under cooked, vegetarians may want to skip the collard greens because they are cooked with some kind of meat, the macaroni and cheese reminded me of a trini "macaroni pie" being as the cheese was mainly on top of the noodles, the whiting fish and chicken wings are delicious as well. There is the option to order online or by phone and have your food delivered opposed to picking it up. However, you'll be lucky if someone answers the phone and I've heard the delivery wait is ridiculous! On a 1-10 I'd rate this place a 6.5. Although there is a variety of menu choices the most important thing is quality over quantity