(Newser)
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A Harlem icon has passed on. Sylvia Woods, the "Queen of Soul Food," died yesterday at 86 after fighting Alzheimer's, her family says. Tourists and celebrities from all over the world have flocked to her restaurant, Sylvia's, for half a century to sample its corn bread and fried chicken. "Sylvia gallantly battled Alzheimer's for the past several years, but never once lost her loving smile," her family said, according to CNN.
"We lost a legend," said Mayor Michael Bloomberg. "In her words, the food was made with 'a whole lot of love' and generations of family and friends have come together at what became a New York institution." Woods' empire reached far beyond the restaurant: She wrote two successful cookbooks, started a catering service, and launched Sylvia's Food Products across the country.
