Tag Archives: dining out

Harvist in Harlem makes NY Times Fall Restaurant Preview List

Around this time every year, The New York Times publishes a list of all the new restaurants opening up in the Fall and one Harlem establishment made the cut: Harvist. Harvist will be located at 40 West 116th Street in the My Image Studios and “will serve Cassandra Quinlan-Ashford’s rustic fare with Southern and Latin-American influences, including skirt steak with salsa verde, chicken and dumplings, and red velvet cake.” To date it is the only restaurant planned in this commercial space in Harlem, which is also home to the Kalahari Condominium.

Marcus Samuelsson also received a mention about another restaurant he is opening up in the City, but in the Lincoln Center area of Manhattan.

Check out the complete list here.

Chef Stephen Putnam moves on from Lido Harlem, sought-after caterer Serena Bass steps in

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Lido Italian Restaurant and Bar in Harlem is experiencing some changes, but don’t worry. These changes are positive for everyone involved, especially the consumer. Lido Harlem, located at 117th Street and Frederick Douglass Blvd., exclusively tells HarlemGal Inc. that British-born, celeb following caterer, Serena Bass has been hired by the Harlem eatery to redevelop their menu. This decision to hire Bass to redevelop Lido’s menu is right out of the oven practically. Bass will start working with the Lido team effective immediately! In her bio, it reads: Bass’ most recent venture is at Lido Harlem where she is taking the popular neighborhood restaurant to a new level. So let’s all pay attention to the menu at Lido. I am confident it will have that similar ingredient: quality food.

These changes are happening at Lido due to initial Chef Stephen Putnam giving notice last week to the management team that he was departing the Harlem dining place to start his own restaurant in Harlem, along with his wife Dera. Putnam will not comment on the exact location of his Harlem restaurant or the starting date because he is in the midst of negotiations. However, Putnam does say that he plans on serving cuisine at his new place that garnered him a 26 out of 30 rating from Zagat while at Lido.

And for those of us who like dining at Lido Harlem, like I do, the service, ambiance and quality of food will remain the same, according to its management team. Lido will continue to provide the same level of service it has been consistently offering since it opened about a year and a half ago. And be on the look out for Serena Bass in Harlem. Just so you know, her clients include Sarah Jessica Parker and Oscar de la Renta.

Celebrate Bastille Day at Cedric French Bistro in Harlem

It’s a national holiday this coming Saturday, July 14 or its Independence Day all over again! Well, not exactly here in the U.S., but in France it is. It’s Bastille Day this coming Saturday and Cedric French Bistro and Bar, located at 185 St. Nicholas Avenue (at the corner of 119th Street) is celebrating the French holiday with a Brunch Party right here in Harlem. The festivities start at 11 am and Cedric’s is taking reservations for this soiree. See all the details below!

Lunch is ready at Harlem Food Bar, brunch starts this weekend

Harlem Food Bar is now offering lunch! HFB opened for lunch yesterday, June 26! No signs of the lunch menu yet on this end. If anyone gets their grubby little hands on it, feel free to post it here!

Also, Harlem Food Bar will start offering brunch this coming weekend. From 11 am to 3 pm, brunch will offer carrot cake pancakes, red-velvet waffles, liters of mixed drinks (for the table) and more. So check out HFB’s brunch this weekend or try them out for lunch as well!

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Harlem Food Bar adds sidewalk seating

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If you were walking along Frederick Douglass Blvd. in Harlem this past weekend, you may have noticed that Harlem’s newest eatery, Harlem Food Bar, located on FDB between 113th and 114th Street, opened up its outdoor seating space. Both Saturday and Sunday, patron’s gladly filled those seats from what I witnessed. Probably because the weather was descent and the food is good and reasonably priced.

Also from the photo above, it looks like HFB seating space could come out on the sidewalk a little farther. See the white chalk mark to the left? It appears that HFB was a bit modest with setting out their seats.

By the way, have you dined at HFB yet? If so, tell us what you think. To read more about Harlem Food Bar, click here or check out their Facebook page.
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Is Jado Sushi in Harlem starting off in the community on the wrong foot?

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It has been really fun and exciting lately to blog about some of the recent openings happening in Harlem, such as The Corner Social, Harlem Food Bar and Frederick Cafe Bistro. All these places have opened with such positive fanfare and the management behind these establishments are a delight to work with. However, there is one dining establishment on Frederick Douglass Blvd that is getting ready to open and I am finding it difficult to rave about. I am contemplating not evening dining there. Why? You may or may not know that there’s been an ongoing conflict between the owner of Jado Sushi, which is located in The Douglass Condo retail space (2118 FDB), and the owner of Land Yoga, which has been established in The Douglass for almost a year now and is Jado’s neighbor to the right.

According to online reports, Land Yoga in Harlem has been respectfully asking Jado Sushi, which is owned by the same person who owns The Winery on 116th Street, to kindly sound proof the restaurant so that it does not affect the environment of the yoga studio. Those multiple requests to Jado Sushi have been ignored to date, according to Land Yoga. HarlemGal Inc contacted The Winery asking for comment about Land Yoga’s request to sound proof and they did not respond.

Another reason I am blogging about this now is ’cause multiple readers have asked, why have you not mentioned anything about Jado Sushi in Harlem on your blog? Well, this is why. I am aware of the conflict going on between Jado and Land Yoga in Harlem.

For conversation sake, I have even asked Harlem business owner(s) about this and most have informally commented it is the responsibility of Jado Sushi  to sound proof the place since they are coming into a retail area that has already been established, apartments above the Jado space will more than likely complain about the noise below so it’s best to sound proof now rather than later and its the politically correct thing to do. Most of the businesses on FDB support each other. Yesterday, I read that the owner of Melba’s stopped by Harlem Food Bar recently to show her support. That’s classy!

Personally, I am not clear on why Jado Sushi would not want to sound proof the place now versus wait until later like when more complaints potentially come in or this get’s escalated into a potential legal matter. Then again, maybe it’s not Jado’s responsibility to sound proof their place or is it? Does anyone have any thoughts on this subject? Should Jado Sushi in Harlem sound proof its place to accommodate Land Yoga?

And as for dining at Jado Sushi, at the moment I don’t want to even think about going there when it opens knowing this conflict is nowhere near a resolution and that I might be interrupting someone’s yoga practice-if Jado is not sound proofed. It doesn’t feel right as a long time practicing yogi. That’s another reason why I can’t get excited about this place and starting to believe that Jado Sushi just might be starting off in Harlem on the wrong foot leading to an uneventful opening.

Take a look at Harlem Food Bar’s drink and food menu

Harlem Food Bar is officially opening this evening (May 25), it’s a soft launch, and HarlemGal has the menus. Take a look! The most expensive items are $18 and that’s for steak or salmon. The shared plates run from $5 to $8.

As for drinks, prices will start at $7 a glass and will range to $24 for a carafe of wine. The most expensive drink item is French sparkling champagne for $85.

Overall, the menu is inexpensive, which adds to the price point diversity along restaurant row, i.e. Frederick Douglass Blvd. All the items are offered at modest rates and my bet is Harlemites are going to respond well!

Harlem Food Bar officially opens May 25

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Start your Memorial Day weekend at Harlem Food Bar, located on Frederick Douglass Blvd between 113th and 114th Street. The owner of HFB gave HarlemGal (HG) official notice yesterday that Harlem Food Bar will open its doors to the public May 25 for dinner only. HFB hours will vary over the next two weeks as will the menu offerings since this is a soft opening, however, lunch will start in the next week and brunch is planned for June 9th.

So check out the newest eatery in Harlem and let HG know what you think!

Harlem Food Bar mural on display for passerby’s

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Harlem Food Bar is working hard toward its opening day, which is expected in a few weeks. Yesterday, they were busy interviewing job applicants. While they were screening potential employees, Harlem Food Bar had the entire place on display for passerby’s. When walking by HFB, which is located on Frederick Douglass Blvd between 113th and 114th Street, one can quickly see a giant colorful mural on display in the back.

The mural is very interesting and will draw you in. It has a nice big picture of Malcolm X with a picture of President Barack Obama close by. The mural has the word HARLEM in bright big red letters coupled with the name of the place abbreviated as HFB. There is a stenciled cow on the mural, which I interpret as there will be meat served. There is also a nice big bar to the right of the establishment. It will hold plenty of Harlemites who want to grab a drink or wait for a seat to eat.

Again, Harlem Food Bar expected to open in a few weeks. Stay tuned here!

Chris Noth of Sex and the City stops by the Corner Social in Harlem

If you’re not on twitter and following fellow Harlemites or Harlem businesses, such as the Corner Social located on Lenox Ave and 126th Street in Harlem, this blogger highly recommends it. Why? This particular social networking tool always seems to have interesting news about what’s going on in Harlem. For example, Corner Social, formally known as Lenox Social, tweeted last night that Chris Noth, the actor famous for playing Big on Sex and the City, did some socializing last night (May 13) in Harlem at…where else? You guessed it, Corner Social! That’s very cool! I guess Chris Noth knows some of the owners of restaurants in Harlem since he’s in the business as well, or maybe he likes coming uptown to hang because it’s just as fun, if not more, than being downtown.

If you haven’t stopped by the Corner Social in Harlem, better hurry up now. Once celebs start showing up, dining establishments almost always experience a spike in attendance. I am going back this week, pronto! See you there!