Happy Thursday everyone! It is finally here! The fifth annual Harlem EatUp! festival benefitting Harlem Park to Park, Citymeals On Wheels and Historic Harlem Parks has loaded in and is getting ready to party on Saturday and Sunday in Morningside Park with you.
As of today, some Dine In dinners have happened such as Ginny’s with Marcus Samuelsson, Scott Conant and Aliyyah Baylor of Make My Cake; Blvd Bistro with Carlos Swepson and Leah Cohen of Pig & Khao; the soon to be opened FieldTrip with JJ Johnson and Marc Vetri of Philadelphia’s Cucina Vetri; and the staple Vinateria with Mimi Weissenborn and the legend Daniel Boulud.
Tomorrow the first Shabbat dinner is happening at the JCC Harlem with Samuelsson, Andrew Zimmern of Bizarre Foods, and Harlem restaurateur Sivan Baron amongst others. There is sure to be a festive time at this sold-out event.
Then the weekend is on and poppin’ so get those fashionable comfy shoes out and tip on over to The Stroll in Morningside Park. There, free of charge, you can visit the Marketplace for pay-as-you-go food; the beer and wine garden; the Macy’s Main Stage for culinary demos by chefs including Masaharu Morimoto, Gail Simmons (Bravo’s “Top Chef”) and Amanda Frietag (Food Network’s “Chopped”) paired with Harlem’s Adrienne Cheatham (Sunday Best), Charles Gabriel (Charles Country Pan Fried Chicken) and Andrew LoPresto (babbalucci, Bar 314); and live performances by Rakiem Walker Project, Vy Higgensen’s Sing Harlem Choir and DJ Stormin’ Norman.
Don’t forget the children because The Kids Zone is chockablock with activities, arts and crafts and more. The Harlem Boys & Girls Club is coming strong out of the gate on Saturday with STEM activity followed by cookie decorating with Mr. Cory’s Cookies, story time, art and music with Harlem School of the Arts and some pot decorating and sapling planting with Morningside Park Conservancy. Sunday’s programming has cooking, baking and kitchen skills with Lady Lexis Sweet and, separately, with Sylvia Center and Katchkie Farm. My mom, Grandma’s Place, ends the festival with arts and crafts and a bubble show!
For adults 21+, you know you have got to be in the Grand Tasting eating, drinking, dancing and having a darn good time. Again, please use my personal code, HEU4STAFFKH, to receive 20 percent off both Saturday and Sunday Grand Tasting at harlemeatup.com.
Now, let’s get to it and share a bite at Harlem EatUp! 2019!
Happy eating and thanks for reading!
Kysha Harris is a food writer and editor, culinary producer, consultant and owner of SCHOP!, a personalized food service in NYC for over 15 years. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram, @SCHOPgirl, on Facebook, /SCHOPnyc, and her blog, www.talkingSCHOP.wordpress.com. Questions? Comments? Requests? Feedback? Invitations! Email AmNewsFOOD at AmNewsFOOD@SCHOPnyc.com. Follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @NYAmNewsFOOD and tag us with #SoAmNewsFOOD with your food finds!