This year Harlem Eat Up was definitely the highlight of Harlem. This yearly summer event has become a culture within a culture, representing some of the best chefs from the best restaurants of Harlem with great food and entertainment beginning May 13th-19th, 2019. At this two day finale event, “The Ultimate Stroll and “The Harlem Stroll” a huge number of pioneers are celebrated for their long standing ability to continuously deliver culinary excellence and upstanding history within the Harlem community like Melba Restaurant, Sylvia’s Soul Food and Spoonbread. These long standing restaurants have paved the way for other soul food and local spots to make their mark. “Were there is soul food, love usually follows”.
There were over 60 participating restaurants that filled up Morning-Side Park on West 112th Street. Harlem Chocolate Factory, Lloyd’s Carrot Cake, Shake Shack, Red Rooster, The Edge Harlem and Harlem Shake just to mention a few. This festival represents the culture of Harlem in many ways including music, food and people. Marcus Samuelsson and Herb Karilitz had a vision to re-create the history of Harlem for an entire week and redefine the neighborhoods identity by giving the community an opportunity to enjoy that old time Harlem Renaissance feel with some old school jazz and the true meaning of Harlem’s rich culinary tradition.
Food is a part of all cultures and had always continued to bring people together. Harlem Eat Up is a true representation of ethnic culture with over 4,000 attendees daily during their two day finale. During this two day event “The Harlem Stroll is a free event with food tasting samples for all ages including a Kids Zone attachment with a full itinerary of activities, and entertainment, a basketball competition and much more. “The Ultimate Grand Tasting” is the perfect name for what took place on Saturday and Sunday’s final close out event. There were a long listings of spirit vendors like Bulleit, Don Julio, Hendricks Gin, Martell Cognac and so many more, shaking and stirring some of the best cocktails for food pairings from local Harlem Restaurants. Thank you to all the sponsors, Citi, who continue to make Harlem Eat Up possible.
