The area between Central Park and 125th Street is a little ambiguous right now. Lots of people don't know what to call it and that's because the neighborhood is in a state of flux, like so many around New York City, the lower portion of "Harlem" is gentrifying at an alarming rate.
The neighborhood known as Morningside Heights has, for at least a while, been considered a reasonably well-off, college-vibed enclave full of Columbia students, grad students, medical workers, and young professionals.
This is still mainly true. Between Morningside Park and the Hudson, that's mostly what you'll get.
But for some time, Morningside Heights appears to have spread east, past its traditional border of Manhattan Avenue.
The main reason for this? An influx of young professionals, some with a baby or two, moving into the west side between say, 125th and 110th.
That "Columbia grad student" feel is creeping northeast. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but it's also not really a good thing per se...
As you well know, gentrification tends to swallow neighborhoods whole like "the great nothing" from The Never Ending Story.
So we're throwing down a guide to "Morningside Heights;" the "new" one; the one that's not really about Columbia, Morningside Park, St. John the Divine, or Grant's Tomb.
We're talking about the "Morningside spillover," mainly what's going down on Fredrick Douglass Blvd between Central Park and 125th Street. Check it out, the neighborhood's not bad.
1. Harlem Tavern (2153 Fredrick Douglass Blvd)
If you've ever gotten off the 116th Street C/B subway stop, walked above ground and wondered what the hell was going on across the street, the answer is probably Harlem Tavern. This place is always poppin'. This includes brunch. HT does a pretty fierce brunch.
And for good reason, too. They have a pretty huge outdoor space, there's often live music, food isn't bad and nothing's too expensive. You'll often see a squad like, 10 deep rolling into Harlem Tavern. For some reason, probably because it's pretty good, it always has a decent amount of large parties.
2. Bier International (2099 Fredrick Douglass Blvd)
Just three blocks north of Fredrick Douglass Circle (north western corner of Central Park), Bier International is perhaps the most popular place of its size in the neighborhood. Other places look more packed, but truthfully, for the amount of space they have, Bier has got to be killing it.
It's essentially a beer garden, but half indoors. They have a pretty good selection of beers, of course. They focus a lot on German, Belgian, and Czech beers with a lot of NYC brews mixed in. There's also a bunch of tasty dishes and the menu items range from $11-$30, so for Manhattan, not too bad.
One thing that really makes them stand out is how often patrons at their outdoor seating area bring their dogs. Sometimes, if you're walking past the spot at night, you'll have to scoot around two or three new dog friends trying to be cute enough to get fed from the table. It usually works.
3. Silvana (300 West 116th Street)
silvanaharlem Sharing elements of different cultures in such a vibrant way, Silvana is an all around great spot that that turns up an amazing experience with each visit. If you want great music, great food, cool merchandise, and like to hookah, this is a one stop shop. Definitely a place to frequent. #silvanaharlem #silvananyc #boutique #cafe #livemusic #musicvenue #hookah #hookahlounge #falafel #shawarma #hummus #harlem #nyc
Silvana is two things, kind of. In the day time, the ground floor is a cafe. There's a mid-eastern menu with items like falafel and shwarma. At night, the basement bar/venue opens and they feature live music basically every day.
The cocktails are slightly pricey, but they're made well and with top notch spirits, syrups and liquers. There's hookah to be smoked, there's music to hear, there's a floor to dance on. Go check it out and have a good time. It has something of an Africa meets Israel vibe.
4. Garden of Love West (116th Street)
via Jewish Philosophy Place
There are tons of gardens all around the City in empty building lots. The Garden of Love on 116th street between Fredrick Douglass Blvd and Manhattan Avenue is no different, really, from any of the other ones. Except maybe it's smaller.
The cool part is that it's a little pocket of awesome. It may sound absurd, but it can be a better escape than Morningside Park (two blocks away) or Central Park (six blocks away). Compared to the Garden of Love, Morningside and Central are just big, crowded, gross places full of littler.
The Garden of Love is maintained by local volunteers and they keep it immaculate. You're welcome to go inside and hang out, maybe lend a hand with whatever's going on in the dirt. It's a nice place to chill, and it's right next to Silvana.
,5. Best Yet Market (2187 Fredrick Douglass Blvd)
If you're aware of the grocery shopping situation in Upper Manhattan, then you're aware it's pretty terrible unless you're in a specific store, looking for specifically ethnic ingredients. This all changed when Best Yet Market arrived on Freddie Doug.
They're open until midnight, and while it's a little bit more expensive then most people would like, it's definitely not Whole Foods prices. Whatever produce you can't/won't get from the fruit guy on the corner of 116th and Fredrick Douglass, you can get at Best Yet.
This is not your usual gentrification organic grocer. It's a regional chain with 18 stores in the tristate area, and one of them happens to be in Harlem. Or, Morningside...whatever you want to call it.
6. Jado Sushi (2118 Fredrick Douglass Blvd)
sushinakaji 月とスッポン。 今年の中秋の名月は9月27日。お月見にちなんでスッポンを仕立ててみました。 Chef Nakajima at Jado Sushi in Harlem. Traditional seasonal soup. This is Suppon Turtle. Chef Nakajima’s Omakase at counter, there is only 8 people max at once. www.jadosushi.com #sushinakaji #jadosushi #harlem #sushi #sashimi #edomae #kaiseki #omakase #japanesefood #sushilovers #sushitime #foodpic #foodgasm #sake #beers #visual_magic #newyork_instagram #photoartist #artistic #visual_heaven #chefs #chefsspecial #instagood #photooftheday #スッポン #soup #seasonalsoup
Jado Sushi is the neighborhood's sushi place, and there's a reason why another one hasn't popped up yet. The reason is that everyone seems to like Jado.
If you're into sushi and you're uptown, go to this place. It's a little pricey (but isn't sushi always expensive?), but it's worth the money.
They have top quality rolls, like the spicy mango tuna, as well as a variety of other cool stuff like panko fried oyster.
7. Vinateria (2211 Fredrick Douglass Blvd)
thewowfactor_ Decided to treat myself #afteralongweek! What's for dinner: Glass of Godello, Dbl Cheese- Lou Bergier Pichin & St. Stephen Triple Cream and Asian style market greens!
This is more than a wine bar. Yes, they do have a bar and there is a lot of wine to be had, but by all means you have to eat food in the place.
Two words: black spaghetti. It sounds stupid, like, "Why would I want that?" Trust us, you want this.
Squid ink spaghetti with octopus and bread crumbs. We've never had anything like it, and we will be having it again. And again, and probably again.
It's easy to mess up octopus-- very easy. The kitchen at Vinateria does not make this mistake.
We won't even get into the vino at Vinateria. Let's just tell you that it's on point. There's too much variety to go into here. Go, get a bottle, ask for recommendations if you need to: don't be shy. It's not weird to ask, "Would this malbec go nicely with the squid ink spaghetti?"
8. Lido (2168 Fredrick Douglass Blvd)
lidoharlem Outdoor seating is still in season. photo via @r.manhattan #lidoharlem #lidonyc #harlem #harlemnights #harlemfood #harlemfoodie #westharlem #columbiauniversity #newyork #newyorkcity #nycfood #food #foodie #uws #upperwestside #foodporn #travelnyc #nycrestaurants #restaurantsnyc #manhattan
Lido is the neighborhood eatery for Italian food. There is no question. There are other Italian places around, but take it from us: this is the one to go to.
Part of the reason for this is the $14 bottomless mimosa brunch. We're pretty partial to wearing no bottoms and drinking mimosas at home, but yo, if you're going to do brunch outside, do it right and go to Lido. Executive Chef Serena Bass does not play around. Brunch is just a warm up at Lido.
You may know her name from her over 30 years of NYC culinary magic, beginning with an impromptu dinner for Andy Warhol and 60 guests. The rest is history. Now, Lido is one establishment sporting Bass menus, and you simply need to go in and enjoy basically everything on it.
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[Feature Image Courtesy of C'Est Christine]