4 TIMES TO EAT IN HARLEM

As you probably know, Lies and I have been fluttering around New York for a few days. May-Britt is flying in to join us on Friday, and until then we are sleeping in an amazing apartment in Harlem. A neighborhood where you won't notice the preparations for Fashion Week and where there is also no chance that Olivia or Kimmy K will walk by, but that doesn't make it any less fun. On the contrary. Put us here on a terrace and we are just as amazed as if we were sitting on the rooftop of the Gansevoort . A small fun point is that Liesbeth and I feel a lot prettier and more put together here in Harlem than when we are sitting in the full sun somewhere on a terrace in Soho. Hair not done, sticky, sweaty shoes; that is probably due to those way too perfect models around us. Sigh. In Harlem, people don't care about that so much. Here, the sweetest kids and the most beautiful mothers in colorful clothing walk around, and the hospitality is amazing. Are you ever in New York? Then also go to Harlem. These are our four favorite places for wine and food.

Here you really eat comfort food. Perfect for after a long flight, which is what we did. The portions are huge, so you can easily share them. There is an open kitchen where you can see your hamburger or whole chicken being thrown on the grill. The menu features real American dishes like the triple-double burger, chicken & waffle, mac & greens, and the coconut grilled chicken. We chose the chicken wings with a very spicy sauce. We also had the funky crispy fish and a watermelon salad. Then there is also a cocktail menu, and you can safely choose from that because there are real shaker boys behind the bar. There are high tables and low seating areas and a bar where you can sit comfortably for a drink and a basket of chicken wings. It is buzzing there, you see young and old sitting at the table, and the service consists of the coolest people in Harlem.

This place is 100 meters from our apartment. Luckily, because it is our favorite. Barawine is a wine bar, but it also has an incredibly good menu with tuna tartare, mussels, chicken breast, ceviche, and this is just a small part. It has a cozy terrace on a street where the most interesting people pass by, so there is plenty to watch. The service includes two very sweet girls who actually speak French but also excellent American. The rosé champagne and the glass of pinot grigio are our favorites and Lies is going completely crazy because you can smoke on the terrace. And that is an exception for New York. But that aside.

This is a really nice Italian place on the corner of Columbus State University, so you see a lot of students ordering their plate of spaghetti there. Or, even better, a bowl of pasta that you can share with a few people. By the way, this is also a popular spot for young people to take their parents to get a nice meal because the portions are huge. But we are of course not surprised by that from Americans. Pisticci is a very cozy restaurant and the bar also has a nice cocktail bar, so that is also fun to go to before dancing starts.

Across from Barawine is this nice little French place. The chicest and most romantic of all the restaurants I describe here, because there is linen on the table, there are cozy corners, there is a fireplace (for when it gets colder, of course) and a “romantic garden” as they call it themselves. But you can also sit on the street side, which I like the most. Until it gets a bit later in the evening, because then it's time to go inside for some live music. We're talking piano with singing. And count on a tear.