A bit of Harlem in Toronto? A lot less than you'd think

Black is poppin' big time in Toronto lately and I'll never be mad at that. The newbie magazine aimed at us called Sway is still around after like, 5 issues and not only is it free but it actually has the shiny high expectations you'd expect from paid circulation mags. The cover alone is such heavy glossy paper it makes me gloriously dizzy. Sorry - magazine journalism student!

A group of investors is currently in negotiations to change the face of Toronto's waterfront with a so-called Africana Village that will commemorate Black's contributions to Toronto and Canada.
And a new resto has opened downtown, apparently since December of 2006, called Harlem.


In Sway magazine they describe it as "soul food fusion". I do not. Although a lot of the focus I give to stories on this blog are soul food oriented when they're not I'm not gonna insist on slapping the soul food label on them. The recipes I will be trying will run the gamut of cuisine but if it's not soul food I won't tell you it is. As Judge Judy says, "don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining!"

Call me a purist but take a look at the menu below and feast your eyes on veggie samosas, quesadilla filled with jerk chicken, Chinese noodles with peanut sesame sauce (sounds Thai to me), curried tomato spread, and the fact that almost everything comes with mangoes.

There are arguments to be made that jerk is related to soul food and that the cuisine does in fact incorporate aspects of Caribbean culture. I disagree. Soul food and Caribbean food are similar variations on different themes. Slaves brought over to the Americas brought with them their unique methods of preparing food. In the Caribbean and parts of South America, they put an African spin on Spanish cuisine (which in itself was derived in part from Arab cooking), adding a dash of Native islander knowledge of local plants (spices included) and animals. The exact same thing occurred in North America with cuisine that was modified primarily from English and Scotch-Irish cooking. With that in mind, England had not yet become the curry capital of Europe and hence curry is not a traditional aspect of soul food nor are mangoes.
The dinner menu posted on the site isn't any better:


Sigh.
But the name of the restaurant is what irks me the most. If this was simply a Black restaurant named almost anything else I'd be down with it (although I find the menu quite repulsive, boring and lacking meat - I'm just sayin'!) but that they are trying to trade off of an inherently American name to sell what's essentially Caribbean food with a dash of top-selling-watered-down-world cuisine like quesadillas.

Tasty fresh fruit pumpkin seeds and citrus in a lime molasses dressing on a bed of spring greens? Harlem?
Fried plantain, avocado and Chèvre with herbs and lemon dressing in a whole wheat tortilla?
Harlem?
"The Harlem" sandwich recipe: Swiss cheese, ham, and jerked chicken, with mango mustard and avocado. WTF?

That ain't soul food or fusion. Oh snap, I forgot they do have sweet potato biscuits (home made) on the menu that come with a bowl of soup (curried French onion no doubt, to keep up the multicultural bastardization).

Why would you name a restaurant Harlem - knowing the image that people would conjure up based on that name is 180 different than your concept? Sure the press the eatery is getting focuses on the decor as Harlem-esque but where's the proverbial beef? It's like that other restaurant in Toronto, irritatingly named Soul Food that is Carribbean plain and simple. Why? I think it's deceptive at worst, and just plain sneaky at best. if I went out of my way to reach their spot only to find out that it's not as advertised according to the name, I'd be pissed.

Now it's not all bad, and I hate feeling like a big bitch for callin' out a brother who's trying to make a business. It's always nice to see a Black guy use his talents in creative ways - especially non hip hop related ways. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE hip hop, but the world has gotten so that people think that's all we can do.

Co-owner Carl Cassell is an exceptional artist, who's work flanks the restaurant walls. I'd love to own some of it one day. He's done big things with his (more appropriately named) Irie Food Joint on Queen St. West an kudos to him for for strivin' to be more and not stoppin' at one success despite protestations from others. Because of course I'm not the only one causing ruckus albeit for completely different reasons although in one such instance it does concern the restaurant name. It's appalling but not surprising that in the Sway article it's noted that neighborhood locals tried to take issue with the restaurant by calling into question the negative connotations associated with the name Harlem. *snort of derision* (my argument is better.)

Even more hilariously, according to Wordmag (predecessor to Sway - less glossy but more hip hop) the restaurants site is that of the former swingers club (yes you read that right) called Wicked. Apparently neighbors in the seedy decrepit area of Richmond & Church Streets would prefer the upstanding caliber of patron that frequented a sex den than Black professionals imbibing cocktails at a shiny new vibrant venue.


But then my neck swings back to the annoying if not disappointing point that on the events page of Harlem's website, with the title "barmaid beauty" is a White girl. I can already hear the cries of disdain from any White people who stumble on this page but the fact of the matter is if you're gonna have a Black business, widely touted as being owned and run by by 3 brothas, filled with Black art, serving so-called Black food, and named after a historically Black neighborhood, it'd be nice to not have the White girl show up first on the events page. I guess a White bartender will at least guarantee a few Black male patrons at the very least. LOL

I will be patronizing Harlem Restaurant soon and report back on whether their God-awful (sounding) menu is at the very least tasty.