HARLEM — Donna Lewis does not like being put in a box.
Lewis, a longtime Harlem restaurateur who owns the cozy bistro, Home Sweet Harlem, on 135th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, points to her diverse menu as proof.
The menu has Southern flair — see homemade biscuits and grits — but, Lewis said, don’t call it soul food.
There are also Caribbean, South and North American influences, such as Accra, a Haitian dish, and the Mexican-inspired grilled chipotle shrimp and fish tacos. (Also her burgers are named after parks in Harlem, such as Jackie Robinson Park and Morningside Park.)
“I’m of two minds,” she said. “It definitely food for the soul — it's nourishing and comforting — it’s a part of the Pan-American diaspora and it’s reflected in the menu.”
The restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner and brunch on the weekends. The menu dishes are affordable, with full entrees at $16.
Lewis said the food is farm-to-table and organic, something she forged when the restaurant was previously a café in the early 2000s and preserved when it re-opened in 2014.
“I just felt like I had something to offer the community,” she said.
And to drum up additional interest in the restaurant, Lewis recently folded in a live Harlem jazz band every other Thursday from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., where groovy rhythms can be heard from the streets walking up to the restaurant.
The band — called the Chris Johansen Trio — also features Fukushi Tainaka, a renowned drummer who spent decades playing alongside famed jazz saxophonist Lou Donaldson.
The walls are also adorned with artwork from Harlem artists and the restaurant regularly has events celebrating the local arts scene.
“Jazz is Harlem’s music,” she said. “And people aren’t feeling as connected as they used to, I use Home Sweet Harlem as a place where people can bring their friends, family and kids.”
