The name you use for the avenue that forms the western boundary of Central Park as it continues up into Harlem can, at times, be an indicator of how well you know the neighborhood. Is it 8th Avenue or Frederick Douglass Boulevard? (Discuss amongst yourselves.) On this particular evening on the avenue in question, it was a third choice: Food and Drink Boulevard, a tongue-in-cheek nickname for a corridor of date spots, coveted brunch reservations, and perfectly-timed summer block parties during Open Streets. 

The C. Virginia Fields Awards, named after (the still living!) Manhattan Borough President from 1998 to 2005, is a collection of honors bestowed by the Frederick Douglass Boulevard Alliance onto those they’d like to thank. The FDBA is made up of business owners (mostly restauranteurs and bar proprietors) who represent the small business interests of the avenue, many of which are Black-owned. With all of the big businesses that continue to add Harlem to their New York City footprint, I’m happy that there are still places to eat where I can wave to the owner from across the room. 

The ceremony was hosted by Chocolat, the longest standing restaurant on the block. They moved in when there was no corridor to join, just empty lots (I’m told). One at a time, the awardees were introduced and invited to speak. All but one awardee, Congressman Adriano Espaillat, accepted their award while I was present. This year’s awardees were Curtis Archer, president of the Harlem Community Development Corporation; Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan District Attorney; Adriane R. Ferguson, owner of B2 Harlem, Billie’s Black, and Brunch Harlem, Alvin Smalls, owner of Lee Lee’s Baked Goods; and Keisha Sutton-James, the deputy Manhattan Borough President. 

It was the first time since the pandemic I’d seen Chocolat this buzzy with people and it seemed familial for the movers and shakers in the room. Award presenters joked about how DA Bragg finds time to teach Sunday school with his busy work schedule, and Ms. Ferguson teased that she’d be coming out of retirement with the fourth reincarnation of her space on 119th Street. When Mr. Smalls was introduced, the room nodded knowingly about practicing self-control in front of the rugelach at Lee Lee’s. Donavan, the friend who invited me, told me I need to experience the rugelach for myself (and since he is a chef I trust him completely!) 

No matter what you call this particular throughway, I might as well call it my own memory lane. I had my grad school graduation dinner at Chocolat, the first dinner of a now-decade of  friendship with Reggie at Lido, and my first legal drink when I turned 21 was at the now-shuttered L Lounge. When my cousins came to town I took them dancing in the basement of Silvana, I hosted a barcrawl up the avenue when I turned 25, and I’ve spent countless evenings at Harlem Tavern when I wasn’t ready to call it a night. Cheers to the alliance, congratulations to the winners, and long live the boulevard of food and drink! 

You can watch a highlight video of this event on TikTok here.