Why not steal away into the Italian restaurant Lido on Frederick Douglass Boulevard at 117th Street. My friend Tashna and I met for lunch last Friday, where we enjoyed each moment of conversing about our families, our careers, and our new beginnings. 

At Lido, there is a casual elegance throughout the restaurant. Between appetizers of a delicious arugula pear salad and later, tasty dishes of spaghetti and roasted veal meatballs, and tender steak panini, we spoke to Susannah Koteen, the lovely proprietor. We complimented her on our delicious cuisine and the fantastic service. Ms. Koteen mentioned they also have another restaurant and bar next door. 

After our meal, she and her husband Mark escorted us to BIXI, a Pan-Asian restaurant and bar at 116th Street, and Susannah introduced us to her partner Kwame at BIXI. Kwame was behind the bar and greeted us with the same quiet grace and elegant charm you feel when you enter BIXI and Lido. 

Tashna and I sat at the bar, drinking cocktails, chatting with the owners about their treasured businesses in Upper Manhattan, and the mixture of the sweet sound of sophistication in the Harlem Hamlet, with an easy-breezy flow of summertime groove.

Catch it at http://www.LidoHarlem.com and http://www.BIXIHarlem.com