I tried Harlow for the first time the week they opened. It was a bit of an odd experience, I yelped about it but my husband made me wait I wanted to wait until I’d tried it at least one more time before actually writing a review. I’m so glad I did because they seem to have worked out the hiccups.
Harlow was opened by the owners of Prasad in the Pearl and I think that Hawthorne was the perfect spot for this venture. The restaurant is entirely gluten-free except for the beer on tap (no GF beer is on tap so there is no risk of an accidental pour). And given it’s in the old Bridgeport Pub location, it seems apropos to offer it.
The first time I went there were no signs up yet to indicate that you should order at the counter. They have since remedied this. That said, I would prefer that the menus be posted or at least available by the door. I found it a bit awkward to slip to the front of the line to grab one. 
The atmosphere is very casual and the food is lovely health food fare. I went with my friend Diane Morgan, the author of Roots Cookbook (not all GF but most of her recipes are easily adaptable.) We had fun dissecting the ingredients, starting with the Lemon Poppy Quinoa Pancakes with blueberry compote and vanilla cashew cream. They were simple (the server was happy to share the ingredient list) and quite tasty. We both found the quinoa flour to have a bit of a bitter aftertaste but when you include the compote and syrup the sweet balances that right out.
Oh, wait, we actually started with a sampling of truffles from the display on the counter (why not?!) and found them good but not fabulous.
I got the Outlaw Scramble. Farm fresh eggs with roasted garlic, dark greens, spinach, avo, pepitas, scallions, cilantro and jalapeno served with cilantro cream and quinoa and toast. The serving was beyond generous in size. I think I might even ask for less quinoa next time. The sauce was just the right balance of sweet and savory. It was warm, satisfying and delicious.
On my original visit I had the melody juice, without question one of the most well balanced juices I’ve had in town so I went for a repeat this round.
Please hop over to Harlow, and enjoy. Let us know what you thought in the comments so readers can get your feedback as well.
Enjoy,
Jeff Jacoby says
November 23, 2013 at 6:28 pmIn my two visits there (one on Hawthorne, but almost the same food at another place downtown with a different name), I would say it’s about the various “bowls” they offer with your choice of sauces. They are absolutely delicious, filling, and reasonably priced. As I recall, the tahini garlic sauce was killer-good, and so was the jalapeno “cheese” sauce, which I would have normally avoided. If you are looking for well-prepared, tasty, hippie food, this is the place. Of course, it helps if you’re an old (or young) hippie. 😉