Harrisburg: Harvest Seasonal Grille (September 2014)

My spouse and I dined at Harvest Seasonal Grille & Wine Bar for lunch on a Sunday afternoon in early September 2014. We did not have a reservation; however, the restaurant participates in the Open Table reservation system.

Harvest is located in a strip-mall shopping center called the Shoppes at Susquehanna Marketplace, which is located off Routes I-81 and I-83 near Harrisburg. Harvest is located at one end of the mall (and Carabba's Italian Grill is located on the opposite end). Harvest is located in the space most recently occupied by Fox & Hound (and previously occupied by Damon's Grill). Free parking is available just steps from the restaurant (but as with any shopping mall, parking may become more difficult as we approach the busy holiday shopping season).

Harvest has three additional locations: North Wales, Philadelphia, and Glen Mills. The restaurant concept is farm-to-table cuisine, and it keeps all dishes under 500 calories while still serving delicious cuisine. The menu is seasonal, so it changes several times per year based on the available ingredients.

The transformation of the restaurant space from the previous two restaurants (which were dark and sports-bar oriented with many TVs) is amazing! The restaurant even relocated the position of the front door to allow for additional dining space in the old entryway. Harvest has outdoor dining on a patio / sidewalk adjacent to the parking lot. The kitchen is semi-open, so you can watch the chefs and servers. An attractive bar area occupies the middle of the restaurant (we do not recall even seeing a television), with regular seating on either side of the central bar area, both at tables of varying sizes and in booths. Even the bathrooms were appointed nicely. The owners completely remodeled / refurbished the restaurant space, and the result is beautiful.

The service was terrific! Despite the restaurant being open only one week when we dined, it was evident that an excellent training program is in place. Our server was knowledgeable about the restaurant, the menu items, and the components of each dish, and she made recommendations and suggestions.

We shared the trio of edamame as an appetizer. The soybeans arrived in a tri-stacked bamboo basket, with each portion of the basket holding a different preparation of the beans: one traditional salty (which was our favorite), spicy, and sweet. For our main meals, we ordered the mahi mahi fish tacos with jicama, cilantro, and lime sour cream (which our server said was a limited-availability item and would not be on the menu in the months ahead), and one spiced turkey slider burgers (which were spicy because they contained sliced jalapeno peppers). The chef served both main dishes with a well-dressed green side salad that was slightly different because it contained soybeans, carrots, and a harvest vinaigrette. We did not partake of the desserts, but the wait staff delivers a dessert "tray" to your table to tempt you, which is a wire rack containing various single-serving "shooter" desserts that you can choose to keep.

The food was tasty, the service was excellent, and the restaurant space was lovely. We will return!

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