Amanda Freitag: I Put the Harrison Back on the Map

Late in the afternoon on Friday, while most New Yorkers were long gone for Labor Day weekend, Diner's Journal reported that Amanda Freitag is leaving Tribeca restaurant The Harrison and owner Jimmy Bradley is taking over in the kitchen as he re-negotiates the lease for the space. Presumably, he will succeed in his negotiations, but it's unclear if the restaurant will live on with the same concept should he re-sign. Bradley has already said he will revamp the menu.

Meanwhile, chef Freitag seems a little miffed over the DJ article, which seemed to sideline her efforts at the restaurant that she's run for the last three years. She tells Eater, "After seven years of the Harrison, I really put it back on the map. When I look at the link to the New York Times review it was obviously a review of me as a chef," adding that Bradley was "never the chef at The Harrison. It was Joey, it was Brian, and then it was myself."

Freitag also mentions that her recent television appearances (Chopped, Next Iron Chef) as well as her cooking helped the restaurant become well known again. "I don't want it to go unnoticed what I did there, that I put it back on people's radar. We re-energized that restaurant. We created so many regulars. A lot are Amanda Freitag fans that I'm really going to miss."

That said, she hopes Bradley does re-sign the lease so that the restaurant can go on and that the hard working staff there can keep their jobs. And she's excited to be out there and is entertaining the idea of finally opening a space of her own: "I'm welcoming offers and opportunities. I'm still ready for anything."
· Jimmy Bradley Is Returning to the Kitchen at the Harrison [DJ]
· All Coverage of The Harrison [~ENY~]