Profile

Chef Amanda Freitag moved to the Harrison in January 2008 and has completed her new menu. “I'm doing cartwheels,” says the chef, who left Gusto to work in Tribeca with Jimmy Bradley. “For years I've been doing Italian food; this menu is a way for me to tie all my influences together and do things I've never done before. My beet salad is raw, super crisp, and super sweet, with this sharp, tangy cheese and incredibly rich pistachio sauce. I've got an English-cut lamb chop, which you never see. I'm just so happy with what I'm doing here.” Owner Jimmy Bradley says Freitag is on a culinary tear: “Amanda has really let loose with her creativity for us,” he says. “People who have only eaten her Italian food will be surprised.” Bradley demonstrates his enthusiasm in other ways, too: The background music on the Harrison's new Website is Van Morrison’s “Brand New Day.” — Josh Ozersky