Two o’clock is generally pretty quiet in a restaurant.
The big lunch rush is done; staff is busy preparing for dinner. This is not the case at Harvest Seasonal Grill and Wine Bar, a farm-to-table restaurant that opened after much anticipation in the Shoppes at Susquehanna in August.
I walked through the doors expecting the usual mid-afternoon restaurant calm, but was greeted by an energized atmosphere and insanely delicious smells.
The Harrisburg location is the fourth Harvest opened by Philadelphia-based restaurateur Dave Magrogan, whose other restaurants include Dave & Anthony’s Stella Rossi Ristorante, Doc Magrogan’s Oyster House and Kildare’s Irish Pub. When I asked Magrogan why he decided to open a farm-to-table restaurant, I was honestly surprised by his answer.
“Well, before I got into the restaurant business, I used to be a chiropractor,” he said. “So, I learned a lot about health and nutrition and processed foods, and I saw a real blank space for this type of restaurant in the industry. Most farm-to-table restaurants are smaller, but I thought, ‘why can’t there be a healthful chain?’”
So Magrogan opened the first Harvest in Glen Mills in 2010 to great acclaim. All of Magrogan’s other restaurants are in Philadelphia or the surrounding area. So why was Harrisburg a good spot for the next location?
“There were a lot of reasons,” he said, “but the most attractive thing was the proximity to farms and farmers. Also, there are lots of great restaurants in the city of Harrisburg, but not as many as you move outside the city. The opportunity was clear.”
Harvest’s menu changes seasonally, and nearly everything (including dessert!) is 500 calories or fewer, made with locally sourced, fresh ingredients. Items more than 500 calories are marked with a little plus sign, and are, of course, also locally sourced and fresh.
The menu changes seasonally, and I mean the whole menu: the food, desserts and many of the drinks switch up every three months.
“We try to change it as close to the beginning of the new season as possible,” explained Gary Grasela, Harvest Harrisburg’s general manager.
Harvest has partnered with 12 local farms to provide meat, produce, dairy, vegetables, even honey for its menu. The day that I met Grasela, he had just come from a meeting with Keswick Creamery in Cumberland County. It was a cheese meeting.
“Our proximity to these farmers allows us to dial in deeper to the farm-to-table concept,” Grasela explained. “Many of these farmers are willing to deliver. We have so many choices.”
Grasela says that among the most popular entrees on the fall menu are the cedar-roasted Atlantic salmon ($19), coq au vin ($19) and the filet mignon ($31). Another highlight is the local cheese plate.
“It has local, raw, grass-fed, cave-aged cheddar from Lancaster that this guy makes by hand,” Grasela said. “It’s amazing.”
If you’re looking for something on the lighter side, there are some scrumptious-sounding sandwiches and salads, as well as flatbreads and vegetarian dishes. The portobello “cheese steak” caught my eye, which replaces meat with the steak of ‘shrooms ($11), as did the slow-roasted chicken sandwich ($10) and the vegan black kale Caesar salad, featuring a mix of lacinato kale and baby spinach, tossed with pickled red onions and herbed breadcrumbs (small $6, large $9).
As the mother of a 2-year-old who isn’t the most adventurous of eaters (although her favorite food is hummus, which she licks off any vegetable I serve with it), I was excited to see that there is a kid’s menu, which includes staples like spaghetti, mini-cheeseburgers and cheese quesadillas.
“My 8-year-old son loves it!” Magrogan told me excitedly when I asked if Harvest was the kind of place where you could bring a kid. “It’s his favorite of all of our restaurants. And, I mean, we have a pizza restaurant. Like, a really good pizza restaurant.”
So, how’s business?
“Really, really good,” Grasela told me. “We are the busiest restaurant in the company right now. The crowds have been exceeding expectation.”
Looking around Harvest, I saw all sorts: lots of business-y people catching a quick bite, couples, a mom with a toddler, a pair of older ladies (one of whom stopped Grasela on her way out to compliment him on her meal). Grasela said that the demographic is “really hard to pin down.”
“We see tons of couples for dates,” he said. “Large groups, whether it’s a corporate group or a birthday party or something, lots of families on weekends. And, of course, we get lots of shoppers from the stores around us. All of our customers appreciate the options that our menu provides.”
And those options are one of the things that Magrogan is most proud of.
“It’s great for date night or a business dinner, and you can bring the kids after soccer practice,” he said. “I think that we created something that appeals to everyone.”
Harvest Seasonal Grill and Wine Bar is located at the Shoppes at Susquehanna, 2625 Brindle Dr. in Susquehanna Township. More information is at www.harvestseasonalgrill.com or 717-545-4028.
