Some things just belong to summer. Hot days, muggy nights, ice cream trucks and sidewalk cafes.
A perennial sight on the Upper West Side and in other parts of the borough, side walk dining is a relatively new experience in Northern Manhattan.
There are now over a dozen licensed sidewalk cafes north of W. 155th Street, representing a range of food options.
Dyckman Street in Inwood has become a hot spot and social scene, sometimes to the consternation of residents in the surrounding apartment buildings, in part because of the buzz the outdoor cafes create. So much so, that City Council Member Robert Jackson is negotiating with restaurateurs on the strip to get them to agree to close the outdoor eating areas earlier in the evenings to reduce noise. His bargaining chip is smooth sailing through the application process, which can be gummed up by a Council member who objects to an outdoor café in his district.
Still, the street has the fun summer dining atmosphere of Little Italy or the Upper West Side but without the long trip downtown.
