Best Of Al Fresco Dining Around the Five Boroughs

Summer has finally arrived.  When you sit inside at a desk all day, the last thing you want to do is sit inside a restaurant at dinnertime.   Besides, one of the pleasures of summer in the city is dining outdoors under the stars or sunning yourself at brunch.  There’s a variety of atmospheres and options; everything from Crispo’s charming garden with cobblestones and a a running fountain to quirky tenement spots.   Take Max’s – an Italian haunt in Alphabet City that’s been around forever – with its charming backyard, complete with a laundry line hanging overhead.   There’s plenty of old & new restaurants to take advantage of the warm weather and fruits of summer all over New York.

Motorino
Address: 319 Graham Ave., nr. Devoe St. (Brooklyn)
Phone: (718)599-8899
Most New Yorkers are used to dining elbow-to-elbow with strangers, but Brooklyn offers many alternatives to the typical, tightly cramped  quarters and Motorino’s backyard garden is one of the borough’s best.  A pizza and a bottle of rose sounds like the perfect night to me.  While Williamsburg isn’t exactly Naples, Chef Mathieu Palombino’s wood-fired pizzas definitely bring you a little closer to Italy.  I recommend you start with Motorino’s cured meats, all excellent, especially the mortadella – like bologna for grown ups – then try  a spicy Soppressata Piccante pie.  Both pair well with the Pinot Nero and the breeze. 

Gascogne
Address: 158 8^th Ave nr. 18^th Street
Phone: (212) 675-6564
When I think of Paris, I think of cafes & bistros with al fresco seating, where fashionable eaters are having red wine, cheese and crusty baguettes.  Okay, so we’re not in Paris, but Gascogne (pictured right) takes you pretty close.  All the servers have thick French accents and the bistro menus peppered with classics, including a cassoulet, baked snails and a marvelous Croque Monsieur.   During the summer months, I like their mussels in garlic-butter sauce, the trout with almonds & haricot vert or even a cold terrine with rabbit, black truffles and Sauternes.  Just like Paris, you can savor Gascogne’s bistro classics in the backyard garden.

The Grocery
Address: 288 Smith Street nr. Sackett Street (Brooklyn)
Phone: (718)596-3335
Smith Street wasn’t always an exciting dining destination.  For many years, it flew under the radar to most Manhattanites, who ate on the island of Manhattan, that is until Savoy alums Sharon Pachter and Charles Kiely opened up shop in 1999.    With its creative, market-driven menu and pedigreed chefs, The Grocery blazed a trail for young chefs to open restaurants outside the city.   Their top-notch, New American cooking has received considerable attention and their outdoor dining area happens to be one of the most spacious in the borough.   For diners who want to escape the sun, but soak up the breeze, the tables are equipped with umbrellas.   Right now, the menu features roasted beets with goat cheese ravioli, seared scallops and a warm rhubarb crisp, topped with vanilla ice cream.

Crispo
Address: 240 West 14^th Street nr. 8^th Ave
Phone: (212) 228-1818
This Northern Italian standby is great all year round, but it’s irresistible in warm months when the backyard garden’s open for dinner.    Crispo boasts incredibly charming, outdoor seating, outfitted with romantically lit chandeliers, marble-topped tables and even a fountain.  I don’t blame diners for lingering over a cheese or charcuterie plate prosciutto and a wine list nearly as lengthy as War and Peace.  Frank Crispo’s spaghetti carbonara is legendary, but some of the seasonal specials are worth a try, like the homemade, blue crab tortelli glossed in brown butter and parmigiano-crusted asparagus.

Choptank 
Address: 308 Bleeker Street nr. Barrow Street
Phone: (212) 675-2009
We couldn’t do an outdoor dining round-up without highlighting a seafood joint, and Choptank’s unlike any other in Manhattan.  The menu features “Maryland-bent fare,” with summer classics like, boardwalk fries and peel n’ eat shrimp, seasoned with Old Bay spices.  There’s a heated patio out back where guests can gorge themselves on Chesapeake Bay favorites, the likes of crab cakes with more crab than filling, crab chowder or crab claws with Old Bay-spiced vinegar. If you’re prepared to get messy, take advantage of their all-you-can-eat, blue crab fest with plenty of crackers and wet naps on the weekends.

Water Taxi Beach Long Island City
Address: 54-34 2^nd Street (Queens)
Phone: (877)974-6998
It’s always a party at this sandy spot with terrific views of the Manhattan skyline and some good comfort food.  If you’re looking for something super casual where can you have a burger and a beer,  the Water Taxi Beach is the place to do it.  There’s a live DJ and a bacon-chili-cheese dog with fries, or if you want something a little more low key, you can sit waterside and try the famous “Motz Burger,” created by the author of Hamburger America.  This is the original of three Water Taxi Beach around the city and it’s still our favorite.

Max
Address: 51 Avenue B between 3^rd and 4^th streets
Phone: (212)539-0111
This old-school, red-sauce joint has managed to stake its place in the city’s dining landscape for over a decade.   The best seats are in their uniquely spacious backyard where none of the guests seem to mind the laundry line either.  A quintessential New York spot, Max has bragging rights to one of the finest meat lasagnas and meatloafs in town.