New York’s Best Spring Dishes

You know it’s spring when squash and parsnips lose their spots on the menu to asparagus, snap peas, beets, and ramps. And suddenly, it’s a whole new dining scene as restaurants reinvent themselves with the first signs of spring.  We’ve spotted pickled ramps, rhubarb a briny spectrum of oysters, and even spotted our first, soft shell crabs of the season.

Chefs are seizing the opportunity to do a little spring cleaning, shedding hearty comfort foods and sprucing up their offerings with vibrant, spring produce. There’s asparagus risotto and asparagus fries to boot at The Little Owl, soft shell crabs at Aldea, and a dramatic set change at Park Avenue Spring. Then, there’s the more unique offerings, like roof-to-table dining at Bell Book And Candle or Northeast Kingdom’s seriously seasonal dishes replete with a chef that gardens and forages for your dinner. Here’s a few of our favorite spots for spring…

Northeast Kingdom
Address: 18 Wyckoff Ave. btwn Starr and Troutman Sts. (Brooklyn)
Phone: (718) 386-3864
Website:www.north-eastkingdom.com

If you really want to seize the season this spring, we strongly suggest a trip to Northeast Kingdom. Chef Kevin Adey takes seasonal to a new level with a menu that’s an homage to the northeast’s fresh produce. Where else can you find ramps, dandelion greens, trout lilies, lambs quarter, and stinging nettle all on one menu? And Adey is not only serious about buying locally, but he also gardens and even forages for the herbs he uses to season his plates. The result is an entree of rocky mountain lamb osso bucco with dandelion greens, Jerusalem artichoke, mushrooms, and potato puree. If that’s not your guy, there’s pork tenderloin paired with Rhode Island  clams, stinging nettle, marble potato, and a bacon broth.

Bell Book and Candle
Address: 141 W. 10th St., btwn Charles & Christopher Sts.
Phone: (212) 414-2355
Website: bbandcnyc.com

Let’s be honest: Dining farm-to-table in New York, or in any city for that matter, is a tall order.  Which is why Bell Book And Candle ingeniously came up with farm-to-rooftop dining in the West Village.  An impressive array of fresh herbs and produce on the menu come directly from the roof to your plate.  How cool is that?  And the food is as good it sounds. For spring, there’s watermelon gazpacho, seared diver scallops with fava beans and hen of woods mushrooms, roasted aspargus with a poached egg and smoked bacon, and seasonal sorbets for dessert.

Wong
Address: 7 Cornelia St. btwn 6th Ave. & Jones Sts. 
Phone: (212) 989-3399
Website: wongnewyork.com

Wong first garnered praise for bringing “Asian locavore” dining to the West Village, but what really caught our attention were the whimsical, globally inspired dishes Simpson Wong was turning out from behind kitchen doors. Duck fat ice cream anyone? Right now, he’s celebrating spring with lamb ribs, served with black radish, carrots and a lemongrass-mint salsa verde or a montauk calamari salad with hazelnuts, tangerine, and chives. If you’ve got a duck fetish, Wong is your Graceland. Try the Duckavore Dinner for four, which includes duck broth, duck sung choy bao, duck bun with Chinese celery and cucumber, duck meat loaf, Long Island whole duck, seasonal greens, duck noodles, and duck a la plum. Phew.

Flatbush Farm
Address: 76 St. Marks Ave. at Flatbush Ave. (Brooklyn)
Phone: (718) 622-3276
Website: flatbushfarm.com

The garden is officially open at Flatbush Farm and Bar(n), and we recommend making a leisurely pit stop at the bar before settling in at your table.  Even the drinks are local and seasonal, including the Garden Snake, a refreshing blend of gin, cucumber juice, lemon soda, and thai basil.  When you ‘ve made your way to your garden table, settle into the asparagus salad with duck prosciutto, cavatelli and spring vegetables, or steelhead trout with oyster stuffing, braised leeks and chowder broth.  (Sounds  good to me!)  Revisit the seasonal cocktail list before ordering the bonfire brownie and peanut butter ice cream for dessert.

The Little Owl
Address: 90 Bedford St. at Grove St. 
Phone: (212) 741-4695
Website: littleowlnyc.com

Dubbed “best balls” by Esquire Magazine for their iconic veal-pork-beef meatball sliders, The Little Owl is giving  us several more compelling reasons to stop in for spring.  Start with the sunflower salad with golden beets and parmesan, or even better, the asparagus risotto.  And there’s plenty of fish on the menu, too, like halibut, arctic char and sauteed skate, while meatier favorites include the pork chops, served with butter beans and dandelion. Did we mention the asparagus home fries accompanying an entree of crispy chicken? If that doesn’t scream spring, I don’t know what does.

Bellwether
Address: 594 Union Ave., btwn Richardson & Bayard Sts. (Brooklyn)
Phone: 347-5209-4921
Website: bellwetherbrooklyn.com

When we think of warm weather, we think of sun, water, and seafood. If you’re serious about seafood, head to the south end of McCarren Park for dinner at Bellwether.  The seafood selection here rivals some of the best spots in the city.  Where to begin? The raw bar offerings include clams, Taylor Bay scallops, Florida stone crabs, shrimp cocktail, and local oysters. There’s ceviches, lobster tacos and diver scallops with snap peas, and young radish. Carnivores need not fret. They serve meat, too.

Aldea
Address: 31 W. 17th St. btwn 5th & 6th Aves. 
Phone: (212) 675-7223
Website: aldearestaurant.com

If you haven’t caught on, we’ll happily admit our obsession with seafood.   Apparently, chef George Mendes shared our affection for the fruits of the sea.  Named “Best New Chef” by Food & Wine last year, Mendes is currently meditating on wild striped bass with spring asparagus and fava beans, diver sea scallops with mushrooms and citrus, day-boat monkfish, and sea-salted Chatham cod. That’s just for starters.  The menu also features his signature sea urchin toast along with wild bass crudo and soft shell crabs. If you’re not craving seafood, you can still sample spring with a crispy pig ear salad accompanied by early spring ramps, apple, and spinach.

Park Avenue Spring
Address: 100 E. 63rd at Park Ave.
Phone: (212) 644-1900
Website: parkavenyc.com

It’s hard to pick a favorite time of year. After all, summer, autumn, winter and spring all of their unique flavors and ingredients. Fortunately, mother nature lets us sample the seasons in turn, as does Chef Craig Koketsu with his rotating menus at Park Avenue Winter, Autumn, Summer, and Spring. Right now, they’re celebrating spring with an interior that’s designed just for the occasion. Reminiscent of an English garden, the dining room is quite literally alive with with wild and raw vegetation in shades of purple, gold, and green.  And the dishes deliciously follow suit with chicken liver mousse served with a cherry mostarda and pickled ramps, roasted baby beets with pistachio pesto, and Peekytoe crab cakes with avocado and raspberries. Definitely don’t skip dessert because Richard Leach is one of the best pastry chefs in the city. For spring, he’s created a rhubarb & banana tart or lemon beignets with a plum and lemon mousse.