Scrumptious Spring Sweets
We’d never dream of disparaging chocolate, caramel, apples and nuts, but we really begin craving sweets that are, well, a bit lighter on their feet once the weather warms. And happily, restaurants are slowly swapping out intensely rich and dense desserts for sprightly, fruit and herb-based offerings, simply bursting with spring freshness, like the Sweet Pea Ice Cream Bar at Dirt Candy in the East Village and the Rose and Raspberry Vacherin at Café Boulud on the Upper East Side!
Lafayette
Why don’t the French get fat? Probably because they specialize in lighter-than-air desserts, like the Il Flottante (floating island), which can be found at Andrew Carmellini’s grand café and bakery, Lafayette. And in her version of the classic dish, James Beard Award-nominated pastry chef, Jennifer Yee, balances feathery pillows of soft meringue on a lake of eggy crème anglaise, brightened by refreshing minted citrus. Get yourself to Lafayette to sample for yourself.
Read MoreTelepan Local
Considering Bill Telepan is one of New York’s most committed, well-known locavores, it would be odd if his entire menu, from drinks to desserts, weren’t resolutely seasonal. Well, pastry chef Larissa Raphael obviously got the memo about his whole farm-to-table penchant, and has created sweets worthy of standing alongside Telepan’s savory, Greenmarket-focused dishes. Check out the rotating roster of pie-inspired Sundaes, like the Blueberry Cheesecake with cream cheese and buttermilk ice cream, Maine blueberry sorbet and blueberry sauce, and the Strawberry Rhubarb with fresh compote, lemon verbena ice cream and streusel.
Read MoreDirt Candy
You don’t need to be a vegetarian to appreciate the highly creative, produce-adulating offerings at Amanda Cohen’s Dirt Candy. She’s so deft with veggies, in fact, that she’s able to deliciously and inconspicuously incorporate them into dessert. The spring menu currently includes a Celery Cheesecake Roll with Sugared Grapes, an Eggplant Tiramisu with Rosemary Cotton Candy (don’t knock it till you’ve tried it), and a Sweet Pea and Mint Ice Cream Bar; a cookie base topped with sweet pea and mint ice cream, and covered with a hard, top layer of silken dark chocolate.
Read MoreCafé Boulud
The dessert menu is actually divided into four sections at the unfailingly elegant Café Boulud, two of which are “La Saison” (Flavors of the Season), and “La Potager” (Farmers Market Fruit). Needless to say, both are saturated with totally spring-appropriate selections, like a Raspberry Vacherin with rose meringue, citrus Chantilly and raspberry soda, a Chocolate Napoléon accented with sour cherry, and a Rhubarb Tart made with ricotta, toasted oats and thyme ice cream.
Read MoreNorth End Grill
Most of us have fond memories of stalking the Good Humor man every spring and summer as children, but we feel just a tad silly running after a jingling truck as a fully-grown adult. Thankfully, North End Grill allows us to indulge in some of our most nostalgic kiddy favorites, by reimagining them as mature, thoughtful desserts. Case in point; Masala Chai Funnel Cake, a Popcorn Ice Cream Sundae and the vibrantly colored Creamsicle Pie; layers of vanilla Bavarian cream, bitter marmalade, orange gelée, candied orange slices and whipped cream, set inside of a buttery graham cracker crust.
Read MoreAccomplished pastry chef, Jiho Kim, is behind the sweets at Beautique, a recently opened Modern American restaurant, located just steps from the iconic Plaza Hotel. And one of her debut desserts is (almost) too pretty to eat — a Brown Butter Katiafi topped with dabs of cassis-infused cream cheese, a scoop of minted, pickled rhubarb, and a quenelle of smooth ricotta sorbet.Beautique
OddFellows
Chef Sam Mason’s proudly quirky ice cream parlor, OddFellows, is known for some truly wacky flavor combinations, like Tobacco Leaf Smoked Chili Huckleberry, and Chorizo Caramel Swirl. But in some cases, he allows perfect, seasonal ingredients to simply speak for themselves, such as Rose Raspberry (which gets a gentle bite from Pink Peppercorn), Buttermilk Blueberry Honey, and Strawberry Lavender Sorbet.
Read MoreVendôme Macaron
Delicate French macarons are certainly a du jour dessert in New York nowadays, and we’re all about the colorful cookies at Vendôme, which can be found in multiple locations in Brooklyn (including Smorgasburg), as well as Saks Fifth Avenue in Midtown. Our current favorites happen to be inspired by spring and summer cocktails, like the “Hemingway Mojito” with rum, lime and mint, the “Paloma” with pink grapefruit and tequila, and the Pina Colada-esque “San Juan” with pineapple and Bacardi.
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