The Ultimate Easter 2017 Dining Guide
To kids, Easter conjures up images of fluffy bunnies bearing baskets of jellybeans, marshmallow peeps, and chocolate-coated eggs. But to food-minded adults, the holiday is all about menus paying loving homage to the fleeting bounties of spring. So here’s where to commemorate April 16th with Roast Lamb, tender asparagus and yes, even the season’s first ramps — at New York institutions like Marea, Kingsley and Bouley.
Marea
Michael White’s seafood-focused, two Michelin-starred stunner will open early for Easter brunch — offering a $75 three-course menu of Novia Scotia Lobster and burrata, Poached Eggs and Braised Lamb Shoulder over polenta, and Earl Grey Meringue filled with meyer lemon sorbetto; with optional supplemental oyster or caviar service.
Read MoreKingsley
One of Crain’s recently named “40 Under 40’s,” chef Roxanne Spruance is devoting Kingsley’s Sunday service to both Easter brunch and dinner. The $60 morning menu features Hot Cross Buns with lemon and tarragon, Asparagus Carbonara gobbed with parmesan and egg, and Honey Panna Cotta infused with lavender, while the $75 evening meal includes English Pea Soup tinged with mint, Baked Ham with blood orange or Spring Lamb and ramps, plus Lemon Cake sided with crème fraiche sherbet for dessert.
Read MoreBouley
Newly obsessed with the idea of healing oneself through food, David Bouley recently debuted a restaurant called Botanical, devoted to just that. Not that his clean eating mission doesn’t carry that over to his standard bearer, Bouley, where an $185, 6-course all-day Easter menu is built around locally-sourced and/or foraged ingredients; think Organic Connecticut Quail and Hen Eggs paved with truffle and 24-month comte, a tumble of Wild Mushrooms over grilled toro, Line-Caught Hawaiian Skilfish paired with spring onion and white asparagus, and Gluten-Free Raviolo of organic Pennsylvania Duckling, plated with savoy cabbage and caraway seeds.
Read MoreAquavit
Easter is always a big deal at the fine dining Scandinavian trailblazer, Aquavit, where an expansive Smorgasbord is comprised of nine kinds of Herring, four types of Salmon, cold meats such as Mangalitsa Copa, Black Forest Ham and housemade Pate, sides like Chilled Nettle Soup and Mushroom and Watercress Salad, hot dishes including Lamb Racks and Swedish Meatballs, and a serious spread of sweets — think Princess Cake, Tosca Tart, Blueberry Pie and Chocolate Marzipan, all for $95 per person.
Read MoreLoi Estiatorio
You can always count on Maria Loi, the “Martha Stewart of Greece” to turn up the heat on Greek Easter, by offering a $75 prix fixe of traditional holiday Soup with lamb giblets, Grilled Liver brushed with oregano and olive oil, Roasted Lamb with lemon potatoes, and Anthotyro-Honey Cheesecake for dessert.
Read MoreCraft
Tom Colicchio’s flagship Craft is an NYC classic — so where better to go for a traditional Easter brunch, which nods to spring (and its proximity to the farmer’s market) with a $55 prix fixe of assorted Pastries, Smoked Salmon and bagel chips, Roasted Branzino with wheat berries, ramps and asparagus, housemade Maple and Sage Sausage Grits, and flutes of Passionfruit Ginger Bellinis.
Read MoreChef’s Club
This Food & Wine-sponsored salon for the world’s top chefs will be laying out quite a buffet for Easter brunch — $85 buys access to Deviled Eggs with trout roe, Leg of Lamb roasted in hay, Bloody Mary’s and Bellini’s and so much more.
Read MoreAsiate
Book out-of-town relatives a stay in Columbus Circle’s ideally-located Mandarin Oriental hotel, and pop over for an elegant Easter brunch (following a Central Park stroll) at the in-house restaurant, Asiate, featuring an $89 progression of American Sturgeon Caviar over buckwheat blini, Homemade Nettle Pasta tossed with foraged mushrooms and rainbow chard, and a dessert duo of Salted Caramel Chocolate Tart, and Tropical Dome Coconut Cake.
Read More
Check out My Book – Try This
