salmaland.com » Upper East Side

Upper East Side: Park Avenue Autumn/Winter/Summer/Fall

Fri, 22 Oct 2010 18:12:04 +0000

In autumn, it’s called Park Avenue Autumn. In winter, Park Avenue Winter. Spring, summer, you get the picture. Yes, the concept is a little bit precious, but who cares when the food is this good. The seasonal menus are worth coming back for whenever the mercury starts to rise or fall, and the dining room, designed by AvroKo, is a knockout—it’s not as sexy as some of the design team’s other work (this is Midtown, remember) but it twinkles and shines and changes with the season in subtle and beautiful ways. If you’re here in the fall, you might start with roasted pumpkin soup with lobster croutons, then have lamb shank with spaghetti squash, quince, mint, and ricotta salata. In summer, “butter and sugar” corn soup with tomatillo, and free-range chicken with peaches and basil. The local-seasonal mantra might be getting yawn-worthy at this point, but Park Avenue’s menus never are.

Upper East Side: Naya

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:42:03 +0000

Pic courtesy of Gothamist

Never mind the white space-age tunnel of a dining room: Naya‘s food is about as earthy as Lebanese cuisine gets in Manhattan—not that there’s a ton of competition here. Owner Hady Kfoury and chef Rafic Nehme take some chances, serving dishes New Yorkers who haven’t been to Beirut or been cooked for by a Lebanese friend likely won’t have tried, like silky kibbe naye (the Lebanese steak tartare, studded with bulgur and mint and scooped up in pita bread with raw onion and olive oil), or kibbe labniye (lamb dumplings in a warm yogurt sauce). Another welcome, overdue addition (see also Ilili) to the city’s microscopic list of ambitious Middle Eastern restaurants. Naya also has a mostly takeout branch called Naya Express in Midtown, at 688 Third Ave. between 43rd and 44th Sts.

Naya. 1057 Second Ave. between 55th and 56th Sts; (212) 319-7777.

Prices/Features: Moderately Priced/Elegant/Vegetarian-Friendly

Upper East Side: Sasabune

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:41:43 +0000

At the small Upper East Side sushi restaurant Sasubune, you eat any fish the chef wishes: That’s the beauty of this place. Chef Kenji Takahashi doesn’t believe in a la carte; instead, a sign in the small dining room says “Trust me,” and you should. Takahashi gathers around him the sea creatures he’s particularly keen on that day (say kanpachi, orange clam, horse mackerel, and much more), and sends them out in sushi, sashimi, and crudo-style preparations for a reasonable set price. Obviously a guest can opt out of any fish for reasons of allergy or hatred, but the more control Takashi has over your experience, the more you’re in for a slew of happy surprises.

Sasabune. 401 E. 73rd St. between First and Second Aves.; (212) 249-8583.

Prices/Features: Moderately Priced/Vegetarian-Friendly

Upper East Side: Sfoglia

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:05:43 +0000

Pic courtesy of Sfoglia

Despite the hundreds (thousands?) of Italian restaurants in the city, Sfoglia, a spinoff of a Nantucket spot, managed to transfix Manhattanites from the moment it hit the way-upper Upper East Side. Amazingly, it’s not overrated. Rustic and slightly unexpected preparations like ricotta gnocchi with rock shrimp, rabe, raisins, and lemon cream seem all the more arresting because they don’t have a celeb-chef name attached. (The talented Ron Suhanosky, ex of Il Buco, runs the kitchen.) The room is warm and gorgeously tasteful too, and there’s virtually nothing annoying about this place (a rare achievement), except that everyone else has figured that out too, and reservations are a pain in the butt—so that can be annoying.

Sfoglia. 1402 Lexington Ave. at 92nd St.; (212) 831-1402.

Prices/Features: Moderately Priced/Vegetarian-Friendly