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“Park Avenue Summer”

Occasion:	Cuisine:	Area:	Cost:	Rating:
Night Out	New American	Midtown	Break the Bank	Great

resh palate of summer flavors: corn, truffles, watermelon, sugar snap peas, squash blossoms, strawberries, and tomatoes. All this, plus re-training the waitstaff, in two days time. Talk about an elimination challenge. But chef Craig Koketsu got through it without a scratch and opened his “new” restaurant on May 28th, ushering in the sunny warmth of summer and a slew of guests for dinner.

I had been meaning to visit Park Avenue Season-of-Choice since it opened, but it’s on the Upper East Side, and somehow I hadn’t made it up there. But I kept hearing (and reading) rave reviews, and so I finally made a commitment to go and see what all the fuss was about. As I learned in the course of a few hours last week, the fuss is about quite a lot. First, the newly transformed room is lovely. Playful and fun, the colors of summer brighten the restaurant and fill it with a sense of levity and celebration. While I was expecting a more sedate (read: older) crowd, the room was packed with just as many people working in new media and advertising as hedge funds and law firms; I found an equal mix of waifish twenty and thirty-somethings kicking back after work in designer jeans, and handsome grey-haired couples in dark suits and ties. The food plays well with both sets.

To celebrate summer’s rituals, Koketsu has assembled what he calls a Picnic Menu in addition to the regular dinner menu. It shows off the carefree side of the kitchen, with a basket of buttermilk and cayenne-marinated fried Ipswich clams ($18), served in a gingham paper basket with two “Jersey Shore” dipping sauces: smoked tomato aioli and a pickled mustard seed aioli, which is sort of spicy and pungent, and should be slathered on everything from burgers to hot dogs and sandwiches—just about anything that’s in need of a boost in flavor. The clams are followed up with falling-off-the-bone Dr. Pepper-braised baby back ribs, served on a marble slab with a cup of peach slaw and a can of Dr. Pepper (with illustrated Indiana Jones promotion), poured over ice in a frosted glass. As would be fitting of a picnic, dessert is a warm blueberry and lemon pie. In a few weeks, Koketsu will be serving the Picnic Menu as a sort of party platter for four, at a table spread with a gingham cloth. All that’s missing is some grass and a few ants.

While the Picnic Menu is all lighthearted fun, Koketsu manages to keep that spirit of levity in all of his ... [more, click below]

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Posted: June 1, 2008

Other restaurants in Midtown :
+ Lever House   + Aquavit   + RM   + Joseph's (formerly Citarella The Restaurant)   + Town   + Artisanal   + The Oyster Bar   + Geisha   + David Burke and Donatella Restaurant   + Riingo   + Amma   + Cafe Sabarsky   + The Stone Rose Lounge   + BLT Steak   + V, The Steakhouse-- Closed   + Bar Masa   + Cafe Gray   + The Bar Room at The Modern   + The Cafe at Aquavit   + The Cafe at Aquavit   + Bistro du Vent-- Closed   + Shaburi   + Xing   + The Modern   + Bar Americain   + Alto   + Park Blue   + Mainland-- Closed   + Nobu 57   + Quality Meats   + Dona-- CLOSED   + Daisy May's   + 7Square-- CLOSED   + Amalia   + Fireside   + Anthos   + Patroon   + BLT Market   + Toloache   + Mia Dona   + Park Avenue Summer   + Convivio   + The Oak Room by guest reviewer Julie Besonen   + At Vermilion by guest reviewer Elaine Weiner   + Lunching at Inakaya, by guest reviewer Kathleen Squires   + Marea, by Guest Reviewer Susan Kane Walkush   + Le Bernardin   + New York Central -- A Reason To Eat at the Grand Hyatt Again   + Pampano Botaneria by Dara Pollak   

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