April’s Best Rainy Day Dishes
It’s easy enough to decide what to eat during winter, when snow, sleet and freezing winds call out for hearty soups and savory stews. The same thing goes for summer, when all we crave is fresh vegetables, lean proteins, and ice-cold, barely-cooked seafood. But what about spring — or more specifically, famously rainy April — when temperatures are relatively mild, but we average at least one drizzle (if not a full-on downpour) a day? We say, turn to these restaurant dishes, which are relatively light on their feet, but comforting enough to weather those persistent seasonal storms.
Streetbird Rotisserie
Marcus Samuelsson’s newest Harlem spot specializes in Rotisserie Chicken, which has all the smoky, summertime sumptuousness of a grilled bird, as well as the juicy, slow-cooked flavor of rustic, oven-roasted poultry.
Read MoreBeaubourg
We haven’t quite hit raw bar season yet, so get your mild weather shellfish fix at the new and très French, Beaubourg, at Brookfield Place, which makes a mean Moules and Frites, as well as classic Escargot; tender snails swathed with rich garlic and parsley butter.
Read MoreWassail
We generally think of cider as a decidedly autumnal libation. But Wassail (New York’s very first cider bar) serves a wide range of refreshing, fermented elixirs, that pair perfectly with earthy, vegetable-focused dishes, such as rustic Roasted Carrots and Bulgur, brightened with yogurt and zataar, and chewy, doughy Spaetzle; tossed with truffle butter, leeks, and beginning-of-spring green garlic.
Read MoreEl Colmado Butchery
Seamus Mullen’s tapas bar-meets-butcher shop serves a wide array of heartening (but not too heavy) snacks. So dodge the raindrops and kick back with a glass of sherry and a cast iron crock of Setas (mixed, seasonal mushrooms drizzled with chicken drippings), or triangles of Bocata Remolacha; sandwiches made with beets, whipped goat cheese, and slices of six-minute egg.
Read MoreKiin Thai Eatery
From the owners of Somtum Der, this new East Village spot serves specialties from the Central and Northern areas of Thailand. That includes Gaeng Som Kai Cha-Om; a tangy, tamarind-based soup thick with sea bass, shrimp, cauliflower, chili, carrot, and cha-om (a vegetable omelet), and Green Curry ‘Gaeng Kheo Wan;’ a sprightly mix of Thai green eggplant, fingerroot, sweet basil, long hot chili peppers, coconut milk and fish balls stuffed with salted egg yolk.
Read MoreThe Camlin
From the owners of the beloved Hell’s Kitchen wine bar, Ardesia, Williamsburg newcomer, The Camlin, pairs decadent small plates with an impressive selection of vino. And before it gets rotated out for suitably summery offerings, you’ll want to try the individually portioned crocks of Bourbon Braised Quail Lasagna; layers of housemade noodles paired with pan-seared, braised, and bourbon-deglazed hunks of silky, succulent quail.
Read MoreRocky Slims
Chestnuts roasting on an open fire — it simply smacks of Christmas, right? But we can’t imagine a better rainy day, springtime snack than the wood-roasted nuts at Angelo Romano’s new Kips Bay pizzeria, strewn with fennel and doused with an anise-flavored shot of sweet, Italian sambuca.
Read MoreWillow
Tucked under the elevated subway and ringed by floor-to-ceiling windows, this tiny Brooklyn gem is an ideal shelter from the storm. Watch passerby hop across puddles holding umbrellas, while you curl up with a glass of all-natural wine and a musky, Chicken Liver Cannoli, or plate of still-sizzling Potato Pierogi, stuffed with supple oxtail and paved with funky kimchi onions.
Read More
Check out My Book – Try This
