Dreamy Winter Dishes in NYC
Post-holiday season can be awfully dreary — sans pine tree-scented air and cheerful carols, all that’s really left is a series of short, dark days and frigid nights. That’s why we rely on restaurants to see us through the hump; because in the hands of chefs like Dan Kluger, Jared Sippel and Casey Lane, even parsnips, sprouts and celery root seem positively festive!
Loring Place
Dan Kluger’s taken “locally-sourced” to the next level, by not looking too much further than New York farms for inspiration; stoking his opening menu with Greenmarket Crudite trailed in carrot-ginger puree, Wood-Grilled Broccoli Salad tossed with orange, kohlrabi and mint, and Fennel Jam Pizza surmounted with chilies and parmesan.
Read MoreItalienne
Once tapped to helm the Manhattan outpost of Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare, Jared Sippel moved on to this Northern Italy-meets-Southern France project instead, serving soulful, regionally-rooted prix fixes like Potato Salad with winter thistle in truffle vinaigrette, followed by Guinea Hen sauced with madeira and foie gras, and Duck Tagliata teamed with fennel mostarda, farro verde and huckleberry jus.
Read MoreChumley’s
The revival of the historic speakeasy, Chumley’s, has proved as cloistered and comfort-based as the original; the interiors bedecked with dark wood, sumptuous leather and portraits of famous authors, and the menu boasting Country Terrine with savoy cabbage and ham hock, Steak for Two with roasted onions and horseradish-turmeric vinaigrette, and most notably, an “86’d” Burger topped with crispy shallots, house sauce, and melting nubs of bone marrow.
Read MoreAgern
More than anything, New Nordic cuisine is about celebrating time and place. So instead of getting too hung up on Scandinavian ingredients, Claus Meyer has expanded his horizons at his Grand Central Station flagship; by offering Arctic Char with pumpkin and apples, Salt and Ash-Baked Beet Root flavored with caraway seeds and huckleberries, and Cauliflower, Black Trumpet Mushrooms and Mustard in a musky cloak of hay.
Read MoreUnion Square Café
Danny Meyer’s seminal Union Square establishment hasn’t missed a beat after its recent relocation; scouring the still-nearby greenmarket (essentially a partner in the restaurant) for chicories and apples to augment Duck Crostone, swiss chard to float in Tortellini in Brodo, and turnips, napa cabbage and wild mushrooms, to accompany Butter-Roasted Monkfish.
Read MoreCasa Apicii
L.A.-based chef and owner, Casey Lane, may be used to the luxury of working with warm weather ingredients year round, but he’s admirably adjusted to the realities of winter in New York; devising an appealing dinner lineup of Burrata with black olive and persimmon, Brussels Sprouts used as dippers for bagna cauda, and Chestnut Pappardelle coiled around king trumpet mushrooms and wild boar ragu.
Read MoreKing
Being that the chefs hail from jolly old England, they’re expert at countering inclement weather with stick-to-your-ribs vittles — think Pumpkin Ravioli slick with marjoram butter, Halibut roasted with crushed borlotti beans, and Guinea Hen for Two, enlivened with ricotta, lemon and spinach.
Read MoreFifty
While hotel restaurants tend to skew all-American, refined Italian or French, Fifty flirts with South American flavors — think Fluke Ceviche with sweet potato in leche de tigre, tomato-braised Goat Ribs over honeyed plantain, and an assortment of Grapes, Watercress and Roasted Maitake Mushrooms, mingled with truffle and celery root puree.
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