Chic Easter Brunch Eats

Abboccato
136 W 55th St., btwn 6th & 7th Aves.
New York 10019
(212) 265-4000
www.abboccato.com
This elegant midtown Italian offers a $65, 5-course Easter menu with Tuscan bread soup, followed by ricotta dumplings in a licorice herb sauce.  For the main course, lamb chops come encrusted with porcini mushrooms and served with bone marrow flan. For $95, a wine pairing for each course is also made available for the occasion.

Little Dishes
434 7th Ave., btwn 14th & 15th Sts.
Brooklyn 11215
(718) 369-3144
www.littled-eatery.com
If the weather cooperates, you can celebrate Easter in the back garden of this quaint Brooklyn restaurant.  Brunch features biscuits with rose jamm, pork butt served with cheddar grits and scrambled eggs, or the English Ploughman’s plate.  A Bellini or Bloody Mary should pair nicely with this hearty menu.

Aureole
34 East 61st St., btwn. Park & Madison Aves.
New York, NY 10021
(212) 319-1660
charliepalmer.com
Spend the holiday at this midtown brownstone, where chef Charlie Palmer designs a $95, three-course menu, highlighting a three pepper-seared quail with caramelized squash, osso buco in a cherry jus, and scallops with lobster tortellini.  For dessert, a banana and white chocolate mousse parfait with fresh mango makes for a refreshing ending.

Miriam
79 5th Ave., nr. Prospect Place
Brooklyn, NY 11217
(718) 622-2250
www.miriamrestaurant.com
This Park Slope haunt embraces Mediterranean cuisine with a distinct focus on Israeli dishes.  A detour from the typical Easter brunch, a la carte options include a peppery Shakshuka (Mediterranean eggs,) a Greek frittata, and a mixed mushroom with thyme omelette.

Molyvos
871 7th Ave., btwn. 55th and 56th Sts.
New York, NY 10019
(212) 582-7500
In keeping with Greek tradition, Molyvos is hosting “Breaking of the Fast,” at midnight on Sunday, April 27th.  Festivities include a parade to the local Greek church, a $60 tasting feast of taramosalata and zucchini fritters in Greek yogurt, followed by Easter lamb soup and slow roasted lamb with yogurt-feta dumplings.  Greek Easter eggs with tsoureki bread will cap off the official end of Lent.

Café des Artistes
1 W. 67th S., btwn. CPW & Columbus Ave.
New York, NY 10023
(212) 877-3500
Website
This UWS French institution hosts an Easter brunch that launches with “Billy Bi” soup and a Lyonnaise salad.  For a main course, Mediterranean seafood stew with aioli and a ginger soy-glazed cod with a mix of Asian and European vegetables stand out.  A dessert tasting of coconut, chocolate, pears, and pistachio makes for an exotic end to the meal…

Beacon
 25 W 56th St., btwn. 5th & 6th Aves.
(212) 332-0050
www.beaconnyc.com
The wood-burning oven is the centerpiece of this midtown New American
restaurant.  Chef Waldy Malouf designs an Easter family-style brunch of pecan
waffles with apple-smoked bacon and tangerine syrup and wood-roasted
crab cake and citrus slaw for $42.  It comes with a bottomless glass of their signature cocktail: the “wood-roasted”
Bloody Mary.

Alice’s Teacup

102 W 73rd St., at Columbus Ave.
New York 10023
(212) 799-3006
alicesteacup.com/
A decorative homage to Alice in Wonderland, this endearing Upper West
Side cafe features an extensive tea list as well as a pleasing
selection of classics, including poached eggs, sweet crepes with
vanilla crème anglaise, and tea-infused French toast.  For $23, diners
can order the “Morning Afternoon Tea,” featuring crepes, potato chicken
hash and a bottomless cup of tea.

Lunetta

920 Broadway, at 21st Street
(212) 533-3663
www.lunetta-ny.com
This Flatiron Italian will be dishing up a “Pasqua Supper,” for $55 on
Easter Sunday.  Guests begin with a fava bean and creamy ricotta
bruschetta, then move on to a choice of vegetable appetizers, most
notably the beet, blood orange, and fennel salad.  What follows is a
myriad of Italian specialties, from butternut mezzaluna pasta to
braised lamb shank with faro, radishes, and swiss chard. Cap off your
meal with a lemon tart or a hazelnut-studded caramel brownie sundae.

Kellari Taverna

19 W. 44th Street, at 5th Ave.
(212) 221-0144
www.kellari.us
This Greek eatery offers a $60 Easter dinner menu, beginning with
Margaritsa, an Easter soup, followed by roasted lamb with lemon
potatoes or kokoretsi, a mixed grill of lamb offal marinated in lemon
juice and olive oil.

Hill Country
 W. 26th Street btwn. 5th and 6th Ave.
New York, NY 10010
(212) 255-2544
www.hillcountryny.com
In true Southern barbecue style, Hill Country’s Easter dinner features dinner smoked chile-rubbed lamb chops, sweet potato bourbon mash and
fried onion-topped green beans.   Finish with their PB & J cupcake while you relish the decidedly laid-back Western decor.

Klee Brasserie

200 9th Ave., at 22nd St.
(212) 633-8033   
www.kleebrasserie.com
Easter brunch specials at this Alsatian-Austrian brasserie include
honey-glazed ham with spicy deviled eggs and steak and eggs accompanied by a
matchstick potato salad.  At dinnertime, there’s a $65 prix fixe menu
with lamb schnitzel, mint jelly, and a cheddar cannelloni.  For
dessert, spring rhubarb and carrots are featured in a cobbler as well
as a delectable cake tasting.

Until we eat again,
Restaurant Girl