A Chocolate Landscape

Here is one of the most appealing NYC maps I've ever seen. (Note: Adobe PDF reader required.)

Caffe Emilia (CLOSED 3/2009, to the best of my knowledge)

Delving my spoon into a thick layer of cool white cream, I wondered if the server hadn't heard my order correctly. I'd asked for a "cappuccino aroma," but my cup seemed to contain some sort of dessert rather than a beverage. "No, this is the cappuccino aroma," he maintained. "That's the consistency of foam a cappuccino is supposed to have. Mallo, the guy who prepared it, was recruited from Italy specifically for his coffee abilities."

It was extraordinary how so much air had been trapped inside the milk. Deep below the foam lay one shot of espresso and a little pool of hazelnut syrup. Later, Mallo was to advise me to try the "espresso nutella," a wondrous concoction served in a parfait glass.

But first I was to enjoy a piadina, thin grilled dough stuffed with tomatoes, arugula and mozzarella served with a lightly-vinaigretted green salad. I'd debated between the chicken milanese on ciabatta (all bread is from Falai), pizza bianca, tuna-onion tramezzini, prosciutto-melon salad, vitello tonnato and fried eggs with black truffle. The amazing thing is that each of the above was under $10. I'm going back for brunch this weekend!

Caffe Emilia: 139 First Ave., (212) 388-1234.

Sublime Strawberries

The strawberries have never been sweeter! You've probably been by the Union Square Greenmarket to pick up a pint or three, but if you haven't, make sure to do so by mid-July. Local bakers have been benefiting mightily from the season's bounty: lemon cornmeal poundcake at Park Slope's Trois Pommes Patisserie (260 Fifth Ave., 718-230-3119) is studded with Greenmarket strawberries, and Williamsburg's Cheeks Bakery has been serving up fresh strawberry cream scones made with Red Jacket strawberries, a Greenmarket favorite. These crumbly, buttery marvels are chock-full of the luscious berries, stained red with the juice and topped with coarse sugar crystals. Call ahead before visiting, because I may have bought them all! (Cheeks Bakery: 378 Metropolitan Ave., 718-599-3583.)

Park Avenue Summer

As of three days ago, the venerable Park Avenue Cafe is now Park Avenue (Insert Season Here), a restaurant which will change its name, decor and menu every season. My companion and I, who dined there last night with another couple, were tickled at the concept ("Will they have to call the phone company every three months to change their name?" I wondered), but the imaginative, pleasingly plated cuisine sold us on the idea.

Upon our arrival, three hostesses in pale sundresses invited us to look at the "ice bar": bottles of vodka with a choose-your-own selection of flavorings like ginger-sugarcane and spearmint. Then we sat down in white faux-snakeskin chairs; it was obvious from the decor that the owners aimed to bring Downtown chic to the staid Upper East Side. (Unfortunately, this ambience included the loud dance music that one finds at many hotspots! This was our only gripe.)

We toasted the new restaurant with glasses of light, sweet Conundrum and got to work on the refreshing amuse bouche: cubes of bright red watermelon (is there anything more summery?) topped with spicy yogurt and basil sprigs. This first taste heralded the beginning of an evening of intriguing sweet-savory combinations.

The specials all featured corn: Kumamoto oysters with corn milk, grits, even corn panna cotta. (Note: for the chic, figure-conscious diner, there were salad options in all courses: appetizers, mains, even desserts. I am not especially chic or figure-conscious, of course, and my menu choices reflected accordingly.)

My appetizer was an interesting take on gazpacho: tangy tomato gelatin was the base for small heaps of peekytoe crab on velvety green dollops of avocado. The other apps were equally refreshing and colorful: red-and-green gingered beet and cucumber salad; yellow and green beans accented with fresh mint and chopped nuts; and paper-thin slices of fluke sashimi dotted with crimson plum paste.

Our appetites whetted, we then proceeded to the mains and sides. Crispy hand-cut French fries, served in a little wooden box with tabasco mayo, the most extraordinary buttered baby carrots and marshmallows (!) and a dish of creamy corn grits and niblets accompanied our entrees: truffled John Dory with a breadcrumb-crusted egg which had somehow maintained its runny yolk; three roulades of rosy, bottom-seared sashimi-grade yellowfin tuna with purple radish sprouts and aioli; a layered salad of lobster and avocado; and two perfectly grilled chunks of filet mignon in "steak sauce butter" with a side salad of arugula, raspberries and shards of Parmesan.

We were excited to see that pastry chef Richard Leach had crafted a sophisticated new dessert menu. I chose the summer raspberries with goat cheese mousse. This was a tall sculpture of round cookies alternating between ripe red berries, sorbet and mousse enveloped in thin sweet wafers. The mousse was reminiscent of a light cheesecake. My companion devoured the sauteed blueberries with lemon semolina cake and lemongrass panna cotta, and our companions ate up every last spoonful of their chocolate-tea and basil gelato! Highly recommended.

Park Avenue Summer: East 63rd St. and Park Ave.,(212) 644-1900.

Bar Stuzzichini

I always seem to be hungry right when restaurants close between lunch and dinner. So I'm delighted that the wonderful new Bar Stuzzichini stays open all day for in-between diners like me! Today, I stopped by right before 5, and the lunch menu was still being served. The old Komegashi space had been transformed with brass-accented leather banquettes and wooden, exposed-bulb chandeliers. I sat down at a round marble table and dipped some bread in the excellent, fruity olive oil.

The menu inspired me to order more than I usually would. I began with one of the stuzzichini (tapas), which were organized into fried items, cured meats, cheese, fish and vegetables. The waitress informed me that there was no more scamorze all brace (a firm, salty cheese served grilled), so I took her fried artichoke recommendation. What marvels these were: six crispy browned florets of artichoke, with salty fried petals as addictive as potato chips surrounding the succulent artichoke hearts. I squeezed lemon all over them.

Next came the bitter greens in anchovy dressing. This refreshing salad was something like a cheeseless Caesar, and it was so much better than the clumpy, overdressed mess one sometimes finds decorated with oversized shards of Parmesan. Assertive chicory leaves were dressed with a milder, creamy dressing that only needed a touch of anchovy.

Although there was a lovely-sounding orecchiette with fresh spring peas, a swordfish and a short ribs pizzaiola, I went for the tagliolini with lemon and pistachios. The portion was deceptively small; the nutty, creamy sauce with a slight crunch of pistachio was very rich (and delicious)!

For dessert, there were several appealing selections: an orange-scented olive oil cake, a chocolate hazelnut confection, gelato in brioche, affogato and my choice: cannoli. The three sugar-dusted tubes full of orange, espresso and classic creamy goodness had just the right amount of sweetness. I would have liked even more of the espresso flavor.

Bar Stuzzichini: 928 Broadway, (212) 780-5100.

Dining With Jazz...

Someone recently asked me to recommend both a restaurant and a jazz club where he might bring a date. Fortunately, there are many places around the city which combine the listening and dining experiences. Here are some of my favorites:

• Blue Smoke/Jazz Standard: When I attended this year's Time Out New York Eat Out Awards, I was thrilled to see Mark Maynard-Parisi stand up to accept the award for best barbecue. In my opinion, his restaurant-club also features some of the best jazz in the city. Make sure to reserve a seat when the phenomenal Maria Schneider Big Band is in the house, and don't forget to order a side of super-rich macaroni and cheese with your salt-and-pepper beef ribs. (116 East 27th St., 212-447-7733.)


• I'd be hard-pressed to think of a more gorgeous setting for dinner than The Cloisters, and the New Leaf Cafe is nestled right in the woods. There's live jazz on Thursdays and Saturdays, and you can't go wrong with Iron Chef Scott Campbell's cuisine. Try his homemade mozzarella appetizer and seared tuna entree. (1 Margaret Corbin Dr., Fort Tryon Park, 212-568-5323.)


• Bar Next Door at La Lanterna: Guitarist Peter Mazza both books and performs beautifully focused sets in this dim, cozy basement space. While you enjoy his harmonic intricacies, you can dine on three kinds of lasagna (pesto, bolognese or quattri formaggi), an array of brick-oven pizzas and desserts like tiramisu and even pumpkin pie. (129 MacDougal St., 212-529-5945.)


• Grasso's Restaurant: Yes, Grasso's is a fair distance from Manhattan, but if you miss Zinno's, the old Village restaurant where diners regularly enjoyed the improvisations of such luminaries as Joanne Brackeen, you'll travel the distance to Cold Spring Harbor. Singer Ernie Byrd performs with some of NYC's finest musicians, including pianists Dave Lalama and George Colligan, and bassist Noriko Ueda. The music goes down nice and smooth with a roasted garlic/goat cheese flan, 10-oz. steak and lobster dinner, and warm, cinnamony white chocolate bread pudding. (134 Main St., Cold Spring Harbor, 631-367-6060.)