Posts Tagged ‘Ocean Prime’

Break out Your Easter Bonnets for a Festive Easter Celebration in New York City

We might be together as a family this year, but maybe not. Still, there’s every reason to celebrate Easter and the arrival of spring. Here are some ways to make sure you have a sweet holiday with zoom classes, Easter brunches and sweets for every taste.

Enjoy an Easter Brunch with Your Family

NYC restaurants are back in business and are celebrating this year with wonderful Easter brunches. The range of international dining options and the choice to dine indoors or outdoors add a new dimension to this holiday tradition.

Bar Room at the Beekman Courtesy Crafted Hospitality

The Bar Room at the Beekman

From the team behind Tom Colicchio’s Temple Court comes a classically influenced multi-course Easter brunch that’s purely American.  The Bar Room at the Beekman’s first brunch since the return of indoor dining highlights a spring menu from Matthew Dahlkemper and Abby Swain with savory cheddar biscuits, caviar deviled eggs, braised Colorado lamb shank, smoked salmon benedicts & more.

Courtesy The Osprey

The Osprey

At the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge, in an airy garden setting, The Osprey has cooked up farm-to-table Easter specials with choices reflecting the global nature of New York City. It’s a tour around the world with the likes of the Osprey’s Nest (poached pasture -raised egg, kadaifi, smoked sablefish, lemon crème fraiche and caviar), chitarra carbonara or rhubarb Pavlova with mascarpone sabayon. The menu comes with a bonus — you can walk over the Brooklyn Bridge when you’re done, so the calories come free of charge.

Courtesy Amali

Amali

Your celebration at Amali is a double Easter fête as it includes a treat for Greek Easter as well.  The Mediterranean-inspired Upper East Sider is all about spring with specials like asparagus salad with a soft boiled red egg, leg of lamb, and ricotta pie with candied lemon and lavender. The bonus is koulourakia, a traditional Greek Easter cookie.

Courtesy La Goulue

La Goulue

A few blocks away, La Goulue adds a French flourish to brunch, as conceived by award-winning Executive Chef Antoine Camin. The special prix fixe menu begins with a patisserie selection of croissants, chocolatines, lemon cake and raisin Danish. The menu itself is a mélange of French and traditional with Easter specials including smoked salmon “Maison,” French toast on brioche, and Croque Monsieur.

Courtesy Via Vai

Via Vai

Astoria’s Via Vai invites you to enjoy an Italian Easter with a four-course prix fixe menu by chef-owner Antonio Morichini. Start with baked eggs with porcini mushroom and fontina cheese, for example, followed by a traditional secondo of pasta. Since lamb is traditional for Easter, order the pappardelle with lamb ragù and, for your main, the scottaditto alla Romana. For dessert, Morichini’s bombolone — sweet Italian donuts filled with vanilla pastry cream — will have you saying grazie mille.

Courtesy Ocean Prime

Ocean Prime

Ocean Prime has an at-home kit should you choose to stay home, but the special Easter brunch at the midtown location might be more of a temptation. Putting a spin on classic American brunch favorites, the in-restaurant menu includes lobster toast, blackened salmon salad, crab and eggs hollandaise, or French toast for something sweet. Known for its innovative cocktails, Ocean Prime serves an Easter-perfect blood orange mimosa to accompany your meal.

Stay Home with the Family

Courtesy Zoom & Bloom

Zoom & Bloom

There may not be an extravagant Easter bonnet parade to watch but Zoom & Bloom has a different idea for a hands-on family activity. You’ll receive a beautiful box of assorted flowers in preparation for a zoom workshop led by NYC floral designer Rebecca Merritt. Everyone can arrange a bloom to make a gorgeous Easter centerpiece.

Courtesy Institute of Culinary Education

ICE

The Institute of Culinary Education will help you ramp up your cooking skills with a Spring Easter Dinner virtual cooking class. Family members, whether in the same room or not, can all participate as Chef Sue Gonsalves demonstrates how to make roast rack of lamb, potato gratin and asparagus with lemon vinaigrette. Attendees will receive recipes and ingredient and equipment lists in advance.

Courtesy Bubby’s

Bubby’s

You could go to Bubby’s in Tribeca to enjoy Chef Ron Silver’s homestyle brunch with sourdough pancakes, Easter ham and his famous pies, but why not turn the pie experience into an at-home activity for all? Bubby’s DIY pie kits come with frozen pie dough, apple or sour cherry filling, a disposable pie tin and a fluted pastry wheel, everything you need to make your own Easter sweet.

Chocolate Eggs, Sprinkles and Sweets

Courtesy Venchi

Venchi

International chocolate sensation Venchi Fine Italian Chocolates has a gift for you for Easter: if you stop by their boutique in Union Square or Columbus Circle, you’ll get a tasting of three of their mini Easter eggs on Easter weekend. True chocoholics will love this place and you’d be remiss if you didn’t take some of their gorgeous (and huge) chocolate eggs home with you. Did I mention that there’s a chocolate waterfall in the downtown shop?

Courtesy Magnolia Bakery

Magnolia Bakery

Everyone goes crazy for Magnolia Bakery‘s cupcakes, but their Easter ones might just be the cutest you’ve ever seen. The special holiday “cupcake dozen” are classic vanilla and chocolate cupcakes done up with pastel buttercream frosting with festive Easter decorations.

Courtesy DO Cookie Dough

DO Cookie Dough

Another contender for most creative Easter sweet treat, DO Cookie Dough’s “Easter taster” is a beautifully packaged two- pack of their classic, safe-to-eat flavors. Divide the packs and share all the great flavors — each one comes with three jars of edible cookie dough with irresistible recipes like cake batter, sugar cookie and gimme s’more.

Courtesy Chip City

Chip City

Gourmet cookie company, Chip City is offering a colorful Easter special that’s sure to sell out early. All ages will love the “Bunny Funfetti,” vanilla sugar cookies mixed with rainbow sprinkles and topped with bunny sprinkles – they’re an Instagram natural.

Courtesy Citarella

Citarella

If all the chocolate, cookie and pie conversation has made you yearn for something that’s not overly sweet, food market Citarella has an option for you too. Their Easter-style buttery Challah bread has just a hint of sugar – it’s decorated with dyed eggs and topped with colorful sprinkles.

For Something Completely Different

Courtesy of The Standard, High Line

The Standard

Play bingo for at The Standard in the Meatpacking District. At 8pm on Easter Sunday, The Standard Biergarten will host a special “Naughty Bunny Bingo” at Not Your Standard Bingo, with games, bunny-themed costumes and an array of colorful shots for guests to win with their bingo successes. The menu is equally fun with a variety of specialty cocktails, punch bowls and “bingo bites” like Korean fried chicken, shrimp spring rolls and fish tacos. Reserve in advance so you won’t be disappointed.

Where to Watch the TONYS in Manhattan on Sunday

Last year I was fortunate to attend the TONY Awards at Radio City Music Hall.  This year I’ll join my fellow Broadway fans at two special TONY viewing parties happening in Manhattan on Sunday.

Both are fabulous ways to kick off this theater-filled evening with drinks, bites, and some entertainment prior to and during the event. The 71st telecast of the TONY events is scheduled for 8pm.

Just around the corner from Radio City Music Hall, where the TONYs are being hosted by Kevin Spacey, Ocean Prime New York is holding a party in the Lounge starting at 7:30pm.

Photography courtesy of ICRAVE

The restaurant’s runway-ready TONY Awards cocktail menu is perfect for the occasion.  Select a drink according to your predictions for each category. How about a 21st-century East European influenced “Natasha, Pierre & the Ruby Comet of 1812,” made with fresh ruby red grapefruit, Finlandia grapefruit vodka, and lemon?

Or the delicate but edgy “Dear Evan Hansen Margarita,” a mix of Don Julio blanco tequila, elderflower, ruby red grapefruit and agave nectar.

Both would make a nice prelude and encore with their base of ruby red grapefruit. And both honor two serious contenders for Best Musical. When it’s time to celebrate the winners, the dramatic “Berries and Bubbles” cocktail in a Champagne glass is as festive as it gets. Get your video camera ready!

When you arrive, fill out an awards ballot with your Broadway predictions, and you just might win a $150 gift card to the restaurant.  No reservations are required.  Ocean Prime New York, 123 West 52nd Street. https://www.ocean-prime.com/locations/new-york-city

Broadway meets cabaret at the Yotel Hotel, at the edge of the Theater Row. The Green Room 42 cabaret will be throwing their own TONY viewing party bash, substituting purple lights for the red carpet. Hosted by Broadway “personality” Lesli Margherita (Dames at Sea, Matilda the Musical, Man of La Mancha) along with Lauren Molina of The Skivvies, the party here starts one hour earlier at 6:30pm. For $99, you get an open bar, passed hors d’oeuvres (burger sliders, falafel bites, tomato & mozzarella, and more) and entertainment by Ms. Margherita and Ms. Molina.  Pre-show and commercial break entertainment will also include contests, prizes and theater fun. With these two ladies, you can expect a truly outrageous evening! Tickets: www.thegreenroom42.com. A full dinner menu is also available, a la carte. 570 Tenth Avenue.

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