Park Avenue Summer/Autumn/Winter/Spring

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Park Avenue Summer/Autumn/Winter/Spring Review

New York's most self-consciously seasonal restaurant swaps out much more than its menu as temperatures change. Four times a year the restaurant—the formerly staid Park Avenue Café—shuts its doors for a head-to-toe makeover, switching, for instance, from a summery blond-wood beach-house motif to dark-wood-and-copper fall-foliage tones. Chef Craig Koketsu's seasonal food lives up to the striking surroundings. Summer brings a bounty of fresh-shucked corn, with a big, juicy veal chop and heirloom tomatoes. Come autumn the kitchen turns its focus to mushrooms, truffles (on a flaky halibut fillet accompanied by a brioche-crusted poached egg), and game (local quail, big venison chops scattered with pomegranate and pumpkin seeds). Desserts, by award-winning pastry chef Richard Leach, include hard-to-resist elegant creations like sweet-corn ice cream with rhubarb, warm caramel, and popcorn.