After closing for renovation at the end of 2013, the seasonal themed Park Avenue restaurant had relocated from its Upper East location to Park Ave South, near Madison Square Park. Its décor and menu will still be changing seasonally. On a warm December Sunday, we head to the new Park Ave Winter for Brunch ($32/pp). The winter décor was white, bright and elegant.
Spacious dining room with tall ceiling was divided into two levels. On one side, huge windows let in plenty of light; the other was furnished with cozy booths. Dry tree branches hanging upside down, with the white/clear globe lights hanging, it feels like a winter wonderland with snowflakes slowly falling.
To start, I had a “Winter Citruscello Bellini” from the blend your own bellini selection. It is refreshing, sweet with some sort of seed floating with the bubbles. It is eyes pleasing and unique.
Cinnamon rolls came in a little cast-iron pan, warm, fluffy and soft. I normally steer away from the frosting. The word frosting to me indicates it would be too sweet, too artificially sweet with a lot of sugar. But this cream cheese frosting was light, and the sweetness was just about right. The portions of our appetizers were very generous. It could have been an entrée portion at some other places, especially for pre fixed brunch. The salmon bucatini was creamy, wasabi caviar was clearly for decoration, and it did add an extra texture. I also really appreciate the crunchiness of bread crumb in contrast to the pasta and soft salmon.
Steak hash was surprisingly light and crispy. My partner in crime felt there was a bit too much bell pepper. My sunny side egg with polenta (French for risotto) was heartwarming and delicious, although I would like a little more mushrooms in it.
Dessert was not part of the pre fixe, it was on the house (THANK YOU!!!:)). “Winter White” looked just as it’s named. Big scoop of homemade vanilla ice-cream in a sundae glass, topped with popcorn and a white mocha sauce poured over it. Although it sounded sweet with the white mocha sauce, it wasn’t overwhelming, and was absolutely delightful. The salty popcorn gave it a crunchy contrast and perfect balance.
However, my biggest surprise coconut cake at the very bottom of the sundae. It was a hidden gem, you won’t get to it till the very end. In Chinese, there is a saying “Treasures always sink to the very bottom”, and this is the perfect example. The only suggestion I have was may be add another thin layer of coconut cake in the middle of the ice-cream? since I love it so much. All in all, this brunch was of great value. Great place to spent a Sunday morning/afternoon. Great selections, and just overall good fool.
Park Ave was awarded with a Michelin Star before it closed in 2013, hopefully it won’t be long before it regains its star. (Dec, 2014)
- Park Ave Winter slideshow–
