Le Jardinier‘s story is a sadly familiar one. The vegetable-forward Michelin-starred restaurant, which opened in May 2019, closed less than a year later (guess why). Today a new chapter in the restaurant’s history begins with its official reopening.
The airy space the restaurant calls home is filled with greenery, evoking a greenhouse, and Culinary Director Alain Verzeroli’s refined food seems almost designed to fit the setting. Think grilled bigeye tuna, accompanied by roasted cauliflower and a yuzu vinaigrette. If that’s not veggie-centric enough for you, opt for marinated heirloom beets with smoked labneh, pomegranate, and lime.
If you’ve eaten all your veggies by the time dessert rolls around, you’re entitled to something decadent. The house obliges with sweets that lean heavily into chocolate. Witness a Valrhona Guanaja dark chocolate crémeux with salty caramel sabayon.
Le Jardinier, 610 Lexington Avenue (at 53rd St.), 212-451-9211.
A First Taste of Winter
For a while there, Sunday supper was a hot ticket item in New York. Then the flame under the Sunday gravy went out.
But now, as a winter that promises to be as brutally cold as the summer was brutally hot approaches, one local restaurant is seeking to rekindle it. On Sundays the newly opened Parma Nuova will be serving up its rib-sticking lasagna, which features a ragout of both beef and veal, a béchamel sauce (Parma, mind you, is in the North), and a top layer of browned and bubbly parmesan.
Parma Nuova, 1404 Third Avenue (bet. 79th and 80th Sts.), 212-535-3520.
