Another season of renewal is upon us. If it is your custom to observe the Easter holiday by breaking bread with loved ones and/or friends over brunch, here are some venues you might want to consider.
No menu in the city captures the spirit of springtime more completely than the one at Wallsé, in the Village. Among openers on the $110 three-course menu you will find white and green asparagus accompanied by Easter ham, radishes, and horseradish. Or choose to open your meal with spring pea soup with ricotta ravioli and a grace note of mint oil. Naturally there is lamb, and it is grilled and roasted, served with spring carrots, leek potatoes, and a wine jus. The Easter menu will be offered from noon to 7 p.m. Wallsé, 344 W 11th Street, 212-352-2300.
Easter brunch at David Burke Tavern showcases the restaurant’s most popular weekend midday meal items complemented by special Easter-inspired dishes. For those for whom Easter is incomplete without eggs, there is “pastrami salmon” (which Chef Burke invented years ago) Benedict. Other possibilities on the $75 3-course menu include wild mushroom ravioli with parmesan and crispy sage moistened by a beurre noisette and lamb “two ways” — as roasted chops and a mini shepherd’s pie. A second brunch menu with its own host of enticements will be available on Easter at the Tavern’s sister restaurant, Park Ave Kitchen by David Burke. David Burke Tavern, 135 E 62nd St., 212-988-9021.
There’s no law that says you have to celebrate Easter on dry land — not when there’s an “Easter signature brunch cruise” awaiting you at Pier 61. Underwritten by City Cruises, the two-hour excursion includes feasts both for the eyes and belly, the latter a brunch buffet featuring a dozen or so dishes, among them birria-style chicken and hand-carved tri-tip steak with caramelized onions and a balsamic beef jus. A special visit by the Easter Bunny should delight any children in your party. Prices for the Easter cruise begin at $110. City Cruises, Pier 61, Chelsea Piers, W. 23rd Street and Twelfth Avenue.
Leuca, the restaurant inside the William Vale Hotel in Williamsburg, is offering an exciting two-fer to families who choose to enjoy brunch there on Saturday, Apr. 19. After a sumptuous á la carte meal, guests will be invited to take part in an egg hunt across the 15,000-square-foot Vale Park. Leuca, 111 N. 12th Street, Brooklyn.
At Docks Oyster Bar in Midtown the watchwords this Easter brunch are simple but appealing. Highlights of the five-item holiday menu include crab cake Benedict, seared ahi tuna bowl with sushi rice and a sesame ginger ponzu, and avocado toast with poached egg adorned with heirloom cherry tomato, burrata, and pepitas. Docks Oyster Bar, 633 Third Avenue, 212-986-8080.
The Nomad trattoria Scarpetta will be serving a somewhat unorthodox brunch on Easter that begins with a cocktail hour, proceeds to a round of light bites, and finally concludes with a full brunch accompanied by live music. Dishes, which include a baby gem salad, brioche French toast, frittata, and ravioli cacio e pepe are served family-style, as are desserts: carrot cake and Easter egg chocolate bon bons. The price is $75 per person. Scarpetta, 88 Madison Avenue, New York, 212-691-0555.
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