Tasting Spring

Almond, Bridgehampton
“Spring-estrone”, a riff on the more wintery minestrone soup, heralds the new season at Almond in Bridgehampton. “This is our first look at green after dealing with cabbage, sweet potatoes, and roots,” says chef/co-founder Jason Weiner who makes a beautiful bright green broth with spring beans, English peas, and asparagus. “Spring is all about the color green. My holy trinity is English peas, asparagus and ramps. These things are easily available and I have a weirdo forager who comes down from upstate with 20 pounds of ramps the last week of March and again in mid-April. Artichokes were on the menu when we first opened and come back every spring. We usually throw a lamb on the menu, maybe a lamb belly porchetta or a braise with beans. And we’ll start getting black sea bass, porgy, and fluke.” On the sweet side, “strawberries and rhubarb come up about the same time in April.” For the cocktail program, he says “we start working rhubarb into the mixture.” The vibe is always lively at Almond set against the background of red jumping zebra Scalamandre wallpaper.

Nick & Toni’s, East Hampton
“Spring is an exciting time of year,” says Joe Realmuto, executive chef of Honest Man Company (the group that includes Nick & Toni’s). “We can’t wait to see ramps, spring onions, and asparagus.”  Spring lamb and local fluke have also been pleasing crowds at Nick & Toni’s for over 25 years. “I love spring lamb chops or a ragout with white wine and no tomatoes with fresh fava beans on our house made pappardelle.”  Fluke crudo is garnished with  pickled radish, Calabrian chili, and Sorento lemon. A more surprising protein is rabbit. “One of my spring favorites is grilled rabbit,” Realmuto says explaining that he likes to marinate this light meat with fresh basil and niçoise olives and serve it with spring beans, pancetta and pea greens all sautéed together. “I call some of these dishes that chefs and foodies like to eat sleepers,” he says. More commonly accepted dishes are shaved garden asparagus, wild arugula, fennel and pecorino Romano with garden honey vinaigrette and pan seared halibut with fava beans, spring onions, pea greens, and lemon aioli. Desserts in the shoulder season feature strawberries on zabaglione and strawberry rhubarb tarts. The restaurant has a half-acre garden out back that supplies more produce during the growing season.

Pierre’s, Bridgehampton
Diners may be sitting at Pierre’s outdoor tables on Main Street in Bridgehampton but they can easily buy into the fantasy promoted on the website that the “elegant, chic, yet casual” restaurant is “St Barth, Buzios, St Tropez and Jose Ignacio all in one place.” Just imagine hopping on Pierre Weber’s little yellow and red sailboat logo. A glass of crémant says cheers!  It’s always lobster salad and tuna tartar weather in some hemisphere. Those are popular springtime dishes here along with white asparagus from Alsace with a shallot vinaigrette. And you can never go wrong with the moules frites—emphasis on those addictive crisp thin French fries. Dessert classics include chocolate mousse and profiteroles. The menu and the wine list are trés French. The restaurant serves brunch or lunch and dinner seven days a week as it has since 2002. 

Flora, Westhampton Beach
Flora’s white exterior with blue shutters and patio dining seems to speak spring. And so does its airy dining room with natural textures and botanical elements from woven chairs and wood floors to sculptural lights fixtures that bloom overhead like garden flowers. Brunch is popular with dishes such as Crab Cake Benedict, Flora’s coastal spin on the brunch classic and the Vegetable Tartine served on toasted pumpernickel with layers of garlic herb goat cheese, caramelized shallots, roasted mushrooms, assorted squash and poached eggs. Yes, there’s a signature Bloody Mary with that. Dinner delivers seared scallops with roasted corn, smoky chorizo, and candied Fresno peppers; sweet basil chicken with spring succotash, Israeli couscous, and a light lemon basil jus; and pan-seared branzino with parsnip puree and arugula/fennel salad. A creative cocktail program features the Lavender Fizz which combines lavender-infused vodka, blueberries, house sour and soda; the Fig and Thyme Mule layers fig puree, lime, ginger beer, and thyme with vodka

Beverly Stephen writes about food, travel, design, and lifestyle. She is co-owner of Flavor Forays, a culinary travel company.