Krieger, 3/30/08
Here to prove that spring has finally arrived, no matter what the temp is outside, we have Park Avenue Spring the latest iteration of the literally seasonal restaurant. Just last week it existed as a cold and bleak, yet pretty, homage to the dark winter months. Over a 48 hour period the designers at AvroKO replaced the gray with green, the bare branches with floral arrangements, and voila— spring.
Along with the design transformation, which according to a press release was inspired by "Captain James Cook’s explorative travels", chef Craig Koketsu made all the appropriate spring-oriented menu changes. The local crops probably can't support the menu—with its "contemporary classic dishes"—just yet, but for now we can think its reliance on 'spring chickens' and asparagus as a harbinger of things to come. And as far as the critics go, a number of them already visited the restaurant in its earlier forms, so it isn't exactly Bruni-bait anymore. Yet the place still merits attention for the AvroKO handiwork. Further reading here and here.