In addition to having a food-obsessed brain, I am also something of a completist. So after eating at Park Avenue Spring I knew I had to eat at the restaurant year-round. Then we had an underwhelming meal at Park Avenue Summer, and I wavered. Was it worth going back just to have another mediocre meal at fine dining prices? I found myself drawn back for lunch, by myself, on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving (part of the draw was that the restaurant was about to switch over to Winter and I started to regret not visiting Autumn). I gorged myself on food that felt surprisingly summery, like the fig carpaccio above. Thinly sliced figs, chilled, covered in hoja santa goat cheese and smoked almonds (plus the ubiquitous micro-greens) came together in a rich, addictive dish that didn’t remind me of autumn at all but was unmistakably delicious.

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