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Five Places to Eat Along Park Avenue South

New York neighborhoods tend to run hot and cool, and right now the restaurant scene along Park Avenue South is about as hot as the city gets. An epicenter of new eateries, the stretch between 17th and 32nd Sts.—aka Gramercy/Flatiron/NoMad—is chock-a-block with tempting venues. Here are five of the best and brightest among the newish restaurants along Park Avenue South.

marta park avenue south

Lively, buzzy Marta (29 E. 29th St., 212-651-3800), the latest from popular restaurateur Danny Meyer, furnishes easygoing Italian fare in a white, columned open room; guests can sit at butcher's block tables or at a marble counter that overlooks the black-tiled ovens turning out the house specialty: exotically topped, cracker-thin-crusted pizzas.

florian park avenue south

Another Italian newcomer, Florian (225 Park Ave. So., 212-869-8800), is more of a full-blown Tuscan trattoria, offering antipasti, a burrata bar, and plenty of polenta and pasta dishes (and a vegetarian menu too, though—to be honest—any place that encourages you to top your pizza with eggs is not a place to diet). The bronze nudes decorating the green-walled, mosaic-tiled digs were sculpted by owner Shelly Fireman.

upland park avenue south

While Florian conjures up traditional caffés, Upland (345 Park Ave. So., 212-686-1006) offers a West Coast take on Italian cucina, with items like pear and pecan pesto pizza and cioppino, the classic San Francisco fish stew, alongside roasted branzino and crackling porcelet. "I'm bringing a little twist on classic California to contemporary New York," says Chef Justin Smillie of his establishment, which evokes the Golden State with natural oak furnishings, copper trimmings, and illuminated jars of preserved lemons.

park avenue winter

Many a restaurant changes its menu—and a flower arrangement or two—with the season. But at Park Avenue (360 Park Ave. So., 212-951-7111), a transplant from the Upper East Side, everything changes each quarter, from the place settings to the servers' uniforms, from the décor to the cocktails. In winter mode, for example, the place resembles a frosty-white wonderland; in the spring incarnation, a thousand flowers bloom, backdrop for dishes like rabbit Wellington and spring pea soup. What does stay constant in the airy, multi-level space is the sense of fun formality that suffuses the tableside preparations, elaborate drinks, and tongue-in-cheek dishes like the broccoli with Cheetos and chocolate cube dessert (two staples on the menu).

sarabeth's park avenue south 

Those who are familiar with Sarabeth’s (381 Park Ave. So., 212-335-0093) from its Upper East or Upper West locations might be surprised by the latest branch. In place of the familiar, country-homey surrounds is a sprawling space, with a mid-‘60s vibe (think pastel-striped upholstery, a cream-and-chocolate floor patterned with huge circles echoed in brown-and-white tape chairs and oval light fixtures, and saturated prints on natural wood walls). The menu, though, is still filled with comfort-food classics, like the addictive cream of tomato soup. And if you get a craving for pancakes or popovers mid-afternoon, nothing beats the brunch fare served until 4pm on weekends.

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