"At Aviary, chef Sarah Pliner's menu is small, seasonal, and excellent. She has consummate French technique (she's worked at both Alain Ducasse at the Essex House and Aquavit), but she's also inventive. The tempura green beans arrive in a mess of green curry; the hamachi comes with shaved rhubarb, fava beans, coconut, and avocado sorbet. Desserts, including a chocolate-miso-coffee ice cream with caramel, Rice Krispies, and sea salt, are so good they're worth the trip alone. In what's perhaps a sign of the diversely influenced meal to come, Aviary feels more Asian than French. On sunny, warm evenings, you can sit outside on the patio, a vibrant and buzzing space that fills quickly." - Hannah Wallace
John Valls/Courtesy Aviary
