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Eat Out

Compiled by Linda Perney

May 27, 2004

View of the garden dining area of Cavo, in Astoria. (Newsday photo/ Ken Sawchuk.)

Where to get a great meal in the great outdoors.

MANHATTAN

Barbuto. When they open up the big garage-like doors, the place might as well be outdoors -- with an advantage: Even if it's raining a bit, you stay dry under the roof. Jonathan Waxman has migrated over from Fifth Avenue, and he cooks up dishes like grilled scallops with fava bean pesto, baked chicken, and marinated lamb steak. Note: the crowd is tres soigne. Alas, though, there's not much of a view. (775 Washington Street; 212-924-9700 )

La Bottega. The terrace on Ninth Avenue is a great place to while away an evening with a snappy cocktail and a good choice of salads, pastas and pizzas. For bigger appetites, there are main courses like steak or grilled sea bass or salmon. Part of the Maritime Hotel, the restaurant is open for lunch and weekend brunch -- breakfast, too. (88 Ninth Avenue; 212-243-8400)

High Bar. Atop the Gramercy Park Hotel, the place has wonderful views and a very cool vibe. While it really is a bar, there are small plates that you can fashion a meal from: crabcakes, cheese plates, baby back ribs, shrimp cocktail. Not to mention a good variety of house cocktails. (Two Lexington Avenue; 1-800 221 4083)

Jane. Indoors, the dining room is spacious and comfortably elegant. But with weather like this, the place to be is outdoors, at a table in the sidewalk cafe. People rave about the food here, although the service can be a little on the slow side. Menu standouts: roasted blue nose bass with oyster mushrooms, braised lamb shank, and as a side, green beans with almonds. For bargain hunters, there are $12 Sundays, with dishes like steamed mussels or grilled salmon, served with fries. (100 West Houston Street; 212-254-7000)

BROOKLYN

Pit Stop. The menu is French Bistro, with main courses like hanger steak, duck confit, even beef stew. But this isn't any ordinary bistro, done up with the usual Ricard pitchers and tabac signs. The theme here is racing, and the decor leans to car memorabilia. There's outdoor seating -- just don't trip over the flower-filled tires. (127 Columbia Street; 718-875-4664)

Five Front. Right under the Brooklyn Bridge, this is DUMBO's answer to the Slope's 12th Street Bar and Grill. A younger sibling to that much-loved institution, the place has shown it can welcome the locals with the same brand of friendliness, and can serve up the kind of food that keeps on bringing them back -- hanger steak with orzo, oxtail ragout , mushroom ravioli in a creamy sauce, and salmon with shrimp glaze. Add to all that a nice garden, and you're in business. (5 Front Street; 718-625-5559)

Williamsburgh Cafe. You could choose the indoor garden room or you could choose the sidewalk cafe, good for people watching. Either way, you can pick from a menu that offers dishes like braised short ribs, seared tuna, and roast chicken. Then again, you could always go for the cafe latte filet mignon, rubbed with espresso and cinnamon. (170 Wythe Avenue; 718-387-5855)

Marlow & Sons. Inside, it's a grocery store; outside, there's a sidewalk cafe. There's a full bar that serves up house cocktails, and an oyster bar that serves, in addition to the bivalves, small plates that make up nicely into a personalized dinner: braised artichoke hearts, roasted asparagus, potato tortilla, fileted sardines, and a very good chef's sandwich stacked with gravlax, cream cheese, and tomato. (81 Broadway; 718-384-1441)

BRONX

Riverdale Garden. It's in Riverdale, and yes, it has a garden. It has a chef who put in time at Lespinasse, and It has a menu that changes every day. The food is New American, and on a typical spring evening, dinner might include dishes like portobello-crusted halibut, breast of duck with rhubarb glaze, or quail with pomegranate glaze.(4574-4576 Manhattan College Parkway; 718-884-5232)

QUEENS

Cavo. With one of the prettiest gardens around, Cavo makes the most of its Greek-accented cuisine: look for grilled fish and meats. They also do a mean roast chicken. If you can't bear to go home at a reasonable hour, you can hang around and have a drink: The bar stays open late. (42-18 31st Avenue, Astoria; 718-721-1001)