(Click on the link above to download this Opening Announcement)

Summer Returns to Park Avenue
— Celebrate Sunday Evenings with Hamptons Paella and Custom-Vinted Rosé from Lieb Cellars —

New York, NY – (June 2011) Park Avenue Summer (100 East 63rd Street at Park Avenue, 212-644-1900) has returned to the Upper East Side of Manhattan, just in time to herald the season's arrival. This original concept brings to life the seasonal premise of the restaurant with a physical design, cuisine, and beverage program that completely change with the season.

Chef Kevin Lasko created the summer-inspired menu with refreshing summer cuisine, including Tomato & Watermelon Gazpacho with Avocado Spring Roll, Fried Ipswich Clams with Shore-Style Sauces, and Roasted Langoustines with Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Parsley and Lemon. In addition to the selections on the dinner menu, Chef Lasko also emphasizes the season with a special menu on a particular ingredient or theme. For this summer, the menu focuses on neighborhood favorites, Swordfish Nicoise with Haricots Verts, Cured Lemons & Farro, Mediterranean Branzino with Sauce Vierge and Summer Carbonara with Zucchini, Squash and Chanterelles.

Sunday evenings this summer will be a festive affair at the restaurant with a three-course Hamptons Paella menu paired with Lieb Cellars Park Avenue Summer Rosé for $35 per person. The Hamptons Paella will be made in the dining room in a traditional 4-foot paellera and will feature Maine lobster, native corn, and mussels.

Richard Leach, James Beard award winner, executive pastry chef, conceived a stable of summer confections that delight for their concentrated flavors and stunning presentations. For Park Avenue Summer, Leach's dessert selections include Fresh Cherries and Rice Pudding with Frozen Spiced Souffle and Caramelized Rice, Chocolate & Peppermint Trio, and Summer Peach Fritter with Buttermilk Panna Cotta and Peach Sorbet.

Michael Stillman joined forces with award-winning design firm AvroKO (Public, Stanton Social) on the concept and all aspects of architecture, design, and graphics of the restaurant. All physical components for the four Park Avenue projects were born from one key necessity: transformability. To effectively change both the mood and the architectural details of the space, several systems of receptacles were devised throughout the restaurant. Custom steel wall frames surround the space and were built to accept differing seasonal panels. These panels not only have unique materials for each season, ranging from wood, to porcelain, to mirror, but also have unique architectural details that affect the style of the space overall. AvroKO endeavored to design a space with a sense of discovery, rather than focus on creating stereotypical, physical manifestations of a "season." This led to using Captain James Cook's explorative travels as a loose design reference. The designers researched the regions he had visited in each of his major expeditions as a way of framing each season.

Summer in particular has references from the Galapagos Islands, envisioned through a classic, naturalist's lens, and then reinterpreted with a modernist's sensibilities. Forty hand-cast tortoise shells are mounted throughout the space on high gloss lacquered panels as part of a custom steel frame system that will change seasonally. Cook's original maps are utilized as a departure point for the identity, menu graphics, and wine labels. Reclaimed, whitewashed wood from a coastal town also forms portions of the ceiling planes, doors and cabinets.

Each season at the restaurant is toasted with custom blends of wine, made for the Park Avenue project by esteemed winemakers. Park Avenue Summer will be fêted with an apropos summer rosé of locally grown Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc, made for the restaurant by Lieb Cellars on the North Fork of Long Island. The wine is available for purchase from Lieb or from selected local retailers, such as Finest Kind (Montauk), Herbert and Rist (Southampton), Morrell Wines (Easthampton), and Domaine Wines (Easthampton).

The seasonal transformation of the beverage program is not limited to wines: there will also be a vodka/Champagne bar that features seasonal mixers, developed by Richard Leach, an award-winning pastry chef. For summer, the mixers will be Rhubarb-Lime, Peach with Lemon, and Lychee.

The Park Avenue wine list consists of 350 selections, drawn from wine regions around the world with a special offering of summer-inspired wines. White wines are divided into six major grape variety and style sections: Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio/Pinot Gris, Riesling, Grüner Veltliner, and Rhone-style whites. Red wines focus on two main grape varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir. The "Summer List" includes a list of rosés from France, Italy and Long Island, California and Oregon in the United States, all available by the bottle with eight by the glass. The Summer beverage program also features a selection of wheat beers that include classic wheat, summer ale and strawberry blonde. Pastry chef Richard Leach collaborated with sommelier Bryheim Al-Tayar to create two housemade sangrias: one white with peaches, lemongrass, kiwi, and blueberries and another rosé with strawberries, plums, raspberries and cherries.

Recognized by the New York Times, New York Magazine and New York Observer as one of the best new restaurants of 2007, the restaurant's phone number is 212-644-1900. The space is designed for 125 guests and has private dining rooms to accommodate 20 to 75. The Kitchen Table, located in a temperature-controlled room in the center of the kitchen, is available for private dining with a Chef's menu that highlights ingredients that are the essence of the season.

For more information on Park Avenue Summer, please contact Allison Good at 646-277-2379