From cherry blossom-inspired cocktails in New York City to dinner in a grotto in Los Cabos, the first week of May is off to a delicious start.
Courtesy Las Ventanas al Paraíso, A Rosewood Resort
Los Cabos, Mexico: Dinner in a Grotto
Starting May 1, visitors of the Las Ventanas al Paraiso can enjoy an intimate dinner set in a private grotto. The meal will be created at Arbol, the resort’s elegant seafood-focused restaurant, which relies on both the Indian tandoor and the Asian wok. (Think: five-spice scallops and stir-fry Wagyu with lemongrass.) The lushly green grotto, meanwhile, includes a bubbling oasis pool and walk-through waterfall. 52-62/4144-2800; rosewoodhotels.com.
Courtesy Hôtel Beau-Rivage Palace
Switzerland: Women-led Wine Dinner at Anne-Sophie Pic
On May 3, the three Michelin-starred chef Anne-Sophie Pic will join two female winemakers, Marie-Thérèse Chappaz and Christine Vernay, for a first-of-its-kind wine dinner at Pic’s Beau-Rivage Palace restaurant. The six-course menu, which is still in formation, will be paired with wines from Chappaz and Vernay’s vineyards. 41-21/613-3333; brp.ch.
Josh Telles
Los Angeles: APL Restaurant
The chef and barbecue aficionado Adam Perry Lang’s new Hollywood-based restaurant will be a temple dedicated to all things meat. The menu will include his signature smoked beef short ribs and steaks that are butchered and dry-aged on-site. They will be joined by locally-sourced seafood dishes, handmade pastas, and California-inspired sides like ash-cooked beets with Cara Cara oranges and leeks. Lang is personally crafting the acid-etched Damascus steel steak knives for APL’s diners to enjoy tableside. Expect a May 10 opening. aplrestaurant.com
Courtesy JW Marriott/Venice Food & Wine Festival
Venice: Food & Wine Festival
From May 3 to 6, a bevy of culinary all-stars (from James Beard Award-winning chefs Scott Conant, Melissa Kelly, and Jonathan Waxman to wine expert Anthony Giglio) will join together for a weekend of cooking demonstrations, tastings, and exceptional dining experiences at the JW Marriott Venice Resort & Spa. Located on the private island of Isola delle Rose, many of the events–including cooking with Italian caviar, a ricotta-making class, and amari cocktail workshop–will focus on Italy’s flavors, ingredients, and dishes. 39-4/1852-1300; jwvenicefoodandwine.com.
Courtesy North Fork Table & Inn
Long Island: Flavors of India Dinner at The North Fork Table & Inn
On May 6, chef Stephan Bogardus and pastry chef/co-proprietor Claudia Fleming will present a 4-course culinary homage to Bogardus’ recent travels across India. The dishes, including sweet pea masala with tamarind chutney, lamb vindaloo with spinach Kerala, and cardamom-rose labne with rhubarb and candied pistachios, will incorporate local ingredients to the globally-inspired mix. 631-765-0177; northforktableandinn.com.
Courtesy Zuma
New York City: Cherry Blossom Festival at Zuma
From now through the end of May, the Izakaya-style restaurant is celebrating Sakura Hanami (cherry blossom season) in fittingly floral style. The restaurant’s upstairs lounge is draped with more than 1,000 cascading cherry blossoms. Meanwhile, the cocktail menu features three cherry blossom-inspired cocktails–a sakura gin & tonic, a sakura bellini which mixes pear puree, blossom syrup, and prosecco, and a pink-hued sakura sour. 212-544-9862; zumarestaurant.com.