Easter Sunday falls on April 24th this year, so hippety-hop on over to any of these appetizing dining options. Scroll down further for home-cooking ideas with rabbit and goat!
In the Italian tradition of celebrating with an early family dinner, ~A16~ will be open from 3pm-9pm with some special Neapolitan Pasqua dishes from chef David Taylor added to the dinner menu, such as rabbit legs all’Ischitana, Watson Farms lamb shoulder, and minestra di Pasqua with chicken and pork meatballs. Pastry chef Candace Rowan will be baking the traditional pastiera cake, and Shelley Lindgren will have some great wines selected for the meal.
~PROSPECT~ is serving their first Easter brunch from 11am-3pm, and dinner from 5:30pm-9:30pm. Some of the mouth-watering items on chef Ravi Kapur’s special brunch menu are the pot de foie with kumquat marmalade, and brioche toast ($14); Dungeness crab cake with chard, hollandaise, and home fries ($18); and roast of local lamb with mashed potatoes, English peas, mint, and lamb jus ($22). How perfect, hot crossed buns are on the menu too.
Brunch-favorite ~FOREIGN CINEMA~is offering a market-fresh three-course Easter brunch menu with options for each course. Seatings 10:30am-2:30pm; $45/adult, $15/child (excluding tax and gratuity). Reservations are recommended, 415-648-7600.
Easter brunch at SEASONS in the Four Seasons Hotel will be served from 11am-4pm, and executive chef Mark Richardson’s three-course menu will include choices like housemade artichoke ravioli with fiddlehead ferns and heirloom radish; California halibut with asparagus, green garlic gnocchi, housemade bacon, cured tomato, and a soft poached egg “emulsion”; and Brandt Farms strip loin with roasted, smoked baby yukon gold potato confit, grilled ramps, fava beans, and pickled rhubarb. $85/person; $35/child 5 to 12 years of age; excluding tax and gratuity. Always keepin’ it classy, the restaurant will have live piano music.
~SILKS~ will be keepin’ it kid-friendly (Easter egg hunt!) and parent-friendly (bottomless build-your-own-Champagne-cocktail bar). The complimentary Easter egg hunt will take place twice (noon and 2pm) on the second floor, with a basket provided for each egg hunter. The Easter Bunny will hop in for photo ops, and photographs will be emailed to families at no charge. Silks’ new à la carte brunch will include Asian-inspired small plates, traditional breakfast favorites, and hearty large plates. $55/adult; $32/child. Book reservations through OpenTable or call 415-986-2020.
BUTTERFLY will serve an extensive Easter buffet with items like kim chee and bacon deviled eggs, Bloody Mary oyster shooter, smoked salmon and strawberry salad rolls, kalua pig and lettuce cups, and a sundae bar or crème brûlée for dessert. Entrée choices include horseradish-crusted angus prime rib with stuffed spring vegetables, mache salad, cabernet jus de veau; turmeric grilled snapper with chilled rice noodles, “nuoc mam” sauce, butter lettuce wraps; and a vegetarian bento box with curried sweet potato, bok choy and tofu stir fry, tempura vegetables. Oh, and did we mention the Champagne mimosa and Bloody Mary bar? $59, tax and tip not included.
BAR BAMBINO’s Easter brunch (11am-3pm) will pay tribute to la Festa di Pasqua in Italy with executive chef Lizzie Binder serving a brunch menu highlighting classic spring recipes of the Tyrolean and Friulian regions. The three-course prix-fixe feast includes options such as a pea, artichoke, and green garlic Easter pie; buckwheat waffles with mascarpone and elderberry syrup; a lamb shank and barley braise with a riced egg and torn mint; horseradish crusted steelhead with roasted Easter radish and fava beans; and dolci like housemade pizzelle with seasonal sorbetto, and potica of poppy seeds, walnuts, and honeycomb. $45 (beverages, tax and gratuity not included). Call 415-701- 8466 or email for reservations.
Is your Easter in the East Bay? FIVE restaurant in Berkeley will be offering brunch from 10am-2pm. Executive chef Banks White’s brunch menu includes oven-roasted ham with country red eye pan gravy; duck confit enchiladas with salsa verde, avocado, and lime crème fraîche; and sweets like a pecan sticky bun with salted caramel, and cinnamon rolls with chocolate and housemade marshmallows. $55/person, including bottomless mimosas, excluding tax and tip.
~PICÁN~ in Oakland will be offering a buffet-style brunch, which will include one glass of Champagne mimosa or orange juice. Chef Dean Duuris will have a meat-carving station, delectable beignets, and other Southern sweets. $39.95/adult; $19.95/child 6-12; 5 and under free.
For those who want to cook for themselves this Easter, snap up an Easter Rabbit CSA from 4505 MEATS before they’re gone! Each CSA is quite the bounty—it’s the equivalent of one whole rabbit, plus sausage and other goodies. The rabbits come from local California farms Devil’s Gulch Ranch in Marin, and Jones Farm in Santa Rosa. Each CSA will feed 4-6, and will be comprised of parsley, lemon, and shallot-marinated rabbit leg; rabbit loin wrapped in belly with olives and herbs; rabbit shoulder confit on the bone; rabbit and pork sausage, white wine, green garlic; homemade peeps for the kid in all of us; tasty treats from Local Mission Eatery; pickled eggs; rabbit stock; and romesco sauce. Pickup Friday April 22nd from 12pm-2pm at Local Mission Eatery, or Saturday April 23rd from 8am-2pm at 4505 Meats’s Ferry Plaza Farmers Market booth. $75.
Another option for those who want to make a hands-on Easter meal (especially those who eat by Mediterranean traditions for Easter) is to join Dave the Butcher and UKSF for a butchery workshop on breaking down whole goat. Appropriate for beginners, as well as those wishing to hone their knife skills, the class will have participants break down a goat from start to finish. Participants also take home a boning knife, the meat they butcher, and recipes. Class limited to 16 participants, $95. Wednesday April 13th, 5:30pm-7:30pm, in the CUESA Dacor Teaching Kitchen at the Ferry Plaza.
