Spring weekend, bite by bite

The first spring weekend refreshes your appetite.

Not that you have to be out there foraging for fiddlehead ferns. Just find a comfortable place where you can say goodbye to dark stews and darker brews.

One way to get in the mood is to nibble on the torta primavera at Arturo's in Floral Park. The torta is a multi-layered mouthful of crepes with vegetables, cheeses and cured meats. It's a picnic on a plate at a very reliable eatery. You could get a head start on summer with angel hair al pesto, here finished with goat cheese.

And to complete an Italianate trifecta: Jonathan's in Huntington, where lively salads are a tasty way to precede the house's first-class pastas. The cucumber-and-radish combo with white anchovies; and the Amalfitana, with radishes, fennel, oranges, arugula and a citrus vinaigrette, all getting a boost from sea scallops.

Actually, a week in Amalfi itself sounds good right now.