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Sure, getting there can be a challenge, especially for those wary of municipal orange ferries. But the trip out to Aesop's Tables, in Rosebank on the eastern shore of Staten Island, represents one of the city's most worthwhile odysseys. Owners Dominick Rappa and Frank Federiconi has constructed a confident and eclectic menu with plenty of seasonal surprises. Among spring entrees are a Thai-spiced red snapper topped with diced snapper ceviche, a pan-roasted beef tenderloin paired with grilled ramps, and the longtime crowd favorite, a smoky hunk of meatloaf loaded with Ben & Jerry-like chunks of wild boar sausage. If you need more reasons to make the trans-harbor trek, there's a modest selection of wines gloriously free of Manhattan markups, a casual, wicker-chaired dining room with chalkboards, French movie posters and other bistro accents, and a garden crowned by a magnificent weeping willow. — Jon Steinberg

Prince Edward Island mussels, $12; Aesop's famous meatloaf, $16