And one step back: the perils of menu redesign
"Every season you have to change the card" is the no-nonsense approach of Brasserie Flo's newest chef, Bertrand Combe. And he's not alone in his preparations to forego winter's culinary seasonal affective disorder: La Fattoria, Garden of Delights and Med all intend to re-envision their menus for the warming weather. Which means we'll have to bid a temporary adieu to fuller winter favorites.

Of course we'll be seeing an increase in the fruit, veggie and fish quotient. At La Fattoria, Beijing's singular Napoli sensation, the flavorful and peppery homemade salami hanging doorside will take a hiatus until winter's chills return, so head over soon for a taste that must suffice all summer. The upside: May means olive oil season in Italy, which means all us abroad can access the best of the extra virgin.

Garden of Delight's Bao Zhang, like several other chefs, will move from a heavy winter menu to a healthier, lighter spring-summer approach. Instead of a deep-fried turbot, the fish will be lightly pan-fried on one side only. At La Fattoria, thinly-sliced fish will savor the above olive oil. Soups at all establishments will use less cream and hearty vegetables (think potato and mushroom) and Zhang intends to apply a gasification technique like that used with seltzer to whip up airy concoctions. Med has already weaned out their hearty Osso Buco for an increased focus on delicate tapas.

Brasserie Flo will also avoid heavy dishes for the heavy summer heat, offering tartars, carpaccios, a tomato gazpacho and, luckily for us, rich white asparagus from southern China. (Fingers crossed the winter snowstorms don't affect the supply of this and other produce.)

Another release from cabin fever will be outdoor dining. Customers at Med, part of the industrial-size Block 8 behemoth, can head up and out to The Beach for open-air sipping. Flo's terrace, with its lush greenery, is the perfect setting for a French garden-style experience. Order up a seafood platter with new oysters fresh from France and some chilled white wine to complete the experience.

Though a respite from the bluster might relieve your winter blues, Beijing has a ways to go before we can compete with Italy's al fresco culinary culture. Chef Niccola of La Fattoria confided that his restaurant in Napoli doesn't even have a menu—dishes are improvised once meals commence， while we here remain shackled to the menu of the month.

Manuela Zoninsein