9 Dishes That Highlight The Flavors of Fall

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Restaurants across the country have embraced the fall season with hearty, comforting dishes featuring warming spices and seasonal ingredients like root vegetables, squash and apples. From squash carpaccio to a warm apple fritter topped with a housemade cider syrup, here are some standout plates that truly capture the essence of fall.

“Carrot Roasted Like Meat” from LH Rooftop in Chicago

In line with the restaurant’s menu of reimagined American cuisine highlighting locally-sourced ingredients, this vegetable-forward dish created by executive chef Jacob Verstegen features the humble carrot as its star ingredient. When asked about the dish’s inspiration, Verstegen said, “This dish was kind of serendipitous in how it came about.”

“I was trying to make a carrot dish that really nailed the intense carrot flavor while also adding the rich flavors of a long, drawn-out roasting process,” Verstegen explained. "I decided on honey, almonds, cardamom and butter, and after a little research something jumped out about all of the sugars in these ingredients caramelizing at 300 degrees Fahrenheit. After some experimenting, I found that by using the carrot in a pan of butter with the other ingredients, I could control the temperature of everything and bring it very slowly to that caramelization stage and really meld all the flavors together.”

Verstegen finishes the dish by using the remaining butter in the pan to create a bearnaise-style sauce and the almonds go into a crumble which adds texture.

Squash tartine from Scout PNW in Seattle

This fall tartine is packed with several types of squash, each of which executive chef Derek Simcik prepares using a different technique to create an interesting dish with contrasting flavors and textures. “The inspiration behind the dish was taking a standout fall ingredient such as all the different varieties of squash and using them in different textures and techniques to highlight each type – from butternut and acorn to kabocha squash,” said Simcik. “The squash bread is butternut squash with a Szechuan spice mix to season it, and the whipped squash is roasted acorn squash with miso butter, which is then juiced and stabilized with gelatin and charged in an iSi container. We then top it with roasted cubed squashes (a mix of all three types) and sheets of butternut squash puréed with cream cheese, set with a type of gelatin powder and dehydrated."

Squash carpaccio from Santina in NYC

Major Food Group’s breezy Italian restaurant below the High Line serves a vegetarian twist on a dish traditionally made with raw meat or fish. It's both vibrant on the plate and the palate. “Often when we think of the fall season and the chillier weather, we look for deep and savory flavors that are also comforting,” said executive chef Ashley Eddie. “Our squash carpaccio is exactly that: warm, complex and comforting with a bit of sweetness thanks to the honey agrodolce and zestiness from pink peppercorns.”

Lobster with pumpkin and whey from Ferris in NYC

Surf and turf meets fine dining with this dish created by executive chef Greg Proechel, who grills the lobster tail on a yakitori grill, brushing it with a butter made using the guts and seeds of a kabocha squash. The rest of the squash is smoked in bay leaves and thyme for a delicately infused flavor, then lightly warmed in the squash butter. The dish is finished with a sprinkling of an herbed crumble composed of toasted pumpkin seeds, anise and cured orange rind, plus a whey monté.

Maple-smoked rainbow trout from Hatchet Hall in Los Angeles

At this warm wood-fired kitchen in Culver City, offerings (which change daily) highlight old American cooking techniques and ingredients sourced via relationships with local farmers and purveyors. Chef-owner Brian Dunsmoor describes this dish – served with Tehachapi rye pancakes, apple butter, smoked maple syrup and soured cream – as “more American than we are.”

“The inspiration for the dish comes from an old Native American technique," said Dunsmoor. "The natives of the Pacific Northwest cured salmon and trout in big leaf maple sugar before smoking them over alderwood in small teepees made of hide or bark. We cure red rainbow trout with salt and maple then smoke it in our wood-burning fireplace with almond wood. The pancakes are made from fresh Tehachepi rye that we mill into a flour in-house."

Warm autumn squash from Grand Army Tavern in Portland

Served at a restaurant run by a husband-and-wife team that's named after the Brooklyn subway stop where the pair met for their first date, this dish reflects the restaurant’s commitment to sustainable food. Locally sourced squash is paired with a smear of tahini, yogurt, house-pickled peppers and brown butter.

“We are fortunate to have so many varieties of squash and vegetables available to us through small, family-run urban farms nearby,” said chef and co-owner George Kaden, formerly of Hearth in NYC. “These squashes are from Lil’ Starts farm; only two miles away from Grand Army but still within Portland proper.”

Apple fritter from Brooklyn Cider House in NYC

This Brooklyn restaurant makes its own craft ciders, which are used to make the apple cider syrup generously drizzled over this craveworthy dessert featuring a warm apple fritter served alongside vanilla ice cream. "Our apple fritter dessert features Cortland apples wrapped in vanilla batter and served with vanilla ice cream,” said Peter Yi, co-founder, head cidermaker and chef at Brooklyn Cider House. “We wanted to feature Cortland apples because they're a beautiful apple for cooking that has a soft, velvety texture when baked. The Cortland apple variety was actually developed in 1898 and was very popular for over a hundred years, but is not often used today."

Roasted Italian butternut squash pie from Craft in Los Angeles

This elevated twist on a fall classic is made with roasted Italian butternut squash, topped with pine nuts for a bit of crunch and served with Parmigiano-Reggiano ice cream. “The roasted Italian butternut squash is my take on a classic pumpkin pie,” said pastry chef Shannon Swindle (a 2017 James Beard Outstanding Pastry Chef semifinalist).

“Every week, I stop by the Windrose Farm stall at the Santa Monica Farmers Market,” said Swindle. “Bill and Barbara Spencer (the farmers behind Windrose) have consistently excellent produce and I always look forward to the fall when their butternut squash comes in. The flavor is unreal and the squash gets roasted before it goes into the pie.” On the dessert’s finishing touches, Swindle explained, “I was thinking about the savory ways we eat butternut squash and was inspired to go in that direction for dessert.”

Pumpkin donuts from Goldenrod Pastries in Lincoln

This tempting treat is vegan and gluten-free, as this boutique pastry shop in Lincoln, Nebraska, caters to those with allergies and dietary restrictions. These donuts are made with fresh pumpkin, fine rice flour, maple syrup and coconut oil, and dipped into a Persian-spiced sugar that’s a mix of black pepper, cinnamon, cardamom and superfine sugar.

“I always like to mix up a classic when I can – and I love the classic Middle Eastern spice mix of cardamom and black pepper,” said owner and head pastry chef Angela Garbacz. “I love the crunch you first get when you bite into this donut, then the chewy, slightly sweet interior, and finally, the spice that hits the back of your tongue.”