Just like asparagus has a season, so does eating out at restaurants and that season is now.

Sure, it’s lovely to walk into a little French bistro on a snowy day in the dead of winter, but it’s also lovely to cook soup at home in the dead of winter. Not so in the summer. In the summer, turning on the stove seems like an act of self-harm. Which is why we’ve been eating out at restaurants a lot this past week.

On Tuesday, we met up with our pal Jesse Tyler Ferguson, host of Dinner’s on Me, at Via Carota in the West Village.

Via Carota used to be something of a secret in the food world, but now that Taylor Swift’s been there, the secret’s out. And the food probably doesn’t need to be as good as it is, but it’s still excellent. Like this raw tuna with white beans? Decadent and refreshing:

We also loved their signature carrots which are roasted, marinated, and then served on top of some kind of whipped dairy (ricotta?):

The best, though, is the pasta. We shared three and my favorite was the tagliatelle with peas and prosciutto. I thought the prosciutto would be cooked in with the pasta but instead it was draped over the top; very chic: