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“Calliope”

Occasion:	Cuisine:	Area:	Cost:	Rating:
Night Out	New American	East Village	Moderate	Great

derland.

The fun begins with the bread service. Sure they could’ve just served a nice loaf with good creamery butter and coarse sea salt. That would’ve been fine. But they don’t. Instead, here’s what you get: great country bread cut into bite size hunks, slathered with anchovy butter, and run under the broiler, served alongside assorted sliced radishes. Now that’s a prelude.

The good times continue with appetizers. A special the night we were in, which is a popular staple at brunch (not surprisingly), is the house-smoked sable fish. It’s a lightly smoked filet, pale pearl in color, something the folks at Russ & Daughters would swoon over, served in generous slices over pickled beets, and a schmear of sour cream and chives, all piled on a thick cut slice of toast. This is an appetizer that should have every New York Jew in the nation lining up for seconds. There should be an express bus from Miami up to 4th Street for the stuff. I was texting my dad, who lives on the Upper East Side, after the first bite. “DAD! Come to down to Calliope for smoked sable. Gr8.”

Smoked fish and pickled beets is pretty much a sure thing, but the kitchen also takes risks that offer high reward. Black sesame oil meets up with creamy cubes of avocado and nuggets of spicy marinated mackerel ($9) in a thrilling little plate that had Susie, Jamie, and I wondering whether it would be too piggish if we ordered seconds. The volume on a salad ($14) of charred octopus, potatoes, and shaved celery is turned up by a brilliant vinaigrette made from anchovies and lemon that’s beautifully balanced to somehow be both gentle and forceful at the same time. The tete du porc ($12), a pig’s head braised for hours then served cold, in paper thin slices decorated with parsley leaves and diced cornichons, is perfect for a summer supper. It’s a cool carpaccio for the swine set, and it seems as though this is the dish of the moment; all around the restaurant, tables of girls in flirty rompers and gladiator sandals and boys in tees and Toms were ordering platters of pig head with happy abandon.

Indeed, the food is one reason the crowd here is a happy one. The other is the super welcoming staff, a group of kids who seems to not only be passionate about all those locally sourced ingredients coming out of the kitchen, but who are also committed to insuring that guests are well cared for.  I like that co ... [more, click below]

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Posted: July 19, 2012

Other restaurants in East Village :
+ Yujin-- Closed   + Jack's Luxury Oyster Bar   + Mermaid Inn   + Five Points   + Lavagna   + Five Points   + Bond Street   + Jewel Bako   + Alphabet Kitchen   + In Vino   + Bao 111   + Chikalicious   + Il Buco   + Hearth   + Lima's Taste   + Mercadito   + Hedeh   + Momofuku   + Una Pizza Napoletana   + Winebar   + Uovo-- CLOSED   + Mo Pitkin's House of Satisfaction   + Gotham Bar & Grill   + Colors   + Chinatown Brasserie   + Knife and Fork   + European Union-- NEW CHEF; SEE APRIL 2007 Review   + Aroma Kitchen and Winebar   + Stand   + European Union   + Mercat   + Gemma   + Back Forty   + The Smith   + Seymour Burton   + Belcourt   + Graffiti   + The Redhead   + Double Crown    + Apiary   + Joe Doe   + Apiary by guest reviewer Kiri Tannenbaum   + DBGB   + Northern Spy   + Goat Town   + Saxon + Parole   + Il Buco Alimentari & Vineria   + Acme   + Calliope   + Nicoletta   + JEPPNEY by Claire Jaffe   + Feast   

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