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“Calliope”

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

mbination.

But yes, the food does inspire the warm and fuzzies. A lovely filet of black sea bass ($27) is wrapped in grape leaves and tastes as though it’s been infused with sunshine and lemons. It’s served quite simply with a ratatouille of summer tomatoes and squash. It’s just what you’ll want to eat this time of year. Given the temps in the high 90s, I wasn’t sure I could handle the hot and sour lamb ($23), but how could I not try it? I loved the sound of a dish of braised lamb in a sauce that was racy with both spice and cheek-puckering tang. Let me say clearly that it was worth the sweat on my brow. The lamb is braised unapologetically, and sauced up so it's almost Chinese take out it's so hot and sour. Firm green olives and little mascarpone agnolotti root it to the Mediterranean. Brilliant dish. I would not order the chard and ricotta dumplings ($17), however. They were served in a brown butter that had separated and in truth were rather bland. Instead, get the crispy roast chicken, with stuffed cabbage and carrots ($25), or the rabbit pappardelle with English peas ($29).

The chefs are also serving a selection of gratins (all $8), and we had the fingerlings with raclette. An embarrassing amount of butter and cheese is incorporated into this cast iron skillet, and it’s one I should have turned my fork away from in hopes of preserving what I have left of a waistline. But instead, I tried it. Oh, friends. How I wanted to stop after one bite, but those potatoes—happily wrecked with salty butter and blanketed in a bubbly duvet of raclette—did not allow it. If Bloomberg is trying to ban extra-large sodas, no doubt he’ll get to this dish too, given it probably has a year’s supply of calories from fat in its top layer, but hey, I belong to Equinox. If I go every day for the rest of my life, I should be okay.

Speaking of a lifetime of incarceration in the gym, for dessert, you must have the baba au rhum. Jamie was so pleased to see it there. It’s one of her all time favorite desserts. And when was the last time you saw a Baba on a menu? I can’t recall. Why? When done well, it’s everything you want from a dessert: a boozy cake with cream. Gas, food, and lodging all in one spot. Don’t drive past! Stop. And the one at Calliope is just a darling. The cake, shaped like a big popover, is served warm and it’s so fluffy the yeast is almost audible. Table ... [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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