[Pigging by Wilfrid: September 12, 2012]
I should emphasize that this isn't a review. Calliope is the bistro which replaced Belcourt on the corner of East 4th and Second Avenue.
Although you could be forgiven for not noticing. Belcourt's decor, always a strength, remains in place. The style of service is similar. Belcourt chef Matt Hamilton worked at Prune; so did Ginevra Iverson. So far, at least, Calliope seems no more or less busy than Belcourt. Like Belcourt, it has a rather tricksier menu than you'd expect from a bistro (but it doesn't serve a burger).
I didn't eat enough from the menu to "review" the place. Just dropped in for a quick bite.
Beef tongue with a jungle of mache lettuce, and sauce gribiche, was pleasant enough, but had been sliced sufficiently thinly that the distinctive spongy texture -- one of the best things about it -- wasn't noticeable. The texture was more like ham.
The dinner menu offers meat eaters limited options. There's roast chicken of course; there's steak, but I am never certain about $32 strip steaks; by all means, serve me hanger at that price. There's rabbit in a pasta dish.
By default, I chose hot and sour lamb neck. I like the cut; was less certain about the style. And indeed it may be a question of palates: I found the thin broth in which the lamb was served harsh and vinegary; some might say, "Yes. Hot and sour." Raw scallions on top didn't help, neither did canned/jarred unstuffed green olives, and what I'm quite sure didn't work was the introduction of little pasta parcels of sweet mascarpone. Clash.
And the lamb (of which there wasn't much, and it was neck after all), floated apart into strands in the soup.
Not good. But there may be better things on the menu I didn't try.
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