This Week, It’s the Little Things

Savarona and Wildwood Barbecue open, Persephone and Elettaria get reviewed, and crayfish, wine, and butter all get their due.

Posted 04/21/08 in Grub Street : In the Magazine

Tags: butter, crayfish, elettaria, in the magazine, persephone, savarona, tet, wildwood barbecue, wine

Persephone’s Seafood Yiouvetsi Seems Awfully Familiar…

We knew something looked vaguely familiar when we saw, in this week’s magazine’s Openings, the image of Persephone’s dish of seafood yiouvetsi. Oh, that’s right — seafood yiouvetsi is a signature dish at Anthos! The only difference is that this one doesn’t come in the actual yiouvetsi pot. But everything else seems to be there, down to the orzo in a saffron broth at the bottom. They say there's nothing new under the sun, but Anthos's yiouvetsi was pretty novel when it came out, as the dish is traditionally reserved for lamb shanks and the like. Deepening our suspicions of Persephone's, um, inspiration is the fact that the other dishes mentioned at Persephone — the pikilia-spread sampler, the Greek meatballs in tomato sauce — are right off the menu of Anthos’s sister Kefi. Of course, given how crowded Anthos and Kefi are, the chance to eat simulacra in another good restaurant is much welcome. But otherwise, this might be one of the most brazen Greek heists since Lord Elgin looted the Parthenon marbles. Openings: Persephone, Greene Grape Provisions, Dean's, ’Beca Restaurant, Dram Shop, and City Girl Café [NYM]

Posted 01/14/08 in Grub Street : Back of the House

Tags: anthos, Back of the House, greek, kefi, persephone

Introducing the ‘Gastroteca’

Even in the dead of winter, good new things keep happening to New York City. The Underground Gourmet giddily points out a new wine bar, Gottino, that is outpacing its panini-packing rivals. The Insatiable Critic found a new, urbane restaurant in Dovetail and loves the Sunday prix fixe. Among this week's openings, Periyali adds a midtown sister in Persephone, giving the city another blue-chip Greek restaurant. Ah, New York: Even our lean seasons have their harvests.

Posted 01/14/08 in Grub Street : In the Magazine

Tags: cocktails, dovetail, gottino, in the magazine, insatiable critic, periyali, persephone, underground gourmet