)
Snack EOS is a new restaurant featuring modern Greek restaurant in Hell’s Kitchen, a few blocks away from Penn Station. This restaurant is by the same co-owners of Snack Taverna in West Village, Adam Greene and Dennis Chrysanthopoulos.
This particular restaurant is almost a month old but the kitchen and front of the house worked like a well-oiled, experienced machine. The food was phenomenal and the wait staff knew their stuff. The interior felt cozy yet modern with the warm wood and clean lines.
We started with a glass of Domaine Spiropulos “Red Stag”, Agiorgitiko, 2012 ($9), a Greek red that’s a nice, not too full-bodied wine with a lush aroma of currants and dark red berries. It’s great for the robust flavored dishes the food menu offers.
First round of appetizers (starting from top/left photo): Taramosalata dip; Grilled sardines; Beet & Quince Salad
Our first round of appetizers, the taramosalata, roasted lemon, and caviar dip ($8) was wonderfully creamy and chunky from the cod roe and the acidity was just perfect. The warm slices of pita made it hard to stop filling up on this dip. The beet and quince salad, horseradish, sweet walnut ($12) was a refreshing, season appropriate salad. Some sweet, crunchy bites of beets and quince to contrast the bitter, tender salad greens and tart yogurt-based dressing. The grilled sardines, fried potato, spinach, pine nuts and raisins ($14) was nicely smoky and the fatty fish filets were delicious with the sweet raisins and the crispy fried potato cubes added some substance to the dish.
Grilled octopus
The next few appetizers that arrived to our table were grilled octopus, fennel salad and pancetta ($15) that was tender and smoky and the refreshing anise-y fennel, citrus, crisp pancetta topped salad.
Saganaki
The best thing we had in regards to appetizers was the saganaki topped with green tomato jam, crushed pistachio and drizzled in saba ($10). The saganaki was cooked in a cast iron pan retaining the heat and kept the cheese oh so gooey and stringy that it’s incredibly seductive. The saba added a bracing acidity that was needed for this hearty dish. This would make any cheese lover swooning.
Marching on to the main courses the swordfish kalamaki, olives, spicy citrus vinaigrette on a bed of farro salad, celeriac purée, charred onion and lemon ($18) was great. Cubes of meaty, tender swordfish skewered with olives had a subtle tart-spicy flavor. The farro salad made my dining companion very happy, as it’s well seasoned.
The oven roasted guinea hen, anchovy packages, red beet tartare, parsnip ($27) was juicy and perfectly cooked and I liked the sage leaves tucked underneath the bird’s crisp skin to add a layer of herbaceous flavor. The few anchovies dotted around the plate were very minute that anchovy haters won’t detect much of the (wonderful, in my opinion) fish and the beet tartare added earthy sweetness to compliment the hen.
The prettily plated pan roasted lamb loin, crispy sweetbreads, artichoke, pomegranate and truffle vinaigrette ($26) was super tender meat that it was almost effortless to cut it. The sweetbreads added some bit of crisp texture. The artichoke and pomegranate gave the dish some acidity to cut through the hearty meats.
The kitchen kindly sent out desserts to us, despite the fact we’re stuffed to the gills. The Greek pistachio custard pie, called galaktoboureko in Greek, was an intensely pistachio flavored, creamy semolina-based cake. According to our server, the cake is mixed with pistachio paste and after it’s baked, it’s rolled in crushed pistachio and phyllo giving it some crunchy and crispy textures and emphasizing the pistachio flavor.
Their loukoumades, sort of like a Greek-style doughnut holes that’s soaked in a sweet honey syrup, was different in regards to stuffing it with foie gras, making it a sweet-savory donut. The luxurious, savory, livery (in a very good way), foie flavor was prominent but then finished off on sweeter notes from the sweet dough and honey that lingers on the palate. It’s great.
In all Snack EOS is an under the radar gem in this neighborhood. The kitchen is cooking like it’s been around for at least six months since nothing was cooked halfway or elements of the dishes were missing. The servers are familiar with the menu and are friendly yet professional. If you are looking for delicious, creatively modern Greek food, this is the place to eat.
To view more photos of these visit, please view the slideshow below (or CLICK HERE):
[tylr-slidr userID=”hellokitty893112″ groupID=””]http://www.flickr.com/photos/hellokitty893112/sets/72157638867837686/[/tylr-slidr]
Information:
Snack EOS
Website
522 9th Avenue (at 41st Street)
New York, New York 10018
Map
Phone: (646) 964-4964
