Pete Wells Awards One Star to Calliope in the East Village

This week, Pete Wells files on Calliope, the new East Village French restaurant from husband and wife team Ginevra Iverson and Eric Korsh. Wells loves much of the nuanced bistro fare, especially the rabbit dishes:

You'd have to spend a week in Paris to taste rabbit cooked in as many ways as it is served at Calliope. Rabbit kidneys on toast, a special one night, was so traditional it was almost shocking, in the most pleasant way. They were sautéed to the rare side of medium-rare, the uncouth edge of their bitterness softened by a Cognac-and-chicken-stock sauce with a touch of cream and butter. A wrapping of bacon gave rabbit saddle stuffed with tender leek greens and carrots an American note of smoke, but the heart of the dish, another special, was located across the Atlantic.

Steve Cuozzo finds that the food at Guy's American Kitchen and Bar is laughably bad: "Fettuccine came with cajun spiced blackened chicken breast—random meat fragments neither blackened nor spiced. Creamy Parmesan sauce could moonlight as engine lubricant. The plate must hold 3,000 calories. Could one human eat it all? If so, should he or she be allowed out of the house? Irish-German chocolate cake was the sort of sickly sweet affair that pleases when you're drunk at 2 a.m. It came with stone hard "malt balls" that failed to yield to knife or fork." Cuozzo gives the restaurant zero stars. [NYP]

Ryan Sutton checks out the eats at Barclays Center: "Zak Pelaccio, who runs a very good restaurant of the same name in Manhattan's West Village, largely fails with his Barclay's effort. Brisket and pork sandwiches are nearly indistinguishable due to thin layers of over-sauced meats and thick slabs of dry bread. The four-cheese mac ($6.25), a product of Levy Restaurants, is cooked way past the point of al dente, with a flavor as monochromatic as a high school cafeteria version." [Bloomberg]

Adam Platt awards two stars to Amali on the UES, and just one star to Governor in Dumbo. On the latter: "You could make a meal out of the bread alone...and my order of the classic poached oysters on toast was so good I ordered it twice. My denatured portion of rib eye did not benefit from its garnish of grilled watermelon and apple must, however, and that trendy celebrity butchers' favorite, pork neck (plated with grilled peaches and nasturtium here), seemed to have been poached for several hours too long in that now untrendy gourmet cooking implement, the sous vide bag. [GS/NYM]

Tejal Rao likes many of the dishes at Comodo in Soho: "The strongest dishes at Cómodo are what you'd eat at home on a good night: a lovely bit of braised pork with garlicky greens, mushrooms, and mashed potatoes ($24), plated simply. A big heap of pasta dressed in a gorgeously creamy Bolognese ($24), dotted with soft poblano peppers. For dessert, there's smoked ice cream ($11) on a thick, crumbly cookie that is sweetly reminiscent of the roasted marshmallows you must blow out before you eat. Although the bitter Parmesan crisp that accompanies this seems out of place, the food at Cómodo mostly comforts." [Village Voice]

Jay Cheshes gives two stars (out of five) to Murray's Cheese Bar: "Except for the knife-and-fork burger—a thick, juicy patty on toast topped with rarebit sauce (a gutsy mix of cheddar and stout)—it's hard to make much of a meal out of any of the cheesy fare. And the seasonal salads and vegetable sides, including excellent grilled artichoke hearts with buttermilk dressing, won't fill you up either." [TONY]

Stan Sagner awards four stars (out of five) to East Village standby The Redhead: "A juicy hunk of Newport Steak ($23) arrives one night alongside a crisp stack of fried green tomatoes drizzled with buttermilk ranch, the next with romesco-laced potatoes. Neither version disappoints. Buttermilk Fried Chicken ($18) was a restrained, but adequate, portion. The greaseless crust satisfyingly shatters at the bite, giving way to moist, delicious bird. It comes nestled in a wonderfully grassy kale confetti salad, with apple that deserves its own spot on the menu." [NYDN]

THE ELSEWHERE: Gael Greene samples a few surprisingly good dishes at Sugar and Plumm, Ligaya Mishan finds an uneven menu at Blue Ribbon Sushi Izakaya, Robert Sietsema digs the Dongbei fare at Rural Restaurant in Flushing, and Amelia Lester of Tables for Two is smitten with Calliope.

THE BLOGS: Gotham Gal likes the food and the vibe at Wong, Serious Eats recommends some (but not all) of the noodle soups at Ramen Yebisu, the Immaculate Infatuation dudes are surprised by how much they like Sugar and Plumm, Eat Big Apple samples the treats at the Doughnut Plant, Goodies First visits three Carroll Gardens restaurants, NYC Foodie recommends Casa in the West Village, the Pink Pig likes many of the new dishes at Bistro La Promenade, and NY Journal thinks that 83 1/2 shows promise.
· All Coverage of Reviews [~ENY~]