Evoe (a-voe, as in Evoe! O Bacchus, thus began the song...) is the dine-in option brought to you by the Pastaworks market. It’s something of a more sophisticated deli, serving small plates, salads, and sandwiches made from ingredients found on the attached market’s shelves. If you’re lucky, you can sit at the counter and watch your meal come together, start to finish. You might see the chef leave his post to gather more fresh produce from next door for your meal. Otherwise, you’re relegated to stools that are taller than the tables, forcing you to hunch uncomfortably over your plate.
But it’s informal in that changing-chalkboard sort of way, and you can tell that a lot of sincerity and dedication goes into the food here. The menu features whatever is in that day, simple preparations that showcase the fresh, natural flavors of the ingredients: sliced delicata squash with good olive oil and sea salt and chopped hazelnuts; a beet salad with walnuts and homemade crème fraîche; pork belly with garrafón (large white lima) beans, peppers, and tomatoes.
Sandwiches on bread from Grand Central and Pearl are delicious and simple. They’re not the punk-rock or haute-nostalgic versions that titillate the followers of Bunk and Meat Cheese Bread, but rather calmer classics like chicken salad on brioche (made in house) and a pickle-spicy muffuletta. We appreciate the simple, rustic European plates like French breakfast radishes with butter and deviled eggs, and can never get enough of boquerones, which are fleshy, citrusy Omega-3 bombs.
At what operates primarily as a lunch place, it’s strange to see this many wines by the glass. The selection is well edited and thorough, with some excellent, affordable producers of which we don’t see much around town. Or you can choose from the beer and wine sold at Pastaworks.
On all accounts, it’s a great idea for Pastaworks to have Evoe prepare so well the ingredients that it sells; it’s hard to resist the urge to raid the market’s shelves after your lunch so you can recreate your meal at home. Or try to, anyway.
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