Last weekend we had dinner at Epoca, an Italian joint in our neighborhood that we had never been to before for no reason in particular. Based on that dining experience, I rue that we took so long to visit it, especially as it is superior to the other nearby Italian restaurants. It was a funky place with good service, delicious food, and a wacky owner to boot!
The delicious caprese salad (left) is conceived with a slight twist: the fresh mozzarella is smoked, and there is a sprinkling of dried oregano, and smoked paprika around the edge of the plate, along with the fresh basil. These departures from tradition provided a nice earthy edge to the bright tomatoes and seemed appropriate to the newly autumnal weather.
The spinach-ricotta ravioli (below) with a butter and sage sauce was another winner. The pasta was homemade and cooked al dente. The filling was fluffy and flavorful. I would have preferred a butter sauce that was less thick and creamy–this was almost like an oily cream sauce–a thinner sauce would allow the butter flavor to sing. But still, I can’t say we didn’t gobble the whole plate up!
In addition to the traditional Italian fare, Epoca also offers grilled specialties–from beef to mozzarella–served with a choice of a sauce and two sides. We had the calamari steaks, which on the plate resembled little legless calamari bodies, but were in fact actual large steaks that had been rolled and grilled. Frankly, not the most attractive dish, but it was delicious. The calamari was perfectly cooked, not at all tough as it can be if not cooked for the precisely correct amount of time. We chose the red wine sauce, which was good, though perhaps not the best choice to go with the calamari (for the record, the waiter had recommended the mint-lime sauce for this dish, but the Hubs doesn’t like mint in savory dishes–a fact I didn’t know until that moment. In addition to a good meal, our marriage grew through communication! Thanks, Epoca!). The sides of a salad and mashed potatoes were, due to their nature, nothing spectacular, but plenty good.
The wait service was pleasant and unobtrusive. Bread was brought, water was re-filled. We had a bottle of dry Lambrusco, and glasses were filled often enough, but not too often. (And by the way, I had never had this particular Lambrusco before and it was delicious. Look out for Toccacielo, Carafoli 2007 on your next visit to the wine store).
This wasn’t exactly part of the service, but the afore-mentioned wacky owner (I presumed him to be the owner, he was very proprietary) walked by once when I was quietly taking a close-up of my food and said, “Oh take a macro! I love macro!!” Later when I was struggling to take pictures of our entrees sans flash (so as not to disturb fellow diners), he appeared with a flashlight to shine over our table so that I could get good shots. I sort of appreciated it because I was able to get better pictures because of it, but also I was a little mortified because I was the entertainment in the restaurant for about 20 seconds. When I take photos at restaurants, I try to do it surreptitiously. I don’t like to call attention to myself or inconvenience other diners, and I can say that both of these things probably happened in that instance. But, it was entertaining anyway, and the owner was very gregarious and sweet about it. But next time, I think I’ll ask for a table in the farthest corner of the restaurant.
Epoca Ristorante
773 Fulton St
Brooklyn, NY 11217
(718) 596-9070
Entries (RSS)