Corsino - Denton's Newest at 637 Hudson St.

[weinoo]

Got a chance to stop by and try Jason and Joe Denton's (along with a few partners from Lupa and 'inoteca) new Corsino Cantina last night. Granted, it was a Monday night, and once the thundering hordes arrive on the weekend, it may be a tad more tight. But to my eye it's a more refined vibe than 'inoteca on Ludlow or in Murray Hill, with a design falling in somewhere between the original 'inoteca and the late Cafe Milano.

There are cocktails to be had, but that's not the focus - it's meant to be a wine bar offering dishes similar in theory to the 'inotecas and Lupa. The crostini list is long and varied, and the ones we tried were just fine. One of my favorite salads from Lupa, brussels sprouts with pecorino, was piled on top of a crisp toast, and it made for a nice contrast. Mushrooms and tallegio - well, what's not to like? At $2.50 a piece, not exactly cheap, but I could see a special of 5 for $10 being a good deal.

Moving onto salads, the seafood salad was a revelation for this old mainstay, each type of seafood perfectly cooked (octpopus, squid and shrimp), and the whole dish held together with a well rounded vinaigrette. Cubes of roasted butternut squash made a great base for a salad including guanciale and raw celery root, as well as pomegranate seeds and toasted nuts. The only salad which fell short, imo, was the farro - served with fiore di latte stuffed peppers. I could've eaten about a half dozen of the stuffed peppers, but the farro was a bit undercooked to my taste.

We skipped the panini, although for all you head and tongue lovers out there, there is a lingua con testa panino on the menu - and I need to go back just for that. Our pasta dish was super - al dente fusilli with sausage and tomato; the sausage tasted like Faicco's, but I didn't ask. Meatballs; no, make that heritage brisket meatballs, come in a portion of 3 golf ball sized meatballs for $15, and might've been the standout of the meal. Great texture, not too soft and served in a bath of tomato sauce dressed with pecorino. My own heritage never made meatballs like this.

Finally, the pork osso buco was cooked right, tender and juicy, though I could've eaten a portion twice the size, but that's just me. It's served in a very light broth (which people might not get, being used to veal osso buco),

and garnished with shaved raw fennel and red onionsl; fennel, of course, being the perfect foil for the pork.

There are wines available to satisfy all price points; sticking with the lower end of the list (which I like to do), a $25 bottle of Sicilian Nero d'Avola went just fine with our varied assortment of food.

The Dentons and partners appear to have opened another fine place to add to their growing list of semi-affordable dining spots...they're not cheap, after all, but food this good really can't be...it simply costs too much for the raw materials. And it also can't be found anywhere else but in this mini empire.

[weinoo]

I've been back several times since my original post, and have to say the food is worth a bit of a trip.

Last Friday night's fried whitebait was perfect. Heritage brisket meatballs were great too.

[LPShanet]

I've been back several times since my original post, and have to say the food is worth a bit of a trip.

Last Friday night's fried whitebait was perfect. Heritage brisket meatballs were great too.

At there a few weeks ago, and have to concur with your findings. Exactly what you'd expect/hope for from Denton. It's pretty tough for them to stand out any more these days, though, with so many other places doing the same category so well. Ten years ago I never thought I'd find myself saying that NY had a glut of good rustic Italian fare!