THE VIBE
Marco Canora may be getting a ton of press/snark these days for his East Village Brodo booth, home of the $9 cup of broth, but this guy is no gimmicky, one-trick chef. Canora's Hearth is a NYC special-occasion mainstay, and his mini-chain of Terroir wine bars upped the ante, food-wise, in the category when he opened the first with his then-partner Paul Grieco six years ago. The two recently broke up, so in record time Canora redid "his" Terroir on East 12th into the newly opened Fifty Paces.
Like its predecessor, Fifty Paces has a single, high-up communal table surrounded by backless stools, with about ten more of the same at the bar. But even as the seating doesn't really invite you to settle in for the long haul, Canora's added a fun feature that seems to encourage lingering: the vinyl-request list, where you chalk in your pick from among scores of albums, mostly classic rock, on the laminated record menu. And the rock n' roll theme extends to the decor as well, with a huge Hunky Dory mural on the wall and a surprise demand from Slayer in the bathroom. Basically: for a wine bar, Fifty Paces doesn't take itself too seriously.
(Scott Lynch/Gothamist)
THE BITES
The Fifty Paces menu is appealing up and down, and my companion (ok, it was my mom) and I got through a bunch of it, with one 3-oz glass of wine, for about $60 before tip. We made quick work of two surprisingly large dishes from the under-$10 "Bites" section: a plate of fantastically soft and creamy Hearth Gnocchi, and, maybe my favorite thing overall, a thick, fatty, funky Lamb Sausage, which had been fried with a coating of sage-y, crunchy delights.
And there's Brodo here at Fifty Paces! Kind of. More like Brodo bowls, with lots of stuff in them, so maybe just call it "soup," Canora? Branding aside, we had the one with chicken meatballs, lots of garlic, a chewy grain called freekeh, and big leaves of bitter rabe—it was soothing and tasty.
The one misstep of the meal was the astringent Caesar Salad, too much of a garlic bomb to even get through. But all was forgiven when our amiable server delivered the Sloppy Giuseppe sandwich, which, though it looked kind of small, really packed a wallop—the well-seasoned pork ragu and whipped ricotta combo insanely rich and satisfying.
THE VERDICT
The prices are relatively low, the portions relatively generous, the food both interesting and comforting. Good music, too, when it's left up to the barkeep/DJ. The place was mostly empty during the Wednesday-night happy hour when we went, but I imagine it picks up later on. And you can easily make a real dinner from the Fifty Paces menu, rather than just grazing while getting drunk... which you can also easily do.
Fifty Paces is located at 413 East 12th Street, just east of First Avenue, about fifty paces from Canora's Hearth (646-602-1300).
