EXY

Exy Restaurant and Lounge, which opened in December 2007, brings a refreshing honesty and a genuine excitement to the flavors and ingredients of the Mediterranean region. Taking cues from the traditional cuisine of the Greek Islands, Exy’s menu is unique and inventive, a blend of classic Greek flavors, Mediterranean ingredients, and contemporary forms. Executive Chef Carter Shuffler has perfected this hybrid cuisine, offering elegant and sensual dishes that incorporate fresh seafood, premium meat, lush olive-oil based sauces, and explosively flavorful fresh herbs.

Like the menu, the restaurant is awash in a modern aesthetic that relies on color and form to evoke a sense of place. Large windows draw natural light from street-facing walls, while high ceilings suggest an airy, open space. When the sun goes down, tiny spherical pendant lamps and illuminated blue panels infuse the space with a low, but comfortable glow. The color palate is muted, with elegant shades of taupe, chocolate, and golden brown interspersed with cool shades of blue and silver. The setting seems elegant and intimate, down-to-earth with a hint of whimsy.

One side of the restaurant houses the fine dining room, where inviting booths and upholstered chairs frame white-clothed tables. The other side houses a bar and lounge, offering the neighborhood a casual place to meet and mingle. A handful of low booths invite guests to enjoy an intimate meal, while the bar's rectangular shape encourages conversation. Two private rooms, one on each side of the restaurant stand poised to accommodate dinners, receptions, and presentations.

Exy boasts a full bar and a smart, concise wine list that includes a handful of Greek wines; however, their flagship drinks are cocktails made with the Greek liquor Ouzo. Made from anise seed and strongly licorice flavored, the clear liquid adds a surprising twist to cocktails like the "scrouzo," a screwdriver-inspired concoction of orange juice and ouzo, and the popular "blu-zo," a licorice-tasting blue-raspberry concoction that is simultaneously sweet and smoky. It may be at its finest, however, in the dessert-worthy choco-louzo, where it lends a smoky undertone to otherwise sweet Kahlua and Baileys.

Perusing the menu is an exercise in wonderment and excitement. The overarching theme is Mediterranean with Greek influences, although to describe the cuisine in so few words cannot do it justice. Each dish on the menu is a calculated combination of ingredients, a fusion of traditional and contemporary that emphasizes texture and presentation as much as taste. All of the recipes have been developed in house, a collaborative effort between Chef Carter Shuffler and Owner George Katakalidis. Many dishes are a fusion of traditional and contemporary, inspired by George's memories of childhood meals in Greece, and infused with Chef Carter’s bold, inventive style.

For example, the Grilled Octopus came about from a prolonged collaboration between George's memory of the octopus's texture and Carter's attempts to recreate it. The result is a uniquely tender dish, featuring a whole octopus tentacle, slowly poached to reach an almost marshmallow-like consistency. Biting into the gentle flesh of the tentacle is quite a surprise, the meat's texture proving to be soft and doughy without a hint of chewy or tough. The pale white flesh is surrounded by a dark and tangy balsamic reduction and a peppery but refreshing arugula, orange, and red onion salad; both accompaniments serve to heighten an already eye-opening experience.

The Beefsteak Tomato appetizer is a quintessential example of the fusion of influences in Exy's cuisine. The dish features house-ripened beefsteak tomatoes layered between fresh pureed eggplant and thick slices of fresh mozzarella, crowned by fresh basil and hydroponic mâche, a presentation that alludes to a traditional Italian caprese. The dish’s intrigue lies in its dualities—the warm eggplant is met by the cold mozzarella, the soft cheese backed by the crisp crunch of tomato. The eggplant salad, or Melanzano, is the most intriguing, a thick, velvety mélange of roasted pureed eggplant and cubed grilled eggplant. The soft spread is fiercely resonant in both flavor and texture, the essence of eastern Mediterranean cuisine condensed into one bite.

The Roasted Calamari appetizer is another wildly unique Mediterranean dish, stunning in both composition and flavor. Three bulbous calamari rest on a rectangular plate, sitting in a bright orange pool of sweet, tangy cooking liquid spotted with house-made garlic “savou” sauce. The dome-shaped calamari are a vessel for a decadent treat: each hollow cavity is filled with a plump prosciutto-wrapped shrimp. Additional tentacled pieces curl around the plate, interspersed with delicate slivers of flash-fried lemon. A forkful explodes with a myriad of flavors, producing an entire spectrum of sweet, tart, savory, and salty from just a handful of carefully chosen ingredients.

When the entrees arrive, the table is covered in a dazzling array of textures and colors. Crispy Ahi Tuna is a playful dish, with a colorful, almost tropical presentation. A slender triangle of bright purple ahi stands upright in a bed of parsnip puree, amid a sprawling pool of vibrant orange gastrique. The purple flesh surrounds a pale core—the ahi has been wrapped around a large, sweet shrimp—and is itself enveloped in a golden crust of flash-fried panko crumbs. The accompaniments work in harmony—the parsnip's smooth, earthy sweetness compliments the carrot gastrique’s lusciously thick, honeyed tang; both are balanced by the earthy, peppery bite of a watercress salad.

If the ahi is wild and bold, the Seared Sea Scallops are romantic and sensual. A trio of plump U-10, day-boat scallops ring a pool of vibrant red lobster-tomato fumet, encircling a delicate tower of saffron risotto capped with micro greens. The scallops are gently seared, then pulled off the heat as they finish cooking, ensuring a supple, silky texture of medium rare flesh. Each bite is luxury, the pillowy softness of the scallop lusciously filling the mouth and sweeping across the tongue. This is a dish to savor, to prolong, to memorize. The only thing that distracts from the scallop's texture is its taste; backed by subtle lobster and tomato flavors in the thin broth, the taste is elusive, alluring, new.

Pan-roasted whole fish is a rare treat, but at Exy, it’s how the Catch of the Day is served every day. During one visit, it is a Mediterranean Sea Bass, which proudly spans the length of an oversized plate, its skin glistening under a coating of diced garlic, shallots, and fresh herbs. Beneath the fish is a pool of tomato savou, accompanied by a bed of greens and a small cup of a second savou sauce. Thoughtfully served "pocket cut," de-boned and gutted before cooking, the fish is delightfully easy to eat. The crispy skin is a treat, its oily, crunchy texture giving way to flaky, stunningly moist flesh. Simple, elemental, and yet decadent, there seems no other way to eat fish.

Grilled Lamb Chops feature a dazzling, playful presentation of house-cut lamb chops atop a bed of warm garlic-potato skorthalia, amid an abstract mélange of balsamic reduction, sundried tomato oil, and house savou sauce. The theme here is comforting, the medium-rare New Zealand chops offering a gentle, almost spring-lamb like flavor with nary a hint of assertiveness. The skorthalia is a playful twist on the traditional Greek garlic-and-potato puree, served warm, rather than cold, so as to mimic the role mashed potatoes would play in an American dish. The effect is delightful, the pale puree releasing a heady garlic aroma. As with every dish, the flavors imparted by the accompanying sauces are bright and vibrant, the balsamic reduction offering a sweet, honeyed tanginess, and the sundried tomato oil prolonging the dish's flavors.

It seems the flavors of the Mediterranean are equally suited to sweet as they are to savory, as the desserts at Exy are wonderfully seductive. The Halloumi Cheesecake is an intoxicating, exotic twist on the traditional. It incorporates Greek halloumi cheese, a hard cheese made from goat and sheep's milk that boasts a salty, refreshing flavor. The dessert arrives a large cylindrical form sitting in a pool of ouzo crème anglaise, topped with a bird’s nest of shredded, crispy filo dough. Small pieces of figs and walnuts dot the cream sauce, while a graham cracker crust keeps the cake afloat. It looks too perfect to disturb, but a forkful provides a gratuitous reward. The cheesecake bursts with the piquant flavors of halloumi, which linger on the tongue for a long, resonant finish.

The Poached Pear Napoleon is stunning. The dish features a trio of delicate towers, each layered with paper-thin filo dough, thin slivers of poached pear, and a fluffy dollop of honey raspberry Chantilly creme. A light red wine reduction—made of the same red wine used to poach the pears—is drizzled atop each form. It is delicate and innocent, its flavors angelic and its textures airy. A bite of delicately crisp cinnamon-brushed filo dough coupled with airy, sweet creme and tart pears leaves the palate wanting nothing more.

And that seems to be the result of dining at Exy—complete satisfaction from start to finish. A meal here is an adventure, a journey through the flavors and textures of the Mediterranean region, an introduction to the pleasures of the Greek table that touches all the senses. Go ahead, treat yourself to a culinary vacation.