I tend to avoid brand-new restaurants. It’s a defense mechanism; let other folks be beta tasters. But when I heard last week that Jimmy Carbone, the man behind the acclaimed East Village gastropub Jimmy’s No. 43, had just opened 1 Dominick, I threw caution to the wind and headed downtown to this cozy spot that shares a space with Here Arts Center. Focusing on Carbone’s Italian roots, the menu inspired me to forsake my usual outer borough stomping grounds—and I’m glad I did.

I tasted a piece of the fried baloney tramezzino, which takes its name from the crustless Italian white bread. The panino of mortadella and fontina cheese was also quite tasty, but far too heavy for such a hot day. So I shifted gears and ordered the anguria seen above. Sweet, juicy slices of watermelon mingled with shavings of zesty ricotta salata, tomatoes, olives and sprigs of mint. Not only did it taste like a slice of summer, I got to learn that "anguria" is Italian for watermelon.

As a huge squid fan, I was intrigued by the scarpetta di calamari. It reminded me of the calamari salad I grew up eating every Christmas Eve—but better. A layer of tender squid, shot through with herbs and olives sits atop a crusty slab of bread smeared with nduja, a fiery Calabrian pork sausage, made from pig's head, fatback and roasted hot peppers. My sole complaint about this dish is that the bread was almost too crusty to cut.

For now it’s a BYO, but I look forward to seeing what Italian wines and microbrews 1 Dominick will have in coming months.

1 Dominick

1 Dominick Street, New York NY 10013 (at Sixth Avenue; map)
212-647-0202, ext. 308