Devotees of the long-running Tasting Room, at 264 Elizabeth St., near Houston St. l, may squirm at the huge, new American bistro-leaning menu at Jo’s. Taking over the old Tasting Room space, Jo’s offers up a clever menu of small plates - and even the biggest bistro snob would have to admit that Jo’s makes a damn tasty foie gras French toast. With a limited selection of styles, multiple proportion sizes, and a solid cocktail selection, Jo's is a welcome addition to the Nolita area. Owned by Kevin Felker (Barmarché, Pastis) Jim Chu (White Rabbit) and Johnny Santiago (Torch) the place has its pedigree.

With a slight bent towards the current trend in design to be, well, not trendy, Jo's,with its deep bevelled, leather banquets, its art deco tiled flooring, and its oak paneling in the front barroom area, looks more like a 1920's drinking hole than it does a modern day restaurant, and I believe that is the intention. The drink menu, designed by Kevin Felker, definitely has an old-school sway; featuring classic cocktails (priced at a reasonable $9) like the "Perfect Manhattan," shaken together with rye, sweet and dry vermouth and homemade ginger/orange bitters, or the Hibiscus Collins, made with homemade hibiscus syrup lemon, and soda. But don't worry, for those who like to chill classic, but drink modern, Jo's still offers contemporary libations, like the summer margerita with diplomatico reserve rum, lime, demerra sugar and served with sugar cane, or the elderflower bellini, a blend of St. Germaine elderflower liquer, white peach puree and sparkling wine.

Although the 40-seat back dining room, with its schoolhouse lighting, embossed wallpaper, exposed brick walls and antique mirrors is as throwback as they come, the chef's menu is a far cry from antiquated. With the exception of the English pea soup and classic charcuterie, Chef Ian Topper-Kapitan, originally from Toronto where he worked with Susur Lee, has compised a bistro-style menu that is almost exclusively modern in focus. The chef, featuring a variety of unique items, including a saffron bouillabaisse terrine, crayfish open ravioli with wild mushrooms, goat cheese and crayfish sauce, and a pork shank, braised for 10 hours, is definitely the captain of a contemporary (but not new-fangled) kitchen.

The simple, roll off your tongue moniker Jo's kind of lets you know this Nolito restaurant's story before you even step food inside. The aim, unlike many big-city eateries, is not to blow you away, but rather, to keep you comfortable, satisfied (and maybe a little tipsy). Cheers. – E.H