At Chez Sardine, snacks such as the caviar and butter toast are bite-sized but decadent, and good pre-dinner drink accompaniments. At $17 a piece, it’s probably best to just have one toast and move on to sample the rest of the menu. But one is really just the right amount to whet your appetite. A scoop of bowfin (also known as grinnell) caviar tops a small piece of buttered and toasted strecci bread from Sullivan Street Bakery. Grinnell caviar comes from the Louisiana bayou. While not top-ranking in the spectrum of caviar, it is still tasty and relatively affordable. In this straightforward pairing of butter, toast and fish eggs, Chez Sardine gets the party started with a chic modern twist on a classic.

Photography Credit: Henry Hargreaves