I’m not sure whether it was unfair of me to be automatically skeptical of the cuisine provided at a venue largely known for its live music, but that was my prejudice, and I was sticking to it. Imagine my surprise when it turned out the cuisine at Iota was edible – even tasty!
We started off the night just grabbing some chicken fingers, but I thought their take rose above the usual fare. They weren’t overly reliant on their breading for flavor (though there was plenty of crunch there), and the honey/mustard sauce hit the spot, and didn’t have the weird, congealed goopiness that many other offerings have.
Later in the night, we were still hungry, and ended up a little more hardcore in our ordering. I got the prosciutto and gouda sandwich, and it was great! Gouda’s not my first choice in terms of cheeses I’d pair with the salty, cured meat, but it worked just fine, and came with a hard & hearty roll to match. Best were the fries on the side – incredibly crispy, and very well-seasoned: I noticed hints of pepper, garlic and perhaps even rye.

The place even has a cheese plate, with everything from a fig spread to a manchengo to more pungent varieties. Perhaps a stuffy companion to the Corona I was drinking, but it still hit the spot.
Not every dish is a winner; two friends ordered the shrimp puttanesca pasta, and I found the linguine limp and the sauce spicy but uninteresting. But rest assured that if you find yourself catching a band at Iota and forgetting to eat dinner beforehand, you stand a decent chance of leaving the place satisfied (unless, of course, the band totally sucks).

-MJF