a rare night out with a good friend in town, a few of us split a few bottles at gem wine which ive been meaning to try. we sat outside and drank so i cant really comment but it was a nice place to hang with friends and ill come back to try the food with my wife when we can.
moved on to wildair which i havent been to since pretty much when they opened in 2015 or so. it was meant to be a backup if we couldnt get seated at gem wine but we ended up more interested in their bottle list and their food menu. i spent a bit of my summer trying a bunch of the new wine bars and have to say that wildair in 2022 was better than all of them on food and wine. was very impressed with everything including the service. we had a bottle of 2021 matassa vin de france blanc which was solid and were offered some complimentary glasses of a matassa red that were great as well. i assumed that the place was on the decline when jorge moved to frenchette but id go back to wildair before frenchette or le rock if i had the option.
finished up with a bottle of 2016 clos rougeard at skin contact among other samples of very solid whites from eben. we always have a good time here and the rougeard was well priced and very solid.
another solid mealā¦this time at the back bar room at oxalis. was on the fence about this place but this was ideal for dinner before seeing pavement at kings theatre. i brought a bottle of dāangerville and the corkage was a very respectable $25. service was super friendly and competentā¦a bit too precious for my taste initially. 3 courses for $65ā¦some complimentary bubbles, incredible bread (like the best ive had since mirazurā¦chef once worked there apparently), and very tasty food.
we will return for their full tasting menu when we ever get 2.5 hours away from our kid.
Tried to get into The Four Horsemen last minute on Friday. I knew it was a long shot, but one of my kids was in town and we were looking for something fun. Unfortunately it wasnāt to be. Walked over to St. Anselm and was shut out there too. Hopped in the car and zipped over to Ernestoās where we had a fantastic meal.
Started with the gildas (is there a better single bite of food?), both croquetaās (jamon and chicken)ā¦I think I prefer the jamon croqueta by a hair, but both are excellent. Also had the Bikini Hemingway which is essentially a grilled cheese sandwich with shrimp. Mains were the rabbit and mushroom paella which was off the charts, the artichokes and clams, and the kinderhook farm pork chop cooked to perfection. If I had one nit to pick, the pork chop comes with a side of black beans and pheasant in sort of a cassoulet form. I found the pheasant to be a bit tough.
Washed it down with a couple of cocktailsā¦their version of a Paper Plane where they subbed out the Nonino for Averna, a sherry based martini and a bottle of 2017 Domaine De La Borde Terre du Lias that was crisp and perfect with the meal.
Service is just the way I like itā¦the staff is super into what they are doing, but thereās nothing pretentious.
Iāve been to the Noortwyck three times. Its my favorite new restaurant in the city. Great wine list, corkage friendly, and terrific food. The duck is outrageous. Reminiscent of duck in the good old days of EMP. Just crave-able delicious food and completely unpretentious.
I know that others will have different recommendations, but I have always loved Decoy - Iāve thrown a bunch of dinners there- service is always amazing- and the duck has never disappointed.
Jay - I have never been a fan of most Danny Meyer spots with the exception of The Modern. The food just never excites me and the hospitality is always great but its never enough to overcome my lack of interest in the food. I was invited to Manhatta with a Chef who knows the new chef well and another celebrity / food type celebrity so I reluctantly went, I say this only to highlight we definitely got VIP level attention from the kitchen which I have come to learn can be a much different experience. I loved the food and have already made a reservation to go back next week.
