I’m in Manhattan from June 1 to June 5th - looking for wine bars which showcase interesting, out of the main stream wines.
Suggestions welcome.
Thanks, Jay
Racine’s
I definitely will have to check out Racine’s. Terroir (several locations) and Ten Bells are other big wino hangouts.
Been to Terroir in TriBeCa several times - always fun. Especially if you like Riesling.
Agree re terroir…
Racines, Pearl & Ash, Ten Bells, Terroir.
Aren’t the prices at ten bells EXTREMELY high? Just because a place serves Ganevat …
The food at Racines is also really excellent.
EDIT - just checked. High, but no worse than Racines. Personally, I think you get better and more interesting wines at the bars of some of the better restaurants; the lists at Racine (obviously) and Ten Bells are just like shopping at Chambers or any one of a dozen copycat places, but with big markups.
I love the atmosphere at Ten Bells but prices have spiraled up out of control in the past few years. Portion sizes of their dishes have also shrunk. I still go, just not as often. I really need to visit Racines too.
I would add Heidi’s on the UES and Tangled Vines on the UWS. Downtown, you also add Pata Negra to the list of cool small wine bars, though his list of older Spanish wines got picked over (sorry). Still, who can resist Jamon Iberico?
Oh, I forgot Rouge Tomate (duh) on the UES too. KILLER list, not too bad markups, and the food is pretty good too.
Surprised no one has mentioned Morrell’s. Their glass list is WAY better than it used to be - and the pricing isn’t unfair, though expensive - the wines are high quality. While there are plenty of international style wines, it’s actually a decent BTG (presumably Coravin) list these days; there’s Joguet, Donnhoff, Schloss Lieser, some interesting burgs in the $20-30 a glass range (Chevillon Aligote? Cool!)
I second Terroir in Tribeca… fun place and cool location.
Yes, I always forget to add in Rouge Tomate even though I know it’s great. I suppose I think of it more as a restaurant than a wine bar, but really, it can be both.
Reisling - yummmm!
I’m going to be making a list of these places and write up my experiences. Keep those suggestions coming.
Thanks, Jay
Sanjay – FYI, Racines is the new restaurant/wine bar opened by one of Chambers Street’s owners. Haven’t been there yet.
I’m surprised no one has mentioned Bar Boulud across from Lincoln Center. There are usually some very good things by the glass, and the food is excellent. (Try the coq au vin if you’re doing a full meal. It’s awesome.)
I’ve never been keen on Ten Bells. Too crowded and I wasn’t that excited by the wines. In fact, I can’t recall any wine there that I enjoyed, and I’ve been there three times, last time maybe three years ago.
I much prefer Terroirs Tribeca to the original on 12th. Easier to get a table.
Tangled Vine has good food and an interesting list, but it’s gotten VERY noisy. I used to enjoy it more.
Vareli on Broadway at 111th near Columbia has an interesting list and good food.
A friend took me to Corsino in the West Village a few months ago, and the somm had some unusual and interesting things (not everything is on the linked list). He was quite passionated and committed. The food was good, too.
There’s also the winebar in the Eataly market on 23rd at 5th Ave. if you’re willing to stand. That’s kind of a fun environment.
My current favorite is Racines. Great food, great wine and you can hear yourself think.
Ten Bells has excellent food but is more a noisy party atmosphere. If you like that you might prefer it.
Trestle on Tenth has a great list, great food, not quite as loud as Ten Bells but uncomfortable for me (you might have gathered that I’m really noise averse).
I keep hearing great things about Pearl and Ash but I also hear they’re noisy so I haven’t made it there yet.
Rouge Tomate is another place I’ve been meaning to get to. Another great list.
The primary focus during this trip was wine and I had a great time at Pearl and Ash and Rouge Tomatoe. I ended up going to Tomato Rouge twice for dinner and once again just for some wine.
The food was excellent at Pearl and Ash, and the hospitality excellent. I had an interesting wine from New Mexico - Merkin Vineyards Shinola Bianca as well as couple of other wines by the glass.
I highly recommend Rouge Tomatoe - My primary point of contact there was the associate Sommelier - Veronica. Her recommendations were spot on - the first night I had L’Enclos Savanniere from Eric Morgat. Speactacular wine and I understand they only have two more bottles left. Also had their tasting menu where they subbed out the lamb for Halibut since I don’t eat lamb. All the courses were delicious.
Second night, I went back for their a la carte options and had a bottle of Mathide and Yves Gangloff’s Saint Joseph white wine. This was was also recommended by Veronica. Food was excellent and so was the wine.
Upon one of the bartender’s recommendation, the next night I went to The Modern by MOMA. I was disappointed with pretty much everything. The ambience reminded me of a cafeteria, and the two dishes I had - Marinated Tuna and the Herb Coated Chicken were painfully boring. While the chicken was perfectly cooked, whatever herbs they used did not permeate the chicken and contributed nothing to the flavour. When I mentioned this to the server, he removed it from the bill which I had not expected.
Since Rouge Tomatoe was on my way to where I was staying, ended up going there for some after dinner wine and my only request to the sommelier was “something interesting and complex around $100”. She ended up opening a bottle of Hatzidakis Nikteri Nyxtep (Assyrtiko grapes harvested at night). I ended up sharing this with the diner next to me who was also a visitor to NYC.
Over this and the previous nights, she also ended up pouring some other wines with the comment “try this and see what you think”. All in all, I will definitely make a point of going back there on my next visit.
As for the pricing - for someone who is used to the ridiculous prices in Toronto, I thought the prices were on the cheaper side. Half a bottle of Krug Grand Cuvee was only $94 on the restaurant list whereas the same one is $135 at the LCBO.
Good times were had.
Cheers, Jay