Manhattan Wine Bars

M

Monk

#1
#1
Ron Ciavolino, the head of wine studies at the Institute of Culinary Education, holds court on what he thinks is right and wrong with the Manhattan wine bar scene. He recommends five bars in the city. Here's my favorite description:

"Bar Stuzzichini

"Why he loves it: “They have a magnificent selection of Italian wines. Also, I was able to train the bartender, Adam, to make my Manhattan the way I like it. What he did was something that irritates me with inexperienced bartenders: You make the drink, and the drink is sitting in the cocktail shaker. It’s on the ice. At that particular moment, you can’t imagine the things that can go wrong: The phone rings. We answer the phone and we let the ice melt into the drink, so it’s completely ruined. Somebody comes to the bar and asks for directions to Tibet—we could pour the drink and then give directions to Tibet, but we don’t do that. Do you know what that does to all martini and Manhattan drinks?”

"[Metromix interviewer]Um, it destroys them? [Ciavolino]“You hemorrhage through all of your apertures.”

For his list of recommendations:

http://newyork.metromix.com/restaurants/photogallery/ron-ciavolino-s-top/323716/content
 
M

Monk

#4
#4
Well, you know. It has a bar. And they serve wines by the glass (and some pretty good wines at that).
 
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E

EHHa

#6
#6
wine bars - or -

"seems" EVERY wine bar in Manhattan is just an excuse to gouge the customer with generally average-to-below average selections by-the-glass, marked-up absurdly. Until red wines (served too warm) are served at the "appropiate" temperature, as well as whites (served too cold); wine bars will continue to be pretty much the same as going to a diner, except most are darker. also, it "appears" most wine bars are run by former waiters, or managers; therefore, an obvious question? what quantifies them to open a wine bar??
 
J

justlooking

#7
#7
Slinky Bender said:
So every reasonably decent restaurant in NY is a wine bar?
Click to expand...
I think the author would say that not every reasonably decent restaurant in New York has a bar that's set up as a separate bar with its own menu and stuff, calculated to function as its own entity rather than as a place to wait for a table.

Many do -- but far from all.
 
D

Daddycool

#8
#8
Monk said:
You make the drink, and the drink is sitting in the cocktail shaker. It’s on the ice. At that particular moment, you can’t imagine the things that can go wrong: The phone rings. We answer the phone and we let the ice melt into the drink, so it’s completely ruined.

For his list of recommendations:
Click to expand...
Am I to assume that this would end adding water to Scotch debate too?
 
M

Monk

#10
#10
Slinky Bender said:
So every reasonably decent restaurant in NY is a wine bar?
Click to expand...
You'd be surprised (although, probably not) to find that many decent New York restaurants have lousy wine-by-the-glass menus. Whether classifying a restaurant bar as a "wine bar" is correct is up for interpretation, although I tend to agree with you that it's a stretch.
 
Slinky Bender

Slinky Bender

The All Powerful Moderator
#12
#12
justlooking said:
I think the author would say that not every reasonably decent restaurant in New York has a bar that's set up as a separate bar with its own menu and stuff, calculated to function as its own entity rather than as a place to wait for a table.

Many do -- but far from all.
Click to expand...
OK, so why isn't Gramercy Tavern on the list? It beats the snot out of most of them.
 
J

Juliet_in_SF

#20
#20
I would love to recommend a few wine bars and cooperatives if you are ever in the San Francisco - Napa Valley area. I have been thinking of opening a wine bar in San Jose myself (its my second passion after fabulous sex).
 
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