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
"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