Archive for the 'New York' Category

Always a popular summer destination, the Hamptons promise a beautiful warm weather getaway for city dwellers and tri-state residents alike looking to get away from the grind without the necessity of hopping on a plane. Located on the South Fork of Long Island, New York, there are gorgeous beaches to choose from, fabulous shopping opportunities and a bevy of food and drink options to cater to every crowd of any preference. While there are a plethora of wineries located on the North Fork, and some situated on the South Fork (like Wölffer, Channing Daughters and Duckwalk), my most recent trip out to the Island focused on trying new restaurants across the Hamptons to recommend. Here’s what I came up with:

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A pizza revolution has taken over New York and is quickly moving to the West coast and surely, everywhere in between. As the second-best-known pizza town (the boot across the pond being the first), New York has its share of historic pie stations, but there are new kids in town throwing the establishment off kilter.

With impeccably thin crusts, blistery surfaces and carefully-sourced toppings, artisanal pizza demands wine beyond basic, fruity reds. Pair this perfect pizza with a wine you want to shine, rather than a simple quaffer. Extra thought can take your bite from “Just OK” to the next level, like the pairing nirvana I recently experienced at artisanal pizza pioneer: Franny’s in Brooklyn.

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Before I started working full-time at Wine Enthusiast Magazine I held a freelance position that enabled me to work from home several days each week. Some people use periods of unemployment (or in my case underemployment) for travel or self-reflection—it becomes a time to sit back, introspect and remove oneself from the fray and frenzy. Me? I took my more flexible schedule and decided to explore NYC—the city I currently call home—at night. I like to think of this time, less as a hiatus for wild, booze-filled partying and more of a journalistic, social-anthropological foray into a part of the Manhattan experience previously unknown to me (I was always more of a worker bee). Case in point: I am now, as a journalist, blogging about it. The below represent some of my general musings and personal conclusions, a few of which will be discussed individually in future blogs.

The coolest kids go out on school nights. It’s common knowledge that the best nights to experience the city are weeknights: it’s less crowded and the oft-maligned untouchables of the nocturnal scene—i.e. the “bridge and tunnelers” from Jersey, Staten Island and Nassau County, Long Island—stay tucked away in their boroughs.

Most cool kids don’t have to get up in the morning. A good number of the weeknight partiers don’t keep regular hours—i.e. they’re students, models, model/actresses, socialites, socialite/model/actresses, aspiring DJs or filmmakers or other members of the creative class (and often members of the trust fund class as well) who need not be up and on for the 9 am office meeting.

Nightlife is a full-time occupation for some. I’m referring here not to bartenders, doorman and all the various nightclub/lounge proprietors and managers but to another ubiquitous NYC night creature—the promoter. These are the individuals (usually male) responsible for bringing the young, pretty party people (usually female) to certain establishments. Promoters typically can be spotted at whatever table is surrounded by the largest group of drunken girls and usually have well over 1,000 female friends on Facebook, most of whom they’ve never met.

Smoking only recently died. The infamous 2003 smoking ban, which drastically altered the city’s bar scene, only recently started to apply at certain downtown (and often subterranean) establishments.

There are two (very) general schools of NYC nightlife. There are thousands of places open on any given night in Manhattan but the more exclusive hotspots roughly fall into two broad categories: the “models and bottles” clubs and the grittier, more downtown, more hipster spots. This one will be explored in a future blog.

Wine is for earlier in the night. The bottles in the phrase “bottles and models” are typically filled with Absolut or Grey Goose. While more and more wine bars are cropping up in Manhattan, the nightlife scene is more about the hard stuff. And it’s mostly vodka with the retro-speakeasy cocktail appreciation also reserved for earlier in the night.

The daytime can be party time too. Brunch has long been a NYC ritual though in 2009 the “wild brunch” concept took hold with more New Yorkers realizing the first half of the day was an untapped reserve for potential partying. The two general versions—“the Meatpacking District’s “Bottles and Brunch” and the LES more budget approach—will also be explored in a future post.

I went into a wine shop this past weekend for the first time in a couple of months. I was out in the Hamptons (Long Island, New York) for a little rest and relaxation, and was thinking that the most appropriate purchase I could make would be a nice Long Island rosé. I’m always a big fan of Wölffer’s rosé, and to me nothing says Montauk more than relaxing by the beach with an immensely refreshing local wine from a vineyard that you pass on the way out to the end of the south fork.

While in the wine shop, like any curious wine lover and consumer, I browsed the aisles to see if anything new or interesting caught my eye.

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It’s no secret that New Yorkers are proud of their city. Many who were born here, fall in love quickly and never leave. For those who are into food and wine, New York is an absolute playground with every type of cuisine at your fingertips, often within short blocks of each other. With access to everything, we still have a special pride for native New York foods like great bagels and pizza. It’s no surprise that New York wine regions like the Finger Lakes and Long Island have blossomed to support such an appetite. But for some reason, there is a disconnect.

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There’s a downside to a multi-course dinner where the wine is flowing in abundance: it can get tiring. Many a wine-driven evening, whether among friends or professional colleagues, goes from perky, energetic greetings to the tipsy-driven, over-amped, delusionally brilliant conversational phase to the more muted, philosophical turn to the groggy, lethargic finale. Two factors can wake the senses in the late innings: great food with unexpected elements and scintillating dinner companions.

Both were in abundance at a dinner I attended in mid-April at The Modern in New York City. It was to celebrate St. Supéry’s 20th anniversary in Napa Valley,

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Growing up in northern Michigan, I was certainly no stranger to the concept of outdoor sports. Fishing, hunting, waterskiing, hiking, skiing—it was all around me. I’ll admit though, I was more of an indoor creature—more likely to have my face stuck in a book than chopping wood or ice fishing. So when I traveled to the Finger Lakes in upstate New York last weekend on a wine tasting trip and was told that we’d also be dropping some lines in Cayuga Lake, I was somewhat wary.

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I spent last weekend with thirty prolific and passionate wine bloggers on the North and South Fork of Long Island for a new event called, TasteCamp EAST. It was hosted by the king of New York wine blogging, Lenn Thompson. One of the many highlights of the trip for me was a flavor-filled lunch and vineyard walk at Shinn Estate Vineyards, on the North Fork. 

Owners Barbara Shinn and David  Page know a thing or two about food, after spending years building elegant restaurant Home on Cornelia Street, in Manhattan, which celebrates “farm to table” cuisine. They bring that same spirit to the cooking at the winery. David prepared a beautiful spread of dishes and laid out dozens of wines from Shinn, Jamesport, and Macari Vineyards. So, when assigned the difficult task of filling up a plate and pairing lunch with any wine you like, what does one do? I experimented to my heart’s delight.

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There has been much talk, including in my own recent UnReserved post, about the efforts restaurants are making to attract customers during tough economic times. Slashed prices, freebies, more wines by the glass, waiving of corkage—all are new tactics that smart restaurateurs are using to get diners in seats. The idea that “the customer is king” is an intelligent approach when so many people are reluctant to go out.  I wish I could say that all of my own recent experiences dining out in New York reinforced this approach, but unfortunately, they didn’t.

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With the economy faltering, restaurants across the country are taking a painful hit. Even in Manhattan where I live, a quick walk-by of usually bustling eateries gives the impression that more people are cooking at home. But for diligent diners nationwide, the downturn can actually be a bonus. Where wresting a table at buzzy joints was akin to an audience with the Pope a year ago, tables for mere mortals are becoming available at short notice. Special “happy hour” prices for both food and drinks are appearing at upscale establishments that in the past had no need of offering value. And small plates menus, though not a new trend, seem to be increasing—a strategic approach for budget-minded gourmets who may want to taste what the restaurant has to offer without splurging on a $40-plus entrée.

Varying degrees of this new way of thinking were apparent to me this past week in my own culinary meanderings—I dined at three diverse and equally impressive restaurants: The recently opened Tarry Lodge in Port Chester, New York, the new venture by Joe Bastianich and Mario Batali (among others); Haven in Manhattan’s Midtown East, also newly opened and whose menus are conceived by former Mercer Kitchen chef Kay Choe; and Graffiti in Manhattan’s East Village, the 14-month-old food and wine bar of cookbook author and celebrated pastry provocateur Jehangir Mehta.

All three restaurants specialize in eclectic, small plate offerings at reasonable prices. Two of them, Graffiti and Haven, focus on global cuisine (a shrimp dish from Thailand, Argentine flank steak) and eclectic wines by the glass (think German Rivaner, Hegre Nache from Spain) offering a way for budget-minded diners to trot the globe without the pricey airfare. It reminded me that whether you cook eclectic cuisine at home or dine out, wine and food is an adventure—an excellent way to explore mentally in a time when travel takes a back seat.

At Tarry Lodge, located in a gleaming, century-old building, the journey ranges all over Italy, and the fare is hardly predictable. Plates like Armandino’s salumi (made by Batali’s father), guanciale (pork jowl), black truffle and sunny-side egg pizza and brasato al Barolo with polenta and horseradish smack of being hand-picked by Batali, Bastianich and Chef Andy Nusser—giving diners the feeling of jaunting around Italy with insiders as culinary guides. Splurge a bit with the grilled lamb chops. They’re succulent and perfectly prepared—you won’t be disappointed. Bastianich himself works the room and aids diners with wine choices, whether they’re eating an $8 plate of rock shrimp or a $60 ribeye for two. The wine list is surprising and Bastianich chose a delicious and affordable 2005 Montefalco Rosso for us that bridged a range of flavors and dishes. I was impressed with how respectful he was of budget—no attitude whatsoever.

Haven’s ambiance—think funky English manor meets Victorian brothel—is part of its charm, but the globetrotting small plates menu and imaginative wines by the glass list are both fun and educational. Again, Haven’s menu feels like it was hand-selected by the absent eccentric jetsetter in whose “house” you are kicking back. Two to three small plates are enough to fill you up and won’t break the bank by any means. The lobster risotto and Thai duckling meatballs are outstanding. I mixed it up with Rivaner, a Rhône red and a Washington Cab. I love that more restaurants around the country are having fun with their by the glass menus and really pushing interesting, affordable wines. It’s about time.

The bargain traveling ended yesterday at Graffiti, a closet-sized small plates spot in the East Village. I smelled the rich spices before I even opened the door—a good sign. Like the Tarry Lodge, Graffiti had a homey, personal touch with Mehta working the floor, discussing the exotic, Ayurvedic-influenced nibbles and pouring our wine. The fair, fixed per-glass price of $8 made wine choices easy and invited experimenting. So did the beautifully spiced, aromatic dishes—we had a chili shrimp and a dish of skate to die for and walked out of there with some money left in our pockets.

It’s a grim world out there and nearly everyone has been financially impacted in some way. But thanks to creative chefs and clued-in restaurateurs, there are deals to be had in the gourmet world for the diner who wants to continue to live the good life of wine and food, but is watching his/her pennies.

What creative approaches have you seen restaurants taking in this downturn? What do you wish you were seeing more of?