CITYSCENE
New York
> Fedora

The 1950s neon sign beckoning from the street immediately sets the tone for Fedora, Gabriel Stulman’s seamless hybrid of prohibition-era speakeasy and classic neighborhood bistro. Extending a formula already perfected at Joseph Leonard, his other neighborhood gem, here he gives local ingredients a modern twist to keep classic dishes interesting, such as layering cured Spanish mackerel over crushed avocado, or jazzing up crackling duck confit with barbecue sauce and dates. A thoughtful, French-leaning wine list— a collaboration between Stulman and John McNulty, beverage director at Joseph Leonard—follows suit, balancing value-driven Old World favorites with enough obscure, quirky offerings to satisfy wine geeks: There’s an entire section of cru Beaujolais, as well as wines like François Cazin’s Cour-Cheverny Cuvée Renaissance, a brilliant wash of sweetness and salinity for a surprising sweetbread and octopus entrée.
—Zachary Sussman

Fedora, 239 W. 4th St., NYC; 646-449-9336, fedoranyc.com (reviewed W&S, 6/11)


>
Appellation / Le Dû Wines / Wine Therapy

At press time, the city was restlessly awaiting the late-autumn onslaught of big-name, big-wine-list openings. The Bastianich-Batali crew (Babbo, Lupa, Esca, and so on) is busily compiling Italian bottles for the list at Del Posto in the Meatpacking District, while a few blocks away Zak Pelaccio is assembling Austrian and German whites for the Malaysian food at his new Fatty Crab. Bill Telepan (JUdson Grill) is working out cellar space at the new Telepan on the Upper West Side, while the guys at Five Points are working on opening a west side branch called Cookshop. And Olivier Flosse from Café Boulud has been assembling a deep, French-skewed list for Andrew Carmellini's yet-to-be-named place on 26th Street. But thanks to a slew of new wine stores, New Yorkers aren't lacking for wine and people to help them find it: There's Le Dû Wines in the West Village, opened by Jean-Luc Le Dû, the former sommelier at Daniel; Appellation, a Chelsea space devoted to organic and biodynamic wines from Scott Pactor; and Wine Therapy, a hip store focusing on small-production and organic wines, run by Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Humbert.
—Tara Q. Thomas

Appellation, 156 10th Ave., 212-741-9474; Le Dû Wines, 600 Washington St., 212-924-6999; Wine Therapy, 171 Elizabeth St., 212-695-2999


> Buttermilk Channel

Buttermilk Channel takes its name from the waterway a few hundred yards west, between Brooklyn's shipyards and Governors Island: Local dairy farmers used to say the strong current could churn milk into butter on the boatride to Manhattan. The borough's dairies are long gone, but owner Doug Cromwell has done his best to find every other local specialty available, from mozzarella made right up the street at Caputo's and sausages from neighborhood favorite Esposito's to meats and vegetables from local farmers' markets. He's complemented the food with an all-American wine list heavy on East Coast offerings, like Hermann J. Wiemer's Dry Riesling from the Finger Lakes, Pellegrini's Cabernet Franc from Long Island and a merlot from Brooklyn Oenology, made just the other side of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway in Red Hook.
—Tara Q. Thomas

Buttermilk Channel, 524 Court St., Brooklyn; 718-852-8490, buttermilkchannelnyc.com (reviewed W&S 6/09)


> L'Artusi

The lads who made cramped-comfort chic at teenie dell'anima have unfurled their wings at their spacious second Greenwich Village venture, L'Artusi, whose name winks at a famous 19th-century Italian cookbook author–Pellegrino Artusi. In his new open kitchen, executive chef Gabriel Thompson riffs on classic Italian dishes–most priced less than $20–with modern twists. At the huge bar, Aaron Sherman's cocktails (all under $12) commingle Italian and American spirits and liqueurs, like the Benevento, an Italian version of a Manhattan (Michter's Rye, Carpano Antica and Strega) and the Sicily Flip, a mixture of gin, bitters, egg and nutmeg. Beverage director Joe Campanale has crafted a wine list rich in bargains, especially those from lesser-known appellations, like a Lini Lambrusco Bianco from Emilia-Romagna ($36) or La Pallaza's 1998 Sangiovese di Romagna Notturno ($46); in fact, there are myriad older vintages on the list from the 1990s—when Campanale and his cohorts were in high school.
—Anthony Giglio

L'Artusi, 228 W. 10th St., NYC; 212-255-5757 lartusinyc.com (reviewed W&S 6/09)


> Aroma

Aroma rewards the patient with a seat in its miniscule space, and thus the chance to plumb the wine list of affordable gems. Vito Polosa, who owns the space with Alexandra Degiorgio, scoured Italy for the obscure and delightful, like a palate-piquing pigato from Colle dei Bardellini in Liguria; a nutty, smooth nuragus from Sardinia's Argiolas; and a funky, spicy gaglioppo from Odoardi in Calabria. To eat-as these wines are the Italian high-acid sort that make the mouth water-dive into chef Christopher Daly's vibrant, Mediterranean-accented menu, with dishes like a "paella" of seafood, sausage and chicken nested in fregola, or the tramezzini of silky house-smoked salmon on the bar menu. Just be sure to leave room for the truffles that sweeten the arrival of the bill.
—Tara Q. Thomas

Aroma, 36 E. 4th St., New York, NY; 212-375-0100; aromanyc.com


> Bar Boulud

If things go as planned, wine lovers will be awash in new places to enjoy an excellent glass of wine this year. As of press time, we were waiting for doors to open on Bar Boulud, an upscale wine bar from chef Daniel Boulud and sommelier Daniel Johnnes; Adour Alain Ducasse, where high-tech gadgetry beams an interactive wine list onto the bar; Terroir, a wine bar from the obsessive sommelier Paul Grieco and chef Marco Canora of Hearth and Insieme; Solex, a French wine bar from Frederick Twomey, who's already done Italian with Bar Veloce and Spanish with Bar Carrera; and Bar Blanc, a West Village boîte from three Bouley alums. Meanwhile, sate your thirst at El Quinto Pino, a shoebox-sized space from Mani Dawes, Alexandra Raij and Heather Belz of the quintessential tapas bar Tia Pol. The ever-changing, smartly selected wine list is as intriguing as the food, which runs from the traditional boquerones to sea urchin sandwiches.
- Tara Q. Thomas


Adour Alain Ducasse, 2 E. 55th; 212-753-4500 Bar Blanc, 142 W. 10th St.; 212-255-2330 Bar Boulud, 1900 Broadway; 212-595-0303 El Quinto Pino, 401 West 24th St.; 212-206-6900 Solex, 103 First Ave.; 212-777-6677 Terroir, 413 E. 12th St.; no phone yet (reviewed W&S 2/08)


> Barbuto

Barbuto offers some of the best dining in NY's West Village - not so surprising, given it's run by Jonathan Waxman, chef behind '80s sensation Jams and the recently-shuttered Washington Park. What's startling is the prices: Everything on the menu runs less than $20, save for a bread-salad-stuffed, wood oven-roasted chicken for two that will have you rethinking Thanksgiving turkey. The choices read like the index of a Marcella Hazan cookbook, with Italian classics like fritto misto, fontina fonduta, pesce al forno and gelato to finish - and, like Hazan's recipes, they'd be dull if they weren't done so well. More challenging is the wine selection, a candidate for Most Obscure Italian Wine List In Manhattan, but no worries. Even if you can't tell a verduzzo from a cerasuolo from a St. Bernard, the selection is so well chosen you can't go wrong.
—Tara Q. Thomas

Barbuto, 775 Washington St., NYC; 212-924-9700; barbutonyc.com


> Bussaco

In sommelier circles, Master Sommelier Scott Carney is something of a legend, most famous perhaps for building the wine list at Gotham Bar & Grill into one of the city's best. Now he's opened his own place in Brooklyn's busy Park Slope neighborhood with his wife, Melanie Kozol. Though it takes its name from an ancient forest and palace-turned-hotel in Portugal, this Bussaco is all about Brooklyn, from the communal table (cut from a felled oak in nearby Prospect Park) to the art (Kozol's and others) to the chef (Matthew Schaefer, formerly of JUdson Grill). Schaefer scours local farmstands for the season's best produce; in October, that meant sweet end-of-season tomatoes sliced over mozzarella made to order as well as silky collard greens with expertly fried poussin. The wine list is so well curated it's hard to go wrong–will it be the Champagnelike Parigot Crémant at $36, or a Zilliken riesling at $33 to start? Then there's a rare Emidio Pepe Montepulcino d'Abruzzo, or instead, Marchesi de Gresy's Barbera, hard to argue with at $28 a bottle...
—Tara Q. Thomas

Bussaco, 833 Union St., Brooklyn, NY; 718-857-8828 bussacobklyn.com (reviewed W&S 12/08)


> Café Katja

The menu is limited at this 25-seat Austrian nook, but the homemade wursts and Emmentaler spaetzle are delicious and satisfying. As you'd expect, Cypriot sommelier Georgios Hadjistylianou's list offers mostly Austrian options like a piercing Nigl Grner Veltliner Kremser Freiheit and melony Zierfandler from Stadlmann. There's also a lineup of eaux de vie from Hans Reisetbauer, including his intensely fragrant Blue Gin crafted from 20 different botanicals. Or finish with the foresty flavors of Zirbenz's stone pine liqueur.
- Nicole Drummer

79 Orchard St.; 212-219-9545 (reviewed W&S 4/08)


> Clo

Whether or not you plan to dine at Per Se or Masa, you can meet up for a glass of wine at Clo, in Columbus Circle's Time Warner Center-a diminutive wine bar on the fourth floor. The outside walls of the freestanding bar double as display racks for unusual wine accessories; the inside walls hold an Enomatic to keep the bottles that former Aureole sommelier Andrew Bradbury and his team have searched out. Take a seat at the bar and move your hand over the tabletop to peruse the interactive wine menu. Technophobes can simply order a plate of charcutierie and ask the sommelier for advice.
—Tara Q. Thomas

Clo, Time Warner Center, 10 Columbus Circle, NY, 212-823-9898; clowines.com (reviewed W&S 2/09)


> Delicatessen

Delicatessen is not your Bubby's pastrami pit stop of yore, but rather the brainstorm of Mark Thomas Amadei and Andrew Glassberg, the original partners in Chelsea hotspot Cafeteria. Luckily for kosher stalwart Katz's Deli nearby on the Lower East Side, Delicatessen aims westward toward the trendsters in SoHo and NoLiTa, who, thanks to the likes of neighborhood bôites like Pegu Club, know a real cocktail from the shmontses (what Bubby would call nonsense). Sergio Maclean, who managed the bars at the Soho and Tribeca Grand Hotels, has crafted a list worthy of grandmotherly guilt ("who told you to drink so many?") that includes the "Absinthe Sazerac," blending the mind-bending elixir with rye, sugar and bitters, the "Ginger Gimlet," mixed with blanco tequila, ginger liqueur, lime and fresh ginger, and the "Caperucita Roja," made with cahaca, strawberries, lime and sugar. Must I tell you more? Go already!
—Anthony Giglio

Delicatessen, 54 Prince St., New York, NY; 212-226-0211; delicatessennyc.com (reviewed W&S 10/08)


> Falai

Falai showcases the sweet and savory talents of Iacopo Falai, former pastry chef of Le Cirque, in a serene white space on a hip stretch of Manhattan's Lower East Side. His pastry connections may have you eyeing the pork with cocoa beans-and it is good-but the pastas star, tender and rich in combinations like gnudi melting into sage-butter sauce or chewy pici spiked with crisp, porky musetto. To drink, start with a flute of the delicate, peachy Col Vetoraz Prosecco ($7), then call over Alberto Taddei, a former sommelier at Enoteca Pinchiorri in Florence, who's jammed his small list with Italian gems rarely seen here. And when he suggests something unusual, like a frapatto from Sicilia or a grüner veltliner from Alto Adige, just say yes. He wouldn't steer you wrong.
—Tara Q. Thomas

Falai, 68 Clinton St., NYC, NY; 212-253-1960


> Fresh

Fresh may be the only place we know of where you can wash down fried cod's tongues with a crisp, minerally sip of bianchetta genovese from Liguria, but then it's also one of the few restaurants we know of that's co-owned by a top New York seafood purveyor. Eric Tevrow of Early Morning Seafood has partnered with chef Martin Burge to open this temple to all things oceanic. While cod's tongues definitely take the esoterica prize (who knew cod had tongues?), everything here is artful and elegantly prepared, and as the name suggests, as fresh as fresh gets. The well-chosen wine list is stocked with finds like Yves Cuilleron's Les Chaillets Vielles Vignes Condrieu, ideal with warm Maine sea urchins in a fennel broth, or a '99 Bernard Amiot Chambolle-Musigny, a great match for Burge's sautéed British Guyana shrimp risotto.
—Ray Isle

Fresh, 105 Reade St., NYC; 212-406-1900.


> The Harrison

The Harrison is the creation of hep cats Jimmy Bradley and Danny Abrams, of Chelsea's much-loved Red Cat. The duo's efforts have been lauded as nothing short of heroic for pulling off their opening - only a stone's throw from the former World Trade Center - just five weeks after the attack. With whitewashed barn wood and a hodgepodge of antiques, they've turned the sweeping room into a warm, comforting oasis, a theme carried through in the earthy, lusty flavors and Italian sensibility of the food (think homemade bresaola with fig syrup or cavatelli with braised veal cheeks). Warren Fraser has compiled some 200 esoteric, gently-priced wines, many under $40, including a '99 Vino Gatto Rosso and a 2000 Pio Bianco, both exclusive to the restaurant from Barolo producer Pio Cesare, whose proprietor, Pio Boffa, happens to be Bradley's cousin.
—Anthony Giglio

The Harrison, 355 Greenwich St., NYC; 212-274-9310


> Hearth

Hearth was warm and cozy during its first NY winter, offering deep plates of braised veal, tender lamb and melting pillow-like gnocchi on a lonely corner of First Avenue and 12th Street in the NYC's East Village. But owners Paul Grieco (former wine director of Gramercy Tavern) and Marco Canora (former chef of Craft and Craftbar) don't let you get too comfy - while Canora nestles veal next to its sweetbreads, and sets lamb on a ragu of lamb tongues, each plate holding echoes of flavor that ring long after each bite, wine guru Grieco presents a wine list that's at once simple and intimidating. Chock full of peculiar varieties like freisa and limited to Grieco's idea of seasonal wines (the selection will change completely every four months), the idea is to inspire diners to ask questions and draw on the knowledge of the highly trained staff to find matches as delicious as they are intriguing.
—Tara Q. Thomas

Hearth, 403 E. 12th St., NYC; 646-602-1300


> Industria Argentina

Industria Argentina presents a far more chic version of Argentine cuisine and fashion to NYC than the typical circuslike churrascaria. It's run by Stefano Villa and Fernando Dallorso, of the downtown boîtes Novecento and Azul, who have partnered with star chef Fernando Trocca of Sucre in Buenos Aires. Where Sucre is Franco-Argentine, Industria is all-Argentine, from the high-style smocks on the waitstaff to the wines on the extensive list. Unusual among Argentine restaurants in NYC, the seafood is as good as the blood-rare steaks and tender sweetbreads, with sea bass mounted on a fruity salsa punctuated with fresh palm shoots and arctic char falling apart at the sight of a fork. Whatever you order, don't miss the empanadas, tender pastry crescents filled with chunks of juicy beef and baked in a live-fire oven. There's no better excuse for a glass of malbec.
—Tara Q. Thomas

Industria Argentina, 329 Greenwich St., New York, NY; 212-965-8560


> The John Dory

If you're feeling too rich or too thin, dine at John Dory, the latest venture from chef April Bloomfield and the Bastianich-Batali restaurant imbroglio. It's no wider than a large air-conditioning closet, a remora-like sliver of space that had been tacked onto the lease of the great white Del Posto. Ken Friedman and Joe Bastianich have converted this into one of the most dynamic tiny rooms of New York, with mirrors that reflect bright, open spaces through a fish tank that's almost as big as the open kitchen. One recent weekend night on the narrow terrace above the oyster bar, a lineup of blondes controlled the banquet of deuces, facing men with eccentric variations on hair loss. A supermodel and her mate had ordered the John Dory for two, filleted tableside. We settled in next door with the Brut Nature from André Clovet, a grower from Bouzy, and some remarkably fresh oysters from the far north of both coasts, followed by an escarole salad with anchovies, acidity and breadcrumbs to match the piercingly dry Champagne. Ask David Lynch, the former manager at Babbo, what he'd drink with the roast squid stuffed with chorizo and you'll get the lusciously dry R. Lopéz de Heredia 1998 Via Gravonia, a classic Rioja white. Or if you're up for a mess, the crab with cilantro and black pepper is a bath of spice, cooled by a glass of Huet 1996 Vouvray Le Mont Moelleux.
—Joshua Greene

The John Dory, 85 10th Ave., NY; 212-929-4948, thejohndory.com (reviewed W&S 2/09)


> Landmarc

Landmarc goes the unpretentious route: exposed ducts overhead, exposed bricks to either side, and underneath a planked floor that feels farmhouse-casual. The menu plays up the vibe: a pocket-size folded square of paper, it unfolds to reveal chef-owner Marc Murphy's robust bistro fare - roasted marrow bones with onion marmalade, warm goat cheese profiteroles with roasted red pepper salad, crispy sweetbreads with horseradish and green beans. Beverage director David Lombardo's adventurous wine list may be printed on regular-size paper, but the prices are in no way familiar, since Landmarc charges a fraction of the usual restaurant markup. '98 Château Leoville Barton for $65? A half-bottle of 2002 Ridge Lytton Springs for $18? With 225 bottles and 50 half-bottles priced similarly, you'll plan your next visit before you even leave the table.
—Ray Isle

Landmarc, 179 W. Broadway, NYC; 212-343-3883; 10 Columbus Circle, NYC; 212-823-6123 landmarc-restaurant.com


> Le Gamin

Le Gamin on Bedford Street may look like your typical francophile café, serving cheap coffee, crêpes and sandwiches, but it has one of the best wine lists in the city. Credit Winston Kulok, owner of this West Village location (there are five others, which do not share this wine list), with the inspired belief that every meal deserves a fine bottle of wine; and thank John Slover for his skill at finding stellar wines at dirt-cheap prices. Slover scours cellars, auctions and sales for forgotten bottles, obscure names and lots too small for bigger outfits to deal with, making for a list deep in delicious esoterica, like a Pichler '99 Weissburgunder Smaragd for $32 or a '91 D'Angelo Aglianico del Vulture for $34. And when you consider the merguez-stuffed sandwiches, tuna-topped salads, and crêpes as soft as your grandmother's handkerchiefs (and much tastier), there's every reason to become a regular.
—Tara Q. Thomas

Le Gamin, 27 Bedford St., NYC; 212-243-2846


> Macao Trading Co.

Macao, the country, is among the most densely populated areas on the planet. Macao Trading Co., the latest from the team behind Employees Only and Naked Lunch owner Patrick Fahey, just might be the most densely populated bar on the island of Manhattan. Convincingly decked out to evoke a 1940s portside warehouse in Macao's red lantern district, the Tribeca boite has no girls on call, but does offer a beautiful "Bashful Maiden" (Hendrick's Gin shaken with elderflower liqueur, velvet falernum, lemon juice and puréed melon), as well as more than a dozen other creative cocktails. There's also a full menu-encompassing Portugal, China, Africa and India-conceived by David Waltuck of Chanterelle.
—Anthony Giglio

Macao Trading Co., 311 Church St., NYC; 212-431-8750, macaonyc.com(reviewed W&S 4/09)


> Nios

Nios, named for the nine muses of Greek mythology, pays homage to the art of drama, as is fitting here in the heart of the theater district: Designed to evoke the elements, the space features a virtual fireplace lit by a bronze log, and a forest of trees dripping with gold-filled cups. The centerpiece of this jewel-box space, however, is a refrigerated wall of wine flanked by a rolling ladder: Master Sommelier Emily Wines, who runs the wine program at San Francisco's Fifth Floor, selected the 100-bottle list. Wine even features prominently in the cocktails, created by mixologist Jacques Bezuidenhout of Harry Denton's Starlight Room in San Francisco, with drinks such as the Zin Cup, a blend of zinfandel, Pimm's and ginger beer. Chef Patricia Williams sends out classic American cuisine in small-plate format—perfect for a pretheater fly-by and a sip of something delicious.
—Anthony Giglio

Nios, 130 West 46 St., NYC; 212-485-2999, niosrestaurant.com (reviewed W&S 10/09)


> The Oak Room

The Plaza Hotel's Oak Room has always had atmosphere; it's not hard to imagine F. Scott Fitzgerald swilling Martinis in the mahogany-paneled men's bar, or Cary Grant drinking in the chandeliered dining room after wrapping North By Northwest. Now, after a $400 million renovation of the hotel and restaurant, the menu and wine list may live up to the space. Chef Jol Antuns, formerly of Jol in Atlanta, brings a modern Mediterranean touch to the menu, adding dishes such as snails Antiboise, a shallow bowl of meaty mollusks in an orange rind-scented sauce highlighted with capers and olives, to classics like tournedos Rossini. Joshua Nadel, once a sommelier at Cru, has brought the wine list into the 21st century as well, proudly featuring unusual (and affordable) wines such as Sigalas Santorini alongside the expected array of Burgundy and Bordeaux. If you're on a budget, you might still stop into the bar for a Mid-Day Reviver (Rittenhouse Rye tweaked with maraschino liqueur and absinthe) to gaze at the cityscape murals that Everett Shinn painted nearly a century ago.
—Tara Q. Thomas

The Oak Room, 10 Central Park S., NY; 212-758-7777, oakroomny.com (reviewed W&S 2/09)


> Otto

Otto means eight in Italian, which is the street to remember when looking for the newest addition to the Batali-Bastianich Italian food empire. Ostensibly, this sprawling space on 5th Ave. and 8th Street is a pizzeria, but the chewy, thin-crust pizzas are only part of the story. Check out the antipasti, like tender beans cooked in fiasco; salsify saturated with saba, a sweet grape must; and the best caponata on earth. Order the fritelle of the day and offset them with salad - fennel brightened with citrus, or earthy scungilli sliced paper-thin. And leave room for homemade charcuterie. What to drink with it all? Babbo-transfer Morgan Rich encourages experimentation by offering two dozen wines by the quartino (about a glass and a half), not to mention more than half the bottles on his wide-ranging, all-Italian list at less than $50. No reservations taken.
—Tara Q. Thomas

Otto, One Fifth Ave., NYC, NY; 212-995-9559


> Paradou

Paradou is the latest claim on southern France by New York's Meatpacking District. But unlike neighbors Pastis and Rhone this micro-wine bar and eatery forgoes the maneuver-room required by the sharks of weekend cocktail scene. Behind Paradou's rustic blue barn doors, things are cozy and convivial, as diners share small plates, tartines, sandwiches grillés, crepes and salades, paired with a wine list with a Provençal bent. If it's cold outside, wedge in with a plate of charcuterie and a glass of red from Pic St-Loup or Cairanne; if warm, head to the back garden for a white anchoiade tartine, a glass of Tavel rosé, and even a game of pétanque on the house court.
—Taylor Antrim

Paradou, 8 Little W. 12th St., NYC; 212-463-8345.


> Scarpetta

"Very few people ever turn down the second bread basket," said the waiter as he brought another. One reason is the caponata, a meltingly tender mix of eggplant and tomato that trades out the typical sweet touches for a subtle note of anchovies. Then there's the butter, which is whipped with marscarpone and sprinkled with crunchy flakes of salt. Both are indicative of Scott Conant's cooking: seemingly simple but brilliantly tweaked. Sommelier Jeffrey Tascarella's wine list is similar: Among the usual suspects for an upscale Italian restaurant (many vintages of Aldo Conterno Barolo) hide unusual gems, like a rosé Prosecco from Collabrigo or an '03 Trebbiano d'Abruzzo from Emidio Pepe. A perfect meal here could consist of a glass of wine and the fresh burrata with pickled eggplant eaten at the bar in the front room, or the full-on Italian treatment with a pasta course in the sleek dining room with the retractable roof. Either way, accept the bread: you'll want it to fare la scarpetta, sop up the sauce left on the plate.
—Tara Q. Thomas

Scarpetta, 355 W. 14th St., (btw 8th & 9th Ave.) NYC; 212-691-0555; scarpettanyc.com


> SD26

SD26, on the north side of Manhattan's Madison Park, is the new face of what had been San Domenico for two decades on Central Park South. The massive space—the first American restaurant created by Italian designer Massimo Vignelli, resplendent in rich tones of red and gold—holds 138 in the main dining room, plus 70 more in the wine bar/lounge. Though there were never any doubts about executive chef Odette Fada's capabilities, the Mays sent her and chef de cuisine Matteo Bergamini to Rome for the summer to get a pulse on how hip Romans mangiare. The result: dishes like butternut squash gnocchi with chicken liver and fried sage or roasted guinea hen with chestnuts and leeks. Fans of San Domenico's classic uovo di raviolo (a raviolo oozing with soft-cooked egg yolk and truffled butter) will be happy to know it made the cut, and is as gooey, gorgeous and delicious as ever. Wine, of course, remains as serious a business as it was uptown. In the dining room, you can peruse the 10,000-plus bottle inventory via the wireless digital menu, but the real fun is at the wine bar, where a 24-bottle Enomatic system spouts out 1-, 2- or 4-ounce pours, including high-end picks like Batasiolo's 2004 Barolo or Triacca's 2005 Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Poderuccio. The pours are tracked on a special SD26 smartcard, handed to guests upon arrival and redeemed on the way out. If you're a registered smartcard member (you can sign up online), you can run a balance for future use. Yes, you will be back.
—Anthony Giglio

SD26, 19 E. 26th St., NYC; 212-265-5959, sd26ny.com (reviewed W&S 12/09)


> Seäsonal

At Seäsonal, a new restaurant from chefs Wolfgang Ban and Eduard Frauneder, you can sit down for a classic tafelspitz, a warming chunk of boiled beef in a deep oxtail consommé, and a bottle of Umathum's Zweigelt. But the real draw is the weinbar, open all day for a quick plate of speck and a glass of sparkling grüner veltliner, or a luxurious late-afternoon lunch of "high-altitude ravioli" redolent with smoked chanterelles and a carafe of Hirsch Riesling Zobing for $12.
—Tara Q. Thomas

Seäsonal, 132 W. 58th St., NYC; 212-957-5550, seasonalnyc.com (reviewed W&S 4/09)


The Tangled Vine

Imagine this: Open a wine bar on the Upper West Side, historically a land of middle-brow restaurants serving large portions of family-friendly fare. Create a friendly, intimate atmosphere by serving small plates with big flavors in a tiny space. Make sure chef is quality stock, like David Seigal, whos cooked at Mercat, Caf Gray, Bouley and Jean-Georges. Build a wine list dedicated to the most obscure corners of the wine world, to wines cherished by wine geeks and sommeliers but otherwise largely ignored, and offer many by the glass. (Also, extensively annotate the wine list so anyone can get an idea of what they are about to order without having to ask a question.) What happens? You have a bar full of people drinking R. López de Heredias nutty, saline Gravonia Rioja Blanco, or a 1992 Saarburger Rausch Spätlese Riesling from Zilliken. A bite of the incredibly juicy pork belly, transported in a crisp thin bread well-slathered with garlic aioli, might inspire a call for a glass of Cheverny Rouge from Domaine du Moulin, one of the many organic wineries on the list; the fideos negros with cuttlefish seems designed for the Señorio de P. Peciña Reserva, a fragrant, old-school Rioja. The small space overflows early, but its worth the wait to get in: Just think of the wines to be tasted.

—Tara Q. Thomas

The Tangled Vine, 434 Amsterdam Ave., NYC; 646-863-3896, tangledvinebar.com (reviewed W&S, 6/10)


> Telepan

Telepan supports the rumors of an Upper West Side restaurant renaissance. Chef Bill Telepan, late of Judson Grill, draws on his French training for dishes like a mushroom-and-frisée salad dressed with a perfect poached egg, and telegraphs his Hungarian heritage in truffle-scented pierogi and monkfish paprikas. Sommelier Aaron von Rock gathered deliciously affordable obscurities to balance the aged rarities ('89 de Vogüé Musigny; Barolo back to the '70s) If this is a neighborhood restaurant, the UWS is moving up.
—Tara Q. Thomas

Telepan, 72 W. 69th St., New York; 212-580-4300


> Terroir

Paul Greico has never been one to make "easy" wine lists. Ever since his days at Gramercy Tavern, he's delighted in turning people on to the obscure (say, Canadian gamay) and underappreciated (German riesling). At Insieme, his newest full-scale restaurant with chef Marc Canora, the hotel setting means he can't go too wild. Not so at Terroir, the shoebox-sized wine bar he and Canora have opened up a few doors down from Hearth, their East Village restaurant. At first glance, the scene looks like a bunch of high schoolers had a party and left their three-ring notebooks behind. The notebooks–covers scrawled with graffiti such as "Riesling rules" or "Amo, Amas, Amaro"–turn out to be the wine lists. If you show up before 6 pm, you can order off the special $5-a-glass menu, or dive right in to explore lovely, high-acid gems like a sparking Vértice Bruto from the Douro, a golden asprinio from Giu-seppe Cicala in Campania, or a Long Island cabernet franc from Schneider. Acid sparks the appetite, so order food, particularly anything under "fried stuff," which includes lamb sausage-stuffed sage leaves, a dish Canora made famous at Craftbar.
—Tara Q. Thomas

Terroir, 413 E. 12th St., NYC; 646-602-1300, wineisterroir.com (reviewed W&S 6/08)


> Trestle on Tenth

Trestle on Tenth proves that there's far more to Swiss cuisine than fondue and kirsch. Order Chef Ralf Kuettel's pork shoulder wrapped in caul fat and served with earthy nettles with a glass of potent, acidic petite arvine from the Valais; move on to roast lamb with spicy mustard greens and a side of the addictively chewy, cheesy little dumplings called pizokel with the grapey gamaret from Caves Cidis in Switzerland. And that's only a few of the highlights on the deepest Swiss list this side of the Atlantic.
—Tara Q. Thomas

Trestle on Tenth, 242 10th Ave., NY, 212-645-5659

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