Ok, ok, so we haven’t blogged in ages; apparently since May 2009 in fact. Before you go all ‘east coast’ on us, please bear in mind that 2009 was a busy year for the Drink the Good Stuff bloggers. We opened up our retail shop, specializing in California wines, in the Financial District of Manhattan just a scant 13 months ago. Having just survived our first real holiday season, we are now moving in to the doldrums of January. With new years’ come new intentions and we are sincerely, definitely, maybe going to keep blogging on a regular basis – starting………… NOW!
Few wine related bars or restaurants impress us all that much anymore so we have to give a shout out to the folks at Vintry Wine & Whisky. This bar recently opened on Stone Street amongst a sea of beer bars, Swedish meatballs, and 5 dollar foot longs. Needless to say, it is an enormously welcome addition to the neighborhood and we have fast become regular clientele.
Vintry pretty much gets everything right. The atmosphere is an oasis of calm and sophistication without being fussy or overdone. It’s comfortable and fun and the tunes will have you jolting from Frankie Blue Eyes to Led Zeppelin, to The Killers in a matter of minutes. In a good way. The wait staff is knowledgeable and super friendly and they seem to keep their calm even on the busiest of evenings.
The small plates of food are delicious, even if you are ‘over’ small plates. The menu offers tastes of high quality, well-made food that pairs well with the wine and whisky menu (we’ll get to that in a minute.) Our current faves are the sheep milk ricotta gnocchi & lamb ragu (heavenly little pillows of goodness) and the veal meatballs. The pan seared ribeye is not bad either, which is not surprising considering the family association with Harry’s Steak.
Speaking of Harry, many of the wines come from his cellar, which means you can get amazing vintage stuff from Burgundy, Bordeaux ― you name it ― all in superior condition. The list of wines is deep and varied and can keep you busy for hours. Not that we would know. The only thing we can find lacking is any substantial representation of good California wines on the list. That said, we are considerably more picky that most in that area. And it is OUR area, so stay out of it! ;)
The whisky list may be even more impressive. Bourbon, Scotch, Irish Whisky, Japanese Whisky, you name it they’ve got it. We’ve discovered more than a few excellent whiskies at Vintry, including our latest favorite, the 16 Yr Scapa Single Malt Scotch Whiskey. In a word, “wow!”
All in all, we have always had a positive experience at Vintry and we think you will too.
57 Stone Street
(212) 480-9800
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