NYC Restaurant Row offers wine - dine - entertainment options ...

NYC Restaurant Row offers widest range of wine - dine - entertainment options ... Don't Tell Mama!

One of the stops during our NYC getaway weekend was a short stopover visit to Restaurant Row near the theatre district. Linda discovered this by accident with the kids on a previous trip and it was on our visit list to see and experience this weekend. A drop in snack and wine tasting turned out to be one of the highlights of our weekend.

Our kids who are Manhattan residents had heard about but never been there - what a surprise when we discovered it was near one of their offices and they were in the nearby neighborhood almost daily.

Restaurant Row is simply two blocks of 46th Street, between Broadway and 9th Streets - a neighborhood with over twenty restaurants - one after the other, adjacent to the Theatre District.

There is an amazing wide variety of cuisine from all around the world, according to their promotional website, the range is: American (New), American (Traditional), Asian Fusion, Brazilian, Breakfast, Brunch, Burgers, Cajun/Creole, Chinese, French, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Latin American, Middle Eastern, Pizza, Russian, Seafood, Soul Food, Spanish/Basque, Sushi Bars, Tapas Bars, Thai, Turkish, Vegetarian and Vietnamese. There is a choice of a half dozen Italian eateries, and a couple each American, Latin, French, Spanish and so on.

Legendary Restaurant Row is an authentic Times Square and New York institution where you can choose from cuisine from all over the world, sample the styles of celebrity chefs, and join Broadway stars at some of their favorite haunts.

In between meals, we dropped in for a mid-afternoon respite for some small plates and wine. We stopped at "Don't Tell (your) Mama", which has a bar, a restaurant, a piano bar, two separate cabarets, and outside alfresco dining in one small compact site (see gallery, below).

According to their website, luminaries that have come through their doors include "Liza Minnelli, Paul Newman, Joan Rivers, Bette Midler, Rosie O'Donnell, Chita Rivera, Kathy Griffin, Audra MacDonald, Kristin Chenoweth, Mario Cantone, & Cuba Gooding Jr., to name but a few!"

We selected four wines by the glass (WBTG) and three small plates, shrimp cocktail, crab cakes, and a salad. It was a perfect setting for enjoyable, casual food and wine tasting in a picturesque, cosmopolitan, fun setting.

From my seat, I was able to watch the cabaret rehearsal in the club to the rear.

For our Wine Flight, we selected a Russian River Valley (RRV) Sonoma Chardonnay, a RRV Pinot Noir, and Sauvignon Blancs from Sonoma and Napa Carneros.  Unlike usual custom in this blog, I don't have the label specifics of the different wines and hence don't offer a review. You'll have to visit Don't Tell Mama for your own tasting flight. We'll be back, our next trip to NYC!

My Gallery of Don't Tell Mama NYC ...

Eataly New York Wine Dine Options

Eataly New York offers Wine Dine Options

One of our checklist items for our getaway weekend in New York was to dine at Eataly. Even though we have one in Chicago, there are seafood specials (shown below) and options available in New York that don't make their way inland, such as my favored choice, Flounder (shown right).

Its not necessarily haute cuisine fine dining but its a fun adventure that captures the vibrancy and energy of New York, with fresh Atlantic seafood options. Of course they also have a pasta restaurant, and several other dining options.

So we dined at the bustling Eataly Il Pesce restaurant and selected a Riserva wine from their Reserve list. I chose the Flounder, Linda and Viv the sea scallops and Alec the calamari and then the Octopus. The sea scallops were especially delectable and earned the highest marks.

Rather than waiting for a table, we chose to sit at the bar which turned out to be a real treat. It was like getting a front row seat for a show as we watched the chef prepare the entrees. Working in closed quarters, the culinary staff are a well choreographed team, each with his/her specialty/role in the orchestrated process.

Sitting at the bar, we had front row seats watching Chef Lady, and then Chef Eric prepare sushi and several of the dishes right in front of us.

For our seafood meal, we chose this Reserve Frescobaldi Benfizio Tuscan Chardonnay.

Marchesi de' Frescobaldi Pomino Castello di Pomino Bianco Riserva Benefizio 2014 

Light straw colored, medium light bodied, crisp clean citrus and lychee fruits with wet stone and hints of spice, floral and wood on the moderate citrus toned finish.

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2302718

http://en.frescobaldi.com/wines/benefizio-riserva/

Eataly Vino NYC

Since we were last at Eataly, New York, they have moved their wine shop to a dedicated storefront next door. Eataly Vino NYC includes the basic selection of wines offered in the store along with a Reserve room of several premium vintage selections (shown below).

Inexcusably and inexplicably, they do not offer for sale all the wines available in the restaurants next door, such as the wine we drank with dinner, above. This should be an obvious merchandising offering. Isn't this what a retail with restaurant site like Eataly is all about?

Eataly Il Pesce Octopus entree

Rosemount McLaren Vale Balmoral Syrah

Rosemount Estate McLaren Vale Balmoral Syrah 1998

For Sunday dinner after church the family gathered for a gala beef roast dinner with mashed potatoes, gravy, cooked carrots and, brussel sprouts. I pulled from the cellar this vintage Balmoral Syrah for the occasion.

We hold several cases of a dozen vintages of this label dating back to the 1992 vintage.

Rosemount Estate McLaren Vale Balmoral Syrah 1998

The room filled with ripe berry fruit aromas as soon as I pulled the cork. Dark inky purple colored, full bodied, thick, chewy powerful concentrated ripe blueberry fruits are accented by tones of blackberry, game and bacon fat with a slight metallic graphite finish. This begs for hearty cheese, lamb, beef roast or the like. Still going strong in its 18th year.  I have to believe this is nearing the end of its prime drinking window as the fruit flavors give way to the non-fruit metallic tones. There was more than two teaspoons of sediment in the last pour from the bottle.

RM 92 points.

  https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=5598

DOC serves winning casual wine-dine experience

DOC serves winning casual wine-dine experience

Wife Linda often works at Yorktown in Lombard on Friday evenings so we regularly meet there for a casual date night wine and dine encounter at DOC. They regularly feature a selection of wine flights - three different wines of the same style for sharing/comparing. Their menu offers mostly small plates and sides suitable for wine pairing vs an extensive selection of entrees. So it was tonight that we chose the premium Reserve Flight to accompany my selection of sushi grade Ahi Tuna and Linda's pulled pork 'sliders', with a side of our favored polenta fries. All the foods were excellent and the service was attentive, friendly and effective.

The DOC folks actually have nine different locations around Chicagoland, four of those being operated under the DOC brand. 

Note for those so interested, their name is actually D.O.C. and stands for "Denominazione di Origine Controllata" (DOC) ("Controlled Denomination of Origin") which is Italy's equivalent of France's AOC - Appellation  D'Origine Controlee or America's AVA's for American Viticultural Area. The Italian DOC, like the other Appellation designations, are a defined geographic area and its designated production for wines produced from grapes grown in that area and includes specifications for the varieties that can be used, the minimum alcohol content, the maximum yield, and the specifications for aging.

The Reserve wine flight featured three bold expressive concentrated wines at the top of the range of styles from light to big and bold. Two of three of the wines were our favorite and most oft selected wines, Syrah and Cabernet, while the third was a Tempranillo, in which we rarely imbibe.

We've dined there often and tonight's experience rated as the most enjoyable ever. My Ahi tuna was wonderful and the wine flight scored highest over our previous encounters, even with one gaining lower marks. Lastly, during the summer months we will dine outside and always before we dined in the main dining room which tends to be dark. Tonight we dined in their 'Tasting Room' adjacent to the main dining room, behind the bar. This casual setting with the large fireplace and couches, and our table adjacent the large windows was most comfortable and pleasant.

The American centric wine selection is extensive with the actual wine list spanning ten pages - more than twenty each of American Pinot Noirs, California Chardonnays and Cabernets including popular and favored selections Robert Craig, Caymus, Silver Oak, David Arthur Elevation, Keenan, Cakebread, Darioush and Lakoya. They also offer half bottles and an extensive selection of wines BTG - by the glass. The wine prices tend to be a bit expensive, slightly more than 2x retail for bottle selections, and by the glass, and the Wine Flights are too, based on the amount of wine served for the price point. These are price points of elegant fine dining restaurants and one would hope to find more value in a casual bistro wine bar. Never-the-less, it does allow a broad selection of choices, BTG, and a series of wine flights, three different wines for about the cost of one and a half glasses, so its a good choice if one's objective is a tasting experience over a single glass of wine.

Tonight's flight -

For precision and the record, note that since we were pressed for time, I didn't inspect the labels of these featured selections and I know the producer's offer several labels of each of these wines. I did search for the bottles in their display case but didn't see any of these that we selected.

Chateau Montelena Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2013

While not a 'premium' label based on the plethora and range of high end Napa cabs these day, the Montelena Napa selection is certainly a legendary highest quality label for the category. Most notably, its rare to find such a quality offering BTG - by the glass, except in the most serious or high end wine bars or wine oriented restaurants. Note there are two different Montelena Napa labels, one 'Estate' and one designated 'Calistoga'. I admit I didn't ask to see the label so I am not certain which one this was but I suspect it is the 'non-estate' label. (The term 'Estate' means that all the grapes in the product were sourced from the producer's property. The lack of the term, allows for grapes purchased from other growers to be included.)

Blend: 85.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc, 0.5% Petit Verdot.

Dark garnet colored, medium bodied, smooth and polished so approachable and ready to drink now for enjoyable casual sipping, almost sophisticated and complex enough for serious dining, black cherry and dark plum fruits with tones of smoke, tobacco, licorice and hint of cedar.


RM 89 points.  

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2197970

Basel Cellars Walla Walla Valley Syrah 2013

Once again I didn't ask to see the label (which I normally do) so I am attributing my notes to their estate label. While their winelist and flight card specify Walla Walla, Oregon, I believe this is in error and they mean Walla Walla Valley in Washington. 

Garnet colored, medium bodied, blackberry fruits with tones of leather and cured meat, hints of pepper, smoke, earth and floral.

RM 88 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2166361

Martinez Bujanda Viña Bujanda Crianza Rioja, Spain

Once again, since we were pressed for time, I didn't inspect the label of this feature and I know they offer several labels of this varietal.

Garnet colored, medium bodied, more modest less expressive blackberry fruits with a layer of tobacco, smoke, tar and hints of clove spice.

RM 87 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2494741

http://www.docwinebarchicago.com/lombard/

Elan Napa Valley Atlas Peak Cabernet Sauvignon

Elan Vineyards Napa Valley Atlas Peak Cabernet Sauvignon 1996

This is one of the last bottles of a case we acquired from the producer upon release. At twenty years of age, while showing its age, this wine is drinking well and showing a character and profile that I favor.

This was a deliciously perfect compliment to Linda's dinner preparation of teriyaki marinated grilled flank steak with sweet potato mashed and peas (pictured below). It might have even better with her chocolate mousse with fresh raspberries and fresh whipped cream (also shown below).

We met the winemaker and producer Patrick and his wife Linda Elliott-Smith at their host winery crush facility during our Napa Wine Experience trip back in 1998 (shown pictured above with us - all at and looking twenty years younger!).

Elan was one of the 'Undiscovered Dozen' producers featured in a Wine Spectator article of the time featuring the hot merging California Cabs (Wine Spectator, December 15, 1997, "An Undiscovered Dozen - New names in Cabernet to try before they're too hot"). We sought out and met with many of them and collected the foundation of our cellar collection of Napa Cabernets during numerous Napa trips between 95 and 2k - Elan, Del Dotto, Robert Craig, Clark-Claudon, and Snowden, to mention a few.

According to my Wine Journal Index, I have published twelve tasting notes of this release going back to when I started in 2003, and our Cellartracker inventory shows we still hold five remaining bottles.

We acquired more about a dozen vintages of this wine during the era and still hold several bottles each vintages from '92 through 2001 to 2004. At five years younger, I would say the '01's are at their prime, the apex of their drinking window now. At twenty, the black berry fruits of the '96 are starting to give way to tobacco leaf and cigar box, leaving a tantalizing enjoyable after taste of a fine cigar.

Dark blackish garnet colored, medium-full bodied, starting to show its age, but not suffering from the diminution, flavors of black berry, black currant, and black cheery turn to tones of spice, leather and smoky oak, and that tobacco leaf cigar box with moderate fine tannins on a long finish.

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=145048

Grilled flank steak - teriyaki marinate,
sweet potato mash and peas.

Chocolate mousse, fresh raspberries, whipped cream.

Cliff Lede Napa Stags Leap Sauvignon Blanc

Cliff Lede Napa Valley Stags Leap District Sauvignon Blanc 2009
 

We took this with us to New York and enjoyed it in the hotel room for easy casual sipping. At seven years of age, this reminds me why this label is one of our favorite Sauvignon Blancs - a varietal that is most true to its origins, and least subject to adulteration or enhancement in the wine making. This is still bright and vibrant at an age that would nominally be considered at the end of the drinking window for most wines from this varietal.
Our visit and tasting at the Cliff Lede Stag's Leap District Vineyard & Winery was one of the highlights of our Napa Valley Wine Experience in 2009.

Golden straw colored, medium bodied, nicely balanced acidity with amazing aromas and flavors of peach predominate with tones of citrus, hints of passion fruit and mango on a tangy moderate finish. 

RM 90 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=869100

Murray's Cheese - and wine too

Cheese, Murray's Cheese ... and some wine too ...

Enjoying a get-away weekend with son Ryan and daughter-in-law Michelle, visiting son Alec in NYC, we dined at Murray's Cheese Bar in Greenwich Village, one of his favorite haunts. The eatery is a few doors down Bleecker Street, from the legendary cheese retailer and wholesaler. As in earlier adventures there, we left it to the 'Cheese Monger' to select our cheese flight - one of five and one of eight different cheeses or meats.

Each cheese meat combination is paired with a sauce, spread or associated delectable accompaniment such as a orange marmelaide or a pistachio paste, both shown below.

The presentation of the cheese plates by the Cheese Mavin servers was masterful, poetic, professional and informative, a performance deserving of more attention and respect and worthy of an ovation! Following the cheese meat plates came Mussels in white wine broth, grilled Kale sprouts, and Lamb meatballs in a tomato fennel sauce and feta cheese.

For pairing, we selected three wines from Murray's winelist, one white and two reds. For the white, there's always room for a bubbly, a sparkling wine, we selected Domaine Huet Vouvray Pétillant, a Chenin Blanc based wine from the Vouvray in the Loire Valley in Northern France.

Chenin Blanc is not normally associated with sparkling wine, the specialty and province of Champagne in France, rather the incredibly versatile grape is used across the range of dry whites, to semi-sweet to luscious sweet wines.

This version of sparkling wine is considerably less expensive than a Champagne of equivalent quality.

Domaine Huet Vouvray Pétillant Cuvée Huet Brut 2010

This was light, straw colored, crisp and minerally with a bouquet and flavors of floral, peach, ripe pear and sweet spice giving way to almond and a layer of yeast that came across as a bit pasty that diminished the fruits.

RM 87 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1413192






Laurent Betton Saint-Joseph Syrah 2013, Rhone Valley, France

The tangy acid was a nice accompaniment to the hearty bold cheeses and meats.

Son Ryan favors and drinks a lot of these Northern Rhone Valley Syrahs. This was much lighter than those we are accustomed to drinking, from the Rhone Valley, or Syrahs we get from Australia or even California.

This was ruby colored, medium light bodied, crisp bright acidity with black berry fruits, tones of black pepper and a layer of graphite creosote with a tangy spicy finish.

RM 88 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2112330


La Poderina Brunello di Montalcino Sangiovese 2010, Tuscany, Italy 

This bigger bolder more complex and concentrated wine rounded out our flight with a different style and character that matched the boldest and most forward cheeses, and the meats in the tasting.

This was ideally paired with the Lamb meatballs in tomato fennel sauce. 

Dark blackish garnet colored, medium full bodied,  complex, concentrated layers of rather subdued dried blackberry and black cherry, tones of smoke, leather, tobacco and hints of cedar spicy oak and graphite on a smooth polished moderate tannin finish.

This was so good, we ordered a second bottle! 

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2104005

http://www.murrayscheesebar.com/

A highlight of the weekend was seeing Alec's new apartment with its spectacular views from Midtown to the financial district, shown below.

Murray Cheese Selection

Ben Schild Reserve Barossa Valley Shiraz

Schild Estate Ben Schild Reserve Barossa Valley Shiraz (Syrah) 2008

For a hearty big bold wine to accompany left over grilled steak and some hearty cheese to watch the Cubs play game four of the baseball NLDS (and their miraculous ninth inning comeback!), I pulled this Ben Schild Reserve Barossa Valley Shiraz.

Earlier I had run to the store to pick up some Smoked Gouda Cheese which was perfect for the occasion and set the stage for the grilled steak, both perfectly complemented by this wine. I write often in these pages about the synergy of effectively pairing food with wine for optimal enjoyment and tonight was such the case.

There was a reason I picked up a case of this wine upon release and its profile and suitability for this type of drinking was it. While we enjoy big bold concentrated forward fruit, many such Syrahs (aka Shiraz) also have tones of metallic graphite or camphor. While I find this is not my preference, the body weight and big fruit matched with meat, cheese or chocolate is one of my favorite wine tasting experiences.

Consistent with earlier tasting notes. The colour of the Reserve was deep dark Ruby Red and inky purple. Huge aromas of black and blue fruits and violets give way to bright vibrant concentrated tongue coating flavors bursting with blueberry, black raspberry, ripe plum and chocolate, with tones of cedar, camphor, black pepper, spice, a bit of graphite, turning to nicely integrated oak on a long lingering tannin finish.

I would rate this higher were it not for that somewhat obtuse layer of non-fruit graphite, cedar and camphor.
RM 92 points.

When writing about this wine, I feel compelled to digress to talk about the producer and some of his past marketing practices.

This wine is dedicated to the producer patriarch Ben Schild who has been farming the Schild Estate Three Springs property in Rowland Flat Barossa since 1952. Today the property is farmed by second and third generation Schilds. Fruit for this wine is sourced from a single vineyard in the Hills overlooking Lyndoch where the elevated location and cooling winds helped temper the effects of a warm year resulting in earlier ripening thereby avoiding a late season heat wave that afflicted other growers in the Southern Barossa.

The remarkable interesting side note about Schild; this is not the same wine but it is the same producer and vintage as the Schild Barossa Shiraz that after receiving high reviews, 94 points, and placing in Wine Spectator’s Top 10 Wines of the Year in 2010, naturally subsequently quickly sold out. Schild then proceeded to purchase, blend and bottle additional wine from other producers, but still market such under the 'same' label. Extraordinary, unethical, deceptive, conniving, creative, but legal, none-the-less.

(Imagine buying a new Ford but finding out Ford ran low on engines and purchased and provided alternative replacement engines from some other supplier. (See Bait and Switch?; Schild Estate: Questionable Bottling Practices in 2008 Shiraz; What Makes a Wine a Wine?).

Only after being challenged by reporters did the winery affix an extra label to the secondary bottlings identifying them as a second blend.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1386115

http://schildestate.com.au/ben-schild-reserve-shiraz