Food and Drink: July 2007 Archives

There is something very magical about visiting a neighborhood business when it first opens. The wait staff is not only friendly but downright lovable, each dish is prepared with care, each drink poured with love, and everyone (guests and staff) is relaxed, happy and full of optimism. I hope that Black Mountain Wine House continues to have all of these qualities because tonight it was truly charming.

Although it's possible that there's a wine bar somewhere in New York that feels like it belongs in the Adirondacks (and I'm not just saying that because of the chairs), I certainly haven't been. Yes, it's refreshing to see a different spin on the wine bar concept and, as the name implies, enjoy a bar that feels more like a house than a slicked-up bar.

There's a country store feel about the place, with its wooden and mismatched tables and inviting fireplace, and wines are unpretentiously pulled from the bookcase lining one wall. A small wine bar--five seats--is a great vantage point for talking shop. I, however, was mesmerized by the slow but careful oyster shucking and the selection of cheeses at the food station. We sampled a white bean crostini that for once felt worth its price (I always find crostini to be overpriced and undertasty, but I keep ordering it!). This one was layered with amazing heirloom tomatoes, a generous topping of white beans with an accompanying "gravy" and then served with a small crock of warm ricotta cheese. We asked for more bread so as not to miss the last of the ricotta.

According to Time Out, the place is run by Jim Mamary (hence all the Alan Hardy chatter--they often work together), although Shane Smith is the manager. I have a love/hate relationship with the Mamary restaurants. They all have such potential, but they often fall off once the opening buzz has died. Let's hope a caring manager can make sure that doesn't happen here.  Oh, and it's not just wine, there's a nice beer list, too.

Look at the really cute boy I picked up!

BK11201 has a very disturbing photo up on its site, which we've included above. It is a photo of the Little Red Deli ... shuttered. Perhaps they are on a summer vacation? Renovating? Just checking out the rigidity of their metal gate? We stopped by for croissant breakfast sandwiches before our last beach trip and wolfed down our buttery, cheesey, eggy sandwich out of pure hunger. Had we known it would be our last, we might have savored it just a bit more.

Went to the Siren Fest for the first time in years, mostly just to get one last dose of the un-Disneyfied Coney Island before it's torn down, packed away, or whatever it is they're planning on doing with it. The concert portion of the day was as unbearable as I'd anticipated. After about 10 minutes of packing into a corridor with drunk, shovey people, standing on tiptoes for a glance of M.I.A. and barely being able to hear her thanks to crappy sound--we split and just wandered the boardwalk. That Wonder Wheel makes me all warm and fuzzy every time I see it.

Then we returned to the neighborhood for a nice dinner at Po. Appetizers were unbelievably good, and set a ridiculously high bar that the rest of meal couldn't possibly follow. The highlight was marinated anchovies piled on a suprisingly light mound of barley, the whole thing drizzled with lemon and chili oil--it's my new favorite dish. Entrees were definitely a letdown after that, especially a bean ravioli with an oddly sweet balsamic sauce. I plan to return, but will definitely order a little more cautiously.

After dinner, we headed out into the street and noticed a crowd forming a few blocks down. We investigated, and found one of the coolest street art projects I've ever seen. The artists were projecting words and images onto the sides of building. One wall was being used as a giant canvas for people to paint on using a motion-sensitive pen that was picked up by a laptop and then projected on the wall. On the other two walls, people were sending text messages that almost instantaneously popped up in little speech bubbles or in a really beautiful graffiti font. Anyone know anything more about this project?

So, Borough Food and Drink, for those of you not aware, is a new Jeffrey Chodorow/Zak Pelaccio restaurant meant to highlight food from all five boroughs. It is in Manhattan. So, you can imagine our table's surprise when we were randomly approached by a middle-aged woman, asking a member of the table where she got her haircut.
"Oh," our tablemate replied, "I go to the Beehive in Williamsburg, Brooklyn ..."
"Nevermind, then, I'll never go there," the woman kindly  but firmly replies.
Our meal had much the same start-stop mentality.

Spent Saturday night running around Greenpoint. Started at the new Diamond Bar on Franklin Street. A long beer list, mostly bottled, augmented by a slightly too well-lit front room and a lovely back patio. Friendly folks, but no buy-backs--and there was a birthday in the house! Moved on to Pencil Factory, which felt like the oldest crowd on the block, and definitely the most happening sidewalk patio. The draft beer list was impressive, as was the loft across the street that I desperately wish I would have bought 10 years ago. The view below is from the sidewalk, looking across to Lulu's.

Lulu's is a hipster paradise: A free-for-all space, which last night was hosting a pretty awful punk band. Nonetheless, the free hot dog with every drink deal was appreciated. Also, skee-ball, which we didn't get to try due to the band. We skipped nearby Coco66 due to the unappealing crowd outside smoking, but the inside looked nice. The verdict: Greenpoint, just as cool as Williamsburg but with about 1/10 of the people roaming the streets.