Adventures of a(n Unemployed) Litigatrix

As you might recall, almost two weeks ago, I gave everyone a head’s up that Vintage Irving (118A East 15^th Street @ Irving Place) was having a wine tasting that could not be beat in terms of price – 20 wines for $20.

The Real Estate-trix and I had booked out tickets for the wine tasting online at going.com, and had called earlier to confirm our spot for the 9:00 seating.  We walked into the bar, which was pleasantly dimly lit, with a touch of candlelight.  Reminiscent of a Venetian enoteca, the room was decorated in an almost rustic fashion, with brick walls, and chicly worn wooden bar tables and high stools. 

When we got there, the 7:00 tasting was still going on, and the hostess directed us towards the back tasting room.  However, when we announced that we had shown up for the 9:00 tasting, we were promptly told that there was no 9:00.  Obviously we were a bit perturbed.  Eric Limmer, one of the owners of Vintage Irving (and its neighbor SideBar), to the rescue.  Eric whisked us away from the tasting room and to the bar, where he instructed our bartender, Steve, to a private tasting for us from the by the glass menu.  Making the situation even better was the fact that Eric stated that our tasting would be complimentary, as the cancellation of the 9:00 tasting had not been communicated through the proper channels.  I have nothing but absolute praise of the customer service and the way that the situation was handled.  There was not even an opportunity for either I or the Real Estate-trix to have to put up a protest. That is what I call excellent customer service!  Vintage Irving will certainly not be on of my call outs of the week, that’s for sure. 

Steve took us through essentially all of the tasting menu (with the exception of perhaps three wines).  We started with the whites.  Of these my favorite was the Riesling (Latitude 50 Kabinett ‘Feinherb’ Rheingau, Germany, 2007; $9/34).  The Latitude 50 Riesling was less sweet than a typical Riesling wine.  It had a thick consistency on the palate with a distinct flavor of honey, and pear.  There was also a distinct scent of honey in the bouquet.  Our least favorite was the Bridlewood Estate Chardonnay (Monterrey, California 2007; $10/38) which the Real Estate-trix described as “kicking her in the back of the throat like a donkey.” Yes, that is a direct quote.   It had a highly alcoholic taste, with somewhat fruity undertones, although whatever distinct flavors where present were overpowered by the taste of alcohol.

These were not your normal tasting size glasses of wine.  After tasting all of the whites, we should have probably stopped for the sake of our hepatic functions, but instead we persevered on to the roses and reds. 

The one rose they have by the glass is a Grenache/Syrah (Dm, St. Lucie, “MiP”, Provence, France 2008; $11/48)  which I found to be too light in color and flavor.  I prefer a rose that is deep in color and bold in taste, but is still refreshing on a summer night.  I didn’t get that at all from the MiP, which had many of the flavors of white wine, like light granny smith apple.  The one welcome surprise was the taste of summer berries.

The best red that we tried all night was the LEO Pinot Noir (‘Spatburgunder’, Pfaltz, Germany 2006; $9/34) so good in fact, that when Steve told to a couple sitting next to us that they ask us for recommendations (as we had tasted our way through the entire menu), that was instantly the wine I suggested.  It was light bodied, with medium tannins and low acidity.  There was a distinct flavor of plum and dark cherries.

All of the reds were good, but the Petite Syrah (L.A. Cetto, Baja de California, Mexico 2006; $8/30) was probably my least favorite, being too high in tannins and oak for my personal taste.  Although it advertised flavors of spice and chocolate, I didn’t get that from either the bouquet or the taste. 

In between our tastings we got a charcuterie plate with manchengo cheese, drunken goat cheese soaked in Rioja, and prosciutto di parma (charcuterie – $12 for 3 selections; $26 for 6 selections; $34 for 9 selections; $40 for 12 selections).  The plate was served with a guava paste (to take the place of a traditional quince paste), a Dijon mustard sauce, and a yogurt-like emulsion.  We also got a plate of truffled chicken meatballs ($8) which were flavored perfectly with thyme, and served in a gravy of mostly their own jus with a touch of truffle oil.  The meatballs were not so overpowering, however, in flavor that they needed a heavy wine to stand up to the flavor.  The Enrico Brut Prosecco (Italy; $10/38) from the white category, and of course the LEO, neither being too heavy, went perfectly with the spice of the meatballs.  The dishes are all reasonably priced – nothing is over $20.

Overall, the initial miscommunication regarding the cancellation of the 9:00 wine tasting could have turned into a complete disaster, but was saved by excellent management and customer service, some terrific chicken meatballs and drunken cheese, and the discovery of my new favorite wine (LEO Pinot Noir).  I will definitely be going back to Vintage Irving, and to events at their sister bar SideBar, even if next time I have to pay for it myself!

Additional Deals at Vintage Irving:

•  Both SideBar and Vintage Irving have weekly tastings and events.
•  In addition to a full wine list, Vintage Irving also has a hefty selection of craft beer and absinthe cocktails.  Just be careful that the green fairy doesn’t tell you to slice off your ear  a la Van Gogh.
• Happy Hour is from 5 to 7pm Monday through Friday, and includes $4 craft beers, $6 sangria, and $16 sangria flights (Sangria types include:  Vintage Red, White Peach Mango, Triple Berry, and White Grape)
• From 11-2am on Friday -Sunday nights the bar will serve up a free cocktail of either Sangria or the “Bartender’s Choice” of drinks

So my friend, who wishes to be called the “Real Estate-trix” for the purposes of this blog (even though this is not even an anonymous blog and there’s no reason to adopt a pseudonym, but we’ll let her have her fun), and I went to Vero (1004 Second Avenue @ 53rd Street; 212.935.3530) in Midtown East last night for their Free Panini Mondays (“FPMs” hereinafter).  Yes, free!!! Well… “free”, since you have to buy a glass of wine, which costs between $8-14 a glass.  I first discovered Vero’s FPMs by accident on the Upper East Side (1483 Second Avenue between 77th and 78th Streets; 212.452.3354) this past winter.  The restaurant/panini bar does their free panini promotion at both of their locations.  Two glasses of wine and a full sized panini costs approximately $25 and that (almost) can’t be beat for dinner and drinks in New York City.

Vero Uptown

I prefer the Upper East Side location leagues above the Midtown location (and not just because I live in the neighborhood).  Vero’s Upper East Side location has a warm small Italian trattoria feel mixed with a somewhat surprising wall of modern black and white photographs (including one of what appears to be Snoop Dogg) against terra cotta walls.  It is unexpected, but it works.  The lighting is dim and flattering, with amber lighting, making it a perfect date spot (or um… a place to go with your ladies…just sayin’!).  The Midtown location on the other hand is too open and informal with light blonde wood fixtures and brighter, unflattering lighting.  (It is possible that it wasn’t the lighting that was lending to the unattractive nature of the clientele, but we’ll leave that for another post.)  Although the windows open onto the street, making it perfect on a breezy night like last night, its simply not as, for lack of a better word, adorable.  

Interior Vero Midtown East.

The selection of paninis at the Upper East Side location is also superior.  My go to panini, Smoked Turkey, Fontina & Pesto, wasn’t on the menu at the Midtown location so both myself and the Real Estate-trix got Prosciutto, Fresh Mozzarella, and Basil Aioli paninis.  The bread was crisp, the prosciutto had the perfect proportion of fat and salty meat, and the mozzarella could have been heated through more, but overall it was excellent.  It also came with a side of olives which delighted me.  The paninis at the Upper East Side location come with a chick pea salad and sweet balsamic reduction, which had I never known about the olives at the Midtown location I would have gone on loving forever.    

Glass of Rioja and Prosciuttio, Mozzarella, Basil Panini

As for the wines, both locations have an equal selection of wines by the glass, but the Midtown location does features countries like Australia and South Africa, which are not featured at the Upper East Side Location.  However, the most important thing that I noted was the way that the wines were served at the midtown location.  They came out  cold, and we had to wait for them to warm up before tasting them. 

I tasted two reds, the Condesa de Laganza, Rioja Crianza (Spain, 2005; $11/42) and the La Monica, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Chianti (Italy, 2006; $9/36).  The Rioja was acidic with high tanins and a distinct oak barrel flavor.  By contrast, the Chianti was bold, but had low tanins and low acid, a slight spice, and a faint note of plum and currant.  The Real Estate-trix also tried two reds, the Stormhoek Pinotage (South Africa, no year listed; $9/38) and the Ram’s Leap Shiraz (New South Wales, Australia, 2006; $11/44).  The Pintoage was dry and mild with low spice, and a detectable flavor of cut grass.  The Shiraz was fruity with medium tanins and a noticeable granny smith apple flavor.

Glass of Rioja and a Glass of Pintoage.

Overall, FPMs at Vero have been a staple in my rotation and it should be added to yours.  I’ll stick with the Upper East Side location, but if the Real Estate-trix made me go to the Midtown location, I wouldn’t resist.

Tips and Tricks:

-  Try the Smoked Turkey, Fontina and Pesto panini Uptown and the Prosciutto, Mozzarella, Basil panini in Midtown

-  The patio at the Midtown location is heated with heat lamps, but ask to sit in the row away from the building.  In the row closest to the building, not only will you be looking up your neighbor’s skirt, but the sidewalk is slanted, and your wine may slide off the table.

-  Uptown, if you arrive between 7 and 9pm, expect a short wait for a table.  You can, however, hang out at the bar until they seat you, and its well worth the approximately 20 minute wait.

-  The Uptown location also does wine flights of three wines of your choosing (from a selected category) for $18

-  Ask for the Cookie Monster at the Uptown location, but you won’t find it on the menu.  Its a plate sized warm cookie covered with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, strawberries and chocolate sauce.  Splitting that between two people usually brings the tab to about $30 per person.