Visiting Sommelier in NYC

[mjindrich]

My brother-in-law is a sommelier from L.A. in NYC for the next 6 days. We just moved here and have been getting out a little, but I am in need of some recommendations. He already has reservations at Per Se. We have recently tried Apizz, Zampa, and Buceo 95. I am looking for casual, comfortable, not to loud, not the new hip "scene," great wine, affordable, and the kind of place where the staff of other great restaurants love to eat. Any genre, sushi, pizza (suggested Posto by friends), French, Italian, Indian...

Also, I was thinking of taking him to Chelsea Market for lunch and to pick up the makings for a nice dinner at home.

And thinking of trying either Todd English's Plaza Food Hall or Eataly.

We are on the Upper West and are open to traveling out to the Brooklyn, Queens or Bronx.

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Per Se
10 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10019

Apizz
217 Eldridge St., New York, NY 10002

Buceo 95
201 W 95th St, New York, NY 10025

Zampa
306 West 13th Street, New York, NY 10014

Plaza Food Hall
1 W 59th St, New York, NY 10019

Eataly
200 5th Ave, New York, NY 10010

[mjindrich]

Thanks for all the great suggestions.

[JM 0408]

la Pizza Fresca Ristorante is perfect for what you are looking for. It has a huge award winning wine list that they are well known for. The restaurant is nice, yet casual and comfortable, and usually on the quiet side. The pizzas and pastas are delicious. They don't take reservations for parties under 6, but you usually never need one. I've only waited about 10 minutes for a table on a busy night.

[duckie]

I like Terroir's wine list, too.

Mario Batali restaurants have good wine lists. If you want something more casual and inexpensive, maybe Otto would be good for you. There are parts of the dining room that can get a loud, though.

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Terroir
413 E 12th St, New York, NY 10009

[Nancy S.]

15 East has a good wine list, probably because the owners also run Tocqueville next door.

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15 East
15 East 15th Street, New York, NY 10003

[sbp]

Paul Grieco's Hearth or Terroir. Paul was a somm before becoming a restaurateur. Somms love to hang out there. Bar Boulud.

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Bar Boulud
1900 Broadway, New York, NY 10023

Terroir
413 E 12th St, New York, NY 10009

[sam1]

while im not wow'ed by the food at hearth, the wine program at terroir is just perfect. highly recommended.

some other recommendations that i highly stand behind:

-aldea. excellent food at a reasonable price...upscale but not stuffy.
-vinegar hill house. anyone from out of town will love this place. get the pork chop. don't fear the wait...its worth it...try a weeknight.
-ushiwakamaru. excellent sushi for much less than yasuda.
-dell'anima. insane pasta...get the sweetbreads...super friendly staff. sit at the bar.

[mjindrich]

Great suggestions, Terroir looks like a must. Is Ushiwakamaru still open? Google has it listed as closed.

A few of my brother-in-laws friends have suggested PDT.

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Please Don't Tell
113 St Marks Pl, New York, NY 10009

Terroir
413 E 12th St, New York, NY 10009

[Nancy S.]

PDT is good, but I think the best cocktails are at Mayahuel -- brilliant mixologist.

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Mayahuel
304 E 6th St, New York, NY 10003

[orthorunner]

Keep in mind that Mayahuel is tequila/Mezcal/beer only; it is an excellent choice if you are OK with that (and they can make one a convert to tequila with their drinks) If you want something with more options, try Death & Co-they make similarly fantastic drinks but more variety.

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Mayahuel
304 E 6th St, New York, NY 10003

[Nancy S.]

This is true, I was not a fan of tequila or mezcal when I first went, but now it's my drink of choice.