Woolworth Tower Kitchen

ABF & I met for a mid-week dinner recently, and we popped back into a place that makes its mark on the downtown skyline: The Woolworth Tower, which is also one of America's oldest skyscrapers.

Inside the famed Woolworth Tower building (pop in the lobby of the main building to get a look at the STUNNING marble ceiling) is this fabulous eatery, Woolworth Tower Kitchen, where dishes are well thought out, fresh, and fabulous.

We each started with a drink--the Malbec for me (lovely!) and a dry gin & tonic for ABF. Life in London definitely gave him a new fondness for that drink. Me, I just can't do gin so much.

ABF ordered their Chicken Paillard salad, which is one of their most popular dishes. Arugula, thinly-pounded chicken filets (buried under a pile of greens), sliced green apples, spicy candied pecans, and two lovely slices of brie topping it all. I think this is going to be something one of us orders every time we visit.

I opted for the Cobb salad with grilled chicken. They make it in the chopped style, which normally I don't care for, but these were manageable bites, and not pulverized pieces. The scallion ranch dressing was so good that I asked for an extra serving of it. Yeah, that's right! I don't think I'm ready to start saying I LIKE ranch dressing, but I think I like flavored ranch dressings (chipotle ranch, avocado ranch etc).

Our salads were both quite filling, but we still decided to get dessert. Our server told us that the chocolate mousse cake was really good, so we decided to share that, but we honestly weren't expecting it to be spectacular. And yet it WAS. Deep, rich, decadent chocolate, with a fluffy, almost spongecake-like base and velvety mousse filling--great googaly-moogaly!

Even if you're not in the financial district area, WTK is just a few steps from the R and the 2/3 train. It's the perfect spot for grabbing a bite before or after walking across the Brooklyn Bridge (which is our plan once the weather gets nicer)!

(Note: WTK is closed on weekends)

Woolworth Tower Kitchen
The Woolworth Building
9 Barclay Street
New York, NY 10279
(212) 571-2930

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NY Vintners: Tex-Mex & Wine

Why on EARTH would I refuse the chance to spend a few hours drinking one of my favorite things (wine) and eating one of my favorite cuisines (Tex-Mex)? Of course I signed ABF & myself up ASAP for our second class at NY Vinters, a tiny but welcoming (and expandable) space in Tribeca. It's steps from City Hall and several subway lines, FYI.

ABF & I attended a pinot noir class there ages ago, and we were so impressed that I couldn't wait to find another reason to return. We've been to other wine classes before--NYV just blows away any competition.

I expected a much more informal setting, imagining we'd be getting small tastes of everything, not entire courses in lovely settings.

We had a few sips of bubbly upon arrival (such a nice touch!) I'm not a fan of carbonation, but I didn't let that stop me ;) This was the Gruet Blanc de Noir, and it is the only non-Champagne (France) region winemaker allowed to put "methode champenoise" on their labels. Impressive!

We started out with some whites: The Loca Linda Torrontes & the Kung Fu Girl Riesling. I loved both of them ($20 a bottle)--I have always been a fan of Riesling, from super-sweet to super-dry. Love 'em. The Torrontes is usually a nice crisp white (and you can usually find very reasonably priced ones!)

These whites went with our first course: a tamale. My heart sank a little at first because I do not like tamales do not like no thank you but oh wait..this was AMAZING. The secret(s)? Duck fat instead of lard, organic pork belly, intoxicating cilantro pesto and a whole lot of skill from NYV's Executive Chef Ryan Smith. I ate every single bite of this, from the micro-cilantro on top to the freeze-dried corn kernels surrounding the plate. Wow. Each bite was savory, satsifying, and shut-your-mouth delicious. If I had no shame whatsoever, I'd have asked for a second helping. Wowsa. The dish brought out the fruitiness of the Torrontes, and was especially dreamy with the Riesling.

Our second course was a bubbling cauldron of cheesy goodness--queso fresco, piquillo peppers, tiny, chewy dices of chorizo, and a match made in heaven with the white wines. The fattiness of the cheese disk was cut by the slightly sweet, acidic whites. Love.

Then it was time to move on to the reds: first the Biul & Gine 2008 Gine & Gine (a Priorat for $20 a bottle) and a Tikal 2010 Patriota (Malbec for $26 bottle). I didn't care for the Priorat by itself--too tannic and bitter for me, but I also don't like bitter foods (brussels sprouts, broccoli rabe, etc). I have yet to meet a Malbec I didn't like....

Our final dish of the evening was as stellar as I'd come to expect by now. What amazing food! This dish was a chili made from Colorado lamb, which Chef Ryan says is his personal favorite. Forget New Zealand, he said--go with Colorado. There was a nice chipotle smokiness to this dish, and the sunchokes (which are the root of sunflower plant--did you know that? I didn't know that!) were a nice, slightly crunchy contrast to the soft, succulent bits of lamb. Also? Not a WHIFF of that gamey flavor that has put me off lamb most of the time. The richness of the lamb completely tamed the Priorat--so much that I brought home a bottle!

I can't say enough about how well NY Vinters does these classes. Not only is it delicious wine, it's a welcoming atmosphere without a drop of pretension. You want stuffy and no fun? Go somewhere else. You want approachable, knowledgeable people who want you to love wine and food as much as they do? Come to NY Vinters!! It's crazy convenient, quite affordable, and just the best in town. Cheers!

New York Vintners
21 Warren Street
New York, NY 10007
(212) 812-3999

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Pinot Noir Tasting

Last Christmas, I gave ABF a "membership" to The Finer Things Club, an Office-inspired club with just us two members. Over the past few months I've set up things to do: wine tasting classes, an olive-oil tasting/cooking demo at Williams-Sonoma, etc. They're usually fun, slightly-fancy things that make us feel a little cultured, though we have included more rustic activities such as our walk through the Nature reserve on Long Island's Fire Island. Deer! Birds! Lighthouses!

Our latest FTC trip took us to New York Vintners, just steps from City Hall. They welcomed us with glasses of chilled Prosecco, a sparkling wine from Veneto, Italy. It was delicious--not too sweet, not overpoweringly bubbly. So far, so good. Cheers!

The store is a very cool space that can fit 2-80 people...depending on how they want to move the wall (which contains their small office in the middle of the space). The back includes a kitchen, because they're very big on marrying food with wine (ditto!) They told us that just the other night, some couple had rented it out for dinner. They moved the wall closer to the kitchen, dimmed the lights, and added some candles--awwww. At our tasting, there were 30 people. It was a tight fit, but the wine sure helped make it all go easier ;) Funny how that works.

If you take one of their classes (and I would gladly do so again), you will learn a lot. We were sharing a table with some bubbly, chatty girls who were way ahead of our intructors. They tasted all the wines before he'd even finished describing the first one! I, being the 2 marshmallow kid that I am, waited to go along with the teacher (NERD! Guilty)

Our instructors were clearly passionate about pinot noir--and other wines. They explained how the pinot noir grape is the most difficult to grow: it's most prone to rot, most vulnerable to frost (as it can grow earlier/faster than other grapes), and yet it's also one of the most rewarding to taste. I definitely developed a new appreciation for this grape! We tasted pinot noirs from Oregon, California, Italy, and Burgundy, France. I am not normally a fan of Burgundies, having taken a Burgundy class with Laura once and feeling underwhelmed, but I'm slowly learning to appreciate them. In this class, the 2 burgundies were favorites of Kevin and mine. The California pinot noir was also delicious.

We each took a bottle home (of the 2 Burgundies)... you know, for extra credit. :)