NYC Dining with Wine

[Scoop]

New York City may not be wine country per se, but some local resaurants know what they are doing with their wine lists -- great selections at reasonable prices.

The major restaurants like Montrachet and Le Cirque, with their vast wine lists, of course get plenty of coverage. Even a relative newcomer like Veritas (excellent, BTW), with its phenomenal wine list (with both a reasonable "market" list and a huge and expensive "cellar" list), was recently featured in The Wine Spectator.

What I'm excited about are a few restaurants, small in size but ambitious in the kitchen, with cellars that are as big as the restaurant itself.

First on my list is The Tasting Room, a tiny 12-table space on 1st Street between 1st and 2nd Avenue. Run by a husband and wife team, the cooking is inspired New American with a menu that changes daily. The ethos is a kind of an urban Chez Panisse. And the (literally) all-American wine list (350 different wines) presents both well-known and obscure choices in about 20 different varietals and blends (and some interesting by-the-glass selections, including a brillant Pinot Meunier from Oregon). Especially strong are the Pinot Noirs and Syrahs. We had a delicious 1998 Broadley Reserve from the Willamette Valley that married beautifully with the pork loin and the squab dishes we chose.

Another entry from the East Village is I Coppi, which offers toothsome Tuscan fare and an all-Tuscan wine list with over 400 selections (9th St. between 1st and Ave. A). The setting is open and airy -- and, unfortunately, popular -- a perfect place for summer dining. The wine list is fairly dear, but there are some reasonable options, like the 1997 Argiano Rosso Di Montalcino (@ $35).

For a wonderful marriage between Apulian (Puglia) cuisine and southern Italian wines, go to I Trulli. Not only is the wine list fairly priced, but you'll find selections there that can hardly be found anywhere else. Why? Well, attached to the restaurant is the wine bar Enoteca I Trulli, with great wine "flights" and by-the-glass selections (and a great bar menu from I Trulli's kitchen!). The I Trulli "complex" is on 27th St. between Lexington and Park Ave.South.

Finally (although there are more), there is a small nook on the Upper East Side, Etats Unis, which turns out home-spun New American food in an intimate atmosphere, kind of like dinner at a friend's apartment. They, too, have a wine bar (across the street), which grew out of their own wine interest and superb list. Their strong suite: German and Alsatian whites, very reasonably priced.