Medi Wine Bar

Happy New Year, my dear readers! I made my final wine bar visit of 2011 several days ago at Medi Wine Bar, located at 811 9^th Ave in the neighborhood of Hell’s Kitchen.

Wow, this place was packed when I arrived and I actually had to wait a few minutes for a lonely little table for 1 to open up. This is either a testament to their food or their wine. We shall see which one!

Wines were between $9 and $15 for a glass and $34 to $165 for a bottle, although the average price of a bottle was in the $40 to $50 range. Some wines were available in half bottles as well. The majority of the wines were from the major European regions and I was happy to see that there were wines from lesser known regions as well, such as Slovenia, Israel, and Turkey. I ordered the 2009 Segals Fusion Cabernet-Merlot-Syrah blend from Israel. Now, I don’t particularly have a lot of faith in triple blends, but I do like Israeli wines when I’m able to find them at a wine bar, so I decided to take a chance. This is either going to be terrible or delightful.

It took a little while for my wine to arrive once I’d ordered it. I’m hoping it was only because all of the tables were full and they were very busy. But my goat cheese fritters actually came out first (I saw them on the menu and couldn’t resist. I’m a sucker for goat cheese….or just cheese in general.) Once my wine did arrive, I anxiously took a good whiff of it. It smelled like chocolate and cassis and almost a little bit syrupy like the aroma of port. The flavor was surprisingly enjoyable. It was a little heavier on the Cabernet in the blend and it tasted like dried strawberries. It could have used a little more acidity though. It wasn’t an outstanding wine, but it was tasty and not a bad value at $11 a glass.

The décor at Medi is one of my favorites that I’ve seen in a wine bar. It achieves coziness without sacrificing the space of the dining area. The walls are white painted brick with cool wooden benches lining one side of the room, the lighting is warm with the exception of the shock of blue lights at the front of the bar, and the ceilings are covered with dark wood. I have to admit, I was a little transfixed with the ceilings. The tables are all mismatched with a mix of cute white cottage style tables, tables made of solid blocks of wood, and a few garden style mini tables. It adds a very quaint and personable touch to the place. There is a seating area downstairs as well which is just as charming. I didn’t venture down there but I did see some cute pictures of it on Medi’s website.

I really enjoyed Medi Wine Bar and I will come back, although it might have to wait until I finish visiting the rest of the wine bars in the city. But I will be recommending it to my friends! Aside from my wine taking a little longer than usual to arrive at my table, the service was very nice and super attentive. Good wine and clearly good Mediterranean food judging by my goat cheese fritters and the crowd that this place draws. I give this place a rating of 4.3 out of 5 glasses.

The fun and cozy interior of Medi Wine Bar

The adorable downstairs seating area, pic courtesy of mediwinebar.com

My glass of wine and those tasty fritters

As I said, I'm dorky and I really liked the ceilings. They're just so cool!



Ardesia

I had the pleasure of going to Ardesia last night at 510 W 52^nd St. It’s a little out of the way between 10^th and 11^th Ave, but it is certainly worth the trip.

The first thing you notice about the bar is not only the relaxed outdoor seating area, but it’s very spacious. The ceilings are really high and the wall of wine above the bar really showcases the vastness of the space. There is also a cool seating area off to the side of the bar with low profile plush velvet couches. It looks cozy and definitely a great place to reserve for a party.

There are over 30 glasses of wine on the menu and happy hour specials are $2 off any glass of wine. I love this because it doesn’t limit you to a specific list of happy hour wines. It’s always a little sad when I see a wine that I really want and realize that I can’t get a discount on it. Yes, the thrifty side of me does emerge from time to time. Glasses are priced between $9 and $15 and bottles are mostly in the $40 to $60 range and up to $180. There are lots of great selections from all over Europe and the US.

I had trouble deciding which wine I wanted because there were so many that I wanted to try. The waiter asked if he could make any recommendations, so I asked him what his favorite wine at the bar was. He told me that he really liked the 2008 Cellars Can Blau Montsant from Spain, so I decided to give it a try. It was quite lovely. It smelled like cassis and chocolate and tasted like blackberry. It had smooth, round tannins and was very easy to drink.

The staff was incredibly friendly. The waiter would stop by my table a lot and would make some casual conversation. It’s the perfect nice and fun environment for enjoying a glass of wine and some tapas.

I decided to stick around for a while, since I was enjoying the atmosphere of Ardesia so much. For my second glass I ordered a 2009 Sierras de Malaga Moscatel Seco, which was also from Spain. It smelled so good! It was very aromatic and smelled like peach. It tasted like passion fruit and finished quite dry, which I wasn’t expecting. A pleasant surprise.

I started to get hungry, so I ordered the quail egg toast. It was magnificent and I want to eat it every day for breakfast. If you come here, order this and pair it with the Moscatel. It’s to die for!

The place started to get busy around 6:30 with many different groups of people. Some looked like they had come from work while others were dressed much more casually and seemed to have been hanging around there for a while. It’s a very lively place and I think its location helps to keep it from getting standy.

Ardesia is a very clean lined and modern bar. It’s casual, yet refined and kind of sexy. Not to mention they have a delicious selection of wines. Come here during the week before 7 so that you can take advantage of the special prices! I give Ardesia a rating of 4.5 out of 5 glasses.

The exterior of Ardesia

My glass of Montsant

Moscatel!