K & D By the Glass

Hurricane Sandy kept me out of Manhattan for a while, but I’m back and ready to continue reviewing wine bars! My first post-Sandy stop was K & D By the Glass, located in the Upper East Side at 1374 Madison Ave. Next door is K & D Wine & Spirits where I’m sure you can buy some, if not all of the wines that are served at the bar.

The space is very small, the walls are covered with book wallpaper and wood paneling, and it’s quiet. It’s almost as if someone turned their library or office into a wine bar. The bar has an upscale and masculine feel to it with lots of wood and leather accents. The only thing missing was a humidor filled with exotic cigars. However, it maintains a slightly casual air by playing some low-volume classic rock and 80s music and a tv in one corner. Shelves behind the bar were stocked with nice wines and there was a wooden wine rack so high on the wall that it could only be reached by a ladder. There wasn’t much seating; just one high table for two, leather stools along one wall, and chairs around the bar. Once more people started to show up, it was tightly packed.

Wines here are moderately expensive and even excessively so. Glasses of wine were priced $8 to $24 with the vast majority of them being more than $14. Bottles were $31 to $375. Two flight options were available, but the menu was confusing – only one wine was listed for each flight. I couldn’t tell which, or even how many, wines were included and there was both a glass and bottle price for each flight. Huh?

I ordered a glass of the 2009 Vaza Crianza Rioja. It smelled like strawberry and tasted like cedar at first sip, but then quickly developed into a dried red fruit and cocoa flavor with a hint of an herbal character. It was pretty good, but honestly, I’ve had better Rioja at the same price at other wine bars.

The service was great. I never felt that I was wanting for attention or bothered by too much. I overheard the bartender helping other customers decide what to order based on what kind of body or flavors they enjoy in a wine. She spoke about the different characteristics of the wines she was suggesting and I could tell that she was well versed on the subject of wine. I was impressed.

The place started to fill up around 5 and the crowd was middle-aged. I would have expected a slightly younger group on a Friday evening, but considering the setting and the higher price points, that’s probably their usual clientele. For example, one guy wanted a wine that was only available by the bottle and apparently he didn’t mind paying whatever the glass price would be. I looked it up in the menu figured out that one pour would have been around $40. Yikes!

Although pricey, K & D By the Glass has a very nice selection of fine wines. The knowledgeable staff certainly adds to the experience as well. While it’s kind of casual, the atmosphere is still a little too stodgy for my taste. Great wine bars should be approachable by all and I think K & D is the kind that intimidates people who don’t know much about wine. I give this place a rating of 3.5 out of 5 glasses.

K & D By the Glass next door to the wine store

The tiny library-like interior of K & D

Jadis

I swung by Jadis on Friday, which is located at 42 Rivington St on the Lower East Side. It s one step below the sidewalk, so it feels a little bit like a basement. A very cute basement.

The atmosphere was quiet for a Friday evening, which I wasn t expecting. There was some soft, mellow music playing, which later evolved into French hip hop. All of the walls are brick, the floor is concrete, there is a heavy wooden door at the entrance, and the ceilings look like they just might be original. Apparently there is an outdoor seating area in the back, which I could only catch a glimpse of from my table. From what I could see, it looked cool and I heard several girls asking if they could sit out there when they walked in. The bar area was cutely decorated with some dried flower arrangements and all of the plates and glasses were stored on shelves behind the bar, so it looked like a homey kitchen.

Jadis has a French wine bar feel to it, but wines from all over the world were featured on their wine list. Wines are $7 to $12 by the glass with bottles starting at $25 and no more than $110. They also offer a carafe of wine, which is priced between $18 and $29. The bar has a very clean pricing strategy. They have great specials as well: happy hour is Tuesday - Saturday from 5-7pm, and on Mondays bottles of wine over $30 are 30% off.

I ordered the 2011 Domaine Chene Macon La Roche from the Burgundy region of France. It had a slight barley scent to it, almost like beer but a touch sweeter. It was a little toasty on the nose as well. It tasted very much like lychee with a thin sweetness to it and a nice bitter note. It was an interesting wine, but good. Shortly after I ordered my wine, I noticed that there was a $15 minimum on credit cards, which always annoys me. But I was happy to order a cheese plate to make up the difference.

The service was what made Jadis feel different for me. Although she was friendly each time she came to my table, the noticeable overtone of the waitress' attitude was that she thought I was awkward and weird. Which I totally am The distasteful look she gave me while I was holding my camera in front of my face was the first clue. Ok, so I was the only one in the bar for a while and I was taking pictures like a stalker. And sure, I devoured a cheese plate meant for three, but try not to make it so obvious that you think I m an oddball. I may not understand your Spanish, but I sure can read the body language of you and the bartender both looking over at me at the same time. Try to be more subtle in the future.

I don t know why I'm giving Jadis this rating because I felt like Quasimodo while I was there, but it has a cool, yet quaint and cozy atmosphere, as well as a good selection of wines at a great price point. If you behave overtly sane you might enjoy yourself here a little more than I did. I, begrudgingly, give it a rating of 3.6 out of 5 glasses.

I felt too awkward to take a good picture of the outside once I left. And that's saying a lot.

The cute bar area

Isn't it always?