Ask Alex What to Eat

Wine List in Midtown

Arthur Asks:

“I am looking for a nice restaurant in midtown. The key requirement is a good wine list (red wine).”

While I am not, by any means, an aficionado when it comes to wine (something I plan on correcting in the very near future…) I think I can point you in the right direction.  Not knowing exactly how nice you’re looking for — or how ‘midtown’ for that matter — I’m going to take the liberty of assuming very nice (read expensive).

Not that it’s any secret, but Eric Ripert’s Le Bernadin (http://www.le-bernardin.com/), on 51st between 6th and 7th, is some of the best fish that you will ever eat.  The service is also impeccable, which of course comes along with excellent sommeliers armed with a fantastic wine list.  The wine pairings with your fish will likely favor whites, but I know they can do a great job with reds.

A little hipper (and pretty much just as expensive) is The Modern (http://www.themodernnyc.com/) , inside of MOMA.  The food is great — appropriately modern cuisine and the sleek, minimalist space is really fun.  Their fantastic wine selection is cased in a glass wall running along the entrance to the restaurant, an important introduction to the overall feeling of the restaurant.  The menu also favors a bolder, probably more red-friendly wine selection.

Salute!