Wacky Wine Bar
After ingesting a good, albeit, oleaginous meal at Great Jones Diner, my friend Todd and I wandered over and down to East 1st Street. A new wine bar opened a few months back named Simon Sips. My wife and I sat and had a glass there a week earlier, while waiting for a table at a restaurant around the corner. It was relaxed, small and welcoming in comparison to other similar places, and made me want to return. My friend and I were greeted by a frazzled but kind-eyed woman. In the evening the space is dim, but in the day it’s large plate window pours the sunlight in.
One of the six or so small tables was available, so we sat down and looked over the menu. Next to us were a table of lanky women that could have only worked in fashion. At the outside tables there were men fiddling with laptops. Not only is Simon Sips a wine bar but it is also a cafe, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as brunch and an array of desserts.
I asked about the Channing Daughters Cabernet Sauvignon from Long Island that they were out of the week past. I have yet to have a wine from New York and am curious. They still had not restocked, but she had another from the same winery. She didn’t know the price and went off to check. I saw her make a phone call and then two tables wanted to pay at the same time. This seemed more than she was able to handle. Once she got back to us with the price, ten or so minutes later, the bottle turned out to be $60. Not wanting to pay so much, I started to re-scan the menu. I spotted the 2006 Marques de Montemor, Quinta da Plansel – Alentejo, Portugal ($9 glass, $36 bottle). I suggested that we get two glasses of this and the overwhelmed woman asked if we were friends of Simon on facebook. “Because if you are bottles are half price”. I told her that I wasn’t but I could do it right now. I fumbled around with my iPhone trying to “facebook” him, but I couldn’t find it. She forgave us this and gave us the bottle at 50%, $18. She did tell us to make sure that we do “facebook” him. Looking at her say this, I felt as if she had never been to, or even knew exactly, what facebook is.
A few minutes later she returned holding the bottle of 2006 Marques de Montemor that we were only paying $18 for. This wine is a blend of three varietals that I have never heard of, 40% Aragones, 30% Touriga Nacional and 30% Trincadeira. She poured a taste for me. Swirl, sniff, gulp. I approved and she left the bottle. In the glass …well it was pretty dark in the place and I wouldn’t have known if it were green in color. The nose was a combination of blueberry and an earthy floral scent. On the tongue it was easy going down and medium-bodied, with notes of currant, spice, pepper and dark fruit. It was balanced, dry and a good end to the night. As the liquid in the bottle got lower, our voices got louder. We finished it off, paid our bill and I wandered home to try and figure out how to “facebook” him.
Tags: Marques de Montemor, Quinta da Plansel, red, wine bar
July 26th, 2009 at 7:57 am
“Facebooking” wine bars is getting pretty prevalent. A lot of the wine bars here in CA are pushing it too. Kind of odd but for a discount on my wine, who am I to argue? :)