April 3, 2009

Terroir for Two :D

The partners of Hearth and Insieme have created a small wine bar. The new venue, located next door to Hearth, is called Terroir. This intimate, 24-seat wine bar is an adorable hole-in-the-wall on 12th St between 1st Ave and Ave A that beckons to one's inner wino. The wine list comes in a child's school binder adorned with some very adult graphics and verbage. Each page is dedicated to a story about a wine or selection of wines. Quotes from wine critics that fill the binder also line the wall on the bar's line of funky t-shirts, and the bathroom is stocked with stacks of wine publications and articles. They add new pages in the binder as they write new stories about all the aspects of the wines, the cultivation, history, people and the taste. The selection isn't vast, but they do describe them well and the service knows their selection of wine (which is always a plus). Prices are unfortunately less reasonable than you might hope, but at least the by-the-glass option lets you taste a few if you want-- and they do have a cheap happy hour between 5-6pm. The seating is great for two, since it's basically all comunal bar space. With a party larger than two, it will be very hard to get seats that aren't straight in one row, due to the fact that there are only 24 seats. Unless you aspire to have a permanent stiff neck from looking left or right to enjoy the company of your larger party, I recommend only bringing one other person to share this experience.

Terroir also has a delightful selection of bar snacks and small meals. The calamari salad offers an uncommon wrinkle in the form of smoked chickpeas, which blends with garlic, lemon, parsley and chili to create a delectable starter. It was surprising that this was a cold salad, since I ordered it expecting warm grilled calamari, but the calamari was perfectly tender despite the surprising chill. The veal & ricotta meatballs were served steaming in a cast iron skillet with a tasty but unremarkable tomato sauce. The meatballs were moist and flavorful, the ample cheese brought a delicious bite to the smoothness of the veal. The grilled radicchio, smoked mozzarella and red pepper panini was delicious, although the portion of grilled radicchio was somewhat lacking. In general, none of the servings are large, with the noticable exception of the Eggleston's Pork Blade Steak, which is larger then your head ;) This serving of pork is enormous, so I second the waitress' recommendation to add the Arugula salad on the side. The salad's parmesan and balsamic vinegar provide an almost mandatory respite from the relentless saltiness of the pork.

This a great little hidden spot for you and a "friend"...so if you want some vino and a snack (and don't mind a decent dent in your wallet), I suggest swinging by Terroir.