Trying to walk in at Barbette at 8 p.m. on a Friday night probably wasn’t a great idea, but we were lucky – only about a five minute wait for a place at the bar. Before the first course was served, we were offered a table, but the bar felt so comfortable that we stayed where we were. The big draw for me was the Beaujolais Nouveau menu, which the restaurant is serving nightly, through Monday. The whole Beaujolais Nouveau hype is a little silly, in my opinion – as is paying $8 a glass for what used to be considered a jug wine. But the Barbette menu has few pretensions, and a reasonable price tag: $38 for four courses, and an optional flight of four wines for $20 more.
The first course is a lightly dressed salad of beets, pears and candied pecans, followed by a pumpkin soup lightly seasoned with a cinnamon crème fraiche. The main course offers the only choices: char with smoked potato puree and truffled Brussels sprout chips, beef short ribs braised in red wine, or a mushroom ragu served with Gorgonzola polenta. The beef ribs were very hearty fare, but the dessert provided a light finish: a delicate panna cotta in a five spice oil, topped with maple-scented croutons. The wines are no great shakes, but they are all drinkable: a non-vintage Bouvet sparkling wine from the Loire, half-glasses of Vielle Ferme rose (a popular inexpensive table wine) and Joseph Drouhin 2007 Beaujolais Nouveau, with a small pour of sweet Graham 10 year tawny port to accompany the panna cotta. Unless you already have reservations, you may have a hard time getting a table tonight, but your chances are better tomorrow and Monday.
Last Wednesday night, the missus and I cruised some of our favorite neighborhood spots looking for a bite to eat, and all were packed full: at Heidi’s, at 50th and Bryant, the wait was half an hour, and the dining room and bar next door at the Blackbird Cafe were so packed that we didn’t bother to ask. Next stop, the Grand Cafe at 38th and Grand, but they were hosting a private party. Finally, we headed for Gigi’s, our old standby at 36th and Bryant, where we found an empty table – but just barely. Turns out Wednesday night is pizza night – a pizza du jour and a bottle of wine to share for $20. We chose the vegetarian option, topped with roasted butternut squash, mozzarella, Gorgonzola and arugela, over a brittle crust. The wine was a good match – a young Monte Aman Tempranillo that’s ordinarily $24 a bottle at the café (and online in Spain for two and a half Euros.) Not a meal, or a wine to remember, but on a night when we didn’t feel like cooking or spending $100 for dinner for two, a reasonable alternative. I want to go back on a Thursday, when it’s spaghetti night at Gigi’s: two plates of pasta and a bottle of wine for $24.