Corkbuzz Wine Bar | Union Square, New York City, NY
Corkbuzz knows how to do both food and wine
Master Sommelier Laura Maniec would do plenty well by offering only her discerning wine list at Corkbuzz, her new Union Square-area wine bar.
The offerings–35 different wines by the glass and more than 200 by the bottle–are so impressive, we'd be happy to camp out in one of the floral-patterned wingbacks and start working our way through the list.
Instead, Maniec hired the Seoul-born and Daniel- and Le Bernardin-trained chef Hayan Yi, thus elevating the food at Corkbuzz to a level that's better than it needs to be.
No mere greasy bar nibbles these; duck cracklings huddle in potato hash ($6), and scallion-pancake-battered Kumamoto oysters ($15) sit snuggled in their shells.
This is food that doesn't just allow for continued drinking–it assertively sits up and demands that you enjoy it.
Fringes of crispy pig's ear tussle with marinated mushrooms ($15). Both bucatini with Brussels sprouts and chile oil ($15) and minted lamb ragout ($15) surprise with their wallops of salt and spice.
In our opinion, both celebrations and the quotidian call for bubbles of the 2010 Renardat-Fache Cerdon de Bugey ($60 for 750 ml; $13 a glass) variety. Like a strawberry blast to the face, with a pink flush to match, this is a wine that promises a spring yet to come and is happy to tangle with anything on the menu.
Corkbuzz, 13 E. 13th St. (between Broadway and Fifth Ave.); 646-873-6071 or corkbuzz.com