Varietal Restaurant & Wine Bar |
The Sipping PointVarietal Restaurant & Wine Bar Monday, December 11, 2006 Your fondness for a good glass of wine is a healthy obsession that won’t ever go out of style, unlike the current Hollywood hobby of being photographed exiting a vehicle when going commando. The warm terroir of a robust Sancerre always delights your senses; a C-section scar, not so much. That’s exactly why Greggory Hockenberry’s new wine restaurant, Varietal, eschews any sort of distracting décor. The smiles spread across your face by the aforementioned chef/certified sommelier’s wine selections are worth a lot more than the joy that could be brought on by a fourteen foot Buddha. Aside from Hockenberry’s personal photos of vineyards from around the world, wineglass fashioned chandeliers are the only gratuitous visual components dotting the white washed and blush-colored minimalist space. Chef Ed Witt, formerly of Il Buco and River Café, has composed an ambitious, agri-centric American menu to pair with the impressive yet unintimidating wine list. Sample an abbreviated selection at the angular white lacquer bar, where fellow oenophiles craft their own flights from a list of 75 wines by the glass. With the increasing annoyances of air travel these days, that’s just the type of flight you’ll want to take anytime.
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