I’m facing a bit of a predicament: This summer one of my best friends is leaving the U.S. Navy and embarking on a world tour as a civilian. My hope is to join him, along with some other friends from college, on the Spanish leg. More specifically, a trip to San Sebastián in Basque Country. Money is, unfortunately, an object, but my fingers are crossed.
Chefs and restaurant obsessives famously love Spanish cuisine. The proof is in the restaurant pudding: Cervo’s, Txikito, Ernesto’s, El Quijote, Mercado Little Spain — the list goes on. Combine that with New York’s more recent fascination with tinned fish, and you’ve got a perfect climate for what I’ve recently identified as Spanish wine bar mania. Here are three new destinations for cava, conservas and croquetas.
Galician octopus in Park Slope
Let’s start our journey at Bar Vinazo on Seventh Avenue in Park Slope, open since May and by far the most restaurant-y of the spots in this newsletter. It’s from the folks who brought us Fausto and LaLou, both in Prospect Heights, and once the weather warms up there’s a nice backyard worth checking out.
When I walked in on a recent Saturday afternoon, the bar had just wrapped up a sherry tasting so I was able to flag down one of the owners, Joe Campanale, who also happens to be the in-house wine expert. (Good timing, right?) Joe poured me an easy-drinking white blend from Catalonia that went very well with some tuna belly in olive oil — one of six tinned-fish options — and a small platter of jamon Ibérico and zamorano cheese.
The most surprising part of the meal, though, was the perfectly tender, pimenton-dusted octopus over fluffy potatoes, which restored my faith in a dish that is overcooked far too often. Over Instagram messages, the executive chef Silvia Garcia-Nevado told me that she prepares the octopus using a traditional Galician method: Boil for 30 minutes, hang the octopus to allow it to stretch and tenderize, and then pan-sear to order.
Step behind the curtain for conservas
Across the East River and deep into the East Village, there’s Tin Parlour, open since late January. To get to this wine bar, you have to walk into the restaurant Nudibranch, hang a right before the kitchen and duck through a heavy black curtain. Inside you’ll find a dimly lit bar with just a handful of sturdy wooden tables. (For those who still possess the mental and emotional fortitude for dating, Tin Parlour would make an excellent meeting spot.)
The menu is centered on conservas, though there are also some offerings from the Nudibranch menu available, including my personal favorite: the chewy tteok under country ham with honey. The conservas come with Ritz crackers — because why try to outdo the champ — as well as crunchy nori, a nod to Nudibranch’s combination of Korean and Spanish cooking. Accordingly, the only utensils at your disposal are chopsticks, which raises the question: Why wouldn’t you always eat tinned fish with chopsticks?
Pintxos and the perfect pour
Finally, we have Ernie’s Wine Bar from the people who run Ernesto’s. This six-week-old bar, located just around the corner from the restaurant, is so new that it still bears the signage from its predecessor, Ernie’s Cafe, a breakfast and lunch spot. This might cause some confusion, so don’t feel at all embarrassed if you mistake the Ernie’s Wine Bar sign by the frosted bathroom door for some kind of speakeasy entrance. And to compound the mortification, it’s one of those doors that you have to slide, not pull.
But once you’ve recovered your dignity, you can sit down and enjoy an array of snacky, decently priced pintxos, like chicken and pork croquetas with crackly exteriors ($4 each) and a Spanish-inspired take on risotto made with Idiazabal cheese ($5). That will wash down nicely with a lovely glass of orange wine or whatever Spanish natural wine is to your taste (the staff is exceedingly helpful here). And if you squint, this intimate neighborhood bar may make you feel like you’re really in Spain.
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