Vintage Wine Bar & Bistro
129 S. 13th Street
(215) 922-3095
The chandelier caught our eye immediately. Made from recycled wine bottles sparkling on a bottle rack above the full bar, it alluded to the restaurant's primary focus: vino. Though we accepted Vintage's role as a wine bar, the extensive specials list left us with high hopes for interesting food pairings. Unfortunately, while the 11-page wine list was impressive, many of the dishes we sampled fell short.
Vintage's menu is appropriately labeled "Standards," offering dishes such as Caesar salad, beef satay, calamari and French onion soup. If you're in the mood for something simple with your wine, this may be your kind of place. The atmosphere, warm and inviting with a rustic, deconstructed appeal, offers interesting wine-inspired touches including one wall made entirely of cork and another of wine crates. The lighting is dim (but not too dim) and the music eases you into a relaxing conversation. But stick to the wine list. House wines go for $5, and you'll feel much better about your purchase than we did.
Our young and attractive waiter brought the specials chalkboard directly to our tiny two-top. When asked which dishes he preferred, however, he simply listed the featured courses to us in random order, insisting that "everything is good." What disappointed us even more was the fact that his recommendations for wine (or lack thereof) did not meet the expectations one would hope from a sommelier.
Left to our own devices, we decided on the Soup du Jour: a sherried onion and saffron purée topped with slivered almonds. Apparently, slivered almonds and figs were overstocked in the kitchen that evening, for both the duck magret with honey truffle dressing and the gorgonzola and fig bruschetta included one or both of these items mixed in. We had high hopes for the soup, but its lack of sweetness and overpowering sherry flavor left the almonds as its only saving grace. The bruschetta was poorly presented on burnt toast; the charred flavor and overpoweringly thick fig and gorgonzola combination was filling, but far from satisfying. Our chosen entrée was an improvement, a vegetarian dish of cheesy polenta with wild mushroom and tomato ragout and soy-battered shallots. The fried shallots added a much needed crunchy touch to the rich ragout and grainy, underdone polenta.
The tastiest plate of the evening was the duck magret. Though slightly overdressed, the honey truffle emulsion was a welcome offset to the tender pan-seared duck, cooked to our specifications. The almonds and figs (we told you they were numerous) added texture and sweetness to the fresh mixed greens. The delicate dark meat of the duck paired well with our favorite wine selection, a 2004 Realeza Cuvee 6 Tempranillo from Castilla y León, Spain. Described as having "licorice and soft vanilla tones" and "flavors of cherry, chocolate and raspberry," we were pleased by its pungent aroma and subtle finish.
Unfortunately, the duck dish and its wine companion proved the only truly positive items experienced. Our dessert, a vanilla bread pudding with blueberries and cinnamon sauce, was little more than glorified French toast. The cinnamon lacked strength when up against the soggy square of bread, and the blueberries were almost nonexistent.
We were unpleasantly surprised by the $78 tab that arrived at the end of our meal. If we return, we'll be sure to focus more on their impressive wine selection and atmosphere rather than splurging on a full meal.
