Some new wine and cheese at Uva

Last week, AV and I ventured a bit south of our normal haunts to try out Uva, a wine bar at 77th and 2nd Avenue. We've wanted to try it for a while, but Cavatappo is so good and so close, it took a certain discount coupon to rouse us out of our neighborhood rut.

We arrived at Uva around 8PM on a Tuesday to a packed house, but we were seated within five minutes or so. I immediately locked eyes on the wine flights at the back of the drinks menu, and though they're supposed to be offered only until 7PM, a little sweet talking ensued and soon a bubbly flight was in front of me. One glass of Prosecco Zardetto, one of Ortrugo, Cantine Bonelli, and one of Bonarda Dolce, Massari, all for only $13 (given that this was nearly three full glasses of wine, this was a great deal). I really liked the prosecco, which was light and crisp, and the bonarda dolce, which was sweet and fizzy, almost like carbonated Manischewitz (in a good way). The ortrugo was a little thick and earthy for my tastes, but it was still definitely drinkable.

Lots 'o' bubbly wine

AV got an Ayinger hefeweizen, which he enjoyed sipping from a large glass.

Intriguing German beer

We also wanted some nibbles with our drinks, so we ordered some cheese. While we waited, some bread arrived, with a small carafe of good olive oil. The bread was very soft and light and compulsively eatable, and it went incredibly well with the cheese.

A good quantity of bread

We had chosen a pecorino toscano, a highly underrated cheese. The wooden board sported four reasonably-sized wedges of the delicious, milky cheese, along with a small handful of large grapes. The cheese and grapes were both top-quality, although I wished for a bit more in the way of creative accompaniments like dried fruit or nuts or a compote of some kind. So far, nothing can really top the cheese plates at Riposo 46.

Simple and satisfying

There was a lot more food floating around the buzzing, rustic dining room, from appetizers like bruschetta to full pastas. So far, we were very impressed--we vowed to come back soon and have a wider selection of food and drinks. Consider this just a mere Uva amuse-bouche-- we'll be back for the main course in no time.

Uva
1486 Second Avenue, at 77th Street
212-472-4552