Ardesia redeems itself, and the Wine Century Club trucks on

I'd been to Ardesia once when it first opened, and my reactions were decidedly mixed. With Riposo 46 so nearby, I found it hard to justify returning, so I haven't been back since that one puzzling and amusing trip. Last weekend, however, for some reason it popped back into my mind, and JM and I headed the few streets north in the oppressive, ridiculous heat and humidity to take refuge in the steely, modern room.

This time it was much less crowded, and we easily scored a high table in the corner. Our waiter, whom we befriended over the course of the night, counseled JM on a by-the-glass red similar to a Barolo while offering me a taste on a new white I'd never had (for the Wine Century Club... more on that in a bit!). Both happy, we settled in with our wines, truly generous pours in nice glasses. For the record, mine was a Pedro Ximinez, and it was quite good, very citrusy and bright and refreshing on a hot day.

Oh, and we ordered a bite to nibble while we drank. As mentioned earlier, the food at Ardesia is still on the pricey side, so we ordered the cheapest thing on the menu: an assortment of olives for $3. This isn't an overwhelming portion, but for $3, it kept two people reasonably occupied for a while and is therefore by far and away the best deal on the menu.

Salty.

So Ardesia is back in the saddle, it seems. I'd definitely go back; the room is really appealing, the location is perfect, the wines are unusual, and the staff is really attentive and friendly.

With all this talk of wine, you must be wondering how far along I am in my Wine Century Club quest! Good question. Surprisingly, I'm actually doing fairly well. As of the time of this post's writing, I am 13 wines in, and they're not all the usual suspects, either. Behold, my tasting list so far:

Baco Noir
Barbera
Cabernet Franc
Chenin Blanc
Garganega
Grechetto
Garnacha
Muscat Blanc
Pedro Ximinez
Pinot Gris
Roussanne
Viognier
Zinfandel

Not bad, eh? I'm always on the lookout for good wine bars with creative selections, so if you have any suggestions of places I should go to knock a few more off my list, leave me a comment or email me at lifewithfoodanddrink@gmail.com.

Ardesia
510 W. 52nd Street, between 10th and 11th Avenues
212-247-9191

Ardesia: I don't really know.

Last Friday night, AV and I decided to check out Ardesia, the brand-new wine bar in my neighborhood. The place was absolutely hopping when we got there at 8:30 or 9 or so; it was so busy that we had to squeeze behind the door to wait while a table opened up. But finally we settled into a corner in the lounge area, which was rimmed with plush, low-backed sofas. Our table was a tiny, moveable TV-dinner-style table that we could swing over our laps. We tried to get comfortable as the enormous and loud group next to us kept growing, encroaching into our already awkward space corner.

The bar itself is really pretty-- chic and modern with blackboards lining one wall and a see-through rack of wine bottles stretching from floor to double-height ceiling behind the bar. But it was loud and crowded. Much more bar-bar than wine-bar-- i.e., if you're looking for a dark, sexy, and romantic nook, Ardesia is not your place.

Our incredibly friendly but aw-shucks awkward waiter finally brought us menus. I wasn't drinking, but there did seem to be a number of nice-looking wines by the glass. AV ordered a beer, and we contemplated our food choices. I asked whether any of the cheeses were brie-like; when I was told honestly no, we decided to share an order of the manchego ($6), which AV supplemented with their house-made cocktail sausages ($5). What arrived shortly thereafter was as follows:

Dollhouse food?

Oh, and bread

Um, wow. In case you're counting, that's $1.66 per sausage, and approximately $1 per small bite of cheese. Was the food decent? Sure. Was it a total rip-off? Absolutely. Contrast this $6 cheese "plate" (that tiny pile of debris is about a tablespoonful of crushed hazelnuts in honey) with what you get for around $8 at Riposo 46, our usual neighborhood wine bar:

Just for the record, that's half a loaf of bread, two garlic crostini, stewed dried fruit, walnuts, a large bunch of grapes, and two huge, thick hunks of manchego

No contest. But I feel bad writing off Ardesia entirely; inexplicably, I actually really wanted to like the place. For one, everyone was so friendly, especially our waiter, who at one point actually used the phrase "Hidey-ho." Plus, it was the first week of the bar's opening... and I do want to encourage more restaurants and nightlife hot spots to explore the currently uncharted territory west of Ninth Avenue in Hell's Kitchen. But if Ardesia is going to survive, it has to either knock down its prices significantly or increase the value (i.e., food, beer) it provides for the money. Till then, you can find us a few blocks away at Riposo 46.

Ardesia
510 W. 52nd Street, between 10th and 11th Avenues
212-247-9191