As a belated Valentine's Day gift to Bets, I took her to a new bistro in Irvington (actually a new incarnation of a place from a different location). Gorgeous building, set by river in an old greenhouse factory. Lovely space, but a bit noisy. I don't often order crabcakes, but got their peekytoe crabcake - nicely crisp, good crab flavors, I think this used corn meal as filler, best I've had in a while. Nice remoulade sauce, a slaw, plus some watercress leaves mixed with seaweed. Betsy really liked the mushroom salad - wild mushrooms topped with a perfectly fried egg, excellent. We were very happy with food at this point, but distracted by noise. I had a glass of the 2005 Ch. Haut Laulion Bordeaux blanc. A generic SB nose, soft tropical fruit with a little citrus, a very mild flinty note. This is too soft, and even seems to carry just a little residual sugar. Doesn't seem to have any noticable Semillon character, just too warm Sauvignon Blanc. B-/C+
Main courses were good, but not as successful as the appetizers. I had some heirloom pork confit - quite tasty, though a tad dried on edges. The garlic polenta was also good, but the sautéed greens were a little dull, as were carrots, and there was a little too much sauce. Extra sauce was also an issue with Betsy's duck breast- again the meat was cooked well, but the sides were a little too sweet (braised cabbage and spinach). We shared a half bottle of the 2005 Nicolas Potel "Cuvee Gerard Potel" Bourgogne. Decent PN, very good acidity keeps it food friendly, red and black cherries,a little earth. Seems to have a little cocoa powder note at end. Not the depth of some other low-end '05 Burgs, but nice enough. B
Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.