Yes, it’s that time again… when wine publications roll out their annual “Best” lists of wine restaurants. The Wine Spectator recently released its annual “Restaurant Wine List Awards.” There are, according to the cover story 3,595 award winners in all 50 states and more than 70 countries. The Wine Enthusiast previously published (August 2016) “America’s 100 Best Wine Restaurants 2016.
From the Wine Spectator, in our immediate neck of the woods, there are a number of familiar standouts and personal favorites…
NEW JERSEY: The Bernards Inn, Bernardsville… Birravino (formerly Basil T’s, Red Bank… Esty Street, Park Ridge… The Frog and the Peach, New Brunswick… Ho-Ho-Kus Inn & Tavern, Ho-Ho-Kus… Knife & Fork, Atlantic City… La Griglia Seafood Grill & Wine Bar, Kenilworth… The Manor, West Orange… Ninety Acres, Peapack-Gladstone… The Peacock Inn, Princeton… The Pluckemin Inn, Bedminster… Restaurant Latour, Hardyston… The Ryland Inn, Whitehouse Station… Stage Left, New Brunswick… Undici Taverna Rustica, Rumson…
PENNSYLVANIA: Amada, Philadelphia… Lacroix at the Rittenhouse, Philadelphia… Panorama, Philadelphia… Volvér, Philadelphia… Brandywine Prime, Chadds Ford… Margaret Kuo’s Restaurant, Wayne… Mistral, Skippack… Savona, Gulph Mills…
DELAWARE: Caffé Gelato, Newark… Domaine Hudson, Wilmington… Green Room, Wilmington…
For those interested in perusing the complete list, this issue of the Wine Spectator (August 31, 2016) will hit the newsstands tomorrow, Tuesday, July 19, 2016.
From the Wine Enthusiast’s list of “America’s 100 Best Wine Restaurants, two locals may be of interest: a.kitchen+bar, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Restaurant Latour, Hardyston Township, New Jersey.
I freely confess that I am not a fan of this kind of oenological smoke and mirrors listing game. Why? For the simple reason that excellent wine lists do not excellent restaurants make. Just because a restaurant sports a superior wine list, there is no guarantee that the cuisine (and service) will be of the same superior quality… And the Wine Spectator’s “The List,” and others of similar ilk, can be totally misleading, precisely because the unspoken implication is that all aspects of a particular restaurant’s dining experience will be as exceptional as the wine list.
As a professional “hired belly,” my advice to readers has always been to check out restaurants from a variety of sources. Wine, in my opinion, is an important part of the overall dining experience – but it is still only a part… And a good wine list is no guarantee of an enjoyable and satisfying evening at table.
And always keep the words of Jeff Weinstein, the former restaurant reviewer of The Village Voice, at the back of your mind: “A list is a fundamentally lazy way for a newspaper or magazine to fill space and woo as many advertisers as possible. Modern restaurant reviewing was born as advertisement copy that snuck onto the other side of the page. It may die there.”
Bon Appétit & Cheers!
TAD
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