I just ate at one of my favorite hangs, and dinner was amazing, as usual. Tertulia is an industry favorite known for classic Spanish tapas that are well worth the hour long waits for tables.
A tiny bar greets you as you enter with two small dining areas tucked behind. In the very back of the restaurant a partially exposed kitchen showcases the busy cooks.
Wines by the glass are chalked out on a slate tablet, the specials appear on an unassuming chalkboard, and the wine list is small-medium sized and very focused on great Spanish wines (a nice mix of affordable & high end).
What really entices me about this place is the complete lack of pretentiousness in the atmosphere/cuisine. The environment is as intimate and personal as the food. In the crazy-amazing NYC dining scene the tendency for restaurants to gear their food program around harderbetterfasterstronger. Not so here. The approachable and classic Spanish tapas function as a delicious canvas that still allows you to put the focus on the people you are dining with.
We saw this magnum of Anima Negra "AN/2" on the wine list and went for it. Anima Negra bodega is located on Mallorca-- an island in the Balearic archipelago (the other famous islands in the chain are Menorca and Ibiza). Mallorca is world famous for its incredible beaches; travel inland, however, and you will find another claim to fame: several unique wineries producing great wines from varietals indigenous to the island. Because Mallorca is such a popular tourist destination land costs are astronomical making it difficult to get wineries going in the interior, but several enterprising people have managed to do it. The tourist industry also drives an incredibly high percentage of local consumption, so it is rare to see these wines hit the global market.
Anima Negra is based out of an old stone dairy barn that dates back to the 1600s. The bodega makes four wines; the AN/2 we drank tonight blends 65% callet with two other indigenous varieties, mantonegro and fogoneu. They also add a bit of syrah to the mix. The grapes are bush trained, then fermented in stainless steel followed by about a year in French & American oak (35% new).
Anima Negra is based out of an old stone dairy barn that dates back to the 1600s. The bodega makes four wines; the AN/2 we drank tonight blends 65% callet with two other indigenous varieties, mantonegro and fogoneu. They also add a bit of syrah to the mix. The grapes are bush trained, then fermented in stainless steel followed by about a year in French & American oak (35% new).
Mallorca has been producing wines for centuries; they became an important wine exporter in the late 1800s when France struggled with phylloxera. Fast forward to the wine landscape of the 1990s and we see a trend for many Spanish wines to appeal to a global market by growing "international varieties" and using heavy new oak.
The three young founders of Anima Negra became disenchanted with the concept of homogenizing Spanish wine for a global market and instead focused on indigenous varieties achieving unique quality in their own ways. They also prefer old vines, no irrigation and the use of only native yeasts.
The three young founders of Anima Negra became disenchanted with the concept of homogenizing Spanish wine for a global market and instead focused on indigenous varieties achieving unique quality in their own ways. They also prefer old vines, no irrigation and the use of only native yeasts.
The smooth yet spicy wine went great with these classics: delicious and crunchy pan con tomate, a potato tortilla, and a deviled egg with savory cod blended into the yolk. The potato tortilla was so fluffy- we devoured it in literally five seconds.
Pimientos de Pardon-- they went so fast we only got a picture of the stems!
The Spanish cheese plate was perfect with the wine.
Before we dove into dessert we took a white wine break-- we noticed that they had Anima Negra's "Quibia" by the glass and so we decided to keep the drinking in the same winery. The Quibia (made of the varietal premsal) was a nice little palate cleanser before this caramelized toast arrived with hazelnut ice cream. The caramelized top of the rich, sweet toast smelled like fresh roasted marshmallows.
This is the unsung hero of the day-- so addictive that even after stuffing ourselves all night we ordered more. Tangerine sorbet topped with thin discs of candied kumquat, served over fresh segmented grapefruit with cheese and mint.
Outside the moon illuminated Washington Square park-- the same moon that had just shone over Mallorca only a few hours before.
RSS Feed
