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Pearl and Ash - Chef Richard Kuo and a Great Wine List on The Bowery


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Leave it to me to write about a place I am yet to visit. But I plan to change that soon.

Patrick Capiello of Gilt fame has redesigned the wine list here, and my goodness, just take a look at this collection of gems:

Pearl and Ash's wine list

There is something interesting, food friendly and affordable in every section, be it red, white or pink, Jura, Rhone or Germany. I've also been told there are older vintages, not listed on the website.

According to very reliable sources, the food is excellent. I hope to follow up with an actual report, but if you are traveling to NYC, it sounds like you can't go wrong here.

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Since we're talking about this place we both haven't visited yet (although my local food board friends who have visited are impressed), I figure a somewhat off the main topic question is in order here. The wine list does look impressive. However, the mark up from retail seems to be more uneven than most of the places I'm used to & I'd like some opinions on whether this is unusual these days. For example, the Red Hook Cab Franc seems to be only a 33% mark up from our local stores in Bklyn and a great buy here (for those of you who dont realize it, Robt Foley is a very active part of Red Hook's production). Other wines, like the 1999 Mayacamas Cab. Sauv., come in at the more usual 250% over retail (albeit more than some other restaurants in my area). And (unless I'm missing something here), the Italian 2009 Castello di Bossi Chianti Classico, which I think sells for about $16 retail, is listed at $49. What gives? Do I really need to do this level of research before going to a good restaurant these days? Was I wrong to believe that places were at least internally consistent in their mark up from retail (whether it was the old 2x, then the 2.5x, and lately the acceptable 3x mark up)?

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The wine list does look impressive. However, the mark up from retail seems to be more uneven than most of the places I'm used to & I'd like some opinions on whether this is unusual these days.

These were my thoughts *exactly*, but it is a great list with good prices to be found.

(If someone from the restaurant is reading this - you need to proofread your wine list badly.)

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Leave it to me to write about a place I am yet to visit. But I plan to change that soon.

Patrick Capiello of Gilt fame has redesigned the wine list here, and my goodness, just take a look at this collection of gems:

Pearl and Ash's wine list

There is something interesting, food friendly and affordable in every section, be it red, white or pink, Jura, Rhone or Germany. I've also been told there are older vintages, not listed on the website.

According to very reliable sources, the food is excellent. I hope to follow up with an actual report, but if you are traveling to NYC, it sounds like you can't go wrong here.

Sasha, in case you haven't heard, the folks behind Pearl & Ash have opened Rebelle, right next door.

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Was I wrong to believe that places were at least internally consistent in their mark up from retail (whether it was the old 2x, then the 2.5x, and lately the acceptable 3x mark up)? 

These were my thoughts *exactly*, but it is a great list with good prices to be found.

(If someone from the restaurant is reading this - you need to proofread your wine list badly.)

Steve, I re-read your post, and neglected to mention that restaurants don't really think about retail prices; they mark up from wholesale, and often, the distributor's prices will be completely out of whack - and those out-of-whack prices propagate forward to the menu, as the restaurant will simply multiply them by a standard factor (2.5, 3, etc.).

When a wine list is 2 x Wholesale, it gets my attention.

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