Located in the trendy and popular West Village, Cr? is a wine bar offering a large stable of wines and some tasty food to accompany them. They offer wines by the bottle, glass and in flights (sample-size pours of three related wines). Flights, priced from about $15 to the low to mid $20s, are a good option for the wine thrillseeker looking to taste around.
Appetizers such as grilled BBQ spiced Texas quail and fried calamari start off the menu and range from $7 to $14. A half-dozen specialties, including pan seared striped bass, range from $11 to $17. The menu offers a suggested wine pairing with each item, a nice touch. Cheese flights of four
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Located in the trendy and popular West Village, Cr? is a wine bar offering a large stable of wines and some tasty food to accompany them. They offer wines by the bottle, glass and in flights (sample-size pours of three related wines). Flights, priced from about $15 to the low to mid $20s, are a good option for the wine thrillseeker looking to taste around.
Appetizers such as grilled BBQ spiced Texas quail and fried calamari start off the menu and range from $7 to $14. A half-dozen specialties, including pan seared striped bass, range from $11 to $17. The menu offers a suggested wine pairing with each item, a nice touch. Cheese flights of four world, American, Italian, or French cheeses are available for $13, or you can mix and match to create your own for $3.75 each. Cheese flights are accompanied by warm French bread, grapes, and sliced apple and pear.
When we arrived for our most recent visit, the only open table was a four-top in the middle of the room, and the staff seemed decidedly disinclined to seat my girlfriend and I there until their double-take revealed there really were no tables for two available. We felt a little slighted at first, but once this service faux pas was behind us, our waiter proved to be efficient and friendly.
We ordered the mussels steamed in white wine, lemongrass, shallot, parsley, and garlic and we created our own cheese flight of manchego, maytag blu, fontina and bucheron cheeses to accompany a modestly priced bottle of Italian wine. The mussels, attractively presented in an earthenware bowl, were steamed to perfection, and dipping the warm bread in the extra sauce proved to be nearly as addictive as crack. The cheeses were spectacular, especially the fontina and bucheron.
Cr? tries very hard to be hip and trendy, and to its credit I suppose, it succeeds. Floor-to-ceiling wine racks of dark wood completely cover the back wall, and the bar on the right side of the cozy room is backed by a mirrored wall containing a few geometrically shaped openings displaying more wine. Lively flames from the kitchen's pizza oven are visible through a large arched opening at the back wall. The maple yellow wall opposite the bar is attractively accented by a mural of poster-sized wine labels. Pools of light from candles and small lamps attractively complement the other design elements. Outdoor seating is provided by a few tables on the small sidewalk patio just outside the front door.
Parking in West Village is a nightmare. Expect to spend ten minutes navigating the poorly designed parking garage; valet park ($4) to avoid the hassle.
Cr? caters to what one might call the "beautiful people" crowd, and even though I typically avoid West Village, there's alot to like about Cr?.
Atmosphere: wine bar
Hours: Mon-Thu 5pm-12am; Sat 5pm-1am; Sun 5pm-10pm
Phone: 214/526-9463
Website: http://www.crudallas.com
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