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Time Out New York
Best Wine Bar
Morrell Wine Bar & Café
Other nominees: Bar Veloce, 'ino, Otto, Punch & Judy,
Rhône
As wine bars proliferate faster than Duane Reades, youve
found comfort in a classic: stately Morrell Wine Bar, which
shoots off of Rockefeller Centers half-century-old Morrell
and Co. wine emporium. No one will mistake this operation
as merely part of the wine-bar trend; it's a serious tasting
center, offering more than 2,000 bottles and 150 by-the-glass
options. Morrell's servers help everyone sift through the
dizzying array of choices, steering most patrons toward midpriced
gems. The solvent few looking to blow serious cash do well
here too -- perhaps with a $6,000 bottle of 1985 Domaine de
la Romanee-Conti or a $75 glass of Napa's Opus One. The rest
of us happily settle for excellently priced flights, with
million-dollar skating-rink views.
1 Rockefeller Plaza at 48th St. (212-688-9370). Subway: B,
D, F, V to 47-50th Sts-Rockefeller Ctr.
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 ICE CREAM...
Whimsical ice-cream creations have been popping up all over
the place, from a vanilla-ice-cream "club sandwich"
with "slaw" and "pickle" on the side at
the Lenox Room to "Mr. Foo's Maki Sushi Dessert Sampler,"
which includes coconut, chocolate, and peanut ice-cream, at
Ruby Foo's. But chef Michael Haimowitz at the Morrell Wine
Bar and Café-with a notable assist from celebrated
cheese- and ice-cream-maker Jonathan White, of Egg Farm Dairy-tops
them all with his extraordinarily delicious Flight of Dessert
Wine Ice Creams. He uses milk and cream without stabilizers
and straight from the farm, sugar, and wine, period. The clear
flavors come through the moment you taste the Sauternes ice
cream, progressing to the richer Muscat, finishing off with
the sweetest, Vin Santo. As the smooth ice cream melts in
the mouth, you taste the wine layer by layer, the alcohol
last. The effect is only metaphorically intoxicating-the alcohol
content is only 21/2 percent.
WINE BARS...
Where there once were few alternatives to the pioneering-and
now past-its-prime-SoHo Kitchen and Bar, we suddenly have
a choice of more than a dozen new places to sniff, swirl,
and sip. There can never be enough of these casual bar-restaurant
hybrids, a haven for both the quick-drink crowd and those
who want to make a hedonistic wine-and-food-filled night of
it. Morrell's new Rockefeller Center outpost has taken connoisseurship
to the next level, charging $48 for a glass of '88 Château
d'Yquem to wash down that foie gras club sandwich, making
it an extremely expensive place to get drunk. Most of the
newcomers fall into two categories: the French-bistro wine
bars and the Italian enotecas.
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New York
MAGAZINE
January 3, 2000
Where to Eat in 2000
Gael Greene
Celebrate your winning bid on that precious
Picasso at Christie's in Rockefeller Center with great wine
and cheese or a sophisticated supper at the Morrell Wine Bar
& CafŽ, directly across from the skating rink. Gravad
lax is luscious, served warm in a thick cut with celery root
and crème fraiche. Follow "tartar times three"
(scallops, salmon, and tuna) with rich gnocchi in sun-dried-tomato
pesto
WHERE
Dining Around Town
News from the foodie front lines on where to sup and sip
Edited by Francis Lewis
Morrell Wine Bar and Cafe has opened next door
to Morrell & Company, one of New York's leading wine shops.
Wine-friendly food, like Hudson Valley duck breast glazed
with Petite Syrah, complements the almost 2,000 wine selections.
DINING
MORRELL WINE BAR AND CAFE- American. A wine
bar to end all wine bars, this new addition to Rockefeller
Center features 2,000 selections supplemented by 5 oz. to
2.5 oz. pours and flights. The cuisine complements the wines
with such delectables as the foie gras club with port-wine
jam, and smoked Hudson Valley duck breast with Petite Syrah
glaze. Open for lunch and dinner Mon.-Sat., brunch Sun. (AE,
MC, V) 1 Rockefeller Plaza on 49th St., 262-7700 $$-$$$ F6
J. Walman's
Restaurant Report Card
as heard on WEVD, News-Talk Radio
Wednesday Dec 22, 1999
Rating: A+
The wine list, a voluminous selection of 2,000 wines, including
over 50 wines by the glass - is beyond compare. One of the
finest wine lists in the world...
...the list has been broken down into three parts. The Market
List features bottles of the best wine produced which are
currently available on the market; the Reserve List offers
guests multiple vintages of over 100 selections which are
rarely available to the public; and the extensive By-the-Glass
List includes a flight program that changes regularly. in
addition, the Morrells are developing a wine dinner program
that will feature rare vintages and world-famous winemakers
who will personally describe their wines to the guests.
A selection of appetizers created for "sophisticated
snacking" with a glass or bottle of wine are a grazer's
dream.
Main courses include two pastas not to be missed. The Cracked
Pepper Fettuccine... the Ravioli...
At any time of day or night the signature Morrell Foie Gras
Club is a luxurious accompaniment to a glass of wine.
A Contemporary Design with a Sophisticated, Welcoming Atmosphere
with dining on two levels and a feel to it that is at once
sophisticated and welcoming.
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Power of the press
Bars, bistros and lounges lure wanna-be wine
drinkers with grape-tasting values
By the glass
Morrell Wine Bar & Café, 1 Rockefeller Plaza; (212)
262-7700. More than 100 wines by the glass (2,000 by the bottle)
along with contemporary American cuisine, frequent wine dinners
and visits from winemakers.
WHY NOW?
The current excitement surrounding those who have been bitten
by the wine bug is infectious, but why has it taken so long
for Americans to come around? After all, wine has been an
integral part of the European lifestyle for decades.
"People appreciate the finer things in life more than
ever before," says Peter Morrell, an owner of Morrell
Wine Bar & Café, in Rockefeller Center. "Our
country has become better educated, better traveled and more
worldly."
But Morrell, whose Morrell & Company was founded 50 years
ago, believes the ban on alcohol in the 1920s and early 1930s
set the country back a good 20 years in its wine education.
Once Prohibition was repealed, Morrell says, "It took
longer for the wine business to recover over the spirits business,
because it's agriculturally based, so you don't manufacture
it as easily."
A robust economy, combined with widely reported health studies
that found a moderate amount of wine is good for the heart,
are other reasons for the boom commonly mentioned by experts.
When it pours, it reigns Patrons sampling some of the more
than 100 wines by the glass at Morrell Wine Bar and Café.
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 Time Out New York
MORRELL WINE BAR AND CAFE
Walking into Morrell's is like walking into a wine museum:
Hundreds of bottles in temperature-controlled display cases
line the walls of the split-level, airy room, confirming the
fact that there's something supremely beautiful about merlots,
Bordeaux and pinot grigios. Here, wine is art, and unlike
at a museum-where you can't get too close to the paintings
and sculptures-you really get to taste it. And you needn't
be an aficionado to enjoy. The wines we tried, ranging from
a $6 glass of 1997 Talus merlot to a $16 goblet of 1985 Domain
de la Gaffelière Bordeaux, were excellent. (There's
supposedly a $13,000 mystery bottle on reserve, but employees
won't give details about it.) Pair your selections with a
fresh cheese plate of fontina, Gruyère and aged Brie
($12), and you begin to understand what the French mean by
joie de vivre.
Best reason to go: What else? A wine list as long as the
Sears Roebuck Catalog. -BC
1 Rockefeller Plaza at 49th St (212-262-7700). Subway B, D,
F, Q to 47-50 Sts-Rockefeller Ctr. Mon-Thu 11:30am-11pm; Fri,
Sat noon-4am.
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E. Clarke Reilly
AFTER A DAY of holiday shopping and gazing at the tree in
Rockefeller Center, sitting down to a glass of wine can be
the ideal reprieve from the frenzied streets of Manhattan,
even when you're presented with a seven-page list of wines-by-the-glass
to choose from.
The owners of Morrell Wine Bar & Cafe (and the famed
wine shop by the same name) have created an upscale, relaxed
cafe where the menu complements the vast wine selection.
French posters from the 1900s decorate the walls in this
elegant setting.
We started with a succulent smoked breast of Hudson Valley
duck fanned with paper-thin pears drizzled with a petite syrah
glaze accompanied by wild greens. Tartar "times three,"
a trio of individual towers of diver scallops, wild salmon
and line-caught tuna, proved to be an adventurous catch. Scallops
marinated in white truffle oil were seasoned with rice vinegar
and black sesame seeds; wasabi perfectly accented the tuna.
A hefty slab of roast prime loin of beef came cooked precisely
to order, served in a pool of sweet cabernet jus with roasted
pearl onions and a mound of subtly flavored truffled mashed
potatoes. Shiitake mushrooms and roasted parsnips gave a hint
of earthiness to fricasse of lobster with pearl onions and
baby mustard greens. But it's a dish for dainty eaters.
Warm bourbon brioche bread pudding with maple caramel sauce
and cranberry chutney was the right finale to a blustery day.
Prices for wines: $6 to $100 a glass; $20 to $13,000 a bottle.
Prices are $12 to $16 for appetizers; $16 to $32 for entrees;
$6 to $8 for desserts.
Hours are Monday to Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to midnight; Sunday,
11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
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If a Café is a small restaurant, they should have
coined a new word for Morrell Wine Bar and Café. The
place is pipsqueak, with miniature proportions that seem even
smaller because of its location on the fringes of Rockefeller
Center. There's a little bar and a few tables downstairs,
a few more tables upstairs and a kitchen just about the right
size for a private jet. The waiters have mastered the complicated
dance steps familiar to sailors on a submarine.
No matter. The Café may be small, but the wine list
is large, about 2,000 bottles supplied by Morrell Wine Shop
next door, with about 50 wines available by the glass. And
Michael Haimowitz, formerly at the Globe and at Hanover Square,
somehow manages to send out satisfying, well-conceived dishes
from his closet-size kitchen.
He keeps an eye on the wine list. An appetizer of smoked
duck breast, served with pears and wild greens, is glazed
with cracked black pepper and syrah. Roast loin of beef with
truffled mashed potatoes swims in a cabernet jus. A foie gras
club sandwich, served on toasted brioche, comes with a Vidalia
onion and port marmalade. And the dessert list includes wine-inflected
dishes like a tawny port flan and a vanilla-bean pound cake
topped with dried fruits macerated in muscat, the opulent,
apricot-scented white wine from the south of France. There's
no wine in the simple Gorgonzola and walnut ravioli or in
the straightforward chicken with a ragout of mushrooms and
winter vegetables, but both dishes are deeply flavorful, and,
after all, there is the wine list for wine.
Wines by the glass start at $6 or $7 for, say, a Sebastiani
"cask" cabernet from Sonoma, a cabernet franc from
Schneider Vineyards on Long Island or a sauvignon blanc from
Brancott Vineyards in New Zealand. Mid-priced wines include
a 1993 Veuve Clicquot Vintage Reserve ($15), an unfiltered
Newton chardonnay from Napa ($16) and a 1985 Domaine de la
Gaffelière from St. Émillion ($15).
At the splurge end, there's a 1992 Dom Pérignon ($38),
a 1997 Corton Charlemagne from Domaine Bonneau du Martray
($39) and a 1993 Château Latour ($49)
Morrell Wine Bar And Café, 1 Rockefeller Plaza, on
49th Street; (212) 262-7700. Dinner entrees, $18 to $32.
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Where New York
