Terroir

413 E. 12th St, New York, NY

8.0

map & more

Cuisine
Italian
Mediterranean
Sandwiches
Wine Bar

Nearby
Webster Hall

646-602-1300

Official Website

Twitter

By Andrew Steinthal
May 2, 2011

Having already professed our love for Terrior Tribeca, it should come as no suprise that we back the original in the East Village just as hard. We generally ignore wine bars. For the most part, wine bars are like sports bars; they’re all the same. Most lack two very important qualities – personality and good eats. Not Terroir. You won’t find a wine bar in this city with a better vibe. Not only is the crowd solid, which is unusual for a wine bar, but the food is great and their music choices – Air, Kings Of Convienience, Cassius – don’t suck either.

A smaller, more inimate experience than its newer Tribeca counterpart, Terroir EV makes up for its lack of size with a ton of character. It’s hands down our go-to wine bar. The wine list is deep in global varieties, offering up over 50 wines by the glass on any given night. Plus, we’re never not in the mood for the meatball sandwich. It’s incredible.

Indeed, Terroir ain’t cheap; glasses of wine run $12-18 a pop. That price includes a little education too. Terrior employees are enthusiastic wine connoisseurs eager to share their knowledge on a level you can relate to. Like, they don’t make you feel dumb for not knowing how to pronounce “Chatuea La Croix Bonis” properly.

Food Rundown:

Meatball Sandwich
An excellent meatball sandwich of a manageable size. We love this, and judging by the response to this Twitpic, so do you.

Roast Pork Panini
A staple that’s been on their menu forever and always hits the spot. Sliced pork with rapini and garlic aioli pressed into a perfect panini. So good.

Sage Leaves with Lamb Sausage
Insanely good lamb sausage surrounded by a delicious crust of fried sage. Salty and delicious.

Red Wine, Oxtail Risotto Balls
Meaty risotto balls with oxtail inside. These are dark and earthy, and really good.

Hearts Of Bibb Salad
My personal favorite salad on the menu; paired the meatball sub, it’s an ideal meal to wash down with a couple glasses of wine.

Frisee, Crispy Duck Confit Salad
This duck confit was delicious, but putting it on frisee and calling it a salad seemed strange. The duck sits on top of the bed of frisee like a wet mop, and let’s be honest – greens under a pile of duck cooked in it’s own fat isn’t really a salad.

Bruschetta
Definitely do some damage on this part of the menu, all the options are good ones. Two of our favorites: Black Cabbage & Pork Sausage and Tomato & Egg.

Veal & Ricotta Meatballs
The same meatball’s used in the beloved meatball sub, only bigger and without the bread. These too are incredible. Shocker.