World > U.S. > New York

Cru

• 2008 Go List

<p>With an 80,000-bottle cellar especially rich in Burgundies and Barolos, this clubby brown-on-beige oenophile's haunt is where wine barons uncork 1937 Romane Conti and the city's top sommeliers trade grape gossip after work in the bar. Unbelievably, the real draw is the Italianate cooking by the unstoppably creative young chef Shea Gallante, who has a genius for combining the comforting and the cutting edge in dishes like hamachi crudo (raw young yellowfish) with spicy radish sprouts, tortellini with duck and a surprising accent of cocoa, and his signature silky-soft buttermilk-poached baby chicken served alongside smoky, bacony spaetzle.</p> <p><strong>Tip:</strong> While the main dining room is strictly prix fixe, the front room is a great place to sample small plates and discuss malolactic fermentation (a technique used to make wine less sour) over glasses of Vermentino, a new-wave white wine from Liguria.</p>

AS FEATURED IN...

From Food & Wine , NOV 2010

Seasonality, more than one region, will dictate the menu by chef Shea Gallante...MORE>>

– Brad A. Johnson Where to Go Next: Best U.S. Restaurant Openings

From Food & Wine , JUL 2009

Go to a restaurant with an F&W Best New Chef in the kitchen, and you'll likely find a great wine director in the dining room...MORE>>

– Ray Isle Drink Like a Wine Pro: 10 Top Wine Destinations

From Food & Wine , APR 2008

The recipes here, from chef Shea Gallante of Manhattan's Cru, are delicious with lots of different wines ...MORE>>

– Promiscuous Food: Recipes that Pair with Many Wines

From Travel + Leisure , DEC 2006

Cru may well be our favorite restaurant in New York....MORE>>

– Anya von Bremzen New York's Top 50

From Food & Wine , JUL 2005

Cru is the rarest of new restaurants—one with a cellar full of old wine. Though cellar isn't quite an accurate term...MORE>>

– Richard Nalley Best New Wine Lists 2005

From the From the May 2008 Food & Wine Go List

Last updated May 2008