Ballaro- A Cozy Neighborhood Place

A cozy neighborhood find. Ballaro (www.ballaronyc.com/) is great for a bite out with your friends, with its warm, comfortable atmosphere you will be happy you chose this place. Though the wine list was reasonably priced, and the bar tender (who was also our server and very helpful) let us try a number to wines until we found one we could all agree on. There was a complementary cheese, meats and bruchetta spread set up across the far end of the bar which was not only presented beautifully but tasted delicious! It included a nice variety of cheeses and we especially enjoyed the selection since we were starving. The salads were light yet very flavorful which quenched our need for greens after the cheese spread. We enjoyed the spinach and artichoke salad and the mesclun. The Tuna crostini was good, but the pasta stole the show. a beef ragu with veggies tucked inside was incredible and i would highly recommend trying it. All of the dishes were prepared perfectly and we will definitely go back! Great for a quick bite out, date, night with your friends

Wined-Up

After you climb the stairs to the second floor you arrive at Wined Up(http://www.punchrestaurant.com/) A spacious, modern styled wine bar almost hidden in Flatiron. With floor to ceiling windows it feels very airy; it was cold when we went so there was a bit of a draft. One of the walls is lined with wine bottles that customers are allowed to select and bring to their tables (Very large selection of wines to choose from!).Our waiter was very knowledgeable about all of the different wines and cheeses. So we went with the cheese plate- it was fantastic! The cheeses he had recommended were delicious and it came with different breads/fruits/snacks. I love when places don’t “skimp out” on the goodies to accompany the cheese- Wined-Up did a great job! We also enjoyed the chicken paillard and the chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich. Definitely a good place for girl’s night out, it has a nice atmosphere and wonderful selection of food and wine. There were a number of couples there as well, so I will state the obvious- it’s a great “date spot”