David Bowler Wines - Fall 2010

Wine distributor, David Bowler, always offers a number of interesting wines and has now raised the roof with the acquisition of my favorite importer, Joe Dressner. Bowler makes regular use of the restaurant Tribeca Grill, usually taking up the entire dining room, however this time the tasting is confined to the upstairs banquet room for a more focused product selection.

The space is a bit cramped and hard to get to some tables which I had to bypass and a very warm late September day has a habit of making this south-facing room too hot for the wines and the wilting participants. Nevertheless, I would never miss a Bowler event.

Afterwards, I travel to the Lower East Side where I dined last week to check out Ed's Lobster Bar located on Lafayette St near Kenmare St. across from tiny Petrosino Square, an odd crossroad connecting Little Italy, the Bowery, Chinatown and SoHo in an exciting, bustling neighborhood.

I found the concept of a New England style seafood restaurant that featured lobster to be interesting. The place is about a wide and long as a bowling alley except for a enlarged area with tightly packed tables in the back. Aside from the narrow space, there is a long white marble bar with beadboard behind the seats and exposed brick - both whitewashed, behind the bar.

The counter of Ed's Lobster Bar which

holds about 60% of the seating.

While Ed's offers a nice selection of oysters, clams and mussels, the lobster is the show and the featured lobster roll is the head banging headliner. A heaping mound of tail, knuckle and claw, dressed with a deft touch of mayonnaise is mounted onto a butter-toasted, top-sliced hog dog bun and plated with crunchy golden brown fries and house-made pickles at market price ($27). I was sceptical that I was getting all lobster when I saw what might be red pepper, but it was actually the coral tinged knuckle meat. Excellent sandwich. 

The lobster roll plate from Ed's

Ed's offers four quality draught beers including the crisp, refreshing Gaffel Kolsch, a good compact selection of wines and classic cocktails.