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For wine lovers in NYC: Bar Boulud; the Bar Room at the Modern; Morrell Wine Bar; and Casa Mono.

By John Bancroft, Special to the Times
In print: Sunday, July 6, 2008

At the MoMA, the sleek Bar Room, at left, offers expert guidance in wine selection.
	[New York Times]

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NEW YORK CITY

A good wine bar is a feast for all the senses, combining superior cooking, an exceptional array of fine wines by the glass and the bottle, and warm, expert service in a setting worthy of the food and drink. Manhattan has them in abundance. We've chosen four standouts for their proximity to temples of music, art, pop culture and indie movies.

Bar Boulud

Upper West Side, opposite Lincoln Center at 64th & Broadway. (212) 595-0303; barboulud.com.

Chef Daniel Boulud, proprietor now of five Manhattan havens for lovers of French cuisine in its many permutations, has never disappointed us. Bar Boulud, his newest winner, serves excellent down-home French cooking, heavy on the charcuterie, in a long narrow space that cleverly suggests a wine cave, but without the subterranean chill.

The fare, from a cold pulled rabbit terrine with veggies and herbs to heartwarmers like smoked cumin-spiced sausage on lentil stew, is calculated to pair perfectly with hearty wines from the Rhone Valley and Burgundy.

Not confident in your pairing skills? The knowledgeable wait staff will be happy to guide you. And if your waiter is uncertain he'll summon the nearest of several sommeliers to make the call. You won't be disappointed. The advice we asked for and received with dispatch was dead-on every time.

The Bar Room at the Modern

Midtown, inside the Museum of Modern Art, 9 W 53rd St. (212) 333-1220; themodernnyc.com.

The Bar Room is a masterpiece of modern design, of course, but the menu and wine lists are just as artfully constructed. Chef Gabriel Kreuther brings many a startling and delicious twist to the traditional cooking of Alsace, which shares Rhine River frontage with Germany and shows it.

The drill: Select one or two or three intensely flavorful small plates to sample and try a different wine with each. Tables are available, but the best place for grazing is at the long, curvaceous bar. Those who tend this monument to minimalism marinated in excess know their wines intimately. They are excellent guides and will be quick to offer a taste if you can't decide between two fabulous choices.

Our best recent pairing: sage-accented garlic gnocchi and crispy sweetbreads with an Umathum 2006 Zweigelt, a light and lively red from Burgenland.

Morrell Wine Bar & Cafe

Rockefeller Center, opposite the skating rink at 1 Rockefeller Plaza. (212) 262-7700; morrellwinebar.com.

Morrell Wine Bar couldn't be more in the thick of things. The Today Show studios, Radio City Music Hall, the Rainbow Room and, at Christmas, that spectacular tree are only a few of the draws within shouting distance. In fine weather, there are tables outside for Olympic-class people watching.

From its Jazz Age double-decker design to its wide window on the world, Morrell radiates a relaxed, old-school sophistication.

You won't go wrong with standards like hanger steak sliced over a mixed salad with Gorgonzola or mustard-seed-crusted salmon on a garlic herb broth. Preface either with a Cremant d'Alsace Brut rose from Lucien Albrecht, a gorgeous 100 percent pinot noir sparkler. Pair the steak with a big California zinfandel and the fish with a flinty albarino from Spain.

Then pop next door to the Morrell Wine Shop for a bottle of your fave for later. Surely your hotel can scare up a corkscrew.

Casa Mono

East Village, a block east of Union Square at 52 Irving Place. (212) 253-5318; casamono.com.

Casa Mono, a tiny, many-windowed taverna specializing in tapas, sherries and wines made from Spain's tempranillo grape, bears the magic thumbprint of chef Mario Batali. Like his other restaurants, it fills up the instant the doors are unlocked and stays full well into the night.

The noise level can be high and the tables were shoehorned in, but the delights in your glass and on your plate and the smooth as silk service will have you purring in a heartbeat. Just don't pick this spot to propose, unless you intend to come equipped with a megaphone.

All your tapas favorites are on offer, as well as some you may not know. Lamb's tongue with mint aioli? Got it. Octopus with fennel and grapefruit? Sure. Venison with acorn squash and saffron honey? Lovely, especially paired with a Celler de Cantonella 2004 Cervoles from Costers del Segre.

John Bancroft is a freelance writer based in Bradenton.