Eat of the Week: A column about restaurants in NYC and beyond.
It may come as a surprise but I’m the travel planner in my relationship. That means I spend endless hours combing through Trip Advisor reviews, Airbnb photos and niche travel blogs to craft the perfect vacation. I could tell you it’s a thankless job, but I genuinely enjoy every minute of it and know my boyfriend appreciates the effort (and the fact that he can pretty much just show up on departure day).
At the moment, I’m planning our trip to Greece. And every time I present a beautiful (albeit pricy) hotel option that boasts “incredible sunset views,” I’m confronted with friendly skepticism. “How could a Santorini sunset get any better than our apartment’s Hudson River views,” he says lovingly. “Which we can enjoy from the comforts of our couch in Battery Park City.”
Now, while this comment may drive me mad as the resident vacation planner (what kind of person needs convincing that a Grecian sunset might be the prettiest thing on earth), I know he’s just teasing me... Though he actually makes a valid point: Lower Manhattan’s Hudson sunsets are heavenly. I feel like I’m in a Michelangelo painting on a nightly basis.
And the wine bar and restaurant City Vineyard - City Winery’s latest outpost on the Hudson’s Pier 26, just up the street from our home - only confirms his point.
We came by after work last Friday and snagged a perfect table on the second-floor roof deck, directly overlooking the river and a sizable vineyard trellis. The kitchen isn’t yet serving a full dinner menu - just the Wine Garden’s array of snacks. But between the house-made wine and views, you’ll have plenty to drink up to feel satisfied.
According to City Vineyard, the Pier’s renovation has been a multi-year project by the Hudson River Park Trust to create a restaurant that would help fund the the nearby park while also giving guests full views of the Hudson, World Trade Center and Tribeca.
As my boyfriend and I watched the sky turn all sorts of orange, pink and red - eating our hummus and pita plate, with a side of mediterranean olives and Za’atar-flavored snacks - in that moment, we could have been in Greece. Game on, Santorini.
The short of it
- Food: 3/5
- Ambience: 5/5
- Tip: It's all about the views so sip your wine slowly and savor the sunset
- Address: 233 West Street