At Tara Paige, we love summer in the city – the patio dining, food festivals and street fairs (not to mention the reduced lines at some of our favorite spots). But we still need to hit the road occasionally, and check out the concepts that have people buzzing all over the country. Which brings us to this special travel edition of our retail spotlight, on Bacchanal – a unique concept off the beaten path in New Orleans, Louisiana. Located in Bywater (just over the canal from the Ninth Ward), Bacchanal highlights the vitality of a city where music comes from every street corner, and great food and wine require no excuses or white tablecloths to enjoy.
The heart of the concept is a simple but rarely imitated one; Bacchanal is a wine and cheese shop with a large backyard, where local musicians play sets from lunch till late night. Guests can browse the shop, chat with the knowledgeable staff about vintages and cheese pairings, and then grab their chosen bottle and an ice bucket and head for the back, where a selection of mismatched patio furniture offers about 100 first-come-first-serve seats for watching the band. Servers will put together a plate of your chosen cheese and charcuterie, and bring it out to the table while you sip and listen. For those feeling a bit more peckish, there’s also a full dinner menu, served out of a small window in the back of the wine store from a kitchen barely big enough for the two cooks working inside. The tables fill up early in the evening, but most are large enough to share between multiple groups of friends, inspiring conversation and new connections.
When they began, Bacchanal was primarily a little-known wine shop on the outskirts of the city. After hurricane Katrina devastated the area, they began hosting guest chef pop-ups with live music each Sunday – helping revitalize the city by bringing its residents together around great food and wine in a neighborhood setting. As their website and owners describe, the business model was not without its legal hurdles, since Bacchanal exists somewhere at the intersection of wine store, restaurant, speakeasy and block party, and was not always licensed to be all those things. We’re glad they took the risk though, and the concept remained intact after their day in court.
The food “is dedicated to the ingredients themselves and the wine that flows with them, it is focused Mediterranean minimalism.” This is somewhat in contrast with the big Cajun flavors to be found in the heart of the French Quarter, for which tourists rightfully travel from thousands of miles. There’s no gumbo on the menu, but there is a fantastic ceviche and a delicate, garlicky bucatini. Many items are seasonal, and local produce is prominantly featured. No matter what guests ultimately order, the Bacchanal experience still captures the spirit of New Orleans: an unpretentious commitment to living life to the fullest, come rain or shine.
Bacchanal is located at 600 Poland Avenue, New Orleans LA, 70117. Visit their website at http://www.bacchanalwine.com.
Their Success… Scrolling through the website for Syndicated, Brooklyn’s latest movie theater/restaurant mash-up, you might notice some curious contrasts. For example, there are the menus – half loaded tater tots/burgers/popcorn, half chatham mussels/smoked lamb ribs/fiddlehead ferns? Or click on their Instagram account, a mix of mouthwatering food photography and film stills that range from the artistic to the (literally) cartoonish. But move on to the calendar of movies and events for the clearest indication that Syndicated has embraced contrast to the fullest.
Their Success… In a city with sky-high rents and rising expenses, it can be hard to make ends meet on coffee alone. Blank Slate has increased its sales by bridging the gap between coffee shop and restaurant, creating a hybrid best described as a “Café-table” that is the best of both worlds. This concept works on an old premise that is becoming increasingly popular as labor and operational costs increase. In it, guests order from a single point of sale, then take a number to indicate their table as they seat themselves. When the food is ready, a runner brings it out, clears dishes, and attends to guests.
Their Success…With five locations around Manhattan and a roastery in Long Island City, Birch Coffee has become synonymous with quality coffee and a knowledgeable staff, all while maintaining an unfussy and approachable vibe in their presentation. Walking into any of their shops, it’s easy to see that owners Paul Schlader and Jeremy Lyman prioritize service and community for all guests, which is not always easy when the line extends out the door. A small chalkboard sign by the register happily declares “Birch Loves You.” Conversation cards are available on the front counter to help break the ice between strangers looking to chat, and each shop has its own lending library, encouraging visitors to stay and relax with a book. Plenty of guests also bring laptops to work, and all Birch locations are open until 8PM, so it’s easy to stop by after a 9-to-5 job (or 9-to-6 or -7) without feeling rushed. Birch truly embodies the friendly public-private space that many urban residents look for in their local coffee shops.
paigepapers.com 