Downtown Local with Wall & Water

In some of the hotels around NYC hide some interesting restaurants. Hidden from the street by lobbies and bars, there are gems throughout the city that lack the street presence of most restaurants. But with just a little bit of research, they can be excellent finds.

With too many restaurants to choose from, we often look for some place where the philosophy of the chef matches our philosophy on wine. Luckily, more and more restaurants are embracing the local, at least when it comes to food. 

Wall & Water, located in the Andaz Wall Street hotel in Downtown Manhattan, fit the bill for us. Perched on the second floor, overlooking the busy after-work crowd schmoozing at the bar, this is not a place we would have just stumbled across. The contemporary design of the space contrasts the simple but elegant food. With dishes crafted from local produce, we should have ordered local wine, but instead we decided to try something a bit different than our usual Finger Lakes picks. A Californian Pinot Noir went well with our dinners: it was light enough to pair well with Tuna Nicoise but had earthy notes to play with the french beans and potatoes in the dish and the typical fruitiness of a West Coast Pinot Noir to complement the rich Mac & Cheese.

When looking for a special restaurant, it can be good to have a specific goal in mind. We never would have just run across this place on our adventures around the city, but looking for a good Localvore place helped us find this hidden treat.