LITTLE ROCK — A friend of mine, after years of living abroad in the extraterrestrial settlement that is Greater Los Angeles, returned home to Arkansas and was surprised to find a (my, aren't we fancy?) wine bar in Little Rock. For him it was just further evidence of our city's increasing sophistication - his only (mild) disappointment was that he couldn't find a Spanish red to complement the Manchego cheese he ordered.
Let's resist delivering the defensive lecture on how we've got it pretty good. My friend's discovery - the Heights-positioned By The Glass - isn't our first wine bar. It's our second, after downtown's Crush. (And a martini and wine bar is promised for Hillcrest.) It isa civilized and welcome addition to our little city's amenities. We mightn't be Vancouver or Zurich yet, but Little Rock's livability index has been trending up for the past couple of decades.
I'd been to By The Glass before my friend found it and pronounced it swell. Maybe it benefits from the residual karma of Spaule, which inhabited the same storefront years ago and where sommelier Scott Swander introduced lots of us to wine that in some restaurants would have been beyond our pay grade. By The Glass has the same value-oriented philosophy toward its offerings.
While the list (nearly 50 wines) is somewhat smaller than one might expect for a wine bar (Wine Spectator typically doesn't acknowledge wine bars with lessthan a 100-bottle selection), the choices are canny and well priced, with only a few breaking the $10-per-glass mark.
And other than a few highend bottles, nearly the entire list is, as the name suggests, available by the glass. If you want to drink Dom Perignon's stars ($169) or intend on spraying your entourage with Cristal ($240) you'll have to spring for a bottle, but the best way to enjoy the joint is by trying out interesting-sounding wines in the manner suggested by the wine bar's name, or better yet, by the tasting flight. For $9 you can select any three wines the bar offers by the glass. They're brought out in 2-ounce sampler portions, in Riedel crystal on a small board. (Handily, the names of the wines are chalked onto the board.)
It's not exactly a quirky list, but it's filled with underrated and under-noticed wines from(mostly) recently emergent regions like Oregon, Chile and Australia. Aside from the champagnes, there's nothing French. California is well represented, but not by the usual suspects other than Napa's Cakebread. That may be a concession to those who like to know exactly what they're getting before they order it and are willing to pay a premium to ensure they get it. Not that Cakebread doesn't produce excellent wines. It's just that its sauvignon blanc ($11.50 glass/$45 bottle) is consistent enough to use as a control group.
By The Glass' owner, Susan Crosby, is married to Michael Crosby, a national representative for Australia's Gemtree Vineyards, so it's no surprise to find the winery's outstanding Bloodstone Shiraz/Vignier blend ($7.50/$28) on the list.On a recent visit they were also pouring the winery's excellent Meritage Tatty Road, which is normally only available by the bottle ($35). We can also vouch for the satiny Seghesio Zinfandel ($9.50/$36), and the un-oaked chardonnay from the Edna Valley, Calif., winery Tolosa ($7.50/$28).
You'd be advised to consult the chalkboard on the bar's western wall for specials - we found a charming chianti and a gracefully lean Mount Difficulty (New Zealand) pinot noir not normally among the bar's offerings there. One of the two servers that evening told us there were more wines that weren't listed - if we had something in mind that we didn't see on the board we should ask.
By The Glass isn't a full service restaurant, so applying the orthodoxies of restaurant reviewing to it makes little sense. Food isn't the principal or even secondary draw - one comes for the wine, the relaxed conviviality of the place and maybe for the free Wi-Fi before even thinking about the snacks. I wasn't even sure you could make a meal of the offerings. On our first visit (before I was charged with reviewing the bar), two of us shared the cured meat and sausage plate ($17) and found it tasty and adequate for grazing or as a light supper, but nothing special.
But when we returned in mind of actually dining, we discovered their hummus ($6, with toasted pita chips and chili-infused olive oil), which our server told us was made on the premises. It was stunningly delicious and simple, and the chips weren't bad either, though we preferred it on a Boulevard Bread Company baguette ($3 as a separate item, comes with olive oil).
As a main course, we shared the cheese plate ($18), which includes Italian Parmigiano Reggiano, Spanish Cabrales-Picon (blue cheese), a layered English cheddar, a French Morbier and the Spanish Manchego my friend had told me about.The plate included the baguette and grapes. According to the menu, the cheeses were served in 2-ounce portions but they seemed more like 4-ounce servings. I was initially worried that the plate wouldn't be a substantial meal, but we ended up taking a lot of cheese home. (And though the menu insists that an additional basket of bread would cost us $1, we were only charged 50 cents.)
Service was professional, knowledgeable and non hovering on an evening when the bar wasn't especially busy. The general feel of the place is solid and calming, with walls painted a few shades darker than institutional beige, polished concrete floors, soft light, a couple of paintings and a television behind the bar (silently flickering a Women's National Basketball Association game on our most recent visit). There's a sofa grouping up front, several high tables and a general lack of pretense about the place. They even serve beer, and not just imported stuff. You can get Miller Lite and Bud Light for $2.75, fancier brews for $1 more.
And now when my friend goes back, he can get a nice Spanish Tempranillo/Grenache ($7/$28) to go with his Manchego.
By The Glass Address: 5713 Kavanaugh Blvd., Little Rock Hours: 4-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 4 p.m.-midnight Friday-Saturday Cuisine: Wine bar with light menu Credit cards: V, MC, AE Alcoholic beverages: Beer, wine Wheelchair accessible: Yes Carryout: No (501) 663-9463
Weekend, Pages 33, 40 on 10/01/2009