The Nose Wine Bar

It’s easy to miss this exceptional Arcade Lane wine bar even though it’s practically under your, well, nose.  The focus is on small batch wines, with 80% of the selections coming from family-owned, single vineyard, and organic wineries.  Flights of three half-glass tastes change every few days, cycling through French, Italian, and California varieties from the cellar.  Pair your wine with a bite from the “grazing menu,” which includes rotating specials like lavender crusted salmon, lamb lollipops, smoked salmon crab cakes, and pan seared foie gras.  You can also pair your vintage with a cigar—cigar smoking is allowed in the back room cellar.  But design elements like angled bottles displayed as wall art and loose corks piled in recessed centerpieces remind you that wine is the central pleasure here.  With Edith Piaf playing on the stereo, this is certainly la vie en “nose.”