Day 697 : Riposo 72

The Upper West surely isn't want for wine bars -- there are wine bars every few blocks, if not closer to one another. Riposo 72 is tucked away on 72nd street between Central Park West and Columbus and seems to traditionally be easier to snag a table at, perhaps because its off the avenue. A laid back and warm spacious interior welcomes you as you enter.

Their food menu is a mixture of flatbreads, paninis, salads, cheese, cured meats, and well the classic wine bar food. Although their cheese selection is not anything to write home about: marinated Feta, Parmesan, Manchego, Piave, Gorgonzola Dolce, Port Salut, and Smoked Gouda, there is a little perk about it that we picked up on yesterday. According to their menu, one cheese is $9 where as the chef's selection of cheeses is $19. Obviously a better deal, right? It doesn't just stop there -- you get four cheeses and our waitress even let us choose our selection instead of the chef's selection. So in the long run, we ended up with four cheeses that we wanted to have for barely more than the price of two individual morsels. The cheese arrived with soaked dried fruit, some fresh fruit, toast and some walnuts, a simple preparation but perfect for a girls afternoon in January with glasses of Prosecco.

Go for a casual drink between 4 and 6 during the week and get 20% off bottles of wine and flatbreads, that is if you're able to escape from the office at such an early hour.

A good option that is eminently more affordable than its neighborhood counterparts with a pleasant atmosphere.

Riposo 72
50 West 72nd Street
NYC