Zinc Wine Bar & Bistro

This is not a new restaurant for me, but one that I went to a few months ago. I know this place is definitely good review worthy. This restaurant has been opened since 2003 and I have been about a dozen times since then. Their food is very consistent and their menu rarely changes unlike Savoy, which is owned by the same group. On my most recent visit, I attended this establishment with a few friends on a Wednesday night. The restaurant was moderately busy, but our server was very attentive, knowledgeable about the menu, and personable. The wine selection here is excellent and it seems like the entire staff are wine sommeliers, in addition to their normal job functions like bar tending or servers. I didn't take advantage of the great selection, but I did look the wine menu over. I did have a few great martinis, Chopin vodka up with a twist, there though.

We began the evening by sharing an appetizer of seared Ahi Tuna. The tuna's texture and taste were great. The tuna was still cool in the middle, while the thick cut chunk of fish was evenly seared. This dish was presented with avocado, sprouts, and thinly sliced tempura veggies; a spicy mustard that was worthy of a Herculean wasabi; and a sesame soy glaze that was slightly less viscous than new motor oil. Our server then politely and tactfully suggested that we get salads, which is not a bad way to boost sales, we each had the simple mixed green salads with various dressings. The veggies that were served the the salad were fresh and crisp. I had the vinaigrette dressing that was flavorful, not over powering, and light in portion. For my entree, I had the sliced tenderloin of beef. This dish is made unusually for a tenderloin; it's cooked by rotisserie and then sliced up. I'm kind of a bloody savage and love my beef cooked rare. I asked for my dish black and blue or Pittsburgh, which is charred exterior and as rare as possible interior, and the server returned promptly to inform me that due to the methods of cooking this was not possible. I appreciated the fact that she was so courteous and attempted to get my order correctly despite my crazy methods of eating, so I got my tenderloin as rare as possible, which turned out to be pretty rare. This was served with Maytag blue cheese mashed potatoes and green beans. The mashed potatoes were phenomenal: the texture, moisture, and taste of the side dish was amazing. In mashing the potatoes, the use buttermilk that made the potatoes light yet moist. The green beans were average. We then ordered a round of coffee and split the red chile flan. I was skeptical about a red chile flan, but I was surprised by how the spice of the chile complemented the flan. The dessert was spicy while sweet and cool. This unusual combination made one of the best deserts I have ever had. This dining experiences was amazing. Do not attend Zinc for brunch, I paid far too much for burned marginal pancakes, but overall, this is a fantastic restaurant for other meals. I would give this experience a four and a half out of five stars.

http://www.zincabq.com/