October 24, 2007
Made in the Shade
A night of crepes, wine and bourbon at Shade
By Stephen Bailey

It’s been a while since I’ve ventured out in Greenwich Village to find a new place to hang. Normally I’ll simply go to a venue to see a band that I’d been too before. I know, not very adventurous of me. But thanks to my friends, I don’t really have to work at finding new places anymore.

Tonight my friend Stephanie met me at a place called Shade (Sullivan & W 3rd). It’s a tiny place, dark and relaxed. It had a bit of a French bistro meets gothic feel to it tonight thanks to the minimalist Halloween décor. It’s the perfect place for a quiet date or to catch up with friends while avoiding the noisy hubbub of the usual Village bar scene.

Behind the bar was Laurie who, besides being a fantastic bartender and having killer tattoos, agrees with me that ‘Animals’ is the best Pink Floyd album. She kept a steady flow of wine for Stephanie, bourbon for me and great conversation for all. If there’s one drawback to this place it’s that there’s so much being talked about, I would lose my way at times. Well OK, I guess that’s actually a good thing.

Feeling hungry, we snacked first on a rather large crepe, then later a panini. The crepes come in choices of savory and sweet fillings. We got the turkey, gorgonzola and mushroom. It was delicious. After a couple more hours of drinks and laughs, it was time for the panini. Not straying too far from our crepe concept, we ordered the turkey, swiss and grilled onion. Both orders went remarkably well with my Maker’s Mark neat.

See Also:
MurphGuide: Wine Bars
Stephen Bailey