There are few life pleasures we love more than a neighborhood wine bar that serves restaurant-quality small plates. Ripple Wine Bar, which opened last April, is one such gem.
First, drool over the sexy 33-bottle Cruvinet behind the long wooden bar. This fancy nitrogen-powered wine cooler extracts wine without letting in air, keeping each bottle fresh for up to three months. Next, drool over the menu, which complements the bar’s refined, intimate atmosphere and features charcuterie boards and creative protein dishes, like lobster pot pie and filet mignon kebabs. All 22 menu items are prepared in a small, bar-adjacent makeshift kitchen space with a high-speed oven, panini press, and hot plates. The service is impressively quick, and dishes are designed for sharing.
We started with the shrimp nachos, our favorite—and, surprisingly, most filling—dish of the evening. A mound of purple tortilla chips is topped with melted queso fresco, pico de gallo, pickled serranos, avocado and black bean purees, and a generous serving of shrimp seared in a zesty Chef Paul Prudhomme creole seasoning. We also enjoyed the Sakura Farms Wagyu sliders, served with bacon, housemade Gournay, and microgreens on a toasted brioche bun, plus a bag of Bar-B-Q Grippo’s, and the roasted cauliflower, piled on a thick layer of spicy red pepper romesco and topped with pecorino, toasted pistachios, seasoned breadcrumbs, and microgreens. Each dish marries flavor profiles to create a balanced and exciting culinary experience. And though we couldn’t manage dessert this time, we’ll definitely return for A Fine Fondue For Two.
Ripple Wine Bar, 4 W. Pike St., Covington, (859) 261-0004
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