Reunited and it feels so good

Before Judd and I moved to the Upper West Side in 2008, we lived on East 81st Street between Second and Third Avenues. Which meant we were a mere 1/2 a block west of my favorite wine bar of all time: Etats-Unis, formerly located on the north side of 81st Street between Second and Third Avenues.

I cannot even begin to count the number of times I went to Etats-Unis between 2002 and 2009, and the frequency of my visits only increased when Judd moved to 81st Street and later when I moved in with him. If you ever stopped by the wine bar half of Etats-Unis (the restaurant half was right across the street on the south side of 81st Street) on a Thursday, Friday, or Saturday night during those years, there's a fairly good chance I was there, too. My friend from college, Geoff, was often working behind their long bar and making excellent dark and stormies (with fresh ginger juice!) along side Cipi, the very soft spoken but talented chef who prepared the best guacamole, cuban sandwiches, macaroni and cheese, crab dip, fondue, and date pudding I've ever had. And with such a small workspace! Freddie and Louis, my two favorite waiters, always found a way to move me to the top of the wait list when it was crowded -- and it usually was. And to top it all off, I always ran into friends and fellow Etats-Unis regulars there. It really was my own Upper East Side version of Cheers.

So I was completely shocked when I heard that they were closing last November. In fact, my sister's friend, Sarah (another regular) had gotten a text message from Freddie and sent around an e-mail titled "UES culinary news flash" with the bad news. I still have a sinking feeling that my move to the west side was probably not good for their business.

Then I heard through the grapevine that Cipi and Freddie had reunited at Rendez-Vous, another wine bar one block south of the old Etats-Unis on 80th Street between Second and First Avenues. I had to check it out.

And there they were -- just as if no time had passed! (That's Freddie on the left, and Cipi on the right.) Last Saturday, my sister, Kate, and I returned, for the second time in two weeks, for a joyful reunion full of excellent wine and tasty Etats-Unis favorites (guacamole with homemade chips, macaroni and cheese, tuna tartare, and warm crab dip with triscuits) at Rendez-Vous. Cause sometimes you really do wanna go where everybody knows your name.

But this date pudding is why you should go to Rendez-Vous. It is one of my favorite desserts of all time: a hot eggy date cake with whipped cream and caramel sauce - reminiscent of the best french toast with maple syrup you'll ever taste.