A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about my ideal wine bar, a place I could call home and nuzzle with everyday. At the time, it didn’t exist yet in Tampa, but today, I found a pretty damn close example. It’s not the warm, cozy, fluffy-couch place of my dreams, but the wine list… sa-weet! The only bad thing? It’s in a deli and I don’t eat much bread. But that’s not going to stop me from going to Datz Deli on S. MacDill Ave. in Tampa (read Brian’s first look). Odd that one of the best wine lists outside of Bern’s Steakhouse lies next to a stack of pastrami.
The sommelier, Patty Kuhl, left the cush confines of Disney’s Levy Restaurants after 15 years to create a wine list that she is and should be proud of. 150 selections, with 40 wines by the glass priced $5 - $19. The bottle selections aren’t three times wholesale like most other restaurants or wine bars, they’re retail prices. That you can drink right there in the deli (with no corkage fee). Or take them home. At the same price. Wow. Examples: Caymus Conundrum ($7 by the glass, $21.99 by the bottle); Paco and Lola Albarino ($6, $21.99); Yangarra Old Vine Grenache ($7, $23.99); Arceno Prima Voce ($8, $27.99); Paul Dolan Organic Zinfandel ($6.50, $22.99). I could go on but won’t since you should go there and support it so we’ll all have somewhere to hang and try interesting wines. Add to that a plate of top shelf Iberico Ham from their charcuterie list, a hunk of artisanal Grafton Cheddar and I’m happy.
