The old wisdom said a wine list was a hierarchy: Burgundy and Bordeaux at the top, a house pour at the bottom, and a sommelier standing by to tell you what your food required. That version of wine has strong competition. New Yorkers are drinking more thoughtfully, less concerned with how much is in the glass than with what’s in it, and increasingly curious about where it came from.
The bars answering that shift look different, too: small rooms built for lingering, vast lists priced to be approached, and a plate of snacks to back the wine up rather than dictating it. No dish-to-glass pairing, no snuff; just a great glass and somewhere good to drink it. Next up, we meet Kevin Nguyen of Lai Rai in Brooklyn.
The name means “little by little”, the Vietnamese art of lingering over drinks and snacks, and Lai Rai, on Forsyth Street lets you do exactly that. Billed as a Vietnamese natural wine bar with an ice-cream counter and one of the only rice-wine programs in the country, the narrow bar offers Brooklyn something venturous.
“New York drinkers like to explore the world through their beverage choices,” said Kevin Nguyen, who curates the list at Lai Rai. “I try to select wines that help New Yorkers fulfill their constant desire for discovery and adventure.”
But before you sip, enter the slim room, which features painted bricks and a marble bar. It was built by Jerald Head with Kim Hoang and Tuan Bui of the Greenpoint favorite Đi Ăn Đi. It’s both intimate and fun, which makes sense when you think of the list and the ice cream.
The Wine List
The one-page list is short, filled mostly with French and Italian wines all priced to be approachable. However, it’s the rice wine that sets Lai Rai apart. Nguyen is one of the few sommeliers in the U.S. pouring Vietnamese bottlings from the Sông Cái distillery, makers he knew back when they made only gin.
Right now Nguyen sings for Sông Cái “Cảm,” a dessert wine crafted from purple sticky rice that “drinks like a Tokaji Eszencia” alongside the Vietnamese coffee ice cream. First reactions run hot.
“You either love it or hate it,” he said. “Regardless, first-time drinkers will almost always remark, ‘Wow, I’ve never tasted anything like this.'”
If rice wine isn’t their speed, he’ll send them somewhere just as personal that also starts with a V. We’re talking Virginia, where the sommelier is from and has worked the harvest. In fact, there’s always a Virginia bottle by the glass at Lai Rai.
Still, Nguyen builds the list around Vietnamese flavors since the sauces served on the food tend to run high in acid or umami, so he reaches for wines that can meet them: high-acid whites, peppery reds, amino-acid-rich rice wines.
“I don’t think we have the right to pour anything other wine bars couldn’t,” he said. “But, it’s our enthusiasm for wines with a certain provenance that makes us special.”
On the Food Side at Lai Rai
Then there’s the ice cream. Ask him to pair a scoop and he resists on principle.
“Wine is pleasurable. Ice cream is pleasurable,” he chided. “Don’t overthink this decision.”
Press him and he’ll pour the Sông Cái “Khà, which he said drinks like a Vin Jaune. Try it against the Laughing Cow cheese ice cream, a cheeky riff on the classic Vin Jaune and Comté.
Pairings aside, Lai Rai is really about the casual hang with your friends. In Vietnam that happens over bia hơi in thick green glasses. Here, it’s natural wine in little copitas, though you can still get a Saltfields rice lager in a bia hơi glass if you want it.
Food stays deliberately light. On the menu you’ll find a few savory snacks like giò thủ, chicharrón, and prawn crackers. Of course the real star of the culinary show is the handmade ice creams. Try the signature banana leaf and fish-sauce caramel, plus seasonal scoops like sweet corn.
Visit Lai Rai Monday through Thursday from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.; and Friday to Sunday from 5 p.m. until midnight. 76 Forsyth St., Chinatown, no website
