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Over Brooklyn Bridge, Take a Walk on the Uncommon Side |
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 Uncommon Grounds
50 Henry St., Brooklyn
uncommonbrooklyn.com
I learned the importance of "neighborhood" when I moved to Brooklyn Heights a few weeks ago. Once I started to explore the Heights with its gardens and friendly nature, wandering along the narrow tree-lined streets full of shops and little restaurants, I realized how many new places were springing up outside of Manhattan.
 The welcoming facade of Uncommon Grounds on Henry Street in Brooklyn Heights  Cappuccinos are only one of the many specialties at Uncommon Grounds  The dining area has a relaxing lounge-like quality with lots of natural light
A wine connoisseur and now restaurateur, Chris named his coffee and wine bar with the intention of hosting performances by neighborhood jazz players, wine tastings, film screenings, and art shindigs.
In a neighborhood that is the home to such notable film and music people as Gabriel Bryne, Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon and others, this new venue seemed an appropriate addition to the area.
Not wishing to return to the social hordes in Manhattan on a balmy warm spring Sunday afternoon with nothing better to do (recalling the song "Lazy Sunday Afternoon"), I spent the time at this cafe joining in on Chris's weekly wine tasting.
Here was the perfect place to unwind and relax in style after a grueling week. The wine that Chris featured this week was an affordable drinkable Spanish fare sold by the house; no wine here costs over $30 a bottle. An effervescent Spanish Cava (not to be confused with Kava in Fiji) soothed my weary palette and paved the way for the headier red Charchelo. The latter is a Spanish wine that reminded me that the art to wine is in the story of the wine, as much as the drinking of it. Chris says "the more you study wine the more you realize you don't know."
I listened intently to Chris talk about the wines featured in his wine tasting and knew once again this to be true. Fehlinger explained further "In a world where everything is increasingly stratified, codified and impersonal, the ritual of wine and its serving is as great, if not even more rewarding than the pleasure of drinking it."
I drink to that as Chris pours me another Cava and shows me his simple but homey bar menu. This is the perfect place for those who want to take professional meetings from home or for those looking to relax in a stylish but unpretentious armchair and whittle away the summer afternoon, going well into the evening, in a pleasant manner.
The best treats on the Uncommon Grounds menu are the fresh piping-hot cookies that come straight out of the oven in a variety of flavors and melt in your mouth in moments--at the cost of a mere fifty cents each. I personally prefer eating these first, before tucking into a well-crusted Buffalo Chicken Wing Panini or Black Bean Salad with lashings of cilantro salsa. It's a light breezy snack menu, the perfect offset to a Spanish Cava on summer day.
Magazines on offer range from Vogue through to Soldier Magazine. The latter presented a twist of irony that matched the antelope hunting lamp sitting snugly against one wall. This place certainly isn't short on humor for the world we live in.
So I extended a welcome to the neighborhood for Chris Fehlinger and his amiable staff; and for those Manhattanites who haven't experienced peace and quiet for a while, take a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge some balmy weekend evening and check out the neighborhood including Uncommon Ground. It's worth it.
Uncommon Grounds will be offering further film screenings, art exhibitions, and live jazz on a regular basis. Visit uncommonbrooklyn.com for upcoming film and jazz listings.
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