Lunch is a sacred time in most European cities but no more than in France, Italy and Spain. While people no longer have the same two hour break that they once were granted, many still take the time to enjoy a lunch at a restaurant or at home if they are lucky enough to work near their houses. Few Americans have this same luxury but one interesting fact is that on both sides of the Atlantic people are eating at some of the same types of restaurants. One very successful formula in the United States as well as in Europe is the wine bar.
Wine bars have become a common feature in the great capitals of the world and many smaller cities as well. They have even become common in airports, changing American dining forever.
A number of American airports now have a chain of wine bars called Vino Volo. The Italian name belies the fact that not all of the food on the menu is Italian nor does all the wine hail from Italy. The formula seems to be working.
New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago are packed with wine bars, specialized and less so. Some only serve Italian wines, others only French or Spanish. Oddly enough the term wine bar has made it into the Italian lexicon as well as the French one. Milan’s numerous coffee bars now smartly add the words wine bar to attract tourists and Italians alike and alas Florence has become one grand wine bar much to the chagrin of many of its inhabitants.
France doesn’t want to be outdone and on a recent visit, we passed numerous wine stores that now also offer small tables to try wines and bars with the sign Vin a Verre.
Just as tapas has made its way into American’s vocabulary, it seems that the wine bar as Americans think of it has made it abroad. It seems that most everyone is happy with this arrangement. Small plates, a glass of wine and a coffee are now a perfectly acceptable lunch or dinner for that matter. While some may lament the loss of a long midday meal, they can luckily console themselves with a glass of wine while they muse about the good old days.
