Written by DCist Contributor Eric Denman
As the commercialization of Chinatown persists, the number of restaurants and bars continues to increase. For every existing grungy Chinese takeout place, there is a new sports bar, burger joint, or wine bar. Proof, which opened in July, is the newest entry in the Chinatown wine bar field, and it opened a mere block from the established José Andrés outpost Zaytinya (which has been open since 2002). Both places revolve around wine, and both offer a wide range of small plates, although Proof’s menu has some entree-sized offerings to contrast Zaytinya’s mezze-based menu.
The two places excel in completely different areas: Zaytinya’s 15 interesting wine by-the-glass offerings (the wines are predominantly Greek) are all under $10, whereas Proof’s larger by-the-glass selection is more focused on American and European offerings. Perhaps as a result of the overhead cost of their automated Enomatic pouring system, Proof’s can be more expensive. There are a few glasses at Proof that are less than $10, but the majority of the list is in the $10 to $13 range. The real draw of the Proof wine list is the ability to get tasting-sized glasses of wine: 2 ounce tastings (generally $3 to $4), are available of all of the glass wines which allows you to try several different wines during your meal without breaking the bank and stumbling out of the restaurant.
Proof also has a bottle list with 1,200 different options, which prompts the suggestion: when in doubt, ask your sommelier. Both restaurants have made it a point to hire bar staff that know the wines, and in both cases, they are very good at guiding you to something that will pique your interest. Proof’s sommelier, Sebastian Zutant, is particularly talented. Late of Komi and Rasika, Zutant navigates his wine list precisely and with great thought. Give him a few seconds to work through the variables of your meal, your price range, and any other requests, and he’ll provide you with a shining example of what a properly paired wine can do for food.
