VUE

What makes Champagne the ideal counterpart to anything fried, salty or abundantly rich is its high acidity and bubbly mouthfeel—the latter of which has been said to increase a food's crunchy effect. Champagne's effervescent qualities and zesty taste cut through fat, keeping your palate refreshed and clean with every bite. Given that e Riddler opened its doors in New York just three short months ago, there's still much more on the horizon. Pelka has teased the idea of adding cheesy gougères, chicken fingers breaded in Ritz crackers, pigs-in-a-blanket and an icebox cake made with cookies from Tate's Bake Shop to the menu. e Riddler San Francisco's most popular item, the famous tater tot waffle, is also rumoured to eventually make its Big Apple debut as a brunch offering. e Riddler's East Coast location can be considered a homecoming of sorts for Pelka, who was a New Yorker for nearly a decade before moving to San Francisco five years ago. It's where her career in the restaurant industry began under the direction of Chef Daniel Boulud, in which she wore multiple hats at his Michelin-starred Upper East Side eatery, Daniel. Her entrepreneurial spirit, however, (based on the bar's name) follows in the footsteps of fellow heroine and Champagne renegade, Madame Clicquot. Both of e Riddler locations are 100 percent female-funded and for the most part, woman-operated. "I am so grateful to have an incredible community of investors who have helped me to create a truly special place at my favorite corner of the West Village," said Pelka. "We all have a shared vision to spread the love of Champagne far and wide and to create the best Champagne bar in the country." With a motto that reads, "Hello, old friend", in a charismatic manner that only Jay Gatsby could possess, e Riddler invites guests to come and celebrate in the little luxuries of everyday life. We all have a shared vision to spread the love of Champagne far and wide and to create the best Champagne bar in the country." V U E N J . C O M 113

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