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Review content:
A little over a year ago, the husband-elect and I had our rehearsal dinner at Flyte. He and my mother-in-law had picked it because, after half a dozen interviews and tastings at other places, Flyte really stood out.
At the tasting, my mother-in-law mentioned that I'm a vegetarian and they were immediately helpful and accommodating. She absolutely loved the food (of course), the beautiful venue space, and the fact that this was a much better value than other restaurants in a similar class. But what really got her was the customer service. She's a woman with high standards, people -- and they passed the test. I'm just saying - that *means* something!
I got to experience Flyte first-hand on the night of the event, and everything was pitch-perfect. The food was unbelievably good, the bar was stocked with anything and everything that our guests might have wanted, and I was even able to forget my pre-wedding stress for a bit and just have fun.
We returned to Flyte this week for our first anniversary (which just so happened to be the restaurant's fourth anniversary - so cool!) and the evening was nothing short of magical. Our waiter, Scott, was very friendly and charming. He was also so knowledgeable about the wine offerings that he gave me flashbacks to the sweet old sommelier at my neighborhood bistro when I lived in Dijon. That sommelier must have been three times older, but Scott could easily have gone toe to toe with him. And at the end of the night, he even wrote out all the wines he had suggested, along with the associated courses, to help us remember later on.
My husband LOVED his appetizer (poached egg with house-made bacon), which Scott paired with a 2003 Vallformosa ""Primum Vitae"" Riserva. I wish I'd been able to photograph my husband's face when he took his first bite, but if you've seen the end of Ratatouille, you can probably imagine. After that, we shared a roasted beet and mozzarella salad. I'm not usually one for beets, but I'd never tried them like this before. And paired with the mozzarella (which they make in-house) and a glass of the Clendenen Pinot Noir... I have to admit: I kind of fell in love with beets that night.
Our entrees, naturally, were fantastic. I got the vegetable gnocchi, which was the best I'd ever had. Just perfectly executed. The gnocchi were small and had the perfect texture, and they came with a surprising, diverse array of fall vegetables. There was also this beautiful, delicate latticework of Parmesan over the top, which was so fine it was like lace. I even loved the white wine (Joseph Drouhin) that Scott suggested to go along with it, even though I'm usually a much bigger fan of reds.
My husband got the filet, and let's just say I'm glad he restrained himself and didn't lick the plate clean. I could tell he wanted to. Especially when, halfway through the dish, he leaned over and said, ""I feel like I didn't even know what good food tasted like until now."" And I didn't even think to be offended by that - partially because he does the most of the cooking at home (ha!) but mostly just because I was also so overwhelmed by how great my own dish was.
We finished the night with the apple terrine for dessert, which was delicious. The flavors were complex and so well-balanced, with a great variety of textures. I'm a dessert buff myself, and this was easily one of my favorites ever. It was also reasonably light, in the sense that we had already eaten so much food and we couldn't have handled any sort of rich chocolate bomb!
So thank you to Flyte for the ideal rehearsal dinner, and for the perfect first anniversary. Our Flyte nights were fabulous bookends to a fabulous first year of marriage!
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