Fun Restaurant Experience: Flights of Wine & Food

I have to share a really great restaurant experience that my husband and I had while visiting Memphis. The restaurant is called Flight Restaurant and Wine Bar. The concept is to order a flight of wine to pair with your flight of food. What an amazing fun concept!

Hidden Speakeasy

First of all, they have this hidden speakeasy underneath the restaurant. We were guided to this unmarked door, then down a flight of stairs to this hidden gem. Of course, it was filled with in-the-know diners. We cozied up to the bar and order a flight of Pinot Noir. It was fun to taste and compare the Pinot side-by-side.

The flight showcased Belle Glos Pinot Noir. You’ve probably seen the bottle with the dramatic red wax that comes down to the label. This flight included a Pinot Noir from each of their three vineyards. Their Clark & Telephone Vineyard is located in Santa Maria Valley, California. This one was a very fruity Pinot Noir. Dairyman Vineyard is located in the Russian River Valley in California. This was very fruity, more dry, and with more oak flavor. The last tasting was from their Las Alturas Vineyard which is located in Monterey, California. This one had a nice balance of fruit, oak, and earthiness to it.

Surprising Kitchen Tour

As we started to head back upstairs for dinner, the manager stopped us and asked if we wanted a tour of the kitchen. This way we didn’t have to go outside to get back to the main dining room upstairs. Uh…you don’t have to ask us twice! What a treat! We got to see the back of the house where all the action happens. They even have a flat screen that shows what’s happening in the other kitchens of the other restaurants they own. But in that particular kitchen, you could see them preparing all of the small plates for the flights. So much work!

Flights of Wine and Flights of Food

It was our job to keep them busy making those small plates. So, we started with a seafood appetizer flight. They didn’t have a recommended pairing for the appetizer; so we selected our own. With this flight pairing, we were able to try and decide what actually tasted best together. What a great way to experiment and really test what works and what clashes.

Steak Flight paired with the Cabernet Sauvignon Flight.

On to the main entrees. Each flight of food came with a pairing selected specifically to go with each small plate. We ordered the Steak Flight (Beef Filet, Elk, Bison) that was paired up with three Cabernet Sauvignon’s which were B.R. Cohn from Alexander Valley (California), Oberon and Quilt both from Napa Valley.

Butcher’s Flight paired up with red wines from France, Italy, & Australia.

We also ordered the Butcher’s Flight (Pork Tenderloin, Veal Scallopini, Lamb) that was paired with Perrin a Grenache and Syrah blend from Côtes du Rhône France, Felsina a Chianti Classico from Italy, and MollyDooker a Shiraz from Australia.

The wine was fantastic and the food was fantastic! We love to try small plates of food, but usually order a bottle of wine. This was such a fun way to test and try the food and wine pairings. If you are ever in Memphis, definitely check this place out!