Flight at Main and Monroe has been on my radar since they opened, but for one reason or another I never managed to make it in to actually try their food, until now.
While they do offer normal sized entrees, they really specialize in small selling “flights”, a few (in this case three) items that combine to roughly equate to a normal portion. Wine flights consist of 2oz servings of three different wines. A steak flight consists of small portions of three different steaks, complete with sides. The idea is to get to taste a small amount of many things vs picking a meal and a wine and having a lot of it.
Overall, the concept is solid. It basically splits the difference between a tasting menu and an ala carte menu. You get to experience a bunch of flavors without the $150+ entry price of a full tasting menu.
I ordered the steak flight. It consisted of a filet with garlic mashed potatoes and french fried onions with a red wine reduction, a ribeye with potato croquettes and a mushroom burgundy sauce, and a portion of buffalo steak with the same garlic mashed potatoes and a sweet sauce that I think involved fruit. I honestly dropped the ball there and didn’t remember the preparation on the buffalo, deal with it.
I got a california cabernet flight to compliment my meal. Not the normal “Big Bad Cab” flight, it consisted of Jordan, Silver Oak, and Caymus.
My date got the Australian lamb.
I was overall pretty impressed with the food. The three portions combined to a good sized meal; I was full when I left. I ordered all three medium and they all came out medium. It’s simple, but it’s something a lot of places fuck up. The sides generally meshed well with the food, accentuating the flavors without overpowering them. The exception was the potato croquettes served with the ribeye. Way, way too rich, even for “high end” food that is generally indulgent. They came off more like batter dipped deep fried butter.
I’m not generally a big fan of gamey meat, but the sweetish sauce that accompanied the buffalo did a good job of masking any gamey flavors. The filet was probably my favorite. The garlicky potatoes and crunchy flavorful fried onions, along with what I perceived to be the most balanced of the sauces, went exceptionally well with what can, despite it’s popularity, be a pretty bland cut of meat.
The ribeye was my least favorite, despite being the cut of steak I generally gravitate to. Perhaps I just got a bad cut, but mine was heavy on the fat. I know that’s the beauty of a ribeye, but I prefer mine rendered into the lean meat, not left on the side as something to chew. The previously mentioned potato croquettes only added to the problem, coating my mouth with an unpleasant sheen. I’d suggest way more potato, I literally had no idea they were alleged to contain potato until I came home and consulted the menu.
These are really just small nits I’m picking though, overall the food was well prepared and presented and the flavors were well balanced. I don’t think you can really go wrong with any of their steak entrees, as long as you stay away from those horrid fried butter things with the ribeye. Sub the mashed potatoes, they’re very good.
My date was less impressed with the Australian lamb with vanilla spiced yams, more specifically she felt that the vanilla flavor of the yams overwhelmed everything else. Yams notwithstanding, she was a big fan of the asparagus and the lamb itself.
The wine flight my server suggested complimented the food very well. I’m admittedly not a big wine guy, but the Jordan cabernet was fantastic, to the point that I’m going to buy a bottle when i hit the liquor store tomorrow just so I have it on hand for when I make steaks. The Caymus was my least favorite, being a bit too smokey. Again, I’m far from a wine expert, and everyone’s palate is different.
The service was attentive without being annoying. Our server was training a new server and both did a complimentary job of checking on our table frequently without interrupting our conversation.
Overall, I don’t see anyone being disappointed after dining there. While it’s not perfect, it’s a unique concept, especially for Memphis, and the food is generally well done. I’ll most definitely be back soon to try their other food flights, and thanks to my meal there, I found a cabernet that I genuinely enjoy, that alone is worth the $100 I spent.
I did, for once, remember to take my camera, but it was pretty dark and I didn’t want to be the guy using a flash in a dark restaurant. Still a cool picture overall.
Posted by Sig on 03.25.2011 at 6:04 am// Tagged: Uncategorized //
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Unfortunately, nothing particularly interesting.
http://www.rivercitybrewersfestival.com/2011-breweries/
Not bad if you’re a beer noob, but nothing of any real interest to a beer nerd, especially for the $30 price of admission.
If you regularly drink bud light, and would like to branch out a little, it’s a lot cheaper than buying a 6 pack of each. If you’re drinking a La Fin du Monde while posting an article about a beer festival on your downtown memphis website, it’s probably not going to interest you much.
Edit – Someone commented and told me that Bluff City Brewers would be there representing home brewers and pouring home brewed beer. That just made the whole event a lot more interesting.
Posted by Sig on 03.22.2011 at 11:17 pm// Tagged: Beer, Memphis //
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And I think I’ll make good on it within a week. Expect shenanigans.
Posted by Sig on 03.16.2011 at 1:23 am// Tagged: Internet, Memphis //
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I haven’t been posting a lot lately because I’m on vacation. I thought I would share some pics. Mostly Arizona and California with a few from west Texas.
Posted by Sig on 01.30.2011 at 3:14 pm// Tagged: Uncategorized //
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Took a few pics of the snow the other night.
10pm:
3am:
Bridge:
Rooftop snow angel action courtesy of Christine:
I have a few more I have to go through, but I figured I would go ahead and throw these up.
Posted by Sig on 01.11.2011 at 6:16 am// Tagged: Memphis //
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Seeing how the “risqué” billboard for the south main shoe store “Strut” (Who, inexplicably, doesn’t appear to have a website) is apparently of great concern, why is no one feigning shock and outrage over the WellWorks window display downtown?
I mean, it’s santa clad in a bikini and combat boots. Someone out there has to be pretending to be super offended enough for a short sound clip on the local news, no?
I’m not trying to get WellWorx in trouble for the crime of making a hilarious christmas display, just wondering where all the outraged citizens are.
I have a feeling that the total amount of complaints about the Union Avenue billboard and the WellWorx display combined amounts to fuck all. The whole thing seems to be manufactured outrage in the interest of filling time and getting morons worked up.
Posted by Sig on 12.04.2010 at 8:22 am// Tagged: Entertainment, Memphis //
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I guess.
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/nov/19/nice-shoes-and-record-ladys-wearing-up-there/
(Photo by Nikki Boertman from the CA article)
A young model wearing only high heels and a record is causing heads to spin on Union Avenue.
She lies prone across a billboard, knees bent, to show off high heels decked with spikes. Records lie near her, and she holds one to partly cover her breasts.
The shoe’s brand name, Sam Edelman, appears along with the word Strut, the name of a South Main shoe store and the store’s phone number.
“I think it’s the most risqué billboard Memphis has ever seen,” said Marian Richardson, owner of Strut, who had it put up near Union and Myrtle. “But it’s done tastefully. You can’t see anything.”
Richardson saw the billboard in Los Angeles and decided to use the same one here to promote one of the store’s most popular brands.
A number of people have called about it. Men have generally liked it, she said. Some women have called it pornographic and offensive.
The Memphis and Shelby County Office of Construction Code Enforcement hasn’t received any complaints, said Allen Medlock, administrator. He said the agency tries to discourage anything questionable. However, “we can’t regulate text or image on signs. It’s constitutional free speech.” The agency regulates location and size of signs.
“In Memphis everybody does things so safe,” Richardson said. She feels the city is behind the times in both fashion and advertising. “We’re not a cookie-cutter store. We’re hip and funky.”
One who apparently approves is John Schorr, president of Sun Studio, which is almost directly across the street. Schorr sent an e-mail thanking her for replacing the face of D’Army Bailey, who appeared in an ad for his law firm, with the “extremely artistic,” model image, but he expressed regret that the records did not have yellow labels.
– Barbara Bradley: 529-2370
If you really want to hate human kind, read the comments.
Posted by Sig on 11.22.2010 at 3:16 am// Tagged: Memphis //
1 Comment »
lollies.
b3 <~~~ Click
Posted by Sig on 11.11.2010 at 7:45 am// Tagged: Uncategorized //
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lol
b2 <~~~click
Posted by Sig on 11.11.2010 at 5:10 am// Tagged: Entertainment //
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And perked up at the fact that every copy comes with a $15 voucher for donorschoose.org. Looks like a really cool website.
I started poking around and noticed that absolutely no one has donated to Downtown Elementary. Their page can be found here.
I say we change that. I ordered the book on amazon, so they’re getting my $15 from that, and I decided to get the ball rolling now by throwing in another $25 of my own.
As much as I bitch about stupid people, the least I can do is contribute to the cause of making future generations a little less stupid. I implore you to do the same, if only to keep me from climbing a tall building with a powerful rifle.
Posted by Sig on 10.08.2010 at 1:49 am// Tagged: Entertainment, Internet, Memphis //
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