So FLX Table has been open a while and I knew that my partner wanted to go. I do not plan well. And, planning is what it takes to go to FLX Table as their tickets are available for a limited period of time and a month or so in advance. I am used to that in Chicago and elsewhere but Geneva. . .
In any case, we went to FLX Table recently, and were delighted. The restaurant has two seatings -- and we went to what we jokingly called the early bird special, the 6 pm seating. Along with 10 others, we had the chance to dine, drink, and awkwardly have conversation across a farm table. we were the only locals with others from Miami, New Hampshire, Jackson Mississippi, and nearer places but definitely not Geneva like Rochester and Syracuse.
Let me start by saying this: the ambience is delightful. The fact that we could walk from the house to Linden Street for such a high quality experience was amazing, and Linden Street these days is the place to see and be seen. Besides the places that are regularly open (e.g., Micro Climate) and the festivals that fill the streets with people (e.g., Rose Soiree), it is a block long, and frankly, weirdly beautiful. Here's a picture courtesy of the Democrat and Chronicle of Linden Street:
And now, the restaurant? Here, too, the ambience is attractive and friendly while striving (in this case) for a high end or at least exclusive feel. We entered into a small room with a single high top table around which were seated or standing a range of people. We were greeted and then seated at the table, where we ordered tastings of a wine each and, eventually, persuaded the folks who were bogarting some pork and olives to share. (The pork was lovely, the olives quite wonderful -- and the plating on a wooden slice of tree showing the rings turned out to bode well for the place of wood in the table decor though not elsewhere.) We received playing cards (mine was a 7 of clubs) and those were used to seat us in the main dining location, a second room with a single farm dining table set with boards with bread and vegetables as well as similar boards with butters and small bowls of various dips. Like the other room, this too had a tin ceiling (and we wondered if it was original but speculate not). The bread was from Montour Falls -- and warmed/crisped by FLX Table. The vegetables got rave reviews from my partner -- a bit of cauliflower, some tomatoes, green beans etcetera -- all crisp and at the height of their possibilities. The butters: siracha butter, a browned butter, a curry/honey butter, and a regular lightly salted butter. The presentation of the butters was delightful -- each was presented molded -- the siracha was a leaves and stem mold, the curried/honey butter was a small bird, the regular butter was a small log with salt on top, and the brown butter was a cube (which looked as though the browned milk solids were suspended in a remarkably regular way). The dips -- a lemony ricotta, a cilantro agile, a hummus with seeds on top, chicken schmaltz (HURRAH!) and a fermented red pepper paste (I did not try this for some reason) were presented scattered about the table but with enough for everyone.
We could see the chef plating and also some wire racks from which hung (I think) meats and other delicacies. And, of course, the tin ceiling. The light was even and made the space feel like it was opening up, as did the plants suspended in various ways above us but not (as it were) either in our faces or in a kind of stuck in the 1990s kind of way.
How to describe the meal itself? The wine pairings we chose? On the latter, the options were varied -- an FLX tasting, a similarly priced world tasting, and a high end P.I.M.P. tasting (I think I have the acronym right!) which is what we chose. What was delightful about our choice was the sommelier (from Greece) provided us each with different wines as we went along, thereby allowing us to taste 10 wines rather than five! I can say that though price-y this pairing was worth doing -- this once. It cost at least twice as much as the meal (see below) and perhaps in the future I would be more frugal. On the wine, I should note that we were (well, at least I was) nosy. We saw others served -- including a Santorini wine and several versions of local Element wines -- and the wine bottles were placed along the middle of the table for the meal. In terms of what we ourselves tasted, I liked that we got a neatly typed list of the wines to take with us. Not everything we had was on that list, though, so we did have to have them amend the list at the end.
Perhaps most notable, at least one of the tastings we experienced was a wine bottled before I was born (see below) and at least one was bottled when I was in college (again, see below). The total number of ounces, they told everyone, for all of the pairings was around 2.5 glasses of wine. Hence, the drinking was responsible for those driving. And, the variety was not just in the grape but in the aging and the locale as well.
Course 1: was the sourdough bread and butters and dips described above. It was served with, Tasting 1, champagne. In this case, we both had the same champagne -- and it was a delightfully "feminine" (aka small bubbles) crispy wonder. A 2007 Berech Montagne, Grand Cru. I give this course an A on both food and wine, though I think in my fantasy life I would have liked the champagne in coups.
Course 2: Mushroom -roasted, pickled, black garlic, tahini. This was a small plate of maitake and hens of the woods mushrooms which, I learned by asking, were foraged. The black garlic was a smallish dot on the plate, the consistency of tamarind paste, and delightfully garlicky without hurting your head. This was my favorite dish as a whole -- the textures were delightful and the aromas very umami. My partner was not as fond of this, finding some of the mushrooms peculiarly dry. Tasting 2 was amazing. I received a Zind-Humbrecht, Pinot Gris Clos Jebsal, from Alsace -- a 1996. This was a truly amazing orange-y gold in color, with a strong nose. Though sweet, it was quite light with the mushrooms. My partner received a Trimbach, Riesling, Clos St. Hune also from Alsace, 2011 which was much lighter in color (obvious perhaps!) -- clear to light lemony clear. The wine was carried to the table in small beakers and about half poured into our glasses. The bottles for the wines were placed in front of us.
Course 3: Described in the menu as: wasted Potato, foie gras, parsley, hazelnut, black truffle. This was a gathering of fingerling potatoes which were surrounded by a "sauce" of foie gras foam, and under that a parsley oil (which was a very very green green in color) and chopped roasted hazelnuts. The treat was this: both smooth and burgundy truffles were circulated for us to smell and choose. (There was an uncharge of $10 for the smooth.) Of course, we both chose the delightful and very umami smelling smooth black truffle. The waiter then circulated, shaving on to each person's dish the ruffle of choice. And, I can say, they were not stingy. My evaluation: this was, I was sure, going toe my partner's favorite -- for she loves potatoes. I liked it -- and the truffles especially -- but was not bowled over by it. Tasting 3 was interesting in part because the sommelier chose to present one white and one red wine. Both went well with the potato dish and both were quite spectacular. I began with the red: Dugat-Py, Pinot Noir, Petitie Chapelle-Premier Crum Gevrey-Chambertin, Burgundy, France, 2013 while my partner began with the 2013, Bruno Clair, Chardonnay, Mont St Denis, Burgundy, France. Of course, we shared tastes of both -- and I have to admit I would swing for the red every time.
Course 4 is described in the menu as Lamb Pate, ratatouille, black olive, goat's milk, seaweed. When I first tasted the lamb, I actually said to my partner: Oh Jesus Fucking Christ this is good." I have never done so before. I admit it -- I was not a huge fan of the ratatouille (which seemed to me basically brunois vegetables plated using a circle) but the lamb itself, the black olive schemer and the tiny dots of goat cheese were . . . wow. The lamb itself was circular, about 2.5 inches in diameter and about 2 inches in depth. It was, of course, ground lamb -- pink in color, and very very tasty. I could not tell you what the spices were -- served room temperature-ish, with a dark dusting on the exterior of the cylinder, it was just amazing. With it: Tasting 4: I had the Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley, 1975 -- the wine I referred to as bottled when I was in college. It was, as the sommelier noted, quite a bit different from today's Silver Oak Cabs -- and as my partner said "pre-Robert Parker." Parker pushed forward the notion that big jammy wines were the thing. This predates it -- and he was (in my view) quite wrong. This was an amazingly tasty wine, opening to lush and definite berry and just plain winy-ness. The second red we were offered was Voerzio, Barbera, Riserva, Roche dell Anunziata, Piedmont, Italy, 2008. This was, in my view, not as satisfying though it opened up to a bigger yet light red.
So, dessert -- often something I am way too full for in a tasting menu but FLX Table did a good job on portion size. Course 5: APPLE with buckwheat sable, raw honey, yogurt, brandied currants -- was a hit with the whole table, including when the caramel (which may in fact have been something else entirely) made the circuit to add more. The apple -- unknown variety -- was presented in a large-ish unpeeled bit, with yogurt around it and with a crumbled "sable." We are still trying to figure out what this was -- the chef said something about buckwheat shortbread -- but it was very very tasty and the mouth feel was such that it was there and then disappeared without quite melting? Amazing (and I have to admit I am not always a fan of apple desserts). This was a great choice to end with as the apple carried a bit of acidity onto the palate. And, you ask, Tasting Five? The sommelier gave us these one at a time. We began with Croft, Port Blend, Vintage Port, Portugal, 1963. This was light brown in color, not terrifically thick in terms of mouthfeel, and moderately sweet. The sommelier noted that he presented them in this order because it would seem acidic in comparison to the second of the two tastings we had with the fifth course: Toro Albalala, Pedro Ximenez, DOn PX "Convento"Montilla-Moriles, Spain, 1929 -- and yes, this is the tasting bottled prior to my birth. I have to say this was absolutely amazing. It was dark, lucious, and a mix of coffee, chocolate and burned orange or something like that on the palate. I would have licked the plate if it dribbled on to it. Yes, very good.
Optional course 6: Ok, the sixth course is a marshmallow made by the chef -- available at either the Linden Social Club OR Kashong Creek. This was an effective way to get us out of the way for the next seating which was circa 8 or 8:30ish. And, it certainly sent those who had never been to Geneva off to another adventure. We did not take the opportunity -- but I think the others we dined with moved along down beautiful Linden Street. I admit that I might have liked to sit around for a bit longer but. . . .
A few comments on the evening: there were, as I think I noted, people from all over. It was a blessing not to see anyone we knew, but trying to converse was weirdly awkward. We did though meet marathoners (well, half marathoners) from Miami, travelers from New Hampshire and a few others from closer to our area.
Will we go back? Yes. And this is partly because the meal itself is priced reasonably (circa $50 plus tax and tip each ) and one can choose to spend less by focusing more on a reasonable approach to the wines than we did this visit.
And: Having been there, I did do a bit of internet exploration about the folks involved, in part because I have been told we missed the real deal when "Christopher" was cooking. Who is Christopher? Chef and master sommelier Christopher Bates who, with his wife, Isabel Bogadtke, opened FLX Table and prior to that FLX Wienery. It is listed in Wine Enthusiast as among the 100 best wine restaurants in the country -- and I do think the wine list is a blast and really like it that there are tastings from very little when you come in at first. On Christopher Bates, described as a "rock star chef," click here.
I do note that the chef our evening was a WOMAN -- and that means there are two powerful women chefs on Linden Street (I have not yet been to HJ Stead but I have eaten elsewhere when Samantha Buyskes has been the chef. I can say: two powerhouse chefs on Linden Street are WOMEN.
And yes, rumor has it they are opening something new. Rumor is right - they are opening something new: Click here for a USA Today piece on what's coming. Also on Linden Street. A happening place.
