Since St. Valentine’s Day was on a Sunday this year and we were both itching to go out somewhere.  I suggested a restaurant that we have been to several times before and my Bride decided to have our Son’s family join us, as she was sure that they were just as tired of being under lockdown mode as the rest of the state.  Logistically it was a good match for all of us, but then we had to see if they were open yet, as some restaurants have not opened with only twenty-five percent capacity.  They were open, but they would not accept reservations, it would be first come, first serve, and I could understand that, so our Son and his family had to have an “old people’s” dinner at four o’clock in the afternoon, but I didn’t want to take a chance waiting for a table, especially if people decided to lollygag.  We went to Gravity in Milford and right after we got there, the restaurant started to fill up, so others had the same idea.

The menu was a bit tighter in scope and that is also understandable, as trying to reopen a second time with rules that are in flux can be a total learning experience again, though they did have a couple of specials that sounded interesting, we went off the internet-driven menu that was being offered for the evening. Believe it or not I decided to start the meal off with a house salad, while the others went with shared plates of Calamari and Roasted Cauliflower.  My Bride had an order of Cinnamon Dusted Sea Scallops with Sweet Potato Risotto, Maple Beurre Banc with Apple, Cranberry and Walnut Chutney and I might add that I had to try some of that, and it was delicious, in fact so good, that she did not need to have anything packed up for the return trip.  I had the Lobster Pasta with Spinach, Asparagus and Roasted Tomatoes with a Sherry Cream Sauce, and there was no need for a “doggie bag” either.  After dinner, a couple of desserts were split, but my Bride after a year on her new life-style and successful diet wanted to enjoy a house-made Cream Puff with Ice Cream and Hot Fudge, a true Detroit classic and since it has been a couple of days, I can tell you that the only binging that she is doing is on some television channel called Netflix, so she is good.

I saw a wine on the wine carte that caught my attention, as I think it is the first time that I have even seen it offered anywhere.  We started the dinner off with a split of Champagne Drappier Carte D’Or NV.  Champagne Drappier is a house located in the commune of Urville in the Aube, the southernmost region of Champagne.  The house was founded in 1808 and known for its Pinot Noir dominated wines. Their cellars were built by Cistercian monks from Clairvaux Abbey and are among the oldest in Champagne as they date back to 1152.  The estate owns fifty-three hectares of vineyards and farms another fifty hectares by contract with local farmers.  This wine is a blend of eighty percent Pinot Noir, fifteen percent Chardonnay and five percent Pinot Meunier harvested from limestone soil.  The wine offered stone fruit and spice with a medium long finish. 

We were going to get another split of a different wine, but we had to settle with the smaller individual drink size bottles of Jaume Serra Cristalino Brut Traditional Method Cava NV from J. Garcia Carrion.  J. Garcia Carrion is the largest winery and the second largest fruit juice producer in Europe.  They were founded in 1890 and produce wines in ten different DO regions of Spain, and also more wines and brandies outside of the DO regions.  Their major label is Don Simon was created in 1980 and one of the first box wines in Spain, the label is now used for their Sangria, juices and soft drinks.  Jaume Serra is made in the Traditional Method that is required for Cava and is a blend of Macabeo, Parellada and Xarel-lo. There is not much to go glean from the company, but the wine was very refreshing and very tasty.