Off the main pedestrian boulevard in Charlottesville sits Fleurie - a charming culinary gem with all the quaintness and elegance of a provincial French restaurant.
Rustic brick walls, white tablecloths and candlelight make for a warm, graceful atmosphere which is a delightful change of scenery from its downtown surrounds.
The food is totally exquisite. Softly spoken, enchanting Parisian chef, Rhys, fuses the best of American produce with refined French cookery technique so that every dish on the menu sounds better than the last.
Things like homemade gnocchi with rich truffle marscarpone sauce, warm duck confit salad with cherries and pistachios, wine braised beef short ribs with truffled parsnip purée, and seared sea scallops with Celery Root, Red Onion Marmalade and shellfish cream are perfectly cooked and served in elegant portions. Appetizers are $9-$18 while mains are $27-$36.
The desserts were just as glorious. For me, the quality of a restaurant's dessert is often a good indication of the calibre of the entire menu. It's the part of the meal that too often is treated as an afterthought - just something sweet to finish things off. A good dessert shows a real dedication to quality, and the desserts at Fleurie are almost highlights.
The lightest passionfruit souffle comes freestanding, like an airy pillow, with tangy passionfruit curd. Warm chocolate pudding is served with homemade blueberry sorbet, and wafer thin, crisp apple flan is complemented by rich, intense vanilla bean ice-cream.
A beautiful, joyous foodie heaven!
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