Don't Cry Over Spilled Wine

Sometimes childhood dreams do come true.

I have no doubt that at some point a sweets-lover like me wished for a dinner of all desserts.

Surprise, surprise, tonight it finally happened.

The place was Amour Wine Bistro for a five course dessert and wine pairing menu created by Amour's chef Rob Hamlin and Veronica Perez of Petites Bouches, the source of RVA's best macaroons..

How over the top does that sound?

We took our assigned seats and soon met the couple who would be our dinner partners for the evening.

Our server offered us a Kir Royale, but we declined.

The guy at the table next to us did the same, putting it succinctly, "No, I can't. Last time I had five courses here, I left toasty."

Yea, that.

And then we began the slow ascent from savory to sweet.

The first course was a pear soup with goat cheese fritters and a Normandie Cidre Bouche de cru "Duche de Longueville."

Owner Paul clarified that this was not cider for kiddies, saying, "Of course it has alcohol. Everything in France has alcohol."

I'd had the cider before (for brunch with a crab crepe) but never had it in the traditional presentation of a stoneware mug, which did make a difference.

The soup was thick and fruity and everyone was understandably enamored of the fried goat cheese fritters.

Next came a fois gras creme brulee, easily the most unique dish of the meal.

It was served with an Alsace Gewurztraminer "Pierre Sparr 2008," a spicy wine that paired beautifully with the richness of the foie gras.

After a course involving liver, we naturally needed a palate cleanser.

Faux vanilla parfait with chocolate sauce looked the part in a skinny cordial glass but was really Parmesan whipped cream with a balsamic reduction.

It definitely quieted the room as everyone tried to figure out what it was.

The prize for largest dessert of the evening went to a vanilla tart facon Pierre Herme, a decadent disc of vanilla-infused mascarpone atop vanilla and rum-soaked ladyfingers and finished with a white chocolate glaze.

The mascarpone was so exquisitely flavored that it didn't even require something underneath although the ladyfingers were a big hit with the men at the table.

Given its size, we took our time eating it with a white Vouvray Moelleux "Le Margalleau" 2009, a late harvest gem with a delicate sweetness.

By this time, the full restaurant was well-lubricated and snippets of conversation began drifting our way.

My vote for the funniest goes to the table behind us, where I heard, "It was a lot like Barcode, but not as tragic."

I immediately knew exactly what he meant.

We had another palate cleanser, this time a Sauternes sorbet and an extremely creative way to combine dessert and drinking.

Passion fruit mille feuilles was a take-off on the classic mille feuilles dessert.

A passion fruit cream was layered between puff pastry and accompanied by mango jellies.

We savored its tangy flavors with a sweet Muscat de Rivesaltes "Chateau de Caladroy" 2010.

The menu had been vague about the last course, other than to say it would be "something impressive for the eye and taste buds."

If that sounds grandiose, it was also spot on.

A parfait glass came looking like a piece of modern sculpture.

At the bottom were Barona chocolate pearls.

Halfway up the glass was a Valrhona cocoa-dusted housemade marshmallow with a chocolate-coated pretzel twig speared  through it for easier retrieval.

Further up was a disc of hardened chocolate the exact width of the glass.

On top of that  was raspberry puree (which was released when we broke the disc) and whipped cream.

It was the dessert that elicited the most oohs and ahhs.

With it we drank Beaujolais Villages "Joseph Drouhin" 2009, a dry, refined and silky red perfect for the chocolate we were inhaling.

By this point in the evening, no one was feeling any pain and we heard a crash as someone lost control of his wine glass.

Did the clumsy/inebriated one break stride eating his chocolate?

He did not.

As he continued his assault on it, the person across the table from him reached over and began sopping up the spilled wine while the spiller continued eating.

Did anyone fault him for this?

We did not.

When you finally get your youthful wish for five courses of dessert, what's a little spillage?

Childhood dreams can come true
It can happen to you

Let me warn you, though, you'll be in a food coma afterwards.

But once you can move again, you'll know.

It will have been well worth it.