On Friday night, the winner this weekend was not a hot restaurant opening in DC. It wasn’t a crafty cocktail in a trendy Buffalo bar. It wasn’t even a bottle of sparkling wine in front of our fire for a hot date night “in”.

Main Street, Medina, was the winner by a LONG shot.

We have long had pride in our hometown. And as the last 6 months of blog posts would suggest, we can’t stop raving about the inherent charm of this small, historic village. Hell, we traded our fabulous life in Washington for a life in this rural town in Western New York.

On Friday night, every parking spot was taken in this town, with throngs of people braving the cold for a glimpse at the brand new Fitzgibbons Public House, who finally opened their doors to customers who have been anticipating this moment since last spring. It appears that everyone, far and wide, have had their eyes on the exciting addition to our Main Street.

We, too, ran out of the house at 5 o’clock to celebrate at the gorgeous wooden bar. We scored the last spot on Main Street, but were astounded to find that the place was teeming with excited patrons. We said a few hellos, tried to wedge our way to the bar, but after waiting a few minutes, we decided that a date night across the street was equally up our alley, and we would wait for a slightly less chaotic night to preserve our first actual review.

We crossed the street and sat down to another lovely date night at Zambistro. Though our first review was positive, it thrills us that every subsequent trip has yielded the same sentiment. We opted to cheers with a house-made Blackberry Bellini and the Beer of the Month, a Hamburg Brewing Company IPA.  We ordered several appetizers to satisfy our comfort-food cravings, which of course included the Spinach and Sausage Mac & Cheese; it’s a crime to visit Zambistro without ordering at least a side of it. We also tried the special, Pulled Chicken and Kale Springrolls, along with the Napa Flatbread and one of our favorites: the Tuna Package (winner of our best appetizer for the 2016 Hot Minute Awards).

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When we walked into Zambistro at 5, only a few tables were taken. But by the time we left (and passed by many we saw from Fitzgibbons earlier), the house was full and several sat patiently awaiting a table. We crossed the street back to our car, thankful that so many people had decided to stay local on Friday night and support our blossoming small businesses in Medina.

The only way we are going to keep growing, Medina, is if we continue to support those whose doors are already open. We can hope that Main Street continues to thrive, and with our patronage will only get better with each passing year. Cheers to a lovely Friday night, and we look forward to dishing about our first meal at Fitzgibbons in the very near future.

So who was there? Let us know all of your first impressions!