Flight school

If you're guilty of ordering the same thing every time you go out, here’s your chance to widen your scope without committing to one new drink or entree. We broke our own Guinness-’n’-burger habit with these eye-opening flights.

Wine flight: Fion Wine and Spirits
Unlike wine bars that prepackage their flights, new wine and beer spot Fion opens its sampler trio to most anything on its seasonally changing menu. The variety can seem daunting, but Fion combats that glazed-over feeling with a staff that’s trained to pick tasters for you—and teach you a few things about your wine palate along the way.
Our flight: Three perfect pours courtesy of Fion’s specialty wine-cooling system (above). Sommelier Kristopher Samiec hooked us up with tastes of sweet California whites: Noble House reisling, Don Olegario albarino and Alexander Valley New Gewurz.
Extra credit: Look for Fion’s shot and beer specials coming soon.

Cupcake flight: May Street Market 
Step outside of the Funfetti cupcake realm with  May Street Market’s Flight of Cupcakes ($6), three moist mini-muffins baked and frosted daily. Gourmet though they may be, these pastries work as a dessert or paired with a chocolatini in the lounge.
Our flight: The earl grey-iced lavender cake and chocolate with peanut butter icing topped our past pastry experiences, and the carrot cupcake with orange ginger frosting made us spice-cake believers.
Extra credit: Three or four cheese sampling courses ($16 and $20, respectively) featuring cheese from Sprout Creek Farms in Poughkeepsie, NY.

Bloody Mary flight: Bin Wine Cafe 
Think bloody marys only come in one shade of red? Think again. Bin Wine Cafe’s Bloody Mary Flight ($12) rolls out four internationally influenced flavors that’ll broaden your hot-sauce threshold and introduce tequila and wasabi into your hangover-cure book of tricks.
Our flight: Four ladies—Italian Mary, Asian Mary, Consuela Mary and hometown gal Bucktown Mary—graced our table in three-ounce tasting portions (a lot more Mary than it sounds). Our fave? The parmesan and basil-topped Italian version.
Extra credit: Mimosa Flight ($12), featuring flavors such as pineapple and peach.

Sushi flight: Ai Japanese Restaurant 
California rolls? Bah. The plump cuts of fish that dominate Ai’s three flight options aren’t for fans of  imitation crab. But if you want a crash course in nigiri sushi, go with the salmon and tuna flights ($12-$29.50, below) or the toro flight ($32) for proof that the most tender part of tuna can melt in your mouth.
Our flight: We barely could get our chopsticks around the toro and tuna flights’ generous cuts of pure-white tuna lined atop pads of rice and served with ginger and wasabi. So long, maki rolls.
Extra credit: Sake, baby. Choose from five diverse flights ($9-$18).

Beer flight: Paramount Room 
Craft beer culture is here to stay. Bone up on your brew know-how with a three-beer draft sampler ($7) from Paramount Room’s ever-changing selection on tap. This lounge prides itself on stocking eclectic beers ranging from Belgium's Tripel Karmeliet to the suburbs’ own Two Brothers Cane and Ebel. Pick your own or ask the bartender to choose.
Our flight: We put our flight in the hands of our server, who chose La Chouffe Spiced Golden Ale, 3 Floyds Gumballhead and Goose Island Matilda. We upgraded to pints of 3 Floyds and La Chouffe.
Extra credit: Any of the 20-plus bottled craft beers should do. Or go beyond the flight and try a new brew in an 8-ounce “shorty” glass.

Lisa Balde is the Metromix print editor.