When the New Year's Eve flood hit the valley, all kinds of plans were washed away for celebrations, but at least one couple has a tale with a happy ending.

A bride from Lodi who had planned her wedding down to the minute -- that would be the wedding kiss at midnight on New Year's Eve -- was en route to Napa. The wedding and reception both were set to take place at the Napa Valley Grille. By Saturday morning the road to Yountville was closed and most restaurants were canceling New Year's celebrations.

"She was hysterical when she called me," said Katie Doherty, who is the general manager of the Napa Valley Grille. "But she said, 'You're there?'"

Earlier Doherty and her husband, Thad Lyman, who is chef at the Napa Valley Grille, had gotten from their north Napa home to their Yountville restaurant by a circuitous route up Dry Creek Road and down the mountain into town.

"I told her not to worry, we were here and the wedding could go on," said Doherty, who stayed on a mobile phone to give the bride and her party step by step directions to follow the Dry Creek route. By 1 p.m. the bridal party had arrived, although the guests were stranded down on Highway 29 until they too were guided to the alternative road. The wedding came off just as the bride had planned, and in the meantime, in addition to catering the reception, a skeleton crew at the Grille had also managed to serve 192 other New Year's Eve revelers.

"We had one hostess, one server, one sous chef, and Thad and me," Doherty said. "We were adjusting the menu all day. It's all kind of a blur. Rose from Pancho's came in to help and other neighbors were all asking what can we do?"

The anecdote, however, typifies the energy and dedication Lyman and Doherty have brought to the Napa Valley Grille since they took over the Yountville restaurant two years go.

And they have their own romantic tale to tell as well. For them, the venture was a way of coming back to the way they first met, in Seattle, when Lyman, a chef from Alaska, went to work in a restaurant where Doherty, raised in a restaurant family, was manager.

The romance blossomed and a year later when he was transferred to the Bay Area, they made the move together.

After working at separate places in the South Bay for eight years, when the opportunity to came up to work together again at the Napa Valley Grille, they went for it.

Doherty grew up in a restaurant family -- her father owned a Seattle restaurant, and she and her four sisters all work in restaurants -- so she's familiar with the arduous demands on a chef -- long hours, late nights, working every holiday. "I thought it would be nice to see (Thad's) face again," she said.

Now they're putting their 14 hour days in together as they put their on stamp on their restaurant.

"When we were in the South Bay, the Napa Valley Grille was one of the top dogs," Lyman said. "We want to make it that way again."

Lyman's father was in construction and so his family moved around the West when he was growing up. He lived in Montana until the family moved to Alaska. "That's where I discovered my passion for cooking," he said. "In Montana it was all meat and potatoes. In Alaska there was that incredible fresh seafood."

One of the first things he did after taking over the kitchen was to get in contact with purveyors up north to get the freshest seafood he could for the Napa Valley Grille. "I admit I am a salmon snob," he said.

At the Grille he's combining the elements of his training with the bounty from the farmers markets and local growers to create the menu, which offers a variety of dishes like a Grilled Loch Duart Salmon Roulade, Broken Arrow Ranch Antelope Filet, Three Peppercorn Kobe Tri Tip, Dungenss Crab Fondue and Fresh Sage Fettuccini. It also offers lighter fare including soups, salad, sandwiches and combinations. The Braised Leg of Lamb sandwich is Doherty's current favorite. "I could eat it every day," she said. "There's nothing on the menu that he doesn't love," Doherty said.

What's more, after they go home, he cooks there as well. "I'm a terrible cook," said Doherty, who prefers the juggling act of the front of restaurant, managing a staff of 40, adjusting the wine lists, and generally "keeping all the balls in the air."

"I'll open the fridge and say there's nothing here. But Thad will see all kinds of things and cook something wonderful. While I don't cook, I do know about food. I know I'm spoiled because I eat his food all the time."

The give and take of running a restaurant together works for them, both Lyman and Doherty said.

"It's honest," Lyman said. "And it's nice that we don't have to second guess each other. You could work your whole life in restaurants with out finding that relationship."

"It's never boring," Doherty added. "I don't feel like it's work."

"It's all about love, really," Lyman said. "It's why I'm in this business. My father said do something you love. I've learned that from him."

As well, the couple has enjoyed their move to the Napa community. "I'd never lived in a small town before," Doherty said. "The other night we were at Albertson's shopping at midnight -- and Thad was bowling things down the aisle to me -- and the next day, a woman came into the restaurant and said, 'Didn't I see you last night at Albertson's?'"

Valentines special

In addition to its regular lunch and dinner offerings, Chef Lyman is preparing two romantic menus for Feb. 1-14. "Since some people forget to make plans," he said, "and not everyone wants to go out for a romantic dinner to celebrate love on a Tuesday night, we decided to make it for two weeks."

A "Flirtation" five-course seafood inspired menu with an optional sparkling wine pairings, will include a Living Butter Lettuce Salad, Smoked Sea Scallops with Chive Crepe Mille Feuille and Champagne sabayon, Green Apple and Fennel Tarts, Truffle Glaze Half Moon Bay Oysters, and Saffron Poached Maine Lobster with Spring Pea Ricotta Ravioli, Roasted Morel Mushrooms and Mint Pistou. A richer, four course "Seduction" menu, paired with "big sexy reds," includes Pan Seared Mustard Rubbed Hokkaido Scallops with a Bacon Lardon, Carmelized Endive and Celeriac Puree and a Blood Orange Vinaigrette, American Berkshire Proscuitto and Sorrel Salad, Fromage Blanc Turnover with Merquez Lamb Sausage and a Veal Short Rib "Steam Ship Round" with a Fava Bean Cassoulet, Oven Cured Tomatoes and Warm Onion Consomm.

Lyman provided a variation on the recipe for the scallop dish for home cooks. The vinaigrette provides a colorful and Valentine's touch for the savory scallops.

The Napa Valley Grille in Washington Square, near the Madison Street exit (the northern one) to Yountville. For reservations call 944-8686.