Beef. It's what's for dinner. That was the slogan for the Beef Advisory Council way back when I was an ad agency media planner. I saw Cybill Shepherd on a commercial shoot, and she took one look at the steak on the counter, admitted she was a vegetarian, and marched to her dressing room. Gee, that has nothing to do with Fleming's, but it's funny what sticks with you all these years later when I was at a company outing in Phoenix. This was the place our CIO chose for our group dinner, a generous gesture as the dinner reflected the dishes the restaurant chain are most renowned.
After taking advantage of platters of appetizers including the Sweet Chile Calamari and Bacon-Wrapped Scallops (photo: http://bit.ly/2kOAy0w), we were all seated in the private dining room. We each got samplings of two salads - the Modern Caesar with fried capers and proscuitto chips accompanied by Parmesan toast (photo: http://bit.ly/2kZSVSp), as well as the New Wedge with slab-cut bacon, blistered cherry tomatoes, and crumbled gorgonzola cheese (photo: http://bit.ly/2ksZyJz). Both were quite satisfying with the wedge a nice translation of the steakhouse staple. This was followed by a quartet of scrumptious sides.
Fleming's Potatoes is a decadent house specialty - scalloped, molded like a brick, and heavy with cream and cheddar cheese with a bit of jalapeño (photo: http://bit.ly/2lqva6X), and the Truffle-Parsley Mashed Potatoes, saturated in cream and butter, made it a double header of artery-clogging starchy goodness. The Grilled High Country Asparagus and Sautéed Mushrooms made a valiant attempt to offset the potatoes but to little avail (photo: http://bit.ly/2ksVLvW). The main attraction was, of course, the steak, and the 12-ounce Main Filet Mignon was tender, iron-crusted and drizzled with melted butter (photo: http://bit.ly/2kayDkJ). Quite a treat.
As if we were not wallowing in enough self-indulgence, there was a triple helping of dessert. The Walnut Turtle Pie was gooey good with housemade caramel, walnuts, and chocolate (photo: http://bit.ly/2kVaBPi), and the New York Cheesecake was classically conventional with its graham cracker crust and blueberry sauce (photo: http://bit.ly/2kao6pV). My favorite was the Crème Brûlée, a large serving of Tahitian vanilla bean custard served with fresh berries (photo: http://bit.ly/2kaByda). Stuffed, uncomfortably so, but it certainly made me amenable to a return visit to a Fleming's near me on my dime. Even if Cybill disapproves.
FOOD - 4 stars...definitely a high quality steakhouse even if it is a chain
AMBIANCE - 3.5 stars...very manly place with a lot of wood
SERVICE - 3 stars...even though we were a big party, it did seem exceedingly slow
TOTAL - 4 stars...a near-classic steakhouse experience