flemings steakhouse & wine bar preview
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As the second phase of LA Live nears completion, Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar is building out their multi-level restaurant with a projected opening of October 2008.
With over 50 locations across the States, Fleming’s is part of the Outback Steakhouse family of restaurants including, surprisingly, Roy’s Hawaiian Restaurant.
What can one expect at Fleming’s? All menu items are a la carte and the high-quality food is mainly traditional American fare with some dishes inspired by ethnic flavors, such as Asian and Tex-Mex. Angelenic was fortunate enough to dine at the Woodland Hills Fleming’s location to give a preview of the good eats coming this fall.
Forget bread and butter. Upon seating guests are brought an arrangment of toasted bread and crudites with champagne-infused brie spread and olive-roasted pepper tapenade. One mouthful of the creamy champagne-brie will have you proclaiming “I can’t believe it’s not butter!” and the salty tapenade provides a delightful counterpoint. It’s a nice way to start the dining experience.
For appetizers you will not want to miss the Portobello Steak Fries. The herb crusted “fries” arrive in a jenga-like stack with a generous boat of smoked jalapeno aioli. They are surprisingly meaty and satisfying and you can drizzle the leftover aioli over anything else. The Seared Ahi Tuna is also a must-have. Frankly, it’s the soy-sesame mustard dressing on the fresh salad of arugula, pickled ginger, radishes, carrots and celery that is the scene-stealer of this dish.
The Sweet Chile Calamari is ever so lightly battered, fried and slathered in a sticky sweet chile sauce with sliced pickled peppers and the Smoked Norweigian Salmon Bruschetta is both savory and satisfying. The delicate Lobster Tail Tempura comes with a tasty duo of contrasting dipping sauces: 1) a sweet, jammy red jalapeno pepper sauce and 2) a salty, creamy soy-ginger aioli.
For side dishes, my server kindly suggested the Fleming’s Potatoes and Creamed Corn, two of their signature dishes. The chef informed me the sliced potatoes are tossed in a cream sauce infused with jalapenos, leeks and garlic and baked in a dish topped with cheddar cheese. During the baking process the potato slices magically settle into perfect crepe-like layers that are delicate and tender. Capsaicin-challenged individuals can enjoy this dish too because the infused cream has all the jalapeno flavor without any of the heat.
The Creamed Corn is a decadent, gooey jumble of parmesan, Gruyere cheese and corn. If I had anything to complain about my dining experience it would be the mealy texture is an obvious sign that frozen corn was used in the preparation. Their chef explained some Fleming’s locations use fresh corn. Hopefully Fleming’s will consider this option for their Downtown location because fresh ingredients make a world of difference and discriminating diners will most certainly take notice.
A good steak can stand on its own without sauces or accompaniments and Flemings certainly delivers on this mark. My server commented that bone-in steaks impart more flavor to the meat. As a result I decided to order the bone-in New York Strip Steak. The steak was very well-seasoned, flavorful and cooked evenly all the way through. It is an impressive hunk of meat (22 oz) and if you order that alone you will probably walk away stuffed and satisfied.
Now, if you can even consider dessert after loosening your belt five notches from all the goodness consumed you may choose from creme brulee, baked peach cobbler, chocolate lava cake, cheesecake with blueberry sauce, or you may taste all four in the dessert sampler platter. I was particularly taken with the cheesecake’s intense blueberry sauce as well as the coat-your-spoon-and-arteries richness of the creme brulee. All of the desserts were very nice but these two are sure winners.
Fleming’s is food allergy-friendly. Items prepared with peanut oil or containing raw meat or seafood are clearly labeled on the menu.
Wine enthusiasts can rejoice for Fleming’s focuses as much on wine as they do on steak. Approximately 60% of their wine selection is consistent throughout the 50+ restaurants; the other 40% is hand-picked by the location’s wine buyer. I was told the wine selection changes approximately every 8 months, so if you inquire about their new wines the sommelier may even offer you something that is not yet printed on the list.
“The Fleming’s 100 is an outstanding collection of 100 wines available by the glass. To make the cut is quite an acheivement.”
The wine list is well-organized with varietals and blends grouped according to category and listed from sweetest to driest, so even inexperienced winos can select a glass or bottle with relative ease.
All Fleming’s 100 wines may be purchased as 2 oz “tastes.” The tastes are 1/3 of a glass at 1/3 of the price. This means you can design flights as you see fit. I started off with a Riesling, Chenin Blanc and Syrah and they arrived on a sort of “flight pedestal.”
A small card attached to the pedestal listed each wine in my flight, a thoughtful touch as I needn’t go fishing through the extensive wine list if I forgot which ones were ordered.
For those who enjoy cocktails, Fleming’s has a long list of unique and inventive libations, and at $10.95 per drink they are more affordable than Lola’s martinis. I didn’t sample from the cocktail list but names like “Passion,” “White Cosmo” and “Napa Sunset” sound very tempting.
Come October, two fine dining steakhouses will both occupy the South Park neighborhood within blocks of each other. With the arrival of Fleming’s Steakhouse, Palm Restaurant is going to face some stiff competition.
Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar
LA Live at Olympic and Figueroa
Coming October 2008
19 comments
Any floor plans released for ESPN zone? It looks quite large! Does anyone know when ESPN zone is slated to open? I dont love ESPN zone, but the thought of watching a laker playoff game there is very exciting. I have peaked into the space, and it looks like they are working, but have a long way to go.
Also, any info on Wolfgang’s restaurant? All the signs say Wolfgang catering, which is not a full service high quality restaurant to my knowledge. I heard a while back that kris morningstar of Blue velvet (very solid chef) was named executive chef???
So this is opening in October 2008?? I thought the entire second phase of LA Live was opening Dec. 1st. I’m defiently not complaining, just a little confused. And it also looks like the ESPN zone and office building is much closer to completion than the rest of phase 2. Any answers, anyone??
^^^some restaurants will have “soft openings” maybe the DEC 1st date is the official “grand opening” for the whole phase 2 in general. Yes ESPN does look completed on the exterior but theres still alot of technical work that has to be done inside hence the early 2009 opening date. ESPN Zone is not part of the office building above so its going to open this Fall like the rest. Even the Grammy Muesum which looks far from completion is scheduled to be built out and opened by this time. we will see.
Sweet! … downtown has yet another overpriced second-rate food trough for the southpark yuppie elite! How utterly depressing.
My goodness! Food sounds so good at this restaurant.
Can’t wait for their opening in October.
Thanks for the delicious pictures too (they made me drool)….
It does have great food.This is why i can’t commit to being a vegetarian..lol
Great to have a close by location. Instead of going out to El Segundo in the southbay-lax area .
But definitely a special occasions-birthdays,anniversaries,etc. kind of place. It ain’t cheap, but well worth the splurge..mmmm.
@ no. 4…Your reasoning pains me. If it wasn’t for the “yuppies” that you describe moving to South Park, we would still have the run-down, empty after dark, depressing area that it was back in the 90’s. It’s your choice. We can turn back time to 1996, where the only asset South Park had was the Convention Center, or we can live in the here and now, where we have what will be one of the best to live in areas in LA.
“Sweet! downtown has yet another overpriced second-rate food trough for the southpark yuppie elite! How utterly depressing.”
Lazlo. These restaurants were never meant for downtown resident foodies or cheap local grub, but more as a way to pull in a STEADY stream of people on weekends and evenings. If they succeed in doing that Im very happy.
DT is a big enough place for all people and all tastes.
Lazlo:
Stop stealing psuedonyms from Don Novello. Make up your own.
Unless this really was Don Novello. In that case, I apologize.
But you’re still annoying.
For those of you that find comfort in a predictable meal at every off-ramp, well … enjoy.
But I do wonder how the creation of a Universal City Walk in downtown Los Angeles will benefit those already living here. More price-inflated condos and chain restaurants will ensure the future of DT will be the Santa Monica promenade.
Or maybe that’s the point?
Did you move to DT because you hope it will become something else entirely, or did you move here because it’s already a pretty damn interesting place to live?
DTLA is a damn pretty interesting place to live…but there’s still a lot of empty spaces to fill.
Some people seem to feel their neighborhood should be some sort of exclusive club, where outsiders who don’t know the secret handshake aren’t allowed entrance. Not me, I’m all for getting folks from surrounding areas pouring their money into our neighborhood. That doesn’t mean the mom & pop shops will get run out of town if the locals support them regularly.
Bottom line: the food looks yummy. Bring it.
Another EXPENSIVE place downtown. It might be great for conventions and execs, but come on, are we supposed to eat here on a weekly basis.
Where do you guys get all this money to blow on dinners like this regularly? With $2K in rent or $3K in mortgage + HOA, I just do not get it.
Are people just using living off their credit cards??????
Oh yeah…..and it’s a chain.
Can we limit our excitement about chain restaurants please?
“For those of you that find comfort in a predictable meal at every off-ramp, well “enjoy.”
I eat at some of the best restaurants in the country, so please don’t speak for me.
Bouchon, Babbo, Eleven Madison, Momofuku, Melisse, Union, Spruce, etc. etc. etc.
Downtown is big enough for everyone. Food snobs, like you and me, can hit up the tasting menus with wine pairings at Water Grill, Patina, Wolfgang’s new resto with Kris Morningstar, and Blue Velvet. Drago and Cimarusti are coming, and Goin is not far behind. Who knows, Splichal might even open ANOTHER restaurant downtown to add to his 3-4 already here. Rivera sounds like a great concept, Provecho is owned by Gabriel, so that should be fairly good (if you ignore his time at Republic). All that being said, every building and new building is trying to recruit top chefs to open up great restaurants.
I admit, I am more of a JAR, Craft, or CUT steakhouse kind of guy, but I can appreciate the fact that Flemings has its place and a product that strikes a chord with many diners.
Once again, downtown has enough room for EVERYONE. There is massive amounts of space left.
When chains really take over, then I will begin complaining.
Mmmm… Meaty, meaty meat!
I like meat.
I love this chain, its got a softer quality to it than a mortons or chris ruth, I usually travel to El Sugundo so having one a short drive away will be great, just hope I get to go to the opening!
My husband and I just had dinner at the Flemings in Memphis and were highly dissapointed. My filet mingnon was charred and my husbands new york strip was charred as well. The salad dressings were incorrect and it was very pricey. Our meal for us both was $170.00 and the only extra was a glass of wine.
Here comes the bitching already…
what is this, that crappy yelp site?
“My filet mingnon was charred and my husbands new york strip was charred as well. ” - oh poor baby…
piss off, nobody cares about your filet lady, this site is not for bitching about a crappy steak, get over it! People like you annoy me… nothing better to do than complain about a $12 cut of meat on the internet.
GET A JOB AND A LIFE!!!!!
I AM WAITING FOR OPENING DAY,I WAS HIRED AS ONE OF YOUR COOKS….JUST WAITING FOR THAT PHONE CALL BECAUSE I AM EAGER TO START WHEN IS THE DAY? …….310 736 5961