Raising the Steaks
Fleming’s reminds us why we could never go vegan
Beef is one of the iconic mainstays of the American diet, right up there with apple pie. It is not uniquely American – nobody likes a good filet mignon more than the French – but that large, juicy cut of porterhouse is part of our frontier culture, right along with the great Western cattle drives.
It’s no wonder then that the Gables is laden with top quality steakhouses. For this review, we visited one of the best – Fleming’s on Ponce de Leon Boulevard – to sample the finest they had to offer.
Fleming’s is part of a national chain, as are all Gables’ steakhouses except for Christy’s. Perhaps because it is corporate, the main dining room feels a bit like it could be in an upscale hotel, a huge space with soaring ceilings warmed by dark wooden ceiling beams. Large photos of the Gables adorn the walls, adding local color to a space dominated by the theater of an open kitchen topped by a horizontal marquee of quilted copper. There is also a glowing bar off the entrance.
We liked the open kitchen, where the magic takes place. It’s here that they sear the meat before placing it in the scalding hot ovens, so that it emerges with a nice crust but stays red and juicy on the inside.
On our visit, we naturally went straight for the beef. The carpaccio ($25), served with a side of toasted croutons smothered in gruyere and spiced with paprika for a slight kick, was a table favorite. The paper- thin slices of tenderloin are drizzled with a creamy caper-Creole mustard sauce made in-house. Atop are spinach, basil, and shredded egg, a salad-like garnish.
Another interesting appetizer was the seared pork belly ($21), small at only four ounces but almost violently flavorful. Plated in a bed of creamy goat cheese grits, it was blanketed with cilantro oil and a demiglace infused with fig jam. A romantic marriage between sweet and savory, we paired it with the California Jam Jar cocktail (vodka, basil, strawberry, and citrus) to take the relationship between saccharine and piquant to the next level.
Before we got to the real meat of our dinner (pun intended), we also tasted the Miso-Glazed Chilean Sea Bass ($53), a twice-glazed fish with an Asian flair. It’s glazed before being baked, then glazed again and broiled so that the homemade miso soaks deeply in. You can taste each element of the sauce, from the sake to the brown sugar. We took the advice of our waiter and forsook our cocktails for a moment to try it with a sip of Chardonnay: a perfect pairing.
Sticking with seafood, our next foray was to the seared scallops ($47), flipped constantly to get a golden-brown crust without raising the internal temperature. With a mix of shiitake mushrooms and scallions, cut on a bias (roughly 45 degrees) to help them brown, the five scallops were delicately topped with a ginger salsa verde. We loved it with the Pineapple Castaway (rum, pineapple, and lime and yuzu-flavored sparkling water).
Finally, we reached the crown jewel of dinner: the steaks. We tried two: one from the Classic Cuts section of the menu, and one USDA Prime Cut. USDA Prime beef is rated for its abundant marbling. Only two percent of all beef earns this top-tier industry rating, and Fleming’s offers four cuts: a bone-in ribeye, a dry-aged ribeye, a tomahawk, and a New York Strip. We tried the strip ($66), deftly trimmed and lightly seasoned. It was only slightly less flavorful than the Main Filet Mignon ($62), which, while not USDA Prime, was a contender for best steak in the Gables. You can also get this 11-ounce behemoth petite-style ($56 for eight ounces) or with the bone-in ($72 for fourteen ounces). Hand cut by the in-house chefs, the quality here is guaranteed and exceptionally flavorful.
Beef carpaccio with toasted croutons smothered in gruyere and spiced with paprika (Right), Scallops seared to a golden-brown crust with shiitake mushrooms and scallions (Middle) and Chocolate lava cake with a molten center of Belgian chocolate and a side of vanilla ice cream (Right)
All of this came with a coterie of sides, including the eponymous Fleming’s potatoes ($18), which Sous Chef Joseph Brooks described as scalloped potatoes with a twist. He declined to reveal the secret to the sauce, but we tasted leek, jalapeño, and Monterey Jack.
The finale of the night was the Chocolate Lava Cake ($17), a decadent gateau with a molten center of Callebaut Belgian chocolate and a side of vanilla ice cream. Paired with a Salted Caramel Espresso Martini, this was the perfect epilogue to a night we’ll long remember.
Fleming’s Prime Steak House
2525 Ponce de Leon Blvd
305.569.7995
Flemingssteakhouse.com