It’s a Friday night at Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar, and the restaurant is humming to the happy din of families and friends, music and laughter.
As corny as it sounds, Fleming’s is really that perfect special occasion spot that has attracted dates, anniversaries, birthdays and holiday celebrations for nearly a decade in Pasadena.
It’s a perfect spot for the next stop on DINE LA Week, which runs until October 28. Restaurants all over Los Angeles, including Pasadena, of course, are featuring specials with lunches as low as $15 to go along with dinners that range from $35-$65 — a dramatic reduction for many of the eateries.
About 20 participating restaurants, east to west across Pasadena, are participating in the annual promotion, ranging from New American to Asian to Italian to Argentinian.
You can see the Pasadena list right here.
The DINE LA Week special at Fleming’s is $65 per person again, a discount from their usual dinner prices.
Dinner begins with the chef’s bread course, fresh baked bread along with two spreads — fresh butter and a pumpkin spread—both of which were perfect on the hot crusty, chewy French-style bread.
There are three choices of starters – the Fleming’s salad, with walnuts, tomatoes, dried cranberries, red onion, and lemon balsamic vinaigrette with Cristini; or the Caesar salad made with hearts of romaine, Parmesan cheese, fried capers, and crispy prosciutto.
The third starter choice is a French onion soup prepared with the familiar Gruyère and Parmesan cheeses baked on top.
There are seven choices of entrées in the DINE LA week special menu — an 8-ounce filet mignon, and an 11-ounce filet mignon; a 14-ounce certified Angus beef ribeye; a miso-glazed Chilean Seabass, with sesame-orange spinach and arugula and pickled red onion; a Barbecue Scottish salmon fillet prepared with mushrooms and a barbecue glaze; a double breast of chicken, roasted with white wine mushrooms, leek, and thyme sauce; and a California Power Bowl for vegetarians, which is faro, beach mushrooms, roasted tomatoes, carrots, kale, pickled onions, avocado and toasted pistachios.
While I opted for the Scottish salmon, my dining partner chose the very impressive ribeye steak, served medium well with just a little bit of pink in the middle. Side dishes are available separately, and we chose creamed spinach and mashed potatoes.
The salmon was prepared perfectly with just the right amount of glaze and, accompanied by the spinach and mashed potatoes, it was serious comfort food when I didn’t even know I was uncomfortable. Surely a good sign.
The ribeye steak was an impressive mound of beef perfectly charred and marbled, with a soft and tender texture. The steak is a healthy portion and could easily have been shared or mixed and matched.
But I stuck with the salmon. I wasn’t disappointed.
We took our sweet time with both entrées.
Speaking of which, the dessert choices were Key lime pie with graham cracker crust and an extra bowl of chantilly whipped cream; a carrot cake, three layers with cream cheese frosting and a caramel drizzle, and the chocolate gooey butter cake made with honeycomb brittle chocolate sauce and caramel. We chose the Keylime pie and the chocolate gooey butter cake.
And we mixed and matched, sort of. I mostly devoured the Key lime pie. And nothing was taken home.
Two and a half hours and a cappuccino, after we walked in the door, we walked blissfully out onto Colorado Boulevard, full and happy, and still smelling the smoke.
And hearing the laughter. But that might’ve just been us.
Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar is at 179 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena CA. (626) 639–0490. www.flemingssteakhouse.com.
