Fleming's Steakhouse

I have been craving prime rib for the last 3 weeks. And I am talking about serious cravings! Almost like "I think I am pregnant" cravings. (But I'm not... )

So now that the FI is FINALLY back in town, we decided to go out for a nice dinner on Saturday. I never noticed that prime rib is pretty expensive! Erie Street Cafe is charging $41, Gene and Georgetti's slightly less. With the economy the way it is, I was beginning to think maybe I will not be able to satisfy my need... my need for meat!

After much googling, I stumbled across Fleming Steakhouse and their Sunday dinner special. Salad, 12 oz prime rib, 1 side and dessert for $35.75. Sounds too good to be true... but we went last night and boy was I happy we did.

Upon entering the restaurant, we were greeted by a hostess who directed us to head on upstairs. We were seated at a booth next to the giant windows overlooking Ohio Street. Romantic ambience and they did not bat an eye to our casual dress (T-shirts, jeans and sneakers). Our server was great... Informative, went through all the specials with speed and familiarity, checked in on us often without hovering too much. Even the floor manager was very attentive.


Warm Bread, Sun-dried tomato butter

We both went for the prime rib special. Mike had the Fleming salad, and I asked if I could sub the french onion soup for the salad. French onion soup was done differently than I expected. Instead of a giant piece of bread, there were smaller cubes of croutons covered in gruyere and parm cheeses. It was also served in a regular soup bowl instead of a crock like most other restaurants. A little too much onions (I left that in the bowl), but the broth was good and not too salty.


French Onion Soup

Next up was the star of the night... prime ribs done medium rare. Perfectly warm red in the middle, juicy slabs of meat. I think our portions were over 12 oz, since neither one of us could finish it. Tender, flavorful meat. Nice ring of fat around, but not too much. Mike thought that the crust had too much rosemary, but I thought it was fine.


Medium rare prime rib

Our sides were grilled mushrooms (Mike's on a health kick) and Fleming potatoes (mine!). Mushrooms were fine... Nothing to write home about. But the potatoes were out of this world. A giant block of scalloped potatoes topped with cheese and jalapenos. Crusty on the outside, creamy on the side. Potatoes were not mushy and still retained some toothsome texture. The portion was a little big especially since it is so rich. But I'm not complaining, especially since most of it is sitting in my refrigerator, waiting for me to get home tonight!


Fleming Potatoes, Grilled mushrooms

Dessert was creme brulee for me, and walnut turtle pie for Mike. Perfect cracking crust on my creme brulee with smooth creamy custard on the bottom, with specks of vanilla bean, . But after that huge meal, I left half behind. Mike polished off his walnut turtle pie which means that it was very good!


Creme Brulee

Dinner for two without drinks and before tip was $80... A great deal especially since we have the equivalent of 1 prime rib dinner as left overs!

25 East Ohio St.
(between State St & Wabash Ave)
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 329-9463

(Thanks teatpuller!)

CrazyC wrote:So now that the FI is FINALLY back in town...

My ISS* sucks. What is an FI?


*Internet Shorthand Skillset

fiance

I went to Flemings last year and was pleasantly surprised to eat one of the most flavorful ribeye steaks i've ever eaten. The Fleming potatoes were absurdly delicious and if i could eat them every day I would.

My friend got a chicken breast dinner which was stellar as well. The breast was thicker cut than any i've ever seen and as juicy as it could possibly be.

You've just reminded me that its time to head back over there.

Great post- thanks for the info and now the craving has just set in...

I've only been there once. My Caesar salad was amazing. I had a Filet Mignon, it was decent, but I'll try something else next time.

You can get $100 worth of Fleming's gift cards for $80.00 at Costco.

Went there with a friend last night after a movie at 600 N. Mich. (The perfect choice for our man-date, "I Love You, Man.") I echo the praise for the Fleming Potatoes. Wouldn't have known to order these if it weren't for this thread, so thanks. Friend had a NY strip, I had lamb chops, and we were both very pleased. Service was also exceptionally warm and gracious. Not that I expected it to be bad by any means, but it seemed to "go the extra mile" from beginning to end.

for those who didn't know (like me), Fleming's is at 25 E. Ohio. It is a national chain with 50 or so locations. There is one in Lincolnshire too.

http://www.flemingssteakhouse.com/

I recently stopped in the Fleming’s in Lincolnshire. They had a terrific happy hour deal. For $6 you could get a prime sirloin burger with cheese and bacon. This was a regular size burger. It was very good. I would recommend it, especially for that price.

They had some $6 drink specials too. I had one of their wine choices which was very nice, but too small of a serving for my tastes.

D.

Fleming's had USPS mailed me a $50 immediate credit mailer if I spent greater than $100 dinner, plus had an old $25 gift card from somewhere in my coupons folder so off to Fleming's Lincolnshire Mrs Willie & I went last night.

Lamb chops 'starter' were cooked perfectly, full of flavor, the roasted tomatoes served with were terrific.

Dry aged NY strip was very good but I've had the ribeye here in the past and my memory tells me that was/is the cut to get.

Side of mushrooms (shitake, button, portobello) were out of this world tasty.

Flemings lures me in with their reasonable prices and specials. As noted above, their Monday prime rib special is normally a good deal priced at $42.95 last visit. Occasionally, they run an even better $29.95 special for the 12oz prime rib, choice of salad, side, and dessert. The gift cards purchased at Costco are valid for happy hour specials increasing the value paid.

For special occasions like birthdays and anniversaries in the past, they have provided dessert, a handwritten note signed by the staff, a box of truffles and a $25 gift card. They also have run a promotion in the past make your reservation through a specific online link and receive $50 off $100 bill

Oh yeah, and the food is pretty good too, for a chain. Prime rib was a perfect mid rare, medley of mushrooms was the better than our other side - the truffle mashed, they subbed lobster bisque for salad at no charge, molten lava cake with a rich gooey center came with a side of clotted cream.

Sweet Willie wrote:Fleming's had USPS mailed me a $50 immediate credit mailer if I spent greater than $100 dinner...

Flemings is at it again, get a $50 credit if spend is $100 or greater, so again Mrs Willie & I went this past Friday night.

They have a new starter, ahi poke and it is very tasty & fresh.

Starter of lamb chops were again terrific as was the dry aged rib eye & side of mushrooms.

Flemings no longer has the ipad like wine menu, a feature I personally liked as I could reference other like wines that I enjoy with those I'm not familiar with. Oh well, printed list seemed quite large still, lots of choices.

Our server mentioned that there will be a number of new items on the menu within next few months, lots is being rolled out he stated.

How was business on the night you were there? It's been a couple years for us (and, similar to you, we had a $50 gift card), but the amount of business they were doing that night didn't meet my definition of "healthy." (Which I guess a heavy reliance on price incentives is also indicative of.) I kind of want them to stick around, because I've had good meals there.

It's been a while since I ate at Fleming's. My recollection is that the food was very good, but the dinner overall was rather pricey (disclaimer: without a $50 gift card). I placed it in my "one and done" mental file, with similarly pricey chain steakhouses like Sullivan's, Eddie Merlot's, and Sam & Harry's. I've found that the dining rooms at all of this group tend to be, well, not empty, but nowhere near full, and I'm guessing that's a reflection of the cost. Meanwhile, every time I make repeat visits to Carson's, Wildfire, Beelow's, and Stoney River, the cost is less and the room is packed.

riddlemay wrote:How was business on the night you were there?

Friday night was the night we went, we are generally early eaters and were sat by 5:40pm, place was packed by time we left at 7:30pm

nsxtasy wrote:...but the dinner overall was rather pricey

I'd agree, that is why I won't go unless enticed with a generous coupon.

Side note: if one is a Costco member, $100 of Flemings gift cards is $79.99

We don't like a packed atmosphere, it is one of the reasons we dine early. This obviously is an issue as the restaurant has to have patrons to make a profit, I just don't want too many patrons when I dine