Simple, superb meal
PLANNING: My girlfriend and I made a spur of the moment decision to go--reservations are easily made online. If your time is not available, you can select another. We were able to get our second or third choice on a table for two on a Friday night less than 2 hours before we ate.
ATTIRE: Any concerns we had about being underdressed were unfounded; designer jeans and a nice shirt were well within the range of dress. Collared shirts were the norm, and dress ranged from polo and button-up short-sleeve to dinner jackets.
APPETIZERS: Carpaccio or seafood dishes; we didn't get an appetizer
SALADS: I had the wedge with ranch substituted and ground pepper which was similar to others I've had, but still very good. I did like the smaller button tomatoes as opposed to large tomatoes on similar salads at other steakhouses. She loved the house salad, particularly the dressing, which she described as "very light."
MAIN COURSE: We both had filets, both cooked perfectly (large filet cooked rare, small filet cooked medium-well). The side of macaroni was recommended by the waiter. Similar to other upscale steakhouse sides, this was large enough to split, and was terrific.
On a side note, I like the larger plates for the steaks. Ruths Chris, which is a fine restaurant in its own right, has much smaller plates which are slightly more cumbersome.
DESSERT: This one was a no-brainer for us. We ordered the molten lava cake (with the order for the main meal as this takes 20-30 minutes to make). The cake and hot melted chocolate were served with what I can best describe as vanilla ice cream on a wafer cookie cannoli, with literally a bowl of whipped cream on the side, and raspberries. Truly, truly terrific.
COMPARISON TO OTHER RESTAURANTS: I've been to more than a few fine steakhouses. I really do love Pappas. Bros, but no matter how nicely dressed I am there is always a lingering sense of being out of place. Fleming's, although nice on the interior, felt much less stuffy. My girlfriend said this was the best meal she's had in 5 years, meals which have included restaurants that are borderline unaffordable. For my part, it's a rarity to not remember the last meal that was as good as the one you just had.
OVERALL: There's no such thing as perfect, but certainly this meal was 9.5/10. We would certainly go broke eating here every night, but it's well worth the price to make a visit once every month or two.
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