Fleming's Steakhouse
8970 University Center Ln
San Diego, CA 92122

CHRIS: I must say, one of the most tender steaks I've had in a long while.

Environment: the interior of Flemings is very similar to all "expensive steakhouse" restaurants, its got the dim lights, the racks of wine, wood decor. Just the norm. Nothing really out of the ordinary that may strike you with a wow. I honestly think the lights were a bit too dim though, had a hard time taking any good photos without flash. overall for interior 5/10.

I decided to try the dinner set, which came with a choice of salad or lobster bisque (i got the bisque), filet mignon with lobster tail, green beans with mushrooms, Flemings potato, and an apple pie(?) dessert. I also got an order of mashed potatoes, because I love mashed potatoes, especially with a steak.

Lobster Bisque:
The lobster bisque was something very unlike what I've ever had before. It was EXTREMELY creamy, almost like the texture of whipped cream. The types I usually eat are more soupy. This was more like a light paste -- maybe like applesauce. Taste wise, it was just like every other lobster bisque I've had. I do admit, however, that I was liking this texture. I don't know why but it was really addicting despite it's lackluster characteristics. The lobster pieces were small and didn't require a lot of chewing, which was a plus. The thing that I disliked most about the lobster bisque was the large amounts of pepper, though I can't imagine what it would be like without the extra kick. Sherry, who can't handle spicy very well, also liked the bisque a lot but admitted to it kicking a little too hard for her. Lobster bisque always irritates my throat, and this one was no different. Overall for the Lobster Bisque 6/10.

Filet Mignon with Lobster Tail and Vanilla Butter:
The main course meal -- and I wasn't disappointed. Well, maybe a little disappointed about the size at first. When the waiter brought the food over to the table, I realized that the 6 ounces, was about the size of my fist. The lobster tail was roughly the same size even if the picture made it look larger by a lot. Of course, the fist size is about all you need for a proper serving of protein. But as an Asian kid, I was expecting something... bigger. However, after my first bite of the filet mignon? Wow, that small thing sure packed full flavor and hit my taste buds in all the right places. The mix of pepper and salt that crusted over the "skin" of the beef was mouth watering; it was the right amount of salty, while still retaining a beefy flavor, and the center of the filet was very tender. Part of me wanted to savor the piece as long as I could, and the other part wanted me to just shove another piece in my mouth. The lobster was alright, it was soft, and the vanilla butter (although I couldn't really taste the vanilla in mine) wasn't overwhelming the lobster taste. This is a plus, because I love the natural taste of lobster. But the main delight of the entree would definitely have to be the filet mignon. Overall for the main entree 8/10.

String Beans with Mushrooms:
Honestly, try to stay away from it. I didn't like it one bit. The string beans were pretty flavorless. Other than the glazed coating, which just tasted like a slightly salty butter glaze, the string beans were a bit burnt here and there and also flavorless. Mushrooms were good. Overall for string beans 3/10.

Fleming's Potatoes:
This would be good ... at another restaurant. It really didn't fit in with the steak and lobster feel. What it is, is cooked sliced potato with...a layer of cheese on it. It wasn't too bad, but it was overwhelming the steak by quite a bit. After eating a bit, I would have to rinse it down with some water, or else I couldn't taste the filet mignon. And it was a bit oily as well. Not much to say about this one. Overally for Flemings potatoes 6/10.

Mashed Potatoes:
Loved it. Although it tastes just like any other mashed potatoes out there, I myself just love it. and it always goes great with steak. But it was nothing special. Overall for mashed potatoes: 6/10

Dessert:
EH... My dessert was actually undercooked, and came out... raw? It was an apple..tart? But my crust was not crusty, and was hard to dig into with just a spoon. It came with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and some blueberries with two mint leaves. I told the waitress that it wasn't fully cooked and she threw it in the microwave... =_= which didn't make anything better.. just hotter. So I didn't particularly like it. The apples were hard instead of the soft with a slight crunch regular pies or tarts would have; my blueberries were hot because the waitress microwaved it. And the crust was just chewy instead of flaky and crunchy as I was expecting it to be. Overall for the dessert 3.5/10

Overall:
This place isn't too bad, I would highly recommend it for a place to go on a date. Just don't get the set dinner unless you're willing to eat those sides. But if you're going with friends for just a place to eat some steak, I would recommend going elsewhere. This place is pretty expensive; I had to pay about $65 for my meal. While I admit the steak is amazing, I could make a good steak at home for about $10. And I'm not all into fancy dinners as I think they're too steep a price for my poor college student wallet. Would I go back? Maybe if I were making good money, but not as a college student. So not anytime soon. Overall experience 7/10.

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ANGELA: It was a good dinner, although a bit too expensive. All in all, I've had better.

It was a rainy Saturday night. My best friend Sherry had made reservations for three at the steakhouse in lieu of the special set menu created for "Friend's of Fleming's." I guess if you get on their mailing list, they email you a 'special' code to tell them when you make reservations. It was ~$50, but with gratuity came out to be $65/person. Very pricey, especially for the college student. I'm very grateful that I can afford these small luxuries once in awhile, if only to gain the ability to make comparisons of worth. I guess I'll review the place the way Chris did. It's not a bad structure.

Environment: Very dim; the mood lighting screamed 'suave' but it was a bit pretentious for me. The dark lighting did not go well with the loudness of the restaurant. On a scale of 1-10, the crowd in the restaurant combined to make a hefty 8 in terms of loudness. Of course, it was a Saturday night so a lot of people were out with families, friends, and lovers. Like Chris, I didn't like that I had to use flash to take pictures of the food. And using flash seemed pretty inappropriate at this restaurant so I was unable to document my Saturday night. Nothing too special. Overall: 4/10

Service: Because the place was pretty pricey and "upscale," I expected some pretty good service. Despite the fact that Sherry made reservations, we had to wait for a little over 10 minutes while staring at a couple of empty tables. Too many people and too little staff, I suppose. I was disappointed but I won't make a big deal out of it, considering how attentive (and obviously tip hungry) our waiter was. In terms of the waiter(s), they were a bit .. over-attentive. They seemed very eager to clear our appetizers and "refill" by switching soda that was only half done. Kind of wasteful, but I've always been sensitive to people throwing away food. If you want to see half a loaf of bread and some good cheese being tossed, then this is your place. Overall: 6/10


Sourdough Bread w/ 2 Cheese spreads: I love bread. I love cheese. The cheese spreads were really good. I believe one was a dill flavored cheese and the other one was sundried tomato cheese spread. Not sure what type. Possibly feta? We asked for this to-go but they didn't box the cheese. Pretty disappointed about that. I could get full off this if I didn't exert my self control. Overall: 8/10

Filet Mignon & Lobster Tail w/ Vanilla-Infused Butter: I'm not going to lie -- when we first got our food, I was pretty disappointed at the portions. Yes, it was sort of expected but again .. I'm not used to this type of eating. However, this was a good example of my eyes being bigger than my mouth. By the time I got to my last bite, I was almost stuffed. I ordered my Filet medium-cooked and it. was. perfect. I've never been to a place that cooked my steak exactly as I wanted (which is why home-cooked steak is always my preference). But this Fleming's place got it exactly the way I wanted. Crispy, salted, and glazed on the outside; no burnt parts. Moderately chewy, soft, and pink directly inside the top layer. It nearly melted. Every bite was savory. I was very happy, though I wished it was a bigger size. The lobster tail was .. a lobster tail. Nothing too special about this, except that our waiter removed the meat from the shell for us. The Vanilla-infused Butter was a bit funky for me, so I chose to eat the lobster au naturel. Is that how you say it? Anyway -- the entree was pretty good. In considering the flavor and portion size of the main course, the frugal me would still give it an... Overall: 8/10

String Beans + Satee Shitake Mushrooms: Well, I do love my vegetables. And mushrooms are my favorite vegetable. So, I liked this. It was just an appetizer, so I wasn't expecting much. Just the usual garlic butter type thing going. A bit on the greasy side, but the mushrooms were amazing. That may be due to its natural goodness, but either way I liked it. A bit lackluster for such a fancy restaurant, though. Overall: 6.5/10

Fleming's Potatoes: This side dish was basically baked scalloped potatoes topped with a thick layer of cheese. Very buttery, very cheesy. Unlike Chris, I particularly liked this dish. It was probably second to the Filet in my favorite's of the meal. It tasted just like it looked. Thick, savory, rich, and potato-y. I really like any potato dish though because I'm a starch monster (bad for my diet). True, this dish overwhelmed the flavors of the steak. By itself, though, it was very good. I would not serve this as a complementary dish to steak&lobster, though. Belongs on the Thanksgiving table, and if it were, I would eat it all. Overall: 7/10

(the Vanilla-infused Whipped Cream)

Mashed Potatoes: Normal, mashed potato side dish. Nothing special and not worth the price. I was expecting something a little more special. Maybe garlic? Maybe a little more fluffy than usual? Perhaps fried to make a crispy layer? Nope, none of those. I love potatoes, but considering how average this dish was in such a high-end restaurant, I won't be rating it too high. Just straight up mashed potatoes. Some may enjoy the simplicity of the dish, however. Overall: 3/10

Apple Crisp Tart w/ Vanilla Bean Icecream and Blueberries: I have a separate stomach for dessert. Unlike Chris, I received a fully cooked delicious tart. I'm not very good at rating this stuff though, since anything sweet is basically an A+ for me. I really liked how it wasn't overwhelmingly sweet. The filo dough they used for the crispy crust was light and flaky. The apple pieces were well caramelized. The vanilla ice cream was .. vanilla icecream. The blueberries were a good slightly sour complement to all the sweetness. I think it was the ice cream and the blueberries that kept the dessert from being overwhelming on the sweet scale. With this dessert came a Vanilla-infused Whipped Cream. That's right. Whipped cream that tasted like Vanilla. Very light and fluffy, but I'm not really a whipped cream kind of girl. Occasionally, I'll put it on my strawberries. But they gave us a pretty large portion of it and I didn't know what to do with it. It was lightly sweetened and had a good vanilla flavor to it. Because I was impressed by the innovative vanilla whipped cream and I love dessert .. Overall: 7.5/10

So, the overall average (counting all side dishes as 1) came out to be a whopping 8.3. Yeap, this looks to be pretty correct. Lackluster, but the entree and starter were good. And also, it was fun going on a date with my best friend and boyfriend. I don't think I would recommend Fleming's though. I would recommend the Stinking Rose in Hollywood, however. But that's because I'm a sucker for prime rib and garlic butter. Till next time~!

Chris, Me, Sherry
(Isn't it weird how we look so alike?)