After enjoying a tasting menu at Fleming’s in Winter Park last night – digging into six fantastic tasting courses, each paired with wine – Ryan almost had to roll me out of the restaurant.
The bottles of wine you see in the above picture were the wines we sampled throughout the evening. Three whites, three reds.
A few weeks ago, I was invited to Fleming’s to sample the restaurant’s new Bar la Carte menu featuring “distinctive dishes with a great mix of bold flavors and textures, served in generous portions meant for sharing,” available at the bar.
Ryan and I arrived at the restaurant in the early evening excited for a fun and unique date night!
Once we were seated in a cozy booth toward the back of the restaurant, the manager, Gerald, greeted us and walked us through the tasting menu and wine pairings.
He was very knowledgeable and answered any questions we had with ease. While we waited for our first course, Ryan and I sampled the mad milagro margarita which, for this tequila-lovin’ girl, was a great way to kick off the evening.
The first dish we tried was the salt and pepper shrimp, served with crispy French green beans and caper-mustard sauce that I couldn’t resist. The shrimp stole the show!
The first wine we enjoyed was a glass of Conundrum, my favorite of the night. It is made with a secret mix of California white grapes and, as Gerald explained to us, no one knows exactly what is in it, hence the wine’s name.
Our second course was the cedar roasted mushroom and artichoke flatbread with Monterey jack cheese, roasted red peppers and garlic.
The mushrooms on the flatbread were so flavorful and I could definitely taste the hint of cedar which I thought added a new dimension to the dish. While meant to be an appetizer, this flatbread could easily work as an inexpensive entrée (it is $11), as it was rather large.
The third course of the evening, while simple at first glance, ended up being my absolute favorite of the night.
The star of the show? The housemade burrata.
Neither Ryan nor I had tasted burrata before and, as the chef explained to us, it is a fresh Italian cheese made from mozzarella and cream. It had a soft texture that made it ideal for spreading on the toasted garlic crostinis that came with the dish.
It’s safe to say that burrata is now one of my all-time favorite cheeses. If I ever see it on a menu anywhere in the future, I will be ordering it. Once we polished off the crostinis, charred grape tomatoes and arugula, Ryan and I still couldn’t stop going back for more cheese.
With the tasting halfway complete, our wines changed from white to red.
Our fourth Bar la Carte dish featured the prime steakhouse meatballs with peppercorn sauce and shiitake mushrooms.
Ryan thought the meatballs were great, but I was all about the shiitake mushrooms and the creamy sauce.
At this point we were starting to feel quite full, but when the fifth course made its way to our table, our eyes lit up.
Ryan and I are both suckers for prime rib and this prime rib melt was unreal.
The sandwich itself was made with Fleming’s homemade sourdough bread that was absolutely incredible. The prime rib takes two days to make and was tender enough that I could slice through it with my fork. Mmm!
My “dream team” meal at Fleming’s would be the housemade burrata appetizer with the prime rib sandwich as my entrée. Perfect!
The red wine that was paired with the prime rib sandwich was the Pascual Toso malbec and was my favorite glass of red of the evening.
Our sixth course was another flatbread but this one was topped with filet mignon, blue and monterey jack cheeses and red onion confit.
I don’t love blue cheese, so this wasn’t the dish for me, but I can say that the filet mignon and onions on top of the flatbread were fantastic. The onions were buttery and sweet and both Ryan and I made sure none of them remained.
Just when we thought our meal was over, the chef surprised us with a nine ounce filet mignon to share as our final dish of the evening.
It was cooked medium rare and was perfectly pink on the inside. The filet is part of an on-going summer promotion at Fleming’s that features a new steak and sangria every two weeks through August 26.
Our entire meal at Fleming’s was delicious and I cannot recommend the housemade burrata and prime rib sandwich enough. Yum! Thank you so much to Fleming’s for such a fantastic evening!
Once we left the restaurant, we drove over to see our friends Dru and Carrie and their adorable baby boy Noah since they live nearby.
Noah has grown so much since the last time we saw him and I couldn’t get over his personality! He is such a bright-eyed little boy with the most adorable expressions. He also happened to fall in love with my bangles and couldn’t get enough of them!
It was so great to see Dru, Carrie and Noah and we left after talking about them coming up to Ocala for the weekend sometime in the future. I wish we got to see them more often!
Eventually it was time to hit the road for home after such a nice evening in Orlando.
Date nights are the best!
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That’s quite a date night! The food looks amazing and I’m sure the two of you had a lot of fun experiencing it all together!
i think i’m still full. 🙂
Wow everything looks so good & I don’t even eat beef! I would have been all over that artichoke flatbread
My boyfriend and I had date night last night too at a steak house – I also had to be rolled out! Those dishes looked delicious and I am definitely putting Flemmings on my list of places to go!
That is my kind of menu! The burrata looks interesting – I’ll have to try it if I ever see it on a menu. Conundrum is one of my favorite white wines, but I have a very hard time finding it where I live.
Wow. Everything looks so incredible!! We have a Flemings here and I’ve only been once. Actually it was on New Years Eve two years ago. Ironically I think I ordered the scallops at the steak house. Ha!
That is soooo ironic! My family and i went to flemming’s last night to celebrate my brothers birthday!!! Loved the place too
I’ve always wanted to try Flemings only in Boston. Great review! Amazing pics too!
Was thinking exactly the same thing… Did you drink all 12 glasses Julie?! 🙂
OOps – that was in rely to Greg’s comment below!
Whoa, wait a minute…look at all those wine glasses in front of Ryan…and he DROVE home? That does NOT seem right.
no, no! not at all. they were all sample-size glasses and we definitely didn’t even come close to finishing off each glass. just a few sips of each. we were well aware of the drive home and fleming’s was as well and cleared the glass of wine that was paired with each course as the next course came out.
Yeah I was just about to say, that doesn’t seem safe!
And it only takes a glass or two to be over the legal limit! As long as they were samples I suppose.
Holy cow that’s a lot of “tastings” haha. The only thing missing would be dessert!! 🙂
Wow, your dinner looks AMAZING!! And I know exactly what you were saying about the burrata cheese. My mom and I went out to an Italian dinner a few months ago and the waiter suggested this appetizer with burrata… needless to say, it was absolutely DELICIOUS! The sad part is I haven’t seen it on any menu since! 🙁
What an awesome date night!! I would probably have to have been rolled home too! The burratta stuff sounds out of this world! I would definitely eat that bowl clean!
I LOVE Fleming’s! Great food, service, and atmosphere. Agreed – date nights are the best!
I’m full just looking at it all! Looks so better then my “faux” chicken I had !
I love that wine flight presentation – so cool! Looks like a fun night. 🙂
WHOO, another burrata convert! When I lived in Rome, there was a cheese shop right by my apartment that sold freshly made burrata that was brought up every morning from southern Italy and holy cow- it’s unreal. I’ve been going through major withdrawals since getting back to the States and that dish looks like all my dreams come true.
You don’t like bleu cheese….noooooooo!
Mmmmm Fleming’s is DELICIOUS! So glad you guys enjoyed such a fun night out. And OH MY GOSH, that is a TON of food..and to top it off with a filet mignon? Woooo I would literally have to be rolled out 😉
that artichoke flatbread looks amazing! Looks like you had fun night! I’ve noticed the sun has lightened your hair lol looks gorgeous!
That is so much food! I’m not sure I would have the stamina to make it through a tasting like that 🙂 My boyfriend on the other hand…
I’m full just from reading about and seeing photos of all that food! What a fun idea! I would love a dinner like that.
I love stuff like this! Everything looks delicious!!!
Where was the dessert though? 😉
Date nights are always nice!
Both those flatbreads look especially tasty, although I’d need the blue cheese removed from the steak one. I’m not a fan of the stuff either.
Although personally, I’d be asking for them to trade out one of the courses for dessert – a personal date night requirement. 🙂
mmm that cheese sounds amazing!!
Wow, your date night just kicked my date night’s butt haha! 😉 Looks like an incredible dinner!
Dinner really sounds like it was amazing, but personally, I’m LOVING your dress!!! Also – great idea not to wear anything with a cinched waist with 9 courses on the way! Forethought at its best! 🙂
ha! you better believe that was planned. 🙂
We love flemings but it is most definitely a rare treat. So good but WAY out of our price range. Their Mac and cheese is heavenly.
My fiance and I just fell in love with el Milagro silver tequila. It is under $25 and was featured in a GQ article for the best tequilas under $25!!! The best way to go is lime, agave nectar, and Milagro. Soooo amazing!
woww what an awesome date night!! I looove burrata and the best way I’ve ever tried it is at a LA restaurant called Gjelina. It came with figs, and it was to diiiiie for….And baby Noah is so adorable indeed. 😉
That food looks to DIE FOR. Burrata has been my favorite cheese since I was a kid, and I always order it when I see it on the menu!
Food looks amazing!!! And I am in love with how they serve the flights of wine, such cool holders!
Did you color your hair? It looks a lot brighter! And your dinner looks soo good 🙂
nope. it tends to get a little lighter in the summer. 🙂 my sister’s hair is the same way!
I think it’s safe to say that you didn’t go hungry atleast! Haha, sounds like a great date night- lil bit fancy 😉 I am surprised though that there was no dessert on the tasting menu- but I doubt you would have been able to fit it in haha!
I’m a BIG fan of Flemings! That filet flatbread is pretty darn good. The bar area has an amazing every day happy hour where you can enjoy the best burger for only $6. We frequent their happy hour a lot and the special occasion brunches (Mother’s Day, Father’s Day or Easter). Def one of my favorite steak houses!
This whole post is amazing! The food looks scrumptious, I love your dress, and Dru and Carrie’s baby looks so cute! Totally a little person it seems.
I would love to recreated the french green beans at home! I wonder if there’s a special trick for frying greens like that…
This meal looks delish! And perfect for sharing on date night because it’s “man” food but small portions—just right. 🙂
That was a lot of food! By the looks of the glasses on your table, I’m not surprise if you weren’t needing to be rolled outta there! They filled ya’lls wine glasses a lot for a tasting. But I wouldn’t be complaining, I love wine! Looks like a fab time.
LOVEEEE the dress!! where is it from?? i looked for the info on the fashion page…. i’m all about comfy cute dresses 🙂
heeere ya go! https://www.pbfingers.com/2012/07/29/bar-la-carte-tasting-dress/ 🙂