Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Satisfying Situation at Stonefire Grill?


Stonefire Grill
3966 Barranca Parkway
Irvine, CA 92606

It was time to go out with Chuck and Stephanie. This time I did not have to decide where we would be eating. Thanks to rave reviews from Chuck's Dad, we were headed to a place I had heard of before, but never been to, Stonefire Grill.

Stonefire Grill has been in business since 2000. In those twelve years they have opened seven locations. OC is home to two of these locations, with the other one situated in Fountain Valley. Sisters, Maureen and Mary Harrigan opened this place as a tribute to their Mother. She was a mother of 11, and the sisters wanted to create an atmosphere where families could congregate around the table, share conversations, and create special memories.

Stonefire is a fast casual restaurant. Ordering is done at the counter and then brought out to you. The restaurant really reminded us of an updated Sizzler, without the salad bar, or a Pat and Oscars. The menu is pretty large. They have plenty of family meals or individual meals to choose from. Salads, sandwiches, pizzas, and four proteins dominate most of the menu here.

We got to Stonefire Grill at about six on a Wednesday night. The restaurant was pretty busy, but we had no problems finding seats. We perused the large menu, ordered at the counter, and waited for the food to come out. The restaurant is pretty loud, but that just helped drown out some of Chuck's ramblings. After about a five minute wait the food started to make its way to our table in waves. Let's see how it all came out.



Individual meals come with your choice of salad, so we selected the Garden Salad and the Caesar. Both of these salads were big enough to share, although I did not share too much with Katie, sorry about that. The Caesar was pretty basic, but I really enjoyed it. It was probably one of the best I have had in awhile. I liked that there was plenty of dressing here, and it kind of had a little bite to it. It could have just been the pepper, but it really was a nice surprise. Stephanie went with the Garden Salad. This salad came with mixed greens, chopped tomato, carrots, cucumber, red cabbage, and your choice of dressing. She opted for the blue cheese. I really liked that they tossed the salad for you. I wish more places would have their salads come out this way. It really coats the greens better.


Each salad came with two Breadsticks. I am not wild about breadsticks. These ones were good though. They came out warm, and were soft on the inside. The outside had a nice garlic/butter taste. You can tell these were freshly made.



Katie had been here before and wanted to try their Grilled Chicken Pesto Sandwich ($7.99) again. This sandwich came with caramelized onions, mozzarella, pesto sauce, tomato, and greens, on a French roll. As you can see from the pictures, this sandwich was dominated by vegetables. Katie liked the toasted bread, but felt there was way too much pesto on this. It really detracted from the chicken. She would forgo this sandwich on her next visit to Stonefire.



Both Chuck and Stephanie got basically the same thing, just prepared differently. Chuck ordered the 1/4 Chicken and Tri-Tip Combo ($10.99), while Stephanie got the Boneless Chicken Breast and Tri-Tip Combo ($13.99). They both really enjoyed the tri-tip. It was cooked a perfect medium rare. Very tender and it had a great meaty flavor. The chicken was another story. It was very tender, but lacked any flavor at all. The mesquite BBQ sauce really failed here as well. Chuck even ordered an extra side, and it helped just a little bit.


I knew exactly what I was going to have before I got here, and it was the Tri-Tip and Rib Combo ($14.99). I liked the tri-tip very much. I got it with pepper garlic and Gorgonzola butter. The butter was pretty mellow, from what I was expecting, but it still added to the meat. The baby back ribs were very tender. They separated from the bone very easily, and the taste of the meat was spot on. I thought the BBQ sauce was a little weak because it was a little too sweet, and kind of on the thin side. Not a bad plate of food though.




We also got some side items to try. We got the small Macaroni and Cheese ($7.99), and it could have easily fed three people. Everyone really liked this mac and cheese, except for me. I thought it was kind of plain tasting. They all liked the cheesiness, but I needed a little more bite from the cheese. The Nutty Coleslaw came with Katie's sandwich. I really enjoyed this version of slaw. The cabbage was crunchy, the nuts added a little earthiness, and the dressing did not overpower the other ingredients. The Garlic Mashed Potatoes ($2.99) were a pleasant surprise as well. By looking at them I was not expecting much, but they had lots of garlic flavor, and there seemed to be a layer of cheese running through them. Sure they could have been a little creamier, but the garlic flavor more than made up for this.





Okay, it was finally time for dessert. At Stonefire they offer three desserts, and we tried two of them. The Famous Chocolate Brownie ($2.79) was just okay. I would have liked this brownie to be a little sweeter. It was moist enough, but was kind of plain tasting. The Incredible Carrot Cake ($5.49) is the dessert to get here. The serving size was perfect to split with four people after dinner. The cake was moist and had a very good spiced flavor. The cream cheese icing was sweet, without taking over the cake. There was also not big hunks of things in this cake, like in other carrot cakes. We would all get this again.

I liked Stonefire Grill, but I am not sure it is destination dining for me. If I were in the area again I could see myself eating here though. The food was all pretty good, but nothing really hooked me. I liked the concept though. The restaurant was pretty comfortable. We were here at a peak hour and there was plenty of room, so we did not feel like people were right on top of us. The service was pretty good for a quick service restaurant. They had a lot of dining room runners, and they checked on us frequently. I did not feel the prices were outrageous here either. Glad Chuck's Dad gave me a night off from choosing where to go for dinner.

Out of five eagles, (because this restaurant is located in the same city as Concordia University, and their mascot is the Eagles),  five being best to zero being worst, Stonefire Grill gets 3 eagles.

For more information about Stonefire Grill, click here: http://www.stonefiregrill.com/

Stonefire Grill on Urbanspoon

Saturday, August 25, 2012

SlapFish Has Got Us, Hook, Line and Sinker


SlapFish - A Modern Seafood Shack
19696 Beach Blvd. 
Huntington Beach, CA 92648

I feel like I am one of the last OC food bloggers to make it to SlapFish. Not that I haven't wanted to go before now. I have heard good, no make that great things about them. We just have not had a chance to make it up to HB, to see what the big deal was all about. So we finally had a Sunday free to make the drive up to give them a try.

It seems that casual fish restaurants are opening up all over. Spike's Fish House, California Fish Grill, Boneheads, and now SlapFish have all sprung up recently. This is a trend that I can really get behind. It used to be that seafood had to be served in fancy restaurants, with great views of the ocean, and big price tags attached to the meals, to help pay for that view. I can only ever recall having fish from H. Salt  or in TV dinners when we were growing up. I always thought that more people would like fish more, if they were exposed to it at an early age. These restaurants are trying to encourage this, by making fish more readily available to everyone, which is something that is good for all of us.

For those of you that do not know about SlapFish yet, they started as a food truck, and earlier this year they set up shop in a Huntington Beach shopping center, about a mile away from the ocean. SlapFish is run by two guys that have a real love for the ocean. Chef Andrew Gruel and Jethro Naude want to serve fish the responsible way, which means they are committed to sourcing only Eco-friendly and well managed seafood. They work closely with the Aquarium of the Pacific and other agencies to prevent over fishing and harmful fishing practices. They believe that sustainable fish taste better, so I was excited to see if this was the case.

We got to SlapFish at about 3:30 on a Sunday afternoon. The ten table restaurant was packed with almost all of the people just finishing up their meals. Ordering is done at the counter, and the menu is posted on large chalkboards right above the register. The menu rotates based on what is available at a certain time. They seem to update their menu every month or so. Food is then brought out to your table by the staff. Enough talk, let's get to it!


Right after ordering I made a bee line for their condiment bar. This is where they have their tarter sauce, hot sauces, and the sauce on the right, the "Awesome Sauce". We had ordered some items that already came with these sauces, but I like to add a little extra sauce to everything, so we got some more. The awesome sauce was very good. Kind of like a thousand island in color, but very subtle. I really liked it.



I needed to post two pictures of this Major Crunchy Fish Sandwich ($8.95) because I could not get the whole thing in the picture. This thing was massive. I really enjoyed this sandwich. Probably one of the best fish sandwiches I have had. This sandwich was made up of fried golden hake, pickled onion, and their awesome sauce. Katie thought this was good, but very rich. I liked the crunchiness of the outer portion of the fish. It had a great crunch without being overly greasy. The fish was very fresh, and had an appealing flavor. The brioche buttered bun is also worth noting here. Went very well with the sandwich, and it held up to this big hunk of fish admirably.


Probably one of the most popular dishes on their menu when we were here was the Chowder Fries with Bacon ($5.95). This simple dish should be copied by more restaurants. Here they take their creamy clam chowder, pour it over french fries, and then add crumbled bacon. Surprisingly the fries stayed somewhat crisp while we were eating this. The clam chowder was very creamy, but did suffer from a lack of clams. I would definitely get this again.


We had a seat right near the register, and while we were here, I noticed almost all of the orders included $1 Fish Tacos. Everyday from 3pm to 5pm they offer dollar tacos, and lots of people were taking advantage of this deal by ordering six at a time. I was reserved and only ordered one. They were using the same golden hake in the tacos that they used in Katie's fish sandwich. I was first amazed at how much fish they put on this. Guess I am used to the minuscule amount they use at Rubio's and Wahoo's. I was also impressed with the attention to detail that they use to put this dollar taco together. You can see it in the picture above. There is light avocado spread, pickled red onion, and a lemon aioli to go along with the fish in this taco. This fish taco had great, deep flavors. Really a good value for a buck.


We are suckers for crab cakes, so when we saw SlapFish's version, the Griddled Clobster Cake ($6.85) on the menu, we knew we would be ordering it. This cake was made of crab and lobster, and served with a chipotle slaw and herb aioli. I really liked the big hunks of meat in the cake, and there was not a lot of filler here. The sauce was mellow and the cake had a little citrus kick to it. The slaw was well made, and I could not stop eating it until it was gone.



The last item we tried was the XL Firecracker Fish Burrito ($8.25). This burrito was stuffed with cod, avocado, black beans, cabbage, and lots of rice. The burrito was not wrapped to well. I had to cut it in half to snap pictures of the inside, and it fell apart. This burrito was pretty big and had many layers of flavor. I did not get the spiciness until I was halfway done with the burrito. This burrito needed a little more liquid in my opinion, so I added more of the "Awesome Sauce" to it, which made it better.  I would probably skip the burrito on my next visit. This was not the best vehicle for the fish, and without eating this filling burrito, I will have more room to eat other things on the menu.

I guess you can tell that we really liked our trip to SlapFish. I might have liked this even better than Katie. All of the fish was very fresh, and the way it is prepared really brought out big time flavors. Be advised that the menu items here may not be available all of the time, due to the time of year and availability, but if this visit was any indication, you will not have any trouble finding something that you like here. The girls behind the counter were both really nice, and even after we ordered, they made sure we got all of our food and checked back on us to make sure everything was okay. SlapFish is a testament that seafood does not have to be expensive or served only in fancy restaurants. Thanks for bringing delicious seafood to the masses SlapFish.

Out of five oil wells, (because the city of Huntington Beach, where SlapFish is situated, was first known for the oil under the town and thus, the teams from Huntington Beach High School are still called the Oilers), five being best to zero being worst, SlapFish gets a strong 3.5 oil wells.

For more information on SlapFish, click here: http://slapfishrestaurant.com/index.php

SlapFish - A Modern Seafood Shack on Urbanspoon

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Consuming Corona's Best Breakfast?


Silver Dollar Pancake House
710 E. 6th Street
Corona, CA 92879

These words have never been written anywhere before, but we came to the city of Corona to escape the heat. Yes, you read that correctly. My roommate is pretty frugal when it comes to paying for air conditioning, so with the heatwave, we have been having in Southern California, it has been uncomfortable, to say the least. We were going to be up in Corona one night, then back to Yorba Linda for my nieces birthday the next afternoon, so it just made sense to stay in a hotel and take advantage of their air conditioning. It also gave us a rare chance to try one of Corona's favorites for breakfast, Silver Dollar Pancake House.

Silver Dollar Pancake House has a real old-time feel to it. Of course, the reason for that is because it is really old. This restaurant dates back to the 1920s. It has been a carhop restaurant, a Mexican restaurant, a Chinese place, and in the early 50's they became Silver Dollar Pancake House. This eatery has survived two fires, but with the hard work of the married couple that met and fell in love here, they are still churning out what some call Corona's best breakfast.

We slept in to enjoy the air conditioning, and to avoid the long wait times that many people posted about in on-line reviews of this place. We showed up at noon on a Sunday, and still had about a fifteen-minute wait. This small restaurant has a counter in the front room, and up a few stairs is the main dining area, with about twenty or so tables. Not many people choose to sit at the counter, so the dining area was bustling with activity. The walls of this restaurant are lined with framed pictures, some of which are autographed. JFK, Mohammad Ali, Mr. Clean, Bill Clinton, the Retired Postman of Corona, and other local celebrities have a place of honor on their waiting area wall.  Our wait for a table was up, so it was time to head to the crowded and warm dining room. Here's how the food came out.


First up was Katie's Western Omelet ($8.49) which came with bell peppers, onions, bacon, and cheese. Katie was a little turned off by the cheese here, which she believed to be American. An odd choice for an omelet, but I had a few bites of this and really enjoyed it. This was stuffed with lots of crisp bacon, the veggies were all right, but the salsa really stole the show. It had a great heat to it and really enhanced this omelet. The hash browns were pretty average.


I liked Katie's breakfast a lot more than I liked my choice, the Country Scramble ($6.59). This scramble was made up of 2 biscuits and gravy, 2 sunny side up eggs, and 2 strips of bacon. The eggs were a tad overcooked, while the bacon was thick-cut, and cooked just the way I like it. You could tell that the biscuits are scratch-made. On their own, they would have been pretty good, but the gravy really detracted from them. It was very runny, with little to no flavor. The salsa helped wake this plate up, but not enough to get past the gravy.



So this is a pancake house, so of course, we definitely needed to get pancakes here. The ones that everyone raved about on-line were the Banana Pancakes ($7.39). These were not just your standard banana pancakes with banana flavoring in the batter. These were more like pancakes you would see served at a county fair, pancakes that are way more over the top than your standard restaurant pancake. These cakes were served with whipped cream, pecans, and a caramel sauce. The pancake itself was pretty light, for a pancake. The banana kind of got lost here in some bites, but the caramel sauce and pecans really negated the need for the banana. I would have liked a little extra caramel sauce on these, but they were already rich enough without it. These are definitely worth getting on trips here.

We can see why this place has become a local favorite. The vibe here is a real small town, with an emphasis on big plates of food. All of the waitresses seemed to know most of the customers here, or at least acted like they did. The food here is not going to change your life, but the banana pancakes just might. The egg dishes were okay but should only be ordered to help augment the sweetness from the pancakes. Prices were pretty fair for the amount of food you receive. We were not hungry for the rest of the day after eating here. So after this filling meal, it was back to OC to sweat it out with no air conditioning. Thanks for saving us from the sweltering heat Corona!

Out of five lumberjacks, (because the Silver Dollar City amusement park in Branson, Missouri has hosted logging competitions in its park), five being best to zero being worst, Silver Dollar Pancake House gets 2.5 lumberjacks.

Silver Dollar Pancake House does not have a website, so click here to see their Yelp page: https://www.yelp.com/biz/silver-dollar-pancake-house-corona-2?sort_by=date_desc

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Shooting for the Moon at Luna


Luna Modern Mexican Kitchen
980 Montecito Dr.
Corona, CA 92879

We have had some real good luck with what I would call, "upscale Mexican" restaurants. In OC we have several good options for this genre of cuisine. Sol Cocina, Gabbi's, Cha Cha's, and some would even include Javier's in the mix (I wouldn't though!). The trend has even spread to the Inland Empire, and lucky for us we were going to be meeting up with our good friend Anthony, and his wife Sabrina.

Luna Modern Mexican Kitchen is kind of in an awkward area, so if you are not looking for it you might miss it. The area is dominated by some office buildings and the aroma of Lone Star Steakhouse nearby. In fact, Luna is located on the bottom floor of one of these office buildings. After entering the restaurant we had the feeling we were not in Corona anymore. The vibe here reminded us of a Vegas restaurant. A high tower of all the tequilas they feature are enclosed in a glass case behind the hostess stand, the lighting, and the wood dominated interior all lend to this Vegas aura.

We had made reservations for seven o'clock on a recent Saturday night. Even though this restaurant is in an out of the way place, it was filled to the brim with people. We were originally going to be sat on the patio, but with the stifling heat we have been having lately, it would have been way to uncomfortable. The hostess was very accommodating, and found a comfy booth for us in the air conditioned bar area.

Luna opened a year and a half ago. The owners and management are very hands on from what we observed. I also noticed online that they take time to answer their critical reviewers on Yelp. I really like when a restaurant is willing to state its case in this public forum, and explain or apologize for a guests experience. At this point I was curious to see how we would like this place, so let's get to the food.



So be it a modern Mexican restaurant or a "hole in the wall" joint, most will start you off with chips and salsa. Luna was no different. The chips here were okay, but the salsa was the thing that caught our taste buds. Not wickedly hot, but just enough heat to get ya going. I liked the thickness of the salsa as well.



Making anything tableside is an added plus in my book. It is kind of like getting a show to go along with your food. That is the way Luna prepares their Guacamole Autentico ($7.50). Here they use three avocados, onions, tomatoes, cilantro, fresh lime juice, and chilies. The preparer asked us if we wanted this mild, medium, or hot. We chose the medium to start, but added more jalapenos later on. This was a very clean tasting guacamole. The ingredients were all fresh, and the added elements really complimented the avocado well.


We were pretty hungry, so we ordered another starter, Chef Ruben's Sampler Platter ($13.95). This platter came with BBQ sticky pork ribs, grilled cheese quesadilla, chicken taquitos, and steak and chorizo empanadas. All of these were pretty tasty, with the steak and chorizo empanada being the best. The flavor of the filling was really unique, they added dried fruit, Oaxaca cheese, and creme fraiche to the meats here. The BBQ sticky ribs had a very sweet sauce that went well with the tender pork. The cheese quesadilla was fine, and lacked the grease that I thought it would posses. The only appetizer here that failed to satisfy was the chicken taquitos. Not that they were awful, but they really had no taste to them, and kind of were forgotten.


Main course time, so let's start with Katie's selection, the Grilled Chicken Breast Fajitas ($14.50). As I have written on this blog before, I usually shy away from ordering chicken in Mexican restaurants because it usually comes out dry. This was not the case here. The chicken was moist, and had a nice sweet sauce over the top of it. Almost like a sweet BBQ sauce, just a little less thick. The veggies were cooked well, and while the plate that this was on was not huge, they did give out a fair share of chicken. Katie was pretty pleased with this dinner.


Anthony really looked like he was having a hard time deciding what he wanted here. He ended up having the Carne Asada Enchiladas ($11.95), and seemed pretty happy with his choice. He called this dish excellent, adding that the meat had a great flavor, while being tender. He was also a big fan of the sauce. The only complaint Anthony had about this plate was the beans. He felt they really added nothing to the dinner. He did find the rice to be very light and flavorful.


I hate to say this, but both Sabrina and I wanted the same dinner on this night, but I relented and let her have the Carnitas De Lechon Pibil ($12.95). I can be nice to this hard to please woman sometimes. At Luna, they steam their carnitas in banana leaves to help make it moist. It was moist, and had a different flavor from what we are used to. Not bad but different. The meat almost tasted like it had cinnamon in it. It was a little on the sweet side. Sabrina really enjoyed her dinner.



Even though Sabrina swiped my dinner choice, I still managed to have a different variation of it, with the Pibil Carnitas Burrito ($11.00). This burrito had the same sweet carnitas that was on Sabrina's plate. I liked this burrito, but was not wowed by it. I think it was missing something, not sure what. I did add their smoked chile de arbol salsa to this, and it did boost the flavor quotient up a notch or two,  The rice was fine, but like Anthony was saying, the beans were very average. When I saw this plate, I felt it was not going to fill me up, but it was deceptively large. I finished this plate, but it was a struggle to pack it all in.



We did not have too much room for dessert, but we had gone this far, so we all decided to split the Envueltos De Crispy Sweet Banana ($5.25). Here they wrapped a banana around a flour tortilla and cinnamon, then fried it. Kind of like a banana churro. This was served with a espresso piloncillo chocolate sauce. I liked the thin sauce, but it dd not stick to the tortilla too well. As with all of the fried items at Luna, the absence of grease was worth noting. I thought this was going to be greasy, but it wasn't.



I usually do not post about the drinks that I have on this blog, but these were pretty unique. The one on top is an El Pepino Margarita ($8.00). I liked the mix of flavors with this drink. The cucumber was way more prevalent than the jalapeno, which resulted in a much more subtle cocktail. It was really refreshing on this very warm Corona night. The Strawberry Fields Margarita ($8.50) did not hit me the right way at all. It was not sweet, and kind of plain tasting. I would get the El Pepito over this one for sure.

My dining partners really enjoyed Luna Modern Kitchen a lot. I liked it too, but was a little less wowed by it. I might have just chosen the wrong item on this night. I do think that this restaurant is a great alternative for people that are looking to try a more upscale Mexican restaurant. The flavors are definitely different from traditional Mexican eateries. The meats at Luna were more on the sweet side, which was a nice change of pace. The food is well made, and the ingredients were all very fresh. We had great service on this night. Our waitress was very attentive, even though they were so busy. Glad to see that the upscale Mexican trend has made it out to the Inland Empire.

Out of five hunks of cheese, (because Luna in Spanish is translated as moon, and some people thought the moon was made of cheese), five being best to zero being worst, Luna Modern Mexican Kitchen gets 3 hunks of cheese.

For more information on Luna Modern Mexican Kitchen, click here: http://lunammk.com/

 Luna Modern Mexican Kitchen on Urbanspoon

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Steak and Sangria Meal at Fleming's


Fleming's Prime Steakhouse
455 Newport Center Dr.
Newport Beach, CA 92660

I am a little disappointed in myself. I like to think that I am "in the know" about restaurants and some of the great deals that they offer. So I was a little upset to learn that one of my favorite steak restaurants has been having a three course meal for $39.99 all summer long, and we haven't made it here yet. Luckily this deal was brought to my attention before it expires on August 26th, so we still had time to make it in before it was over.

The deal I am talking about is the Steak and Sangria Menu. A three course meal that includes, salad, steak, and a dessert, all for under $40. Customers also have the opportunity to add a glass of sangria for $7.95 as well. This special has been going on all summer with a different menu every two weeks. Unfortunately these are the last two weeks of the special offer, but at least we got to Fleming's in just the nick of time to try it.

For those of you that do not know about Fleming's Prime Steakhouse, they are an OC born steakhouse. They started back in 1998, at this very same location, which is still the only one in our great county. They have expanded to 63 locations in 28 states. Since 1998 Fleming's has gained a reputation for great service, a sophisticated ambiance, and of course fantastic food. I had been thinking about this meal all day, so lets see what Fleming's had cooked up for us.


Before we get to the meal, a quick shot of the Bread and Spreads. The bread came out very warm, and was very fresh. We actually went through two loaves of this. The spreads helped enhance our pleasure of the bread. The Sundried Tomato and Basil spread was good, but the Feta Cheese spread was so much better. This cheese spread had just a touch of Chardonnay and had big time flavor. This spread really brought the bread to life.


As stated above, the sangria is an optional item for this menu, but at under $8 we had to at least try it. I am not much into sangria, but this one surprised me. The Sailors Sunset Sangria featured Sailor Jerry's spiced rum, Red Diamond Merlot, peach schnapps, and fresh fruit. This sangria really tasted more like a light punch, than a wine based drink, which is more my preference. Very refreshing.


To be honest with you, this is the only portion of the Steak and Sangria menu I was not looking forward to. The salad option for these two weeks is the Tomato and Mozzarella Salad. I am not a big fan of tomatoes, but I ate almost all of this salad. The sliced beefsteak tomato was joined by fresh mozzarella, arugula, and a red onion balsamic vinaigrette. Katie called this one of the best salads she has had. The mozzarella was very creamy, and you could taste the freshness. The red onion was really a great addition to this salad. Guess I was nervous about this salad for no reason.


Now the main event! With each Sangria and Steak Menu, there is a different preparation of the Prime New York Strip. These two weeks they are serving it with a crispy Gorgonzola, alongside grilled asparagus, pickled fennel and baby golden beets. The steak was great! Seasoned with just salt and pepper on the outside, and cooked to a perfect medium rare on the inside, this is the way steaks need to be made. The Gorgonzola of course added a real nice flavor to the meat, while still allowing the flavor of the steak to be in the spotlight. The asparagus was good, but the pickled fennel and beets were a little overpowering. They kind of had a real strong citrus/vinegar flavor. I also want to note that Katie did not get her steak well done this time, she went with it medium well. She enjoyed it very much, but is still afraid to get her meat medium. Baby steps.


Dessert for these two weeks is the Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies, served with vanilla ice cream with a warm apple ginger sauce. How could this be a bad scene? It can't. The cookies were very light, the ice cream was very cold, and the warm apple ginger sauce was a pleasant surprise. I did not get a lot of lemon flavor from the cookies, but this was a good serving size for this dessert, and this was a great way to end a very good meal for us.

So now that you know that this deal is out there, go out and get it. $39.99 for all of this food was a great bargain. If you were to order all of these items by themselves, it could easily cost you up to $65, so it really is a steal. We just wish we had known about this deal sooner.

We really need to thank everyone at Fleming's. Starting with our waitress for the evening, Christy. She was so nice and attentive, while keeping our meal moving along. Also thanks go out to the Manager Tai and Operating Partner Russ Bendel. It was really great chatting with both of you. Thanks for letting us know about your remodel that just got underway, and the new location of Fleming's that will be opening in Beverly Hills later this Fall. It was also a pleasant surprise when Chef Partner, Christopher Hutten came by our table to chat with us for a few minutes. It is always great talking with the man behind the food, and we were grateful for his time during the dinner rush. Lastly, a big thank you to magnificent marketer, Lee Healy, for letting us know about this great deal, and allowing us to share it with all of you. Thanks for everything Lee!

For more information, including other locations, and to keep up with other happenings at Fleming's Prime Steakhouse, visit their homepage here: http://www.flemingssteakhouse.com/