Fleming's Prime Experience

Prime.

Prime is a good word. It means premium, elegance, sophistication and.....really really good food and wine. I suppose that's why Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar decided it was important enough to include Prime in their restaurant name.

Until earlier this week I had never been to Fleming's before. I always wanted to go. I had driven by it a million times in Tampa, FL as it stood on the side of the road like a jewel beckoning me to come in.

Sometimes we get lucky. I got lucky last week when a good friend of mine invited me to a Fleming's Night of Discovery. I did the math and as you can probably imagine, it took me a mere number of seconds to agree.

When we walked in the door they handed us a road map of where we were going with the evening. This I loved. I wish this happened at every restaurant. Imagine if you walked in the door at your favorite restaurant, they greeted you with a smile and then said, "We're happy you're here. This is the journey we're taking you on." Like a luxury car, Fleming's is designed from floor to ceiling to offer the ultimate experience.

Once I got over the initial shock of being invited and then after walking in to the palace, I got a short overview for the reason for the tasting. Fleming's is now introducing their 100 new wines for the year called the Fleming's 100 and this tasting was to give a sample of what their guests can expect in the coming year. In addition to just serving 100 unique wines in the restaurant, more than 70% of the vintages are made with grapes grown organically. Clearly Fleming's is pushing their wine selection to the edge by hand selecting wines that are above the rest.

My fascination with Fleming's is rooted in the food. I am not a big wine drinker. I don't know all of the nuances about wine. I haven't taken a long journey "around the tasting wheel." But, I know what tastes good and that is more important than anything. The night of discover truly was a discovery to me as I had never paired wine with food before.

Four wines - four pairings - four times my fantasies were fulfilled. I could go on and on with specific wine descriptions, however Fleming's is the expert and you can read a detailed breakdown of the Fleming's 100 wines by clicking here.

The Fleming's experience is a cut above the rest. The servers are different, the presentation is different, the food is different and by different I mean Prime.

When we are thinking about where to go and what to eat we usually rotate "five" restaurants in our head. We first ask - what do we want to eat? Then, how far do we want to drive? Finally, was it good last time I was there?

The next time you are asking yourself these questions, stop and think of the best. The question you should ask when you want go out is, do I want the best? If the answer is yes then there is only one restaurant to go to - Fleming's. It is the best, the premium, the ultimate.

I wasn't disappointed and now I feel like that I have missed out on hundreds of opportunities to have the best since I have driven by over and over again and never stopped in. Here is the bad news. Fleming's has messed with my mind. My expectations in a dining experience are now completely skewed. From now on I will expect the ultimate service, food and drink at every restaurant I go to. It's like taking a test drive in a Mercedes and then getting back in your Ford and expecting it to drive the same way.

One thing I now know for sure, putting Prime in the restaurant name was no accident. It was a definition for everything they stand for.