Throwback Thursday - Fleming's New Bar Menu

This post originally appeared on September 3, 2018.

Sadly, the Fleming's in Harbor East closed up during the pandemic and is being replaced by yet another overpriced and underwhelming Atlas Group restaurant. 

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Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar was one of the first restaurants to appear in the Harbor East development at the end of the last century. A great deal has changed in the now bustling location, but the bar menu for the elegant steakhouse had largely stayed the same over the last 20 years. Feeling that it was time for a bit of a facelift, Fleming's has introduced a host of new items to their bar menu for the patrons who wish to have a drink and a bite rather than a full dinner. We were invited to sample some of these new items.

We started off with some breaded and deep fried Casteveltrano olives. Unlike a lot of olives which can be mushy and salty, Casteveltrano olives are firm, mild, and bright green in color. When served with a deep fried crust and a spicy dipping sauce, they can be quite addictive. We also had candied bacon which was sweet, salty, crispy, and smoky all at once. The Minx said she could make a meal out of these two snacks and a cocktail.

Fleming's understands that some customers may go meatless, so they have added some vegetarian dishes to their menu, like this vegetable tempura that included asparagus, portobello mushroom, and red pepper fried in a light batter.

And for those who would like a little protein with their tempura, Fleming's also offers the Colossal Shrimp Tempura with U10 shrimp served alongside some of the vegetable items. An agrodolce dipping sauce is included on the side.

Also available for the vegetarian minded is the Mushroom-Farro burger. Vegetarian burgers by nature tend to be softer in texture than beef burgers, but the combination of mushroom, chick pea, and farro in this patty provides a burger that is firm enough to stand up to its toppings. Those toppings include goat cheese, arugula, campari tomato, and a French-fried onion ring. Although I knew we had more food to try, I couldn't help myself and finished the whole burger. By the way, all burgers are served with a side of French fries and some of those fried Casteveltrano olives.

We also tried their California burger which starts with a prime beef patty that's nicely grilled on the outside and perfectly pink on the inside. On top of that is tomato, arugula, bacon, avocado, cheddar cheese, and a smoked jalapano aioli. The toppings provide a great mix of flavors and textures, but the taste of the burger is not lost.

Since my grandfather was English, I've always been a fan of lamb, so I was looking forward to trying their grilled lamb lollipops. They did not disappoint with their grilled outer crust and moist, tender meat within. They were served on a bed of tomato, arugula, Casteveltrano olives, and herbed goat cheese.

Since this is a steakhouse after all, we had to try the filet mignon on potato waffles. I was concerned that the potato waffles might be too soft, but they actually had a crisp exterior like regular waffles and savory, fluffy potato inside. The filet mignon was perfectly medium rare and quite tender. The drizzle of demi glace over the top added just the right finishing touch.

While not technically part of the new bar menu, we were invited to try some of Fleming's dessert items. Chef Ty's key lime tart was definitely a winner, but our favorite was the molten chocolate lava cake served with ice cream and a delicate, crispy tuile. When we cut into the fluffy cake, a river of melted genache oozed out. The combination of the warm cake and cold ice cream was delightful.

We've gone to Fleming's in the past for special occasions like birthdays, but after sampling their new bar menu, I can see ourselves stopping by just to sit at the bar and enjoy some of these well-crafted  dishes along with one (or three) of their signature cocktails.

Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar
720 Aliceanna St.
Baltimore, MD 21202
410-332-1666

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Fleming's New Bar Menu

Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar was one of the first restaurants to appear in the Harbor East development at the end of the last century. A great deal has changed in the now bustling location, but the bar menu for the elegant steakhouse had largely stayed the same over the last 20 years. Feeling that it was time for a bit of a facelift, Fleming's has introduced a host of new items to their bar menu for the patrons who wish to have a drink and a bite rather than a full dinner. We were invited to sample some of these new items.

We started off with some breaded and deep fried Casteveltrano olives. Unlike a lot of olives which can be mushy and salty, Casteveltrano olives are firm, mild, and bright green in color. When served with a deep fried crust and a spicy dipping sauce, they can be quite addictive. We also had candied bacon which was sweet, salty, crispy, and smoky all at once. The Minx said she could make a meal out of these two snacks and a cocktail.

Fleming's understands that some customers may go meatless, so they have added some vegetarian dishes to their menu, like this vegetable tempura that included asparagus, portobello mushroom, and red pepper fried in a light batter.

And for those who would like a little protein with their tempura, Fleming's also offers the Colossal Shrimp Tempura with U10 shrimp served alongside some of the vegetable items. An agrodolce dipping sauce is included on the side.

Also available for the vegetarian minded is the Mushroom-Farro burger. Vegetarian burgers by nature tend to be softer in texture than beef burgers, but the combination of mushroom, chick pea, and farro in this patty provides a burger that is firm enough to stand up to its toppings. Those toppings include goat cheese, arugula, campari tomato, and a French-fried onion ring. Although I knew we had more food to try, I couldn't help myself and finished the whole burger. By the way, all burgers are served with a side of French fries and some of those fried Casteveltrano olives.

We also tried their California burger which starts with a prime beef patty that's nicely grilled on the outside and perfectly pink on the inside. On top of that is tomato, arugula, bacon, avocado, cheddar cheese, and a smoked jalapano aioli. The toppings provide a great mix of flavors and textures, but the taste of the burger is not lost.

Since my grandfather was English, I've always been a fan of lamb, so I was looking forward to trying their grilled lamb lollipops. They did not disappoint with their grilled outer crust and moist, tender meat within. They were served on a bed of tomato, arugula, Casteveltrano olives, and herbed goat cheese.

Since this is a steakhouse after all, we had to try the filet mignon on potato waffles. I was concerned that the potato waffles might be too soft, but they actually had a crisp exterior like regular waffles and savory, fluffy potato inside. The filet mignon was perfectly medium rare and quite tender. The drizzle of demi glace over the top added just the right finishing touch.

While not technically part of the new bar menu, we were invited to try some of Fleming's dessert items. Chef Ty's key lime tart was definitely a winner, but our favorite was the molten chocolate lava cake served with ice cream and a delicate, crispy tuile. When we cut into the fluffy cake, a river of melted genache oozed out. The combination of the warm cake and cold ice cream was delightful.

We've gone to Fleming's in the past for special occasions like birthdays, but after sampling their new bar menu, I can see ourselves stopping by just to sit at the bar and enjoy some of these well-crafted  dishes along with one (or three) of their signature cocktails.

Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar
720 Aliceanna St.
Baltimore, MD 21202
410-332-1666

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Chicken and Waffles

When we agreed to be brand ambassadors for Kahiki Foods, we received a shipment of various products, including bags of tempura-crusted chicken nuggets in two flavors. We devoured one bag of chicken with its accompanying honey sauce, but decided to use the other one in a different way...as the chicken component in chicken and waffles. Why not? without the accompanying sauce, it's just fried chicken--crusty, crispy fried chicken.

What got me started down this path was the bag of blue cornmeal I purchased at the grocery store last week. Blue cornmeal makes me think of Bobby Flay, and Bobby Flay makes me think of chipotle peppers. (Or, as he pronounces it, "chi-poh-ta-lay.") What could I concoct with blue cornmeal and chipotle peppers (both in the pantry) and whatever protein I had in the freezer (myriad)?  Every time I opened the freezer, I saw that bag of tempura chicken, and sometimes it even fell out on my foot. Why not use it, sans the bag of orange sauce (which I might be able to use for something else in the future)?

Once I decided on chicken as my protein, chicken and waffles seemed appropriate. I incorporated the chipotle into the cream gravy.  Once I added it, with a little extra smokiness from smoked paprika and a nice pinch of cumin to continue down that Southwest flavor path, the sauce tasted like queso. Even without any cheese. So I added cheese, too. Just a little, because I didn't want the sauce to end up being too thick.

It turned out really well. There are a ton of extra waffles though, which will be called into duty for breakfasts during the week. A nice bit of extra sauce, too. The leftovers will definitely get another handful of cheese, and maybe some sauteed chorizo. I hear a pile of tortilla chips calling its name.

Blue Corn Waffles with Fried Chicken and Chipotle Cream Gravy

For waffles:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 ½ cups 2% milk

For the sauce:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken stock
1 cups 2% milk
1 chipotle en adobo, minced
2 scallions, chopped
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Pinch smoked paprika
Large pinch cumin
Salt and pepper to taste

To serve:
Fried chicken or chicken nuggets
Chopped scallions for garnish

To make waffles: Preheat waffle iron. Preheat oven to 250°F and place a baking sheet in the oven.

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. In another bowl, beat the eggs, then whisk in the milk and butter until combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until combined.

Spoon batter into waffle iron according to manufacturer’s directions. Cook until golden and crisp.

Place cooked waffles onto the baking sheet in the oven to keep warm. Repeat until all waffle batter is used. Makes 12-14 waffles, depending on the size of your iron.

To make sauce: Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute without browning. Slowly whisk in the milk and stock. Raise the heat to high and continue whisking until the sauce begins to thicken and the raw taste of the flour has been cooked out, about 5 minutes. Add the chipotle and scallions. Whisk in the cheese and seasonings, adding more or less to taste.

To serve: Top waffles with chicken pieces or nuggets and spoon some sauce over all. Garnish with scallions.

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats.



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Kahiki Foods Brand Ambassador and a Giveaway

Sadly, there aren't a lot of good Chinese restaurants in the Baltimore area. There's Grace Garden in Odenton and Hunan Taste in Catonsville, and that's about it. So most of the time, we just go without, which pains me to no end. I love Chinese food! Even mediocre American-style Chinese food can hit the spot when I'm in the right mood. But when local restaurants don't even hit that low level, well, it makes me sad.

And then we were asked if we'd be interested in becoming brand ambassadors for Kahiki Foods. And now we can have Chinese food any time, without having to drive across town, or, if we're desperate, wait for carry-out. And end up disappointed either way.

Kahiki (cuh-hee-kee) products are all-natural, with no MSG, additives, or preservatives. They offer stir fry-type dishes, like beef and broccoli or sesame chicken, and bags of tempura battered chicken with various sauces. Egg rolls, too, and chicken fried rice and lo mein. Many items come in both single- and multi-serve meals.

We've tried several Kahiki products so far, including crispy tempura chicken with honey sauce, chicken fried rice, and General Tso's. We chose to oven bake the tempura chicken, rather than to deep fry (the other option suggested on the box), and were pleased that the large chunks of white meat chicken came out of the oven so crisp. Another thing I really like about the tempura chicken dishes is that I have the option of drenching the chicken with sauce, using it as a dip...or not using it at all. The General Tso's, which comes together in one package (sauce on the bottom, topped by rice, then with veg and meat) had admirably crisp veg and a sauce that was not overly sweet. So it doesn't look exactly like the photo on the box when you stir it all together...but what does that matter when it's so tasty?

Minxeats is giving you the chance to try Kahiki products for yourself--for free. We have three vouchers worth a combined $22 to give away to one lucky winner. If you want to be that winner, leave a comment on this post about how much you enjoy Asian food. Please make sure to give us your email address so we can contact you if you win.

All are eligible. Giveaway ends May 25th.

Kahiki’s products can be found in retail grocery stores, membership warehouse clubs and with food service operators across the country. Visit Kahiki’s website at kahiki.com or connect on Facebook or Twitter to learn more.

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats.e 



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Roy's Eat Creative Media Dinner

It's no secret that Mr Minx and I are big fans of Roy's and have been semi-regular patrons of the Baltimore branch since it opened 13 years ago. And while we're very happy to pay for our food at Roy's, it's even more fun to go when the food is on the house, as it was during a recent media dinner. The occasion for the dinner was to celebrate the launch of Roy's renewed culinary focus called Eat Creative, which showcases the very best of Pacific Rim cuisine.

Pacific Rim Cosmotini
(photo credit: Roy's)

We started the party at the bar with a round of Pacific Rim cosmotinis, a combination of blood orange, passion fruit, and ginger flavors with vodka. Once at our table, we were presented with a couple of the restaurant's new appetizers, including the misoyaki butterfish lettuce wraps, a twist on both traditional chicken lettuce wraps and the restaurant's famed misoyaki butterfish entree. We also got a taste of the new ebi roll, which adds coconut and cream cheese to the familiar tempura shrimp and avocado maki. It's served with dabs of habanero aioli and nitsume (eel sauce). We also sampled two items from Roy's bar menu, starting with the crispy pork belly buns, tender steamed Chinese bao containing crispy bits of pork belly, green apple slaw, and the sweet bbq-like Red Dragon sauce. While I think the buns themselves were a bit too large, the flavors and textures were appealing. Finally, we had bites of Roy's new Wagyu burger. A simple affair of juicy meat, caramelized onions, truffled mushrooms, a fried egg, and togarashi aioli, this burger is a contender for the Best in Town crown. Perhaps truffled mushrooms and eggs don't seem particularly simple to you, but none of the burger's toppings stood in the way of the main event: the meat itself. The accompanying onion rings, however, were, in a word, meh.

Misoyaki Butterfish Lettuce Wraps (photo credit: Roy's)

Close-up of Ebi Roll (photo credit: Roy's)

As an intermission, we each received our own Maui Wowie salad, a classic Roy's dish that was created at the Baltimore restaurant and served chain-wise.

Full-sized Lobster Pot Pie (see slide show for size we received) (photo credit: Roy's)

Alaea Salt-Crusted Bone-In Ribeye (photo credit: Roy's)

We then received an embarrassment of riches in the form of entrees: the 14-oz Alaea salt-crusted bone-in ribeye with peppercorn shoyu brandy sauce; a Maine lobster pot pie with potatoes, peas, honshimeji mushrooms, and pearl onions; and a tempura-battered whole snapper with a sweet chili sauce. And there were sides, too: truffled bacon mac & cheese with Thai basil bread crumbs; spicy Korean chili fried rice with scallions, cilantro, sesame, and egg; and a selection of over-sized tempura vegetables that included asparagus, broccolini, carrot, and shiitake mushrooms. The steak was a beautiful thing, pink, juicy and perfectly rested, with great flavor. I've always said that Roy's does land-based proteins as well as (or better than) the seafood for which they are most famous, and I stand by that. The lobster pot pie had a decidedly Thai twist with its coconut milk-based "gravy," and the proportion of lobster to everything else was generous. Also generous was the portion size, which we were surprised to find was a mere fraction of the normal portion size of this dish. In fact, all three of the entrees were on the huge side, which makes them particularly good for eating family-style with one's own ohana. The sides, also sized for sharing, were uniformly good. The mac and cheese was not the overly-decadent cream-fest that so many highfalutin' versions of this dish can be, and while I couldn't see the bacon, I could taste it. The tempura was light and crisp, and broccolini was a nice change from the usual common broccoli. My favorite was the Korean fried rice, which would have made a lovely entree on its own if topped with a fried egg.

Finally, dessert, which we wanted in theory but not in practice - we were so full! The classic melting chocolate souffle and pineapple upside down cake were as delicious as ever, and always a fine way to end a meal at Roy's.

During the evening, we also had the opportunity to meet the new Chef Partner at Baltimore's Roys, Matt Ellis, who comes to us from various Roy's in Florida. He's stepped into the big shoes of Opie Crooks and Rey Eugenio and seems to be filling them well. We also had a chat with Managing Partner Bryson Keens. He revealed something big that I think we all wish we had known earlier: Roy's offers shuttle service from your home to the restaurant and back. For locals as well as tourists! This means no worrying about parking or driving home after having too many Hawaiian martinis or Mai Tais!

The photos in this post are not ours, sadly, but the work of a professional photographer. The lighting wasn't the best that night (Roy's is on the dark side) so our photos aren't of the best quality. But you can check 'em out in the slideshow below.

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Edo Sushi

There's no shortage of sushi restaurants in the Baltimore area. Edo Sushi, the restaurant in question here, has two locations in Owings Mills and Harborplace as well as the one we visited, in Timonium. In addition to sushi, the restaurants offer the usual tonkatsu/teriyaki/tempura entrees that please most American palates. The sushi, too, is geared toward the typical American predilection for items that are both over-sized and over-sweet.

The takosu appetizer was one of the less-sweet things we ordered. The thinly sliced and fairly-tender octopus was served in a vinegar-based sauce, with half a lemon to make things more tart, if we liked.

We then had a selection of nigiri and maki. The tuna, escolar ("super white tuna"), and salmon were all impeccably fresh and mild, and the salmon roll was nice. However, the soft shell crab roll was doused with too much sweet eel sauce (which makes the roll both cold and soggy), and the special "Flacco roll" was glopped with two kinds of sauce. But in both cases, the fish underneath was tasty, and the soft shell crab had a nice crunch to it.

As a palate cleanser, we ordered a simple shrimp tempura dish, and enjoyed the crisply fried vegetables and seafood with a tangy soy-based sauce.

Overall, Edo Sushi is pretty good, though the prices seem a bit high for the specialty rolls. But the service is attentive and I loved that our cups of green tea were pretty much bottomless (no tea bags here!).

Edo Sushi
53 E Padonia Rd
Timonium, MD 21093


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New Sushi

New to us, that is. We needed a new place to satisfy our sushi jones, since the last time we tried to visit the usual place, it seemed to be out of business. That evening, we ate at a Thai/Sushi joint in Cockeysville, and were pretty disappointed. We tried a Thai appetizer platter on which everything was greasy and/or tasteless. (Nothing has come close to our dear departed Bangkok Place yet.) The sushi was over-the-top huge, big honking rolls full of too much stuff and topped with too much spicy mayo. It all seemed fresh, yet it was all pretty much tasteless. A big strikeout.

Yesterday, we ventured into Yamato Sushi, in the Fairgrounds Plaza shopping center, in Timonium. Even at 5:45, several tables were taken, which was a good sign. They had a number of the fancy rolls that DH and I like, as well as a good selection of more standard sushi. A cursory glance at the rest of the menu showed a melange of Asian dishes, Thai, Japanese, and other. But we were there for sushi.

The nigiri sushi we ordered - tuna, salmon, white tuna - was impeccably fresh, with nice large slices of fish and rather small fingers of rice. The five rolls we tried were modestly sized, all fitting in the mouth nicely. Two had a spicy mayo on them. Now, I like the concept of spicy mayo, but in most places, it's a bit too heavy on the spice, with a tart, harsh, hot sauce quality that overwhelms the delicate fish. Yamato uses a very lightly spiced thin mayo sauce that seemed far more appropriate. They also used crunchy elements in many of their rolls, either tempura shrimp or merely crisp tempura batter scraps. And, all of the rolls were inside-out, meaning more rice and less nori, ideal for someone like me whose least-favorite part of sushi is the nori.

We enjoyed everything. The decor was pleasant, the staff friendly, and the sushi delicious. I think it's my new favorite, and I hope that doesn't mean the kiss of death for Yamato Sushi.

Yamato Sushi
51 W Aylesbury Rd
Timonium, MD 21093
(410) 560-0024