Over the years, Providence has become a foodie lover’s paradise and with the recent addition of some great steakhouses, the city has really made its mark. Enter Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar, which is located on the ground floor of the new Westin Residence Tower just an hour south of Boston.
We visited the restaurant recently and stopped by the bar for a glass of wine. Fleming’s just might have the biggest wine list in the city offering more than 100 selections by the glass, including a select 30 that are hand picked by their wine manager. The bar was filled with diners coming in for their "five for $6 til 7" promotion – five appetizers, each available for $6 served until 7 p.m. Choose from tenderloin carpaccio, sweet chili calamari, seared ahi tuna, Cajun barbecue shrimp, roasted mushroom ravioli or a prime burger.
The main dining room was filled to near capacity with Dallas Cowboys fans and players in town for a nearby Patriots game being held over the weekend. We started off with the deliciously fresh jumbo shrimp cocktail served with spicy Grey Goose infused chipotle horseradish sauce. The enormous onion ring tower was also quickly devoured. There are several other fabulous appetizers on the menu, including lump crab Louis wraps, French onion soup and seared ahi tuna.
For the main course, don’t miss their signature prime bone-in ribeye, an enormous juicy cut, well marbled and still on the bone for added flavor. The New York strip was just as good – tender and flavorful and cooked to a medium rare perfection. Fleming’s offers a great selection of steaks, including a filet served three ways – main, petite or lite – a bone-in or boned ribeye, peppercorn New York strip and porcini rubbed filet.
If you aren’t in the mood for steaks, don’t miss the broiled veal chop, double thick pork chop with julienne of apples, jicama, apple cider and Creole mustard glaze or the double breast of chicken baked in a white win, mushroom, shallot and thyme sauce. There is a prime rib dinner available here on Sundays served with a salad, one side and dessert.
The seafood selection is somewhat small (featuring Alaskan rock petrale sole, barbecue Scottish salmon, lobster tails and Alaskan king crab legs), as most people visit Fleming’s for their flavorful, well marbled steaks. The Fleming’s potatoes are a must side dish – a deliciously rich combination of cream, jalapenos and cheddar cheese that offer a nice kick. The sautéed button and Portobello mushrooms sautéed in butter and garlic were also the perfect complement to the steaks. Other side dishes included a baked potato, mashed potatoes that come in the form of blue cheese, parmesan peppercorn or roasted garlic, chipotle cheddar macaroni and cheese, sweet or creamed corn, roasted baby carrots with raisins and almonds and creamed spinach, to name a few.
Desserts here are rich enough to be shared. We loved the three-layer carrot caked with cream cheese frosting topped with dark rum caramel (who is counting calories?). The walnut turtle pie baked in a chocolate pie crust sounded delicious, but for the ultimate chocolate indulgence, don’t miss the chocolate lava cake with hot molten chocolate center of Belgian chocolate served with vanilla ice cream.
Fleming’s is located at One West Exchange Street in Providence. For more information, visit FlemingsSteakhouse.com or call 401.533.9000.
