Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Bar la carte at Fleming's

Ed discovers half-pound, six-buck burgers for Happy Hour

There's a half-pounder hidden in there
There's a half-pounder hidden in there
Place

Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar

380 K Street, San Diego

Fleming's on K

Usually I'd walk straight past.

I mean Fleming's? Steaks muy caro. Thirty bucks? At least, probably. This is expense-account land. Plus when you do walk in, into the dark, where you can just make out burnished wood paneling, smart women, guys in suits with blue shirts, white collars, yellow ties and big power laughs, you know this is not for you.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Except wait. "Yes," says the girl at the reception booth, "we do have happy hour. Every day, five to seven. It's on now. At the bar."

I'm still suspicious when I mosey up to the clubby bar. Woody, with warm, classy tortoiseshell amber lights dangling from on high. Maroon banquettes behind, mostly men's butts sticking out from tall stools at the counter itself. The glam blonde bar gal with arms so fast she looks like one of those many-armed Hindu goddesses, and a couple of guys holding cocktails high, shaking them like they really, really needed confessions. I find about the last seat. Kinda squeeze in, and face a menu with steak prices the size of a mortgage, and steaks the size of your luggage. Guy with a ponytail must see the panic in my eyes. "Happy hour?" he says, and hands me this much smaller card.

Huh. "5 for $6 til 7," it says. So they have five cocktails, five wines by the glass, and five appetizers. Everything costs six bucks.

'Course I'm scanning the five appetizers. And some pretty good stuff. Pan-crisped pork belly, roasted mushroom ravioli, tenderloin carpaccio (thin-sliced raw meats), baked brie, or sweet chile calamari. Plus two more, from their "Bar la Carte Menu:" The "prime burger" with cheese and bacon and fries, or salt and pepper shrimp, with crispy French green beans.

I'm pinching myself. I mean, this could be a real deal. "Guess the burger's the most, like, filling?" I ask the bar guy. Because the pork belly sounds good, and so does the baked brie. I just need reassurance. He nods. I nod back, like okay I'll take the burger. "Any beers in the happy hour deal?" I ask. I only saw cocktails and wines. "Oh yes," he says. "Our shandy. Three dollars."

Chips and shandy

Wow. I check the HH menu again. And there at the bottom is Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy, $3. So hey, take that. Settle back. Things are definitely starting to look up. Specially when they bring a bowl of free chips, and a black linen napkin with heavy silver flatware inside.

Have to say, the burger, when it arrives is...a lot. Patty's seven ounces. Half a pound! Plus two nice thick slices of bacon, and cheese doing a nice golden ooze out from under a seriously golden bun. Plus fries, and fresh lettuce. And ketchup.

And this frosty tall $3 glass of Leinenkugel's summer shandy. From Wisconsin. Beer and lemonade mix. Actually owned by Miller, but whatever. Totally refreshing.

I mean this is a complete meal. At Fleming's, nine buckeroos! And they do this every night of the week. This could easily become a habit, because, hey, we're just a hop, step ,and jump from the Gaslamp trolley stop.

So, okay, find out that this is part of a 1400-strong worldwide restaurant chain called Bloomin' Brands. Bunch of different restaurant chains. Started out in 1988 in Florida with the first Outback restaurant. First Fleming's happened in Newport Beach (California) ten years later. "Generous hospitality" was to be their byword. Guess with this boiga at least, they're living by the byword.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Pranksters vandalize Padres billboard in wake of playoff loss

Where’s the bat at?
Next Article

Halloween opera style

Faust is the quintessential example
There's a half-pounder hidden in there
There's a half-pounder hidden in there
Place

Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar

380 K Street, San Diego

Fleming's on K

Usually I'd walk straight past.

I mean Fleming's? Steaks muy caro. Thirty bucks? At least, probably. This is expense-account land. Plus when you do walk in, into the dark, where you can just make out burnished wood paneling, smart women, guys in suits with blue shirts, white collars, yellow ties and big power laughs, you know this is not for you.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Except wait. "Yes," says the girl at the reception booth, "we do have happy hour. Every day, five to seven. It's on now. At the bar."

I'm still suspicious when I mosey up to the clubby bar. Woody, with warm, classy tortoiseshell amber lights dangling from on high. Maroon banquettes behind, mostly men's butts sticking out from tall stools at the counter itself. The glam blonde bar gal with arms so fast she looks like one of those many-armed Hindu goddesses, and a couple of guys holding cocktails high, shaking them like they really, really needed confessions. I find about the last seat. Kinda squeeze in, and face a menu with steak prices the size of a mortgage, and steaks the size of your luggage. Guy with a ponytail must see the panic in my eyes. "Happy hour?" he says, and hands me this much smaller card.

Huh. "5 for $6 til 7," it says. So they have five cocktails, five wines by the glass, and five appetizers. Everything costs six bucks.

'Course I'm scanning the five appetizers. And some pretty good stuff. Pan-crisped pork belly, roasted mushroom ravioli, tenderloin carpaccio (thin-sliced raw meats), baked brie, or sweet chile calamari. Plus two more, from their "Bar la Carte Menu:" The "prime burger" with cheese and bacon and fries, or salt and pepper shrimp, with crispy French green beans.

I'm pinching myself. I mean, this could be a real deal. "Guess the burger's the most, like, filling?" I ask the bar guy. Because the pork belly sounds good, and so does the baked brie. I just need reassurance. He nods. I nod back, like okay I'll take the burger. "Any beers in the happy hour deal?" I ask. I only saw cocktails and wines. "Oh yes," he says. "Our shandy. Three dollars."

Chips and shandy

Wow. I check the HH menu again. And there at the bottom is Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy, $3. So hey, take that. Settle back. Things are definitely starting to look up. Specially when they bring a bowl of free chips, and a black linen napkin with heavy silver flatware inside.

Have to say, the burger, when it arrives is...a lot. Patty's seven ounces. Half a pound! Plus two nice thick slices of bacon, and cheese doing a nice golden ooze out from under a seriously golden bun. Plus fries, and fresh lettuce. And ketchup.

And this frosty tall $3 glass of Leinenkugel's summer shandy. From Wisconsin. Beer and lemonade mix. Actually owned by Miller, but whatever. Totally refreshing.

I mean this is a complete meal. At Fleming's, nine buckeroos! And they do this every night of the week. This could easily become a habit, because, hey, we're just a hop, step ,and jump from the Gaslamp trolley stop.

So, okay, find out that this is part of a 1400-strong worldwide restaurant chain called Bloomin' Brands. Bunch of different restaurant chains. Started out in 1988 in Florida with the first Outback restaurant. First Fleming's happened in Newport Beach (California) ten years later. "Generous hospitality" was to be their byword. Guess with this boiga at least, they're living by the byword.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Domestic disturbance at the home of Mayor Gloria and partner

Home Sweet Homeless?
Next Article

San Diego's Year-Round Sunshine: Creating a Patio for Every Season

Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader