Valentine's Day

I hope everyone had a happy Valentine's Day yesterday. We most certainly did. Mickey and Minnie are here for a couple reasons. Reason 1: Valentine's Day is our wedding anniversary. 11 years this year. We celebrated with a magnificent dinner at Fleming's Prime Steakhouse (more on that in a little bit). Reason 2: We have finalized and booked our trip back to Disney World (where we honeymooned 11 years ago), and we can't wait to go. Unfortunately we do have to wait. Till August! As it turns out, we're getting a deal of a trip down there with a discount on the room and tickets and a free round trip flight by cashing in frequent flier miles. If we're going to be in a down economy, why not take advantage of it, right?

Now, this post is going to be as much a restaurant review as anything, so I might as well get started. We had dinner reservations at Fleming's Prime (part of the same chain as Outback, but MUCH more higher end) for 8:00. Later for dinner, but not too late. After dropping Bailey off at the sitter's, where we enjoyed a glass of wine, we were off, arriving right on time. We decided to not use the complimentary valet parking, because we just don't need stuff like that. Our table was ready for us right when we checked in, which was nice. And that's when our evening really took off.

We had a booth that would get traffic past it, but it wasn't too noticeable. Our waiter George was prompt and extremely courteous. He was also very knowledgeable about the wine selection, which came in handy as we both ordered a three wine flight of red blends. But first, we were brought out a complimentary appetizer for our anniversary, which we were not expecting. There were some toasted bread of some sort, with a goat cheese spread, and some other spread made from olives, sun ripened tomatoes, and some other stuff. Sorry for the lack of specifics as I'm not detail oriented when it comes to food. I just know what I like!

Like I mentioned, we both ordered a three wine flight of 2 oz tastings. We've really been into red blends. They seem to have a much more complex flavor than just a Cabernet or Merlot would have. The first wine we tried was from Chateau Lacombe from Bordeaux, France and was magnificent. I really can't begin to describe it except that I knew it was going to be good based simply on the bouquet. I've had enough wine to tell when one's going to be a winner. The second wine was from Ruthorford Ranch in Napa Valley and turned out to be a Cabernet and not a red blend. Coincidentally, even though this was a very good wine, it was our least favorite of the three. Go figure! Us winos know our wine. The third selection was from Valley of the Moon in Sonoma County and was probably my favorite of the three. It was flavorful, complex, and very full bodied.

The food was as amazing as the wine. Heather ordered the Double Breast of Chicken and I had the Bone-In Ribeye. This steak was HUGE! I managed to get just over half of it down before I gave up. We also had a side of Fleming's Potatoes which were scalloped potatoes with cream, jalapenos, and cheddar cheese. We both agreed that we could have just ordered the potatoes and been happy. Keep in mind that we were enjoying the wine selection all the way through the meal and didn't just hammer them before the food came out. The food and wine complemented each other tremendously.

For dessert (yes, dessert) we tried to order the Chocolate Peanut Butter Sandwich, but were told that due to the salmonella outbreak, it wasn't currently being offered. Those sons of b****es at the Peanut Corp. of America! So we had to settle for our second choice, the Chocolate Lava Cake. I enjoyed this with a glass of Quinta Noval 10 year Tawny Port. This was perhaps the most amazing dessert wine I've had yet. I could have sat there all night with a glass of that. The cake was pretty good too.

On top of all that, we were given a $25 gift card for spending our Valentine's Day with Fleming's and a box of chocolate dipped strawberries for our anniversary. Attention ALL other restaurants ANYwhere. If you want to see what customer service is supposed to be like, go to Fleming's and find out. We're already planning our return visit!

In other news: I had did my long run this afternoon. I was supposed to get in 14 so I planned to run for 2 hours. I must have been moving a bit faster than I was intending because I ended up running nearly 15 and a quarter miles, averaging 8:03 minute miles. This in 29 degree temps with gusty winds and light to heavy snow flurries. The Lester Rail Trail was actually very nice today. There was just one other guy out running at the same time as me.

One final note. Congratulations to Heather for beating her time from last year's Chili Bowl 5K by nearly 4 minutes. She was running yesterday in downtown Cleveland in the snow and slush and really surprised herself.