Brian's Big Four O - The Traveling Locavores

Brian’s Big Four O originally published on Food and Fond Memories on May 7, 2013 by sandyaxelrod 0 Comments (Edit)

Brian’s Big Four O

A young woman and man touching an infant in a cradle

Brian’s Bris
Steve and I with Our Pride and Joy

Forty years ago, on a beautiful April morning, our amazing son was born. Never in a bazillion years could Steve and I ever forget the intense feeling of love that we felt for him the instant we met. He was perfect in every way! Somehow we blinked and forty years had passed. How does that happen? Oh sure there were moments during his teenage years that we thought as parents we might not make it. But those moments are now just memories. Stories we tell our friends. Tales that we can laugh about today with Brian, Eve and their friend too. Brian has grown into a man that any parent would be proud of. And when he married Eve seven years ago he gave us the daughter we never had. We are truly blessed!
And really, how many parents are asked to go away on vacation with their kids to celebrate milestones. It seems it’s usually the other way around. We cherish every second we can spend together making such happy memories. The first celebratory meal of Brian’s 40th birthday was breakfast at Ashley and Greg’s and Perri and Mike’s condo. The men prepared an absolute feast while Ashley poured Mimosas. We ate and ate and ate and laughed so much tears were running down our cheeks. Unfortunately it was a cloudy day with a 90 percent chance of rain so boating was out of the question. So we girls did what we do best – we went shopping at the outlet mall. Then we decided to give the guys a break and graced them with our presence to do a bit of site seeing.
We went to the little idyllic town of Seaside on Scenic Route 30A. If any of you have seen the movie “The Truman Show” with Jim Carey, it was filmed in Seaside. Amazingly we were just hungry enough to have great grilled cheese sandwiches from a food truck and drinks at an upstairs bar overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. And then it was time to go back and get ready for our 7:30 dinner reservations at Fleming’s Prime Steak House and Wine Bar which was conveniently on the same property in Sandestin where we were all staying.

Mike and Greg with Open Kitchen In Background

Our table was ready for us right in the center of the main dining room and in plain view of the open kitchen. The atmosphere brought back memories of some of the great steak house we’ve been to in New York. Rich dark woods and white tablecloths. One cool note – there were computer tablets on the table with specialty drinks – very high-tech!
Our server Clay brought us some delicious sour dough bread fresh from the oven and two butters to slather on it. The first was a tomato butter and the other a Chardonnay infused butter. Both were yummy on the chewy, slightly sour bread. After a round of various martinis Steve and I switched to a bottle of Mark West Pinot Noir to enjoy with our meal. I ordered the Heirloom Tomato and Housemade Burrata Salad with baby red and golden beets, arugula and lemon pistachio vinaigrette and Steve ordered French Onion Soup. Two others at the table order Shrimp Cocktail which were a bit of a disappointment because they were undercooked and somewhat mushy. Clay immediately apologized and had new ones prepared which were perfect. Just about that time the Operating Partner Tanty Avant came over to introduce herself to me. And when she discovered that we had not ordered one of their special appetizers of Seared Ahi Tuna with Fresh Vegetable Salad and Spicy Mustard Sauce she insisted we shouldn’t miss out and sent two gorgeous platters of it to the table for us to devour. It was so amazing that even the birthday boy, who is not a fish lover, ate it with relish.

A tower of thick sliced and fried onion rings sitting on a white tablecloth

Signature Onion Rings at Fleming’s

Dining in a steak house means you order steak and we all had our favorites. At Fleming’s they pride themselves on serving only USDA aged Prime beef because nothing else compares. As they say on their menu “Only the top two percent of all beef is graded “prime” making our steaks the finest in quality and the ultimate in tenderness, texture and flavor. Each of our steaks is individually selected, seasoned with kosher salt and black pepper then broiled at 1600 degrees to your preferred temperature”. Along with our delectable steaks we had an assortment of sides including Fleming’s Potatoes with cream, jalapenos and cheddar, Signature Onion Rings, Grilled High Country Asparagus and Sauteed Mushrooms. Before finishing our meal I had the pleasure to talk with the chef who had prepared our food, Isley White. Basically he worked his way up from dishwasher. He came from a humble beginning but loves what he does and it shows in his food. To finish off the meal in style Steve and I shared the Chocolate Lava Cake; Brian and Eve shared the Tahitian Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee. And just before we got up from the table they gave Brian a beautiful box of chocolate truffles with a birthday card. We all thought that was the epitome of professionalism and class.