Finer Dining

OK, so I did a long and rambling post (below) on the lack of "fine dining" in Des Moines which took me to many places...

Anyway, I'll just give you a bit of a rundown...

I looked pretty darn good (which must have been great for me to admit that much). My SIL took photos so I'll try to get one soon & post it. I thought our reservations were for 7pm so Doug & I headed out shortly before 6pm to have a drink and an amuse-bouche (Etymology: French, literally, (it) entertains (the) mouth; in American "small appetizer") somewhere else.

After finding out that our reservations were actually for 7:30 (which turned out to be 8 as my SIL's sister is always late -but that's a whole nother story that I won't bore you with here) we decided to head to the Jordan Creek area thinking that we might find something out there that would fit my "adult evening" desire.

And we did... We ended up at Fleming's. Now, I had been to Fleming's before, not long after they opened. And I didn't leave feeling impressed, only cheated out of way too much money. The first time we had a meal there... Our steaks weren't cooked correctly, my potatoes arrived cold and we had terrible service.

But the ambience is really nice and the restaurant has a great upscale feeling (except for the sports on the bar TVs) so we decided to go there.

What a great experience. We had two terrific bartenders. They were attentative and had actual conversations with us (and even laughed when I said that my drink looked like a science experiment- complete with beaker).

It was called "Romance" and it's supposedly a martini. But it didn't have vodka... When I was a bartender all martinis had vodka... It's fruity and has rum, Blue Caraco and Champagne... And a juice or two. Yummy!

We decided to check the bar appetizers and found a winner: Chef's Artisan Cheese & Charcuterie (Etymology: French, literally, pork-butcher's shop, from Middle French chaircuiterie, from chaircutier pork butcher, from chair cuite cooked meat; in American fancy meat).

From the presentation to the taste this was First Class. I will go so far as to say everyone should go to Fleming's just for this appetizer. The chef brought it out and explained what everything was (counter-clockwise from the olives): Finocciona Salami, Blue Shropshire from England, Country Pâté, smoked duck, Montrachet (goat cheese) from France, White Cheddar from Ireland, Prosciutto di Parma, whole grain mustard and a sliced baguette.

Exceptional. Perfect. And much better than our actual meal (at another restuarant).