My wife’s parents were in town this last weekend from Boston.  The one defining characteristic of my in laws is that they relish a top quality meal.  Needless to say, Boston has a plethora of fine dining establishments so they’re never in need.  With only three nights here, we narrowed down the choices to Fleming’s and Janos.  They have dined at the Boston Flemings and appreciate their expertise in “steak management” and they visited with Janos two years ago, blown away by his five course tasting menu.

We hit Fleming’s on Friday evening, greeted ever so professionally by the staff who directed us to a lovely booth.  The server was incredibly friendly and accommodating, and within minutes, served us up an amazing symphony of fried calamari, shrimp, crab cakes and a dish of beef carpaccio drizzled with egg whites,  accented with spices and bite sized pieces of crouton like toast.  The combination was stunning and just primed our palate for the main course.
 
As many of you know, I’m in the category of the “risk taker” when it comes to food and wine.  For more on this, you can read my earlier piece.  I always find it fun to inquire if there are dishes or styles of preparation  not on the menu.  It’s surprising what’s available if you ask.  After we all agreed that we were focused on beef (what a surprise, eh?), we were alerted that they had some Filet Mignon on the bone.  We were very intrigued with the presentation as Filet Mignon, while incredibly tender, is not overly flavorful; usually it takes on the flavor of the accents or sauces.  The bone, on the other hand, drizzles in some rich and full flavors not usually present in the classic cut of beef.  As this is a large cut, we decided to split two of them amongst the four of us, along with some great side dishes (I love the creamy spinach).  Having settled upon the food, it was time to pair wine.
 
Again, I asked the wine manager if there might be some steak friendly wines floating about that were not on the menu.  He simply smiled and returned with a trio.  I was intrigued by two, starting with the 2003 Domaine Les Pallieres Gigondas.  I love the hefty, meaty style of the wine that this Southern Rhone usually displays and 2003 was a very good vintage.  The wine offered up a medium cherry color with cherry and red plum flavors.  While the wine displayed lovely, almost elegant, aromas and flavors, with just a hint of tar, tobacco and spice, the true grip of a Gigondas was missing.  Nonetheless, it was an enjoyable and easy to consume wine.  Next on the list was a 2006 Vietti Barolo.  Vietti is a top class Piedmont producer of Barolo, Barbera and Barbaresco.  This wine did not disappoint displaying juicy red plum and cherry flavors with chewy tannins and a superb balance of fruit and tannins right to the finish; great wine with the steak, proof that it doesn’t have to be California Cabernet with steak all the time.  We finished the culinary evening with a decadent chocolate lava cake paired first with a non vintage port displaying aromas and flavors of deep, rich plum, coffee and caramel.  The pairing was perfect, but the real treat came from a Yalumba non vintage “sticky.”  Salmon in color, this unctuous delight teased the nose with coffee, molasses, wrapped in layers of apricot and dried prunes.  I told myself I would stop after a few bites and a few sips.  After the first bite and sip, I was at its mercy.

On Saturday evening, we entered the “Domaine” of Janos, a truly unique chef in every sense of the word.  After a very warm greeting and a mini appetizer on the house as a teaser, I asked Janos for a “different” style of appetizer.  True to his creativity, Janos returned with a seared scallop dish topped with warmed foie gras and a homemade peach preserve.  The play of the savory and rich foie gras off the lively fresh fruit of the preserve just danced from one part of my mouth to the next, teasing my taste buds.  I didn’t want each bite to end.  As it were, we had earlier ordered some Schramsberg Mirabelle Rose Sparkling Wine and it worked beautifully with the dish. For the main course wine, we had to straddle the Green Tea Smoked Duck, Lamb Rack and Spicy Lamb Tongue Taco and the Pan Seared Scottish Salmon.  While I thought about a Pinot Noir on the wine list, I asked the sommelier for a suggestion off the list.  She returned with a Failla Syrah Napa Valley Phoenix Ranch, 2007.  I was a little worried that the wine would be too earthy for the salmon dish but the combination of the ripe blackberry fruit and spicy and peppery overtones worked magic with all the dishes.  The wine had just enough earthy character and tannic structure to work off the duck and lamb dishes but enough dark fruit and pepperiness to pair superbly with the salmon.  This is what a well balanced wine can do………offer  versatility without insulting any dish.  While we all entertained a dessert, alas we were satiated save a few cappuccinos.   As usual, Janos and his staff weaved their magic once again.

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Tags: Fleming's Prime Steakhouse, Janos