Wine | Fleming's finds untapped market

Even though it was snowing, and evening rush-hour traffic on I-96 was moving at less than 30 mph, Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar on Haggerty Road in Livonia was packed one night in February with those who had braved the elements.

The strong Wednesday-night showing was proof, according to executives present that night, that the Livonia area was craving a high-end steak house.

"I think there is always room for another great restaurant,'' Fleming's President Skip Fox said.

Fleming's opened its 8,000-square-foot Livonia restaurant Jan. 19, and plans to open a second at 323 N. Old Woodward Ave. in Birmingham March 30. Fox said Fleming's may eventually add a third location in the Detroit market.

While there are many new restaurants on Haggerty Road, Fleming's is the first high-end steak house in the area, said Peter Travis, the local operating partner of Fleming's Livonia restaurant.

"We just feel that we fill a niche that is not filled by anyone else in this community,'' Travis said.

In Birmingham the Fleming's scene will be different. There, Fleming's will face several nearby competitors. Fox said Fleming's will do well because Birmingham is a destination for fine dining and Fleming's is distinctive enough to separate itself from competitors.

"We've done our homework, we've done our research and we're confident we will do well,'' Fox said.

Fleming's national competitors include Capital Grille, Ruth's Chris and Morton's, and in Birmingham also will include Cameron's Steakhouse and Big Rock Chop House. Fleming's says it competes by offering a wider choice of nonsteak menu items, no smoking and brighter decor. Fleming's also offers 100 wines by the glass.

Fox said those features draw a wider range of patrons and helps Fleming's appeals to women as much as men.

Founded in 1997, Fleming's now has 47 restaurants across the nation and is owned by Tampa, Fla.-based OSI Restaurant Partners Inc., parent company of Outback Steakhouse.

"The Midwest is the area of our greatest growth for us,'' Fox said. "So you will see a lot of Fleming's in this part of the country in a short while.''

* Beer can be as sophisticated as wine, if not more so, according to Orion Township-based beer distributor Powers Distributing Co.

To prove its point, Powers took its management team and a few members of the local media to Kruse & Muer in Troy in February to experience firsthand the beer produced by Brooklyn Brewery and renowned brewmaster Garrett Oliver.

The New York City-based company produces six types of beer - not counting special and seasonal offerings - and claims to be among America's 40 top breweries.

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"The purpose of the dinner was to roll out the Brooklyn Brewery brands and it was for Powers management and the Kruse & Muer staff to witness a beer dinner presented by Garret Oliver,'' said Ron Runestad, business development manger for Powers' specialty beer division.

Powers began distributing Brooklyn Brewery's beer to more than 200 customers, including Kruse & Muer, in January. About 90 percent of Powers' customers are retail stores while about a dozen or so of Powers' customers are restaurants, Runestad said.

Oliver guided guests through a six-course dinner that began with a New England seafood cobbler paired with Brooklyn Lager, a refreshing amber-gold beer.

The fourth course was Brooklyn 1, a Belgium-inspired beer that is refermented in individual bottles similar to wine bottles and was paired with roasted sea bass.

This beer has a bubbly, almost champagne-like complexity but is heavier than champagne and comes with a full-bodied taste and 9 percent alcohol content, much higher than your standard American beer.

The meal ended with the brewery's Black Chocolate Stout paired with a German chocolate mousse dessert.

Runestad said that beer-tasting dinners have increasing in popularity in recent years. The growth is due both to the explosion over the past 10 to 15 years of craft breweries, and because the people have learned that the range and complexity of beer means that a complementary match can be found for almost any food.

Runestad hosts anywhere from three to 10 beer-tasting dinners a month.

* The Lark continues to prove that it is still at the top of Detroit's fine-dining scene.

Wine Enthusiast Magazine selected The Lark as one of 29 restaurants to receive its "Award of Ultimate Distinction.'' A photo and article about The Lark appears in the February issue of the magazine.

In business for more than 26 years, the West Bloomfield Township restaurant offers more than 1,200 wine selections.

And, in January, Hour Detroit magazine named The Lark its restaurant of the year, citing its longevity and quality.

"The Lark has ascended to the heights for several reasons: its top-notch food, expansive wine list and unerring attention to detail,'' the magazine reported.

* Two restaurants said last week that they have decided to cut trans fats out of all of their cooking, but both say that they were working on the change before an Oakland County commissioner and a state legislator introduced measures to mandate changes.

"I watched what New York was doing and figured it was coming this way,'' said Greg Miller, owner of Lodge Grill & Bar on Orchard Lake Road in Keego Harbor.

A nationwide battle over the use of trans fats got a hefty boost last year when New York City decided to mandate a ban in December.

Miller said he made the switch at his sports bar from oil with trans fats to a blend of canola and corn oil in its fryers and virgin olive oil for sauteing last month.

Even though the oil is twice as expensive, Miller said he didn't raise his prices.

"The fish and chips are crispier ... and we have a Monte Cristo that is 100 times better,'' Miller said. "Switching over to the trans-fat-free (oil) was relatively easy to do, and the turnout from it has been unbelievable.''

Last Wednesday Diamond Jim Brady's Bistro in Novi said it has eliminated all oils, margarines and shortenings, in addition to fried items that contain more than a half-gram of trans fats per serving.

Diamond Jim Brady's began working on the menu changes several months ago to make sure the change wouldn't affect the taste and flavor of its food, said Kristin Schenden Russell, president of Schenden Communications Inc. and publicist for the restaurant.

Manufacturers use trans fats because they stop food from turning rancid and improve its texture. But they also increase the amount of "bad'' cholesterol in the body and have been linked to a greater risk of coronary heart disease.

On Jan. 18 Oakland County Commissioner Marcia Gershenson introduced a resolution to ban trans fats in restaurants by December 2008. That resolution will be considered during a committee hearing on March 12.

State Rep. Lee Gonzales, D-Flint, also weighed in on the issue Jan. 31 when he introduced legislation to ban the use of trans fats in restaurants.