A Signature a Day Keeps Reality Away: A Sep '15 Dining Report - Updated 4/11 x2

[happy2012]

I'm jumping in on this review! It's looks like you had an amazing trip! I gotta say, the Cheery Cherries from the server @ The Plaza was so SWEET!

Oh I'm sorry your Casey got a big boo boo. That's the worst.

 

[Jerusalem Gal]

Oh, yum! Please post more pictures!

 

[Leshaface]

(Dawa Bar Bloody Mary's may have a bit to do with this).

Ahh yes. I'm going to miss it this trip definitely.

We spent the next hour in Casey's beloved Rascal Park (aka the boneyard for the rest of the world) where she could visit her favorite attraction in all of Disney, "The Rascal Door." For those that haven't followed along before there is a door in the boneyard that won't open but when you try a man yells lots of things to include, "Get Out of Here you Rascal." Casey thinks this is the funniest thing in the world and quite literally holds court at the door to see other kids reactions. I don't get it, but her smile says it all.

Totally forgot about this place (even though I feel like we were just there in January!) and will have to make a stop and find this door. I'll bet money DS will be scared.

Jason wasn't quite so adventurous and stuck to good ole' Kirin Ichiban.

Solid choice i'd say.

This is Sushi grade ahi, Asian slaw, served atop crispy fried wontons with wasabi aioli and sweet soy glaze. If you're thinking these can't be as good as they look, you would most certainly be wrong. They are quite simply unbelievably delicious. The wonton chips were airy and crispy and stood up well to all the topping. The tuna was as pink and fresh as could be and despite a lot of ingredients was the clear star of the plate. The wasabi cream added a hint of heat and the slaw some good crunchiness. And as it turns out the name "for Two" was not an oxymoron. These things are huge and I could only eat about a third by myself.

I would have COMPLETELY passed over this item on the menu. Wow this looks and sounds so delicious!

Despite "yak" being in the title

So pretty!

 

[Vernie822]

Tails on shrimp are a pet peeve of mine too. I'm sure cutting them off is difficult for the chef to do in the kitchen but it annoys me when I have to get my hands dirty while I eat! Lol. Especially at Ohana. Jason's meal does look very good though.

You had the nachos, yay!!! I seriously wish I could have them right now - so yummy. Your meal looks really good, might have to try that drink sometime.

Every time I go past the boneyard I think of the Rascal Door Her face paint is too cute.

 

[PghPiratesGirl]

Your daughter is adorable! Love the face paint! And of course your reviews are making me hungry!

 

[twinkybel81]

I tried my first Pink Himalayan last week and absolutely loved it! We didn't have time to stop and eat at Y&Y, so I just ran in and got a quick one to go from the bar. ;-)

 

[Mom2m&k]

Love Love those bloody mary's! Those Ahi nachos look AMAZING! Yum!

 

[kastoney]

The boneyard is a big favorite for my grandchildren but I've never heard them mention the rascal door. That sounds like fun.

I think Casey may be the only person that A. calls it the rascal door and B. spends way too much time campaigning for other kids to come check it out ; ) I have no idea why she loves that silly thing, but she certainly does

I hate this, too. It is really hard to cut those tails off when the shrimp are buried in the entree. They leave them on a La Trattoria, too.

I really don't understand why anyone leaves them on. Unless of course the shrimp are fried. I'm weird and like to eat fried shrimp tails and may have just woofed down a few at dinner time ; )

Your meal looks really good, especially the nachos. We haven't had a chance to try the wontons. We've always been too full.

You have to save room for the wontons sometime. They are a very close second to ooey gooey toffee cake.

I was so happy when my girls got too big for the boneyard.
Lunch looked amazing.

Yeah, I can't wait until she out grows it (or they put in a bar, whichever comes first). We even had to go there first thing on this trip and found out they didn't open until 10. She was devastated.

Ever consider being food models for Disney?
Pretty drink you got there...
Those Ahi Nachos look incredible. No wontons this time? WHAT? Ok fine, your nachos looked like they could feed 4 so I can understand feeling full. Actually I am now considering making an ADR there just for those wontons. And it's all your fault.
Love Casey's face paint.

Food models? Now there is an idea I like. Maybe I'll send disney a couple of headshot for consideration ; )

The nachos really were good. Not worth missing my beloved wontons good, but enough to remind me to skip the appetizer next time to be sure we get some wonton goodness in. And you should totally work it in if you can. They also have a decent size bar if you just wanted to pop in for some dessert.

My kids Love the Boneyard, I spend the whole time thinking I lost at least one of them forever
Now I want ahi tuna nachos, they look delicious! So Casey did not eat a lot of her noodles? My 2 youngest boys rarely ever eat enough to even make a dent in anything that they order

We may have had one, two, or perhaps ten moments of losing Casey in that dang park. Including this time when for the first time she actually made her way over to the dig site and it took us forever to track her down.

Casey sounds a lot like your boys which is why she rarely ever gets her own meal. We're very lucky she eats just about anything, just not a lot of it.

Those Ahi Tuna Nachos look incredible! I've also heard good things about them on the Boards but first time seeing a pic. Yummy! If I get a chance to go back to WDW this year, I'll be paying OOP for meals so those look like a definite contender. Also huge portion size! Definitely lots of food for dinner. I've enjoyed some of the other appies but these look like the big bad boys on the list. I did get in this October (had the free dining) and enjoyed the Kalbi Steak with Coconut Shrimp. It was excellent. But my server was definitely not so excellent this time round. First time that I had a bad vibe server at Y&Y. I was seated in the covered porch area (not a fav spot for theming) and she just wasn't happy to serve a solo diner. Her face fell when the hostess took me to her section and then she was way less than joyful. She did do handsprings over a family of 4 behind me so I knew she could exhibit a full range of emotions. Understandably, 4 diners may mean a better tip but when a waiter isn't pleasant or even "there" to begin with, kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy that the tip won't be magical. Sigh. If she only knew that solo diners often tip very well for pleasant, personable service.

Definitely give the nachos and Yak and Yeti a whirl next time you go. And if you are paying OOO be sure to get the laundry's card, its essentially free plus you get $25 if its your birthday month so it really was a good deal.

I had no idea Y&Y had a covered porch. Theming aside,I love to eat outside and those opportunities are rare in Disney.

Sorry about the bad service. This was only our third time there, but we've had good service each time though with the servers not being Disney perhaps bad service is more of a norm.

The nachos sound and look very good, we have a place by us that serves the best ahi tuna taco's, they are one of my faves, so I am sure I would love these. We did the Landry's card in September and our whole meal at yak and yeti was free so that was a nice plus. Your husband's meal looked really good as well.

Mmmm wish I had a place by us for good ahi. I had some ahi nachos in Key West a few weeks ago and they were pretty good, but they used tortilla chips vs. wontons which really made the difference for the Y&Y ones.

 

[kastoney]

I'm jumping in on this review! It's looks like you had an amazing trip! I gotta say, the Cheery Cherries from the server @ The Plaza was so SWEET!

Oh I'm sorry your Casey got a big boo boo. That's the worst.

You can jump right in, let the music pool you in, you can jump right in......Sorry you jumping in randomly made me think of a Zac Brown Band song, completely ignore me if I'm speaking a foreign language right now ; )

Welcome to the party. The cherries were definitely sweet and literally the cherry on the top of the sundae ; )

Oh, yum! Please post more pictures!

More pictures commencing sometime this weekend.

Ahh yes. I'm going to miss it this trip definitely.

Pregnancy can definitely be a long nine months sometimes, especially when it comes to alcohol Though my first question to my dr when I was preggo may have been about when I could drink ; )

Totally forgot about this place (even though I feel like we were just there in January!) and will have to make a stop and find this door. I'll bet money DS will be scared.

Maybe there will be an ambassador like Casey there to help him through it ; )

I would have COMPLETELY passed over this item on the menu. Wow this looks and sounds so delicious!

I would have too, had I not seen it on the good ole dis. They were oh so good!

So pretty!

She is pretty darn cute

Tails on shrimp are a pet peeve of mine too. I'm sure cutting them off is difficult for the chef to do in the kitchen but it annoys me when I have to get my hands dirty while I eat! Lol. Especially at Ohana. Jason's meal does look very good though.

You had the nachos, yay!!! I seriously wish I could have them right now - so yummy. Your meal looks really good, might have to try that drink sometime.

Every time I go past the boneyard I think of the Rascal Door Her face paint is too cute.

Thanks again for the nacho recco. You most certainly did not steer me wrong.

What do you mean go past the rascal door? Don't you spend an hour of quality AK time there watching random children play ; )

Your daughter is adorable! Love the face paint! And of course your reviews are making me hungry!

Thanks so much. Girl definitely loves her the face paint!

I tried my first Pink Himalayan last week and absolutely loved it! We didn't have time to stop and eat at Y&Y, so I just ran in and got a quick one to go from the bar. ;-)

What an amazing idea to get the drink to go. Never would have thought of that. Sheer brilliance. And of course glad you loved it as much as I did.

Love Love those bloody mary's! Those Ahi nachos look AMAZING! Yum!

You and me both on the bloody marys. Though they really do need to move them closer to the front of the park so I can be sure to have one as soon as I walk in ; )

 

[tweetylori]

Loving your report...thank you!

 

[samsteele]

I had no idea Y&Y had a covered porch. Theming aside,I love to eat outside and those opportunities are rare in Disney.

Its a completely enclosed annex with a handful of tables. Long, skinny footprint. More like an overflow room. Not open air. Next time if led there, I plan to politely ask to be seated elsewhere. I love those guardian figures in armor and like to seated somewhere where I can see one of them.

 

[kastoney]

Loving your report...thank you!

Ah shucks, thanks ; )

Its a completely enclosed annex with a handful of tables. Long, skinny footprint. More like an overflow room. Not open air. Next time if led there, I plan to politely ask to be seated elsewhere. I love those guardian figures in armor and like to seated somewhere where I can see one of them.

Man, what is the point of that. Never noticed it before, but now I know to steer clear

 

[kastoney]

Lobster Mac and Cheese, Yes Please!

For dinner tonight we knew we wanted to stick close to the Poly as we had an all important football game to watch later that night. There were tons of options available (including Ohana, which we almost did), but ultimately we decided on something new for us: Narcoossee's.

After a quick monorail ride to the Grand Floridian, we eventually made it to the far end of the resort to the restaurant. For anyone who has never been Narcoosee's is located on the shore of Seven Seas Lagoon by the boat dock (aka about as far from the monorail as possible). As we waited to be seated, Casey and I took some photos.


After a short wait we quickly found our way to a window table, which had this lovely view.


We of course started with the obligatory bread and butter.



Their bread was nothing special, but it rose to the occasion when topped with the delicious butter with pink himalayan salt. There really is nothing better than really good butter. If only land o'lakes treated me so well.

Knowing we'd be having seafood, we of course had to have white wine. Compared to most of the other signature restaurants their wine list was pretty uninspired so we had a hard time making some decisions. Ultimately I decided on the Spann Vineyards Yin Yang which was a Chardonnay/Viogner mix.

I'm usually not a big fan of chardonnays as they are too oaky for me, but in this case the viognier added some citrus notes and toned the butteriness of the chardonnay down. It had a bit of an odd finish, but was overall a nice wine.

Jason had even more trouble deciding than me, so when in doubt order it all.

This is their white wine flight sampler which came with a moscato, riesling, and blend called Conundrum. The moscato and riesling were both way too sweet, but the Conundrum was a nicely balanced white though it could have used a bit more acidity.

None of the appetizers jumped out at us, so we went straight to the entrees. Casey and I got the Key West Shrimp with Garganelli Pasta to share.

This was a penne style pasta with Key West Shrimp, Savoy Spinach, Oven-roasted Tomatoes, Basil Pistou, Comté Cheese, and Chardonnay-Garlic Cream (hence my wine selection). This was in a word delicious. The sauce was buttery and creamy and it was piled with sweet key west shrimp. The tomatoes added both some sweetness and acidity and though there was cheese in the mix it was not at all overpowering. Jason had a dish very similar to this at Flying Fish before that was equally as good. So I highly recommend getting it at either place.

For his entree Jason ordered the Corriander and Shichimi-Spiced Seared Ahi Tuna.

Which was served with Charred Beans, Gai-lan (chinese broccoli), Green Papaya, and Sesame Sticky Rice with Ginger-Kaffir Lime Broth. This was an odd choice for my typical meat and potatoes man, but he absolutely loved it and called it umami perfection on a plate. First the tuna was "cooked" absolutely perfectas it was barely seared so it was still mostly raw . The corriander and shichimi (7 spice powder) added good flavor and a bit of heat as well. The ginger lime broth it was served in was the real game changer on the plate as it was sweet and salty and really made all the other components come to life.

We also couldn't resist the temptation of lobster mac and cheese and ordered a side of that to go with our dinners, because when you already have rice and pasta what's a few more carbs ; )

This is Torchio Pasta, Butter-poached Lobster, Fennel, Sweet Onion, and Manchego Cheese. The first think I had to say was holy lobster batman ; ) At first I wasn't actually sure there was any pasta in there as there was so much lobster. There was of course pasta, but the buttery perfectly cooked lobster was the real star of this show. Also this wasn't overly cheesy, but with all the lobster that was a good thing and the bread crumbs on top added good texture. This blew the Yachtsman Mac N Cheese out of the water and it was so good Casey declared she loved it more than Elsa, but we couldn't tell Elsa that ; )

Despite rice, pasta, and mac and cheese we somehow left room for dessert. Jason ordered the Narcoossee's Candy Bar which is Dark Chocolate-Mocha Bar with House-made Guanaja Chocolate Gelato.

Jason absolutely loved the decadence and richness of this dessert. I'm not a dark chocolate fan, so it wasn't my cup of tee. Casey however liked it more than my choice, which meant I didn't have to share ; )

Speaking of not sharing, I ordered the Almond Crusted Cheesecake with Cherry Sauce.

This came at the recommendation of both Barb (@jabead ) and Jeri (@jerseytinkerbell) and did not disappoint. The almonds brought both amazing texture and flavor and really upped the traditional cheesecake factor. The cherry sauce was amazing and really helped cut through the richness of the cheesecake. If you eat at Narcoossee's do not miss this. It' right up there with Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake and Cream Cheese wontons as the best dessert on property.

Oh and I forgot to mention, we went back to our beloved red wine and washed these down with a couple of glasses of Martin Ray Cabernet Sauvignon.


I'd read many accolades for Narcoossee's and I can officially say they are well deserved. The food was outstanding all the way around, the setting gorgeous, and our server, Janet, was the prefect blend of attentiveness without being obtrusive. I think flying fish is still my favorite seafood joint on property, but the edge comes only from their amazing wine list. We without question will visit Narcoossee's again. And with our tables in wonderland card we saved $40.

We caught the boat back to the Poly and I was able to get this shot of the gorgeous restaurant at night.

I tried to get an equally gorgeous photo of my daughter but this was the result.

She is most definitely her father's daughter.

We spent the evening wallowing in our beloved Hokies loss to Ohio State, but at least we had happy bellies ; )

Up next, a return to a childhood favorite ​

​

 

[happy2012]

Oh I'm another fan of that Almond Crusted Cheesecake with Cherry Sauce. Good stuff!!!

 

[Wood Nymph]

The cherry sauce was amazing and really helped cut through the richness of the cheesecake. If you eat at Narcoossee's do not miss this. It' right up there with Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake and Cream Cheese wontons as the best dessert on property.

The won tons and cheesecake must be pretty good then. Both your shrimp and the lobster mac look good, too.

 

[DisneyKates]

This is their white wine flight sampler which came with a moscato, riesling, and blend called Conundrum. The moscato and riesling were both way too sweet, but the Conundrum was a nicely balanced white though it could have used a bit more acidity

At first I wasn't actually sure there was any pasta in there as there was so much lobster. There was of course pasta, but the buttery perfectly cooked lobster was the real star of this show.

That sounds amazing!!! I might need to change our April plans to include a trip to Narcoosees... I was going to reply to the first quote above, but my iPhone says no.way.lady! I love love love Conundrum. My mom and I don't do well with reds - something with the tannins - so my dad tends to keep good whites in the house. This has been a favorite for awhile now.

Thanks for the great dining reviews! I am loving this trip report.

 

[Vernie822]

That casey pic at the end, hahahahaha!! She is too much. That mac and cheese looks AWESOME though. And Jason's wine flight, and the cheesecake.. Everything looks fantastic. I think Narcoossee's may be next up on our list of signatures to try.

 

[suse66]

So glad you had an awesome dinner at Narcoosee's! We are eating there in March at DH's request and are so happy to hear such a shining report. It was one of our favourites from our 2009 trip so are very much looking forward to a return visit!

 

[momof3princes]

Your dinner looked amazing! I love when lobster mac and cheese is mostly lobster
The picture you got of Casey at the end is like all my pics of my boys but add in crazy hand gestures of all sorts and the old standby bunny ears

 

[tabrizia]

Now I really want the lobster Mac and Cheese when we go in 3 weeks, I bet I can talk my husband into splitting it with me. I love Narcoossee's and your meal looks great.