Sorry if I am being a PITA but where did you get your meal ideas? Have you seen a sample menu or did you really just give a likes and dislike list.
I know we both love shrimp cocktail...and she loves meat and potatoes and all seafood (not to much on pasta though). Me I am picky. I love seafood as long as it isn't fish. I love steak but hate prime rib and roast beef...and definitely no lamb! I am even more picky on veggies!
So you see why I am at a quandry? How did you guys pick and how do you make sure you don't end up paying $150 a person when the chef's suggestions come back. How much was the meal with the lobster?
We have a ressie at Narcoosee's that I will cancel if this works out right.
Well, my hubby is also a steak and lobster lover so i would have done that originally. But, as I stated earlier, we'll be eating at Narcoossee's, California Grill, Le Cellier, Yachtsman Steakhouse, Brown Derby and Coral Reef on our other nights, so I'm sure he will have plenty of steak and at least lobster once (at Narcoossee's) during our stay.
I wanted something that he really loves and rarely eats so I picked the rack of lamb. It did take a while to think through and decide. Then I went on the internet and found photos of what I wanted (presentation and such) to give the chef a clearer picture of what I was looking for. I just picked his favorite veggie and let the chef decide for potatoes. For me, I once ate the most incredible tuna in a restaurant in Connecticut. It was really to die for. Crusted on the outside and pink/rare almost raw on the inside but still warm. so I gave that description and also included photos of similar dishes I found on the net. Appetizers were easy - hubby loves shrimp cocktail and I love crab cakes so a duo of both those items for the two of us. Salad I just said that we love spinach, the chef came up with the rest/dressing. Dessert is apparently a 'special' that they do. Have no idea what it is and I didn't ask, will enjoy the surprise I'm sure.
I also mentionned the things we absolutely hate. Me- parsley, blech! And hubby- mushrooms
I guess it pretty much came down to selecting something that was out of the ordinary of things that we would order when we go out. Something we love but rarely have. We tend to stick to the usual fare when out and I wanted something different, special. I want DH to see that I really took the time to think of him and his likes. I'm sure he'll appreciate the effort.
I will admit that I was also worried when I started. I had no idea what the heck to pick, and I started by going online and searching. Start by entering something you like and you will undoubtedly stumble onto restaurant websites where you will see their menus. When I did that, all kinds of ideas starting flowing. You could actually just look up some fancy restaurants in your area and go to their websites. I thought that was the most helpful.
As for price, unless your picking some serious specialty item (truffles?) or specific wine, I don't think it would go up so high. Shortchange is getting filet and lobster (well, initially) for $85/pp. Mine is $95/pp but we will have shrimp cocktail (and crab in the crab cakes) and rack of lamb is quite expensive. So it wasn't terribly more than the starting price.
Anyway, turned out to be fun in the end. Made me hungry!
