Tuesday, October 23rd - Dinner for the First Time in Five Days ... Who'd A Thunk It???
After canceling reservations at Flying Fish and California Grill, Jay and I were determined to make it to Narcoossee's, especially since it would be a brand new dining experience for us. And luckily Jay's tummy was still behaving - definitely good news!
Awesome news! For Jay's tummy at least.
The obligatory pre-dinner self portrait:
Brenda models granny's bedroom curtains...
I actually like this dress a lot, but it does look like fabric that could be used for window dressings, doesn't it?
Couture by Von Trapp. The fall collection is coming out soon. It features leiderhosen.
Rather than walk though Epcot and hitch a ride on the monorail we opted to take a cab over to the Grand Floridian - we arrived about 20 minutes before our ADR time, but that worked out nicely because it gave us some time to wander around the property. The restaurant is in a gazebo shaped building located on the shores of the Seven Seas Lagoon; it's a very pretty spot, especially at night.
Front entrance
Boat launch to MK at the rear of the restaurant
Oh gosh, you really captured the twilight romance here. Sigh.
There is a wooden pier that circles the rear of the restaurant and there are benches scattered about that make for peaceful hideaways where you can sit and listen to the water lapping at the shore and watch the lake traffic. But a note of caution for those of you, like us, who hoped to watch the fireworks from the restaurant. Shortly before the pyrotechnics are scheduled to begin those benches fill up with people who also want to view the show. It's entirely possible to have a window seat at Narcoosee's and still not see much because your lovely view has been blocked by a mass of humanity seated and standing on the pier in order to watch the fireworks. It worked out well for us, but I can see where it could be a problem during a busier time of year.
You really paint a pretty word-picture, there. It's like you can look at the pictures and have someone narrate this paragraph. Like one of those old filmstrips in school. - beep -
We did request a window seat when we checked in and were told that it would take a bit longer for us to be seated because of it; that was fine since we weren't in a hurry to be anywhere else. We waited in the bar, which seemed a bit small and cramped, but which had a great, non-standardized drink menu and a friendly, knowledgeable staff. Jay and I each ordered a martini to start the evening out right - I had a Pomegranate Martini ... a drink that I've become quite fond of, and Jay ordered a Pumpkin Spice Martini.
This drink matches my dress!
Didn't Jay match his wine at California Grill during your
last trip? Sheesh. The drinks sound fantastic, though.
The Pomegranate Martini was light and refreshing and served ice cold in a frosted glass. I've been hooked on PAMA ever since I tried it at the 2006 F&W Festival - thank you France! I was a bit surprised at Jay's choice, only because it seemed like more of a dessert drink, but to paraphrase a famous DISer ... "life's uncertain; have dessert first!"
First it was port. Now it will be a pomegranate martini. You're a terrible influence on me. We'll have to hold a meeting about which drinks we need to order at Todd English's bluezoo™.
We both thought that the Pumpkin Spice Martini was very tasty and not at all overpowering or too sweet. This is just my opinion, of course, but I think too many dessert martinis are far too sweet; this drink was subtle and really well balanced.
That sounds like the perfect October cocktail, too.
I'd say we were seated around 7:30 that evening, and we were given a table next to a window that looked directly out over the lagoon towards the Contemporary Resort. The view was lovely, especially with all the lights winking in the dark, and we had a prime spot for the Electric Water Pagent. I know there are some who find the water pagent kind of lame, but I remember it from way back when Hector was a pup (what does that mean???) and it's one of those things at Disney that's never lost its charm for me.
I dunno. You totally lost me with the Hector pup comment. What did you have to drink tonight? LOL!
We each ordered an appetizer to start ... I chose the Crab Cakes with Lemon Frisee Slaw and Remoulade Sauce, while Jay opted for the Seafood Chowder with Sherry, Chives, and Sourdough Crostini.
You're all mine, you sweet crabby patties!
I knew that you'd get that. You just had to get a crabby patties! You didn't disappoint me there.
Chow-dah... it's pronounced Chow-Daaaaaah!!
I'm no expert on crab cakes...that's an impossibility when you are landlocked and seafood has to be airlifted in, but I thought these were really good. Lots of sweet, tender crabmeat with a mild remoulade sauce made this a winner in my book.
As for the chow-dah, Jay said that it was quite tasty; there were chunks of lobster, crabmeat, and other myriad pieces of seafood which he no longer remembers mixed in with potatoes and sherried cream. Jay would order this again in a heartbeat if we were to dine at Narcoossee's sometime in the future ...
as opposed to the past because our time machine still isn't working properly.
Well maybe if you had Mr. Peabody (not Hector) and Sherman (the boy) hanging out with you, you might be able to travel back in time. Nevermind. The soup sounded fabulous and would have probably won me over. I might have wanted to make dinner out of the crab cakes and soup and dessert and called it a night.
For dinner, I ordered the Crab-Crusted Halibut and Jay ordered the Grilled Scallops with Butternut Squash Risotto, Aged Balsamic, and Pancetta.
Mmmm, more crab...
According to the menu this is served with lemon-butter sauce, crushed fingerling potatoes, and yellow pea shoots. I thought this dish was very good, but the serving size was quite large and I wasn't able to finish it all. I really liked the lemon-butter sauce, which is surprising because I'm not typically a fan of many sauces. This sauce was creamy with just a hint of lemon, and it tasted great with the halibut.
Wow that looked fantastic. Makes me re-think the appetizer heavy dinner.
This looks like a mistake ...
Once I saw this I was secretly glad that I didn't order it - it looks like a jumbled mess, no matter how good it tasted. The thing that really puzzles me is the "liquid" oozing up from beneath the risotto ... I guess that's the balsamic but it looks highly unappealing. Jay said the whole dish was good, but I didn't try it ... just couldn't get past the visual on this one.
Funny that you mention it. The only time I ate at Narcoosee's, I ordered scallops. And I was completely disappointed in the meal. But that was back in 2001, and I'm sure the menus have changed dramatically since then.
Prepare yourselves ... we didn't order dessert. I know it must seem strange, the two of us not ordering dessert, but Jay didn't want to push his stomach too far and I wasn't overly impressed with Narcoosee's dessert menu. I almost ordered their cheese plate, but I knew I wouldn't be able to eat all of it and since Jay wasn't interested in cheese I decided against it.
No dessert? No cheese? No fair. Pout.
So, what did we think? We liked Narcoosee's and would consider going back on a future trip, but it's not on the list of "must dos" primarily because we think that Flying Fish is a better choice for seafood - their menu is more varied and creative. We would definitely recommend this restaurant because it was very good, but do think that there are other signature restaurants on property that are much better than Narcoosee's.
BTW ... because I mis-pronounced it when making ADRs, I thought I'd share with you how I was told to say it: Nar-cooooooo-sees.
Thanks for reading! Next up - the last day of the trip with a whole lotta snacking at the F&W Festival.
Yeah, I really don't have much of a desire to return. I'd rather go to Citrico's or V&A's if I had to choose a meal at the Grand Floridian.
we will be having dinner there in exactly 16 days. 
Normally we eat at cheap counter service type places but I know I want to do at least 1 or 2 nice dinners. Do you have plans to eat at Joe's in the Forum Shops?? I think that will be our anniversary dinner.
And she only had one glass of port ... I wonder if that's the secret???
