Thank you all for the well wishes! I'm still with a cold, but it and Sandy both can't stop me from doing some updates. I'll try to get a few things up every-day until I'm done with this review. Such fond memories, looking at the photos of the food...
Scojos, the best way to keep up with Citrico Special Events is Citrico's mailing list. Unfortunately, at the moment I'm having trouble finding the email address to get on it. I know that when a Citricos special event is offered and seats aren't filled within a certain amount of time, they put the event up on the Tables in Wonderland mailing list- that's how we first heard about them ever happening. Mom will try to find you the address for the mailing list, but if she can't, I have a suggestion- email Keith Gimbal.
He's the new (well, not so new anymore) manager at Citrcos, and he's really nice (back when he was at the flying fish, he offered to do a special dessert for me anytime as long as I called ahead and asked). If you message him asking if there are any wine dinners or special events going on during the time of your vacation, I'm sure he'll respond. If nothing else, there's always the Chef's Domain, though you may want more then two people there for that.
And I'm sure that they'll be able to adapt for your food allergies. Chef Phillip told me he actually likes special requests/food issues- it keeps him on his toes, were his words.
PizzieDuster, I'll try to remember to PM you next time I do a review! We're going to head down in again early next year, though we're going to try to do a much cheaper trip which probably means less crazy signatures. Hopefully the review will still be interesting to read.
Minniebeth, the Kitchen is definitely a favorite of ours (though I could have done without the choking experience). The atmosphere is great, the food is delicious, and the waiters seem very friendly. We're not planning on doing Universal again for a while, but next time we do, we'll definitely go back.
Um. So. On to the review!
This was another Food and Wine Event that wasn't really a Food and Wine Event- happened at the same time, but wasn't part of the festival. Flying Fish calls them their 'Winery Series Events'. We only got in due to a totally awesome DISmember who mom befriended, so cheers for her having social skills that I, er, really don't. (<-- shy) It was an excellent meal and we were really lucky to get a chance to go.
Mom has some fun stories about meeting DIS members there, but I'll stick to talking about the food- but first, let me admit my bias.
I
love Flying Fish. I didn't order much of it this trip, but fish is one of my favorite foods (just a bit below chocolate and 'empty carbs' on the list). I think Chef Tim Keating is amazing, and has made Flying Fish much more then 'a restaurant at an amusement park hotel'- it's one of the best restaurants in Orlando. It's my favorite Disney eatery (excluding V&A, which I'll admit is the best), and I think everyone should do the Chef's Counter there once. You sit at their counter overlooking the kitchen and get a five or so course tasting menu where Chef Tim (or one of his companions) comes and explains every course to you, with each course being finely paired with wine. It's good stuff.
So I was really looking forward to this. And it didn't disappoint. Well, okay, there were three things...
A) It was loud. Really loud. I think the table next to us had gotten started early, as they were sometimes so loud that our table couldn't hear our own conversations over them. We were in the back room of the Flying Fish, the one with the circular booths, and that room has horrible acoustics (more on that much later in this food report).
B) We didn't get refills on the wine. This was expensive wine, so it is understandable, but considering we had at Citricos and Japan (well, refills of the sake, there) it was a bit disappointing... especially considering the cost of the dinner.
C) Neither Chef Tim nor any of the other chefs came out to explain each course. I always like hearing why the chefs matched this food to the wine, and how they thought we should best eat it- we didn't get any of that. Chef Tim only came at the beginning and the end of the meal, and while the wines were talked about at length, the food was not. Which was a shame, as the food was great.
Having said all that... it was an excellent experience. I want to do it again.
Our wine presenter for the evening was Master Sommelier John Blazon, and the dinnner was showcasing 'Howell Mountain Wine Treasures' which meant La Jota Vineyards. He was a very good and engaging speaker, and came around quite a few times to speak individually with each table and shake hands.
So, finally, let's get started with the food!
The Amuse Bouche- Roulade of Citrus-cured Ocracoke Island Hirame and Dill-cured Norwegian Smoked Salmon (the lighting was very dim, so all pictures are going to have that yellow tint to them, I'm afraid- but mom does good with what she has, doesn't she?). This (and the first course) were served with the one white wine of the night, 2011 Galerie "Naissance", a Sav Blanc.
Remember how I spoke of loving fish? Well, salmon is my favorite. Flying Fish, in my experience, never goes wrong with their fish, so the salmon and the white fish were awesome. There was a nice little fennel and radish salad on the side that just added to the meal.
Also going with the Galerie "Naissance" was Port Canaveral Head-on Shrimp (which led to a discussion at the table on how much shrimp you can actually suck from the head piece- the answer was not very much, sadly). Served with artichokes and carrots... not that you can really see any in the picture. They were tiny artichokes and carrots. These were delicious, if slightly uncomfortable. I am not DonaldDoleWhip, sadly, and shrimp with the heads on always makes me feel a bit depressed and reminded of what I'm doing. Poor shrimp, being eaten so.
I got really confused by this picture for a moment, and worried that mom had forgotten to take a photo. Then I realized I was being silly. Despite first impressions, this is not a meat dish. This is a forest mushroom and pepperberry-crusted bigeye tuna 'filet'. Tuna is not one of my favorite fish (I tend to like it raw, or not at all), but it's one of the few fishes that could stand bravely up to the lovely and full Cab Sav it was served with. Besides, Chef Tim made it really yummy. He has a way of doing that.
It was served on top of 'Duck Confit, Porcini, and Red Kuri Squash-laced Orzo Perlato Barley Risotto', which is a bit of a mouthful. The risotto, though, was delicious, and I almost liked it more then the tuna itself. You can tell a good restaurant by their sides receiving as much love and attention as the main course, and the Flying Fish is definitely a good restaurant. The side-dishes for each course were consistently great.
Ocala's Pasture Prime Mangalista Pork Loin, served with a Cab Franc (mom
loves Cab Franc's... actually, so do I... and managed to wrangle a refill by telling a server that). The pork loin was excellent, not at all dry, but again another real winner was the side- smokey pork belly-laced tiny brussel sprouts and sunchokes. I don't even like Brussel Sprouts (mostly due to the smell), but these were amazing.
Mom got bread crumbs on the tableeee, mom got bread crumbs on the tableeee... um. Ahem.
My favorite course! Slow-braised Wagyu Beef Short Ribs & Dark-crusted Striploin, and then Creamy Truffle, Midnight Moon Chevre (I had something involving Midnight Moon at the Brown Derby, if you need a refresher), and Fingerling Potato Gratin. Served with a lovely little Merlot, and Merlot's generally aren't my favorite reds.
The beef was delicious. There's no other way to state it. But the potato and cheese side won. It was, I think, mom's favorite item in the meal, and she decided to finish it over finishing her beef. I almost did the same, but managed to get the short rib down too. I hope they put this on the menu as a side to something sooner or later, as it was incredibly nice little dish.
We finished the meal with a cheese plate and a 2005 Cab Sav- a 'Heritage Release'. The wine was fantastic, and I think my favorite. The cheeses? One of my personal favorites (and a go-to at the Flying Fish- they always have it on their cheese menu)- Cowgirl Creamery's Mt. Tam, which is a soft cheese that I find pairs well with just about every food item they ever have given me as an accompaniment on their cheese plate. There was then Cypress Grove Purple Haze Chevre and Bellwether Farms Carmody, as well as a small salad, a tuile, and some spiced marcona almonds. I was basically too full to enjoy the other two cheeses (and it probably would have been a bad idea, after the cheesy side of the course before), but this was a nice little ending.
...But that doesn't mean I was going to turn down some real sweets. (There is an extra place in your thigh where dessert goes, thus allowing you to eat it even when you think your full. It's true. I swear.) The cute little easel was made of chocolate sticks, with the Flying Fish sign made of sugar. Each little dessert was delicious, but my personal favorite was the one in the center- a very dense caramel. I'd never had Flying Fish chocolates before, but they were certainly on quality with the V&A ones we had been served at Citricos.
(I liked the volume better over there, though, but I would.)
So, er, how to sum this up? It was good. It was really good. We ate more then we should. We owe a certain someone so many thanks for allowing us to eat with him and enjoy this lovely meal. La Jota Vineyards makes some very nice wines, and I wish we had gotten to try their port. I wish I was going to eat at the Flying Fish tonight, instead of just sitting here trying to figure out if Sandy is going to eat the power or not.
If you haven't given the Flying Fish a try in a while, please consider doing so. They have absolutely great fish and shellfish, but they also always have en excellent steak and a good pasta dish if someone's not a seafood eater (as well as usually one of pork or lamb). They have great servers, a good wine list, some interesting mixed drinks, a full tea selection, press-pots of coffee, and that lovely chef's counter thing I mentioned before. They do these Wine Dinners pretty often, and also have Dine with an Imagineer events. Give them a call and see if there's anything happening while you're down there for your next trip- it'll be fun, I promise. (Well, I sorta promise. It'd be fun for me, anyway. I think-and hope- it would be fun for all of you.) Just be sure to post pictures so I can drool over them!