Signature Restaurant Reviews (4/26 - 5/2) with pics ALL REVIEWS COMPLETE

[auntfrannie]

This year I did a solo trip to celebrate my birthday and decided to do the deluxe dining plan. Each night I used 2 credits for a signature restaurant:

Flying Fish Cafe (twice)
California Grill
Narcoosee's
Jiko's
Citrico's
Artist Point

I'm also going to include my reviews of the following restaurants even though they're not signature. They were my lunch choices:

Kona Cafe
Yak & Yeti
Liberty Tree Tavern

On with the reviews!

My first night was at the Flying Fish. They were able to seat my early at the Chef's counter. Jackie was the server and she was great. She ran through the menu with me and made suggestions based on their signature dishes and her favorites. She introduced me to chef Rudbi who was working the pan frying station (3rd from the left).


My first course was the crab cake appetizer. It was pretty darn big for an appetizer! About the size of my fist and very tasty. Lots of crab and not much else!


Next up was the potato crusted red snapper. I guess in my head I was picturing this to be covered in mashed potatoes. But it was actually very, very thin slices of potato wrapped around the snapper pan fried then finished in the oven. The snapper was nice and firm and didn't fall apart. The sauce was incredible!


Finally, dessert calls! This was my favorite dessert all week. I had a Study in Strawberries. Three mini desserts all featuring strawberries. On the left is Strawberry Shortcake with a little cake about the size of a half dollar. The middle one is strawberry crepes (my favorite of the three). The one on the right is strawberry ice cream.


It was an incredible meal and I was so glad that I had a second ADR scheduled for later in the week!

 

[kabuki]

YEA! Great Start! One of personal favs Flying Fish! Thanks for the pics and reviews!

 

[auntfrannie]

Monday night was a return to one of my favorites: The California Grill.

Great service, great food, and if you're lucky, a great view! This is the view from where I was seated:


I started with the Potato and Asparagus soup. This was a thoroughly blended (no lumps of potato) soup. You can really taste the asparagus; it's not overwhelmed by the potato. There was also lump crab meat hiding in there for a touch of texture. Very good!


Next up was the filet. Cooked to melt-in-your-mouth perfection! It came sitting on a bed of pasta gratin with asparagus.


For dessert I got the Banana Butterscotch Buzz. Sorry! I forgot to take a picture of it. Phyllo, a chilled layer of butterscotch custard topped with bananas foster. A wonderful ending to a great meal. I figure the banana makes it healthy! : )

 

[auntfrannie]

Tuesday night was Narcoossee's. This was so disappointing for me! I originally had ADRs for two nights but after this meal I cancelled the second and changed it to Citrico's. I thought the food was mediocre bordering on bland and the service left a lot to be desired. For a signature restaurant I just felt like I was abandoned by my server (Rita).

I started with the Duck Roll. I accidentally deleted my pic so nothing to show you on this one! I was expecting some spice to this dish according to the description from the menu but there was no bite to it.

Surf & Turf was next. I've never had lobster tail so maybe my expectations were high but this was bland. I realize seafood tends to be that way but this had no taste whatsoever. So I tried it with the butter sauce. Still nothing. The turf, however, was quite good and the potato gratin was tasty. <oops...I posted the wrong picture...here's the right one.>


Dessert was bland strawberry shortcake. It looks wonderful, doesn't it? Too bad it didn't taste as good as it looked!


I left here pretty disappointed because I had heard such rave reviews. It's not a place I would put on my list of places to return.

 

[phabric]

Enjoyed your reviews with the pictures. Looking for more.

 

[auntfrannie]

Next up is my second trip to the Flying Fish. It was another great meal with great service! This time I was seated in the Cabana section. This is a secluded area in the back, decorated to look like you're sitting in a beach cabana.

Tammy was my server and she did a great job of again going through the menu and making recommendations. This is what I expect in a signature restaurant!

The lobster bisque and BLT was my appetizer of choice. To be honest, I don't remember much about the bisque because I was busy talking to the family at the table next to me. I remember the soup being good but that's about it. The BLT was exactly two bites; perfect for an appetizer. It was on very thin toasted bread with a bit of lobster and a bit of bacon. Tasty good!


For the entree I selected the oakfired salmon. The salmon was perfect but I always think salmon is pretty hard to mess up. It was sitting on roasted fennel and asparagus. Another winner!


As much as I liked the Study in Strawberries from my first night, I decided to live on the edge and try a different dessert. I selected the Tropical Fuits & Coconut Panna Cotta. The bottom (white) layer was coconut custard; the top (yellow) layer was more like a mixed tropical fruit gelatin. On top was a tropical fruit salsa. It was very refreshing. The little macaroon/meringue cookies were a nice complement. They had a crunchy outside and a chewy middle.



The Flying Fish is definitely worthy of a trip to the Boardwalk!! I almost forgot to mention their martini! I love martinis with olives but they had blue-cheese stuffed olives! It was devine! An appetizer and drink all in one!

 

[TigerKat]

We loved FF enough to go twice as well last time. Another martini lover here.

 

[faberj]

Great Reviews so far!

 

[faindrops27]

Oh yummy! Thanks for sharing!

 

[suzimar57]

excellent reviews and photos! - now i want to eat at flying fish - sorry narcoosees disappointed - we've always enjoyed our meals there

 

[honeybee213]

great reviews! can't wait to see the rest

 

[donaldtutter]

Awesome reviews! Looking forward to the rest.

 

[lvloopingbag]

Love the reviews! Can't wait to see more!

 

[auntfrannie]

Moving on to Jiko's, this was another wonderful treat! I think the AKL is such a relaxing resort. My view from Jiko's was of a meandering stream. Just beautiful!

Tommy was my server and he was excellent. He gave me a tour of the menu and suggested his favorites. One of which was the Kalamata Olive Flatbread. I love olives; I love goat cheese...so what's not to love about this appetizer? There was everything to love! It's huge for an appetizer; however, as with all flatbreads, there's nothing wrong with just eating the toppings and skipping the crust! Although the crust was good, I had to save room for dessert!


Next, Tommy brought out the filet. Cooked perfectly, nestled on a bed of mac & cheese. Soooo good! The mac & cheese is made with white cheddar and was a different taste for me. I haven't had mac & cheese in a looong time!


Dessert was Lemon Curd. The lemon curd was very smooth and paired perfectly with the sour cream ice cream. I think the sauce was a blueberry & pomegranate mix. The sweet and tart flavors blended perfectly.


Jiko's is a place I would make a special trip to get to! Great food, great service, and a very relaxing atmosphere.

 

[auntfrannie]

Thanks, everyone!

Suzimar, everyone seems to love Narcoossee's so I'm assuming I must have just had an off night! It happens...or maybe I just had my crankypants on and nothing would have pleased me that night!!

 

[SondraC]

Great review so far!! Can't wait to see more!

Question...am I seeing things or is the pic of the filet the same as the pic the next day for the surf & turf?

I see your location is Pittsburgh, I'm in Export east of the city! Hi neighbor!

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Great reviews so far, I'm looking foward to reading the rest.

 

[auntfrannie]

Great review so far!! Can't wait to see more!

Question...am I seeing things or is the pic of the filet the same as the pic the next day for the surf & turf?

I see your location is Pittsburgh, I'm in Export east of the city! Hi neighbor!

Oh! Good catch! I went back and corrected it thanks! Hi back at ya!

 

[BriarRosie]

Thanks, everyone!

Suzimar, everyone seems to love Narcoossee's so I'm assuming I must have just had an off night! It happens...or maybe I just had my crankypants on and nothing would have pleased me that night!!

You're not alone. I was underwhelmed by my meal at Narcoosee's. But to be fair, that was in 2001 and I haven't been back since. I thought it was funny that you echoed my thoughts on the red snapper. I remember my first time at Flying Fish was during my first ever solo trip in 1997. I also sat at the counter and raved about the sauce.

I can't seem to load the pictures, though. They are coming in as boxes with a red X in them.

 

[libinatorsmom]

Great Reviews thanks for sharing... I hope you had an off night ar Narcoosees as its one of our ADRs I am looking forward too!!!! that and Flying Fish - I have been wanting the Red Snapper Dish since I frist heard about it