Finally, the highlight of our weekend, our dinner at Flying Fish!
We arrived MUCH earlier than our ADR, which I figured most likely wouldn't be a problem. The resort area had been pretty quiet (with the exception of Beaches & Cream!) and sure enough we were seated immediately at a window table.
I love the decor in here!
So, as I had texted to Barb for the live updates thread...I think our server, Bob, had to have been fresh from a long stint at 50's Prime Time Cafe, because he picked on me all night. It started kind of slow...shortly after we'd sat down, I had pulled my phone out of my purse to put on the chair beside us, so I could text Barb a photo from our meal. Bob told me "If you're googling items on the menu to understand what they area, you should really just ask me!" I was a little taken aback by this. And it just kept coming! I said "No thank you" to him when he offered/asked something a moment later...I don't remember what it was, but he started asking DH "Is she always like this?" and then offered to have me moved to a table on the patio. Yeaaaaah...a little strange, and definitely not quite what I expect when I get all dolled up for a lovely meal. BUT! Somewhere around the delivery of the appetizers when my initial confusion wore off, I started having fun with him. It turns out Bob was a pretty good guy, he just had one heck of a vivacious personality.
He was VERY attentive though and made us laugh and laugh throughout the meal. We wound up tipping him way over the TIW-included gratuity for showing us such a good time. I DO have to wonder though if he's like that with ALL his patrons, because that seems dangerously capable of backfiring!
Anyway! On with the meal!
DH started his meal with a cocktail, the Flying Fish Fizz:
I don't remember what was in this, but it was STRONG!
Bob delivered bread...
He told us it was only the second day they'd served this bread. It was a sort of soft onion rye bread. It was fine, kind of better suited for a sandwich than eating plain on its own IMO.
Appetizers were a struggle for me! I'd wanted soup or a salad. The soup that day was a corn clam chowder, bleh. I came very close to ordering the Epcot (grown) Salad, hold the goat cheese, but I wanted something a bit easier to share.
I wound up choosing:
Vegetarian Sushi Roll - Tofu, Avocado, summer radish, young carrot roll, cucumber-seaweed salad and piquant mango and Asian cream accents
This was great! The sauces lent a slight spiciness which I love in my sushi. I probably wouldn't order it again, because we get sushi so much at home it doesn't seem as 'special', but this was certainly well prepared. It was also more than large enough to share, with six generous pieces.
DH chose the famous...
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Crispy Maine Coast Jonah Crab Cake" - Savory Vegetable Slaw, Roasted Red Pepper Coulis, and Ancho Chile Rémoulade
Delicious! I'm not a big fan of crab cakes so when he offered me a bite I didn't expect to like it, but it was SO rich and flavorful. The cold crisp coleslaw underneath was a great contrast and the remoulade was fantastic. If we ever go back and he gets this again, I'm going to force him to share more!
He loved it.
For our entrees, I knew exactly what I wanted before I stepped in. The much-maligned....
"Char-crusted Angus New York Strip Steak" - Fingerling Potatoes, Hericot Vert, young carrots, and bermuda onions with Classic Sauce Foyot"
Reading the reactions when Barb shared my photo text in her thread cracked me up. Such horror at the appearance of this steak! Let me tell you; I'm not much of a red meat eater, and I have steak about once every 16 months, if that. But I LOVE charred meat. It's terrible, I'll probably die from eating it someday, but if you put anything on a grill and turn it black, I will love it. I used to only EVER order steaks "well done" until my DH begged me to at least settle on "medium". I've said before I think that's why I'm one of the few people who have never had a bad meal at 'Ohana!
THAT said...this steak was NOT "burnt". When I put my knife into it for the first time, it slid right through. Despite its appearance, it melted in my mouth like butter. And I absolutely LOVED it. I'm pretty sure I "mmm"d throughout my first six or seven bites. The juicy steak with the char crust combined with the tremendously rich foyot was delicious. It was just MEAT on top of MEAT on top of MEAT, a flavor that really smacks you across the face.
Such an unusual choice for me, but this easily filled my steak quota for the next two years. DO NOT FEAR THE CHAR, people!
The vegetables were lovely, nice and firm. I'm not a huge fan of fingerling potatoes because I find they're often either "soggy" or "undercooked", but these were perfect! Simply too much to handle on top of all the MEAT though so most remained on my plate. I forcefed DH as many forkfuls of my steak as I could because I refused to waste a bite. He agreed it was tender, but he enjoyed his entree much more.
And his entree was:
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Ginger and Teriyaki Char-Crusted Yellowfin Tuna - bok choy, Asian mushrooms, carrots, snap and snow peas, with a lightly curried carrot-coconut lemongrass infusion"
He loves anything with a curry flavor, so this was right up his alley! The portion was SUPER generous for a tuna dish. The "char" crust here wasn't anything like on the steak.
Just a lovely rare center with a medium outer layer. You can't really see in the picture but there was an entire forest worth of mushrooms in here! I was starting to get jealous! Apart from that I thought his entree was a bit boring, because we eat a ton of fish at home. But he thought this was by far the best tuna he's ever had, and was super pleased with this choice!
While we were looking over the dessert menu, deciding what we could possibly force ourselves to make room for
Bob surprised DH with this:
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PB&J Créme Brulée - Raspberry Confiture, Double Chocolate Biscotti, and Chocolate Ganache Pipette
It was a lovely surprise, particularly because DH loves creme brulee and I assumed going in that he'd order it anyway.
I'm not a fan, but I had to try a bite, and woah, talk about RICH! DH actually didn't like it much either. The PB flavor was just too strong and it was overall a bit odd to him. It was still a nice gesture though! The pipette of chocolate sauce was fun!
I wanted a glass of ice wine with dessert, but decided I might as well go with the flight!
The Kiona was the one I'd wanted to order a glass of before I saw the flight, and it was my favorite by a landslide! Bob assured us that a complimentary wheelchair would be provided if the three ounces of wine proved too much for me!
DH ordered the dessert wine flight:
His review: "I wouldn't say I disliked any of them...I just wouldn't order a full glass of any of them."
He normally loves Moscato but he didn't even enjoy that one. I think the PB&J creme brulee ruined his palette!
For my dessert, I chose:
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Blueberry-Lemon Panna Cotta Torta: Citrus Crème Fraîche and Limoncello Pâte de Fruit"
That says it all about my feelings on this dessert. I usually love SUPER sweet desserts but I was in the mood for the exact opposite here, and this was a perfect choice. Amazingly fresh and tart blueberries, tangy creme fraiche with a slight acidic hint, warm on the bottom and cold on top, just a soft little bundle of summery bliss.
DH chose, for his (second) dessert, the FF classic:
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Caramelized Banana Napoleon” Crisp Phyllo, Banana Mousse, Crème Caramel, Exotic Fruit Coulis, and Bitter Chocolate.
He enjoyed this MUCH more than the PB&J. He loves banana in desserts and the mousse was heaven to him. It was just sweet enough without being cloying and the phyllo was buttery and perfect! I refused to try a bite at the time (it seemed messy!) but wish I had!
And that concludes our ENORMOUS, nearly two-hour-long meal at Flying Fish Cafe. It was definitely a fantastic experience with great food and a very unusually entertaining server
. We definitely hope to go back! This might have to be DH's new birthday tradition!
Hi Becky and welcome back to the DIS! Thanks for all the great text updates. It was a fun preview of your Dining Report. 
But then again, if our plans hadn't been changed, I would have never met the Boardwalk "pizza dude". 
