seafood Archives - Small Barrels Magazine

Waterfront Dining at Narcoossees – Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort

January 2, 2020 By karin Leave a Comment

Slow Poached and Chilled Shrimp Appetizer

Narcoosee’s is a lovely seafood restaurant located at the edge of Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort, right on the Seven Seas Lagoon with great views of Cinderella’s castle at Magic Kingdom. Booking a later dinner time may provide you with a window seat to take in the theme park’s fireworks display across the water. You might also catch a glimpse of the Electrical Water Pageant floating right by the restaurant’s verandah on the lagoon.

On this past visit, we dined very early (around 5:30) – too early to see the lights shows from the restaurant. But that’s because we actually had plans to be at Magic Kingdom for the fireworks show. Nonetheless, it was still a very pretty scene looking out at the water and the castle beyond as daylight poured in through the large windows. Inside, the restaurant decor is inviting, tasteful, and fresh and with a crisp New England feel. It’s the perfect backdrop for the mostly seafood-inspired menu.

After some scrumptious fresh bread and butter, we shared a pair of appetizers. The slow-poached and chilled shrimp – very meaty and sweet – served with frisee salad and pickled shallots is pictured at the very top of the article. Above, you’ll find the shrimp and crab cake appetizer with a citrus remoulade and red cabbage slaw. Both appetizers were generous and priced like all Narcoossees’s starters and salads around the $15-20 mark. As is often the case, the appetizers may have even outshone the entrees.

Narcoossee's Appetizer Menu — Narcoossee’s Appetizer Menu

The restaurant has a nice wine selection – take a look!

White Wines at Narcoossee's — White Wines at Narcoossee’s

We went with a few glasses of Mer de Soleil Chardonnay that paired beautifully with both our appetizers and entrees.

Narcoosee’s entrees are quite special and I would expect pleasing to most seafood-loving palettes. Priced in the $40-70 (for the lobster options), we found both of our meals beautifully prepared and generous. Family-style enhancements (vegetables, potatoes, sauces) can be added, although most if not all entrees seem to be complete meals.

I enjoyed the Butter-poached Twin Warm Water Lobster tails. I’m not sure if the photo captures how large the tails were, but it made for a hearty meal. I’m accustomed to Maine and Canadian maritime lobster and this was much different. The meat was softer, lacking the crisp bite of the cold water variety. Very interesting, and quite lovely with all that butter (but what isn’t.)

For him – yet another lobster tail appeared, along with a filet mignon, vegetables and potatoes. (The filet was a $19 upgrade to the entree, which otherwise came with a sirloin steak.) It was nicely prepared, perhaps not the best steak at Disney (see my review of Shula’s), but a treat of a meal nonetheless.

Narcoossee's Surf and Turf — Narcoossee’s Surf and Turf

Below is the two page wine list, nicely curated for the mostly seafood experience at Narcoossee’s.

As I noted above, the Mer de Soleil Chardonnay was perfect for the appetizers and my lobster tails. For him – we added a glass of Chappellet Mountain Cuvee 2016, a Cabernet Sauvignon blend to pair with the ‘turf’ side of his plate.

No dessert for us as we had plans for sweet treats later in the evening. So, after this early dinner at Narcoosee’s, we hopped the monorail departing from the Grand Floridian Resot and headed to Magic Kingdom to watch the spectacular new Happily Ever After Show. (We did in fact purchase tickets booking space for a special viewing area and dessert party – I’ll be reviewing this shortly! – but we had more than enough time to stake out a spot for the 9pm show without these arrangements.)

Go to www.disneyworld.disney.go.com to view the Narcoosee’s menu, explore a photo gallery, and make reservations.

Review of Todd English’s bluezoo at Walt Disney World

August 29, 2019 By karin Leave a Comment

Todd English's Bluezoo Menu — Todd English’s Bluezoo Menu

Todd English’s bluezoo, an upscale seafood restaurant, is located at the Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel. It has a hip, sophisticated vibe from its ‘blue-lit’ decor, creative menu, and excellent service. Dare I say it even has a somewhat ‘un-Disney’ like quality to it, making for refreshing change from days spent park hopping. You’re still going to see some families and groups, but in our experience, this is one of the more ‘hip date-night’ locations to eat at when doing Disney.

Bluezoo has a really great cocktail list. I was drawn to the concoction aptly named ‘serenity’, and it was fantastic. It’s as cool and refreshing as it sounds made with cucumber vodka, elderflower liqueur, a pleasing mix of muddled strawberries, basil, rosemary, and spiked with some lime and pineapple juice. Sooooo good and tastes rather like the grown up, fruitier cocktail cousin of spa cucumber water. For him – something a little more classic, but no less tasty – a Manhattan made with specialty bourbon and garnished with brandied cherries.

Appetizers are creative, varied (though lots of seafood, of course), and generous. We shared two: the jumbo shrimp cocktail and the scrumptious teppan seared jumbo sea scallops. Unfortunately, I have only a blurry photo of the scallops, unworthy of posting, but it was pretty — to look at, and to eat with tender and tasty morsels of seafood and beef both beautifully set off by a cauliflower purée.

The jumbo shrimp cocktail was really delish, served with interesting handcrafted sauces. The ‘bloody mary’ sauce was the most traditional of the bunch, and the avocado purée was my favourite: velvety and lovely. There was also a nice garlic aioli and a honey mustard sauce, and lots of fennel salt to tie together. A nice twist on the usual!

Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail with a selection of creative sauces

Both of our entrées were superb. I had the Simply Fish: corvina on that particular evening served with roasted zucchini couscous, corn purée, and a caper beurre blanc sauce. The fish was out of this world, delicately crisped on the outside, and flaky and beautiful on the inside. I was more impressed than I thought I’d be with the zucchini couscous – so delicate and tender, with the zucchini adding that subtle bit of green flavor to freshen it up. Great dish!

For him – what is probably the most outstanding item on the bluezoo menu bar none: the two-pound cantonese lobster. The tender lobster meat is fried and then tossed in a sweet, sticky, earthy/spicy glaze whose flavour you won’t forget. I can literally taste it as I look at the picture below. Spectacular — I really can’t say enough about this dish, and words are not going to capture it. If you go, just get it.

Bluezoo's signature dish: Two-Pound Maine Cantonese Lobster — Bluezoo’s signature dish: Two-Pound Maine Cantonese Lobster

To accompany our fabulous entrées we selected a chardonnay from bluezoo’s lovely wine list. We greatly enjoyed our bottle of Newton Unfiltered Chardonnay (Napa Valley, 2014). It was crisp and rich at the same time, especially perfect for drinking with the robust, ‘sweet and sticky’ flavors of the cantonese lobster.

We highly recommended bluezoo. First, there’s its grown-up ambiance roviding a little date-night oasis within the family-centered context of most Disney dining experiences. But mostly it’s the wonderful service and outstanding dishes, cocktails, and wines that makes bluezoo top our list as a favorite on our Disney holiday.

For more information or to make reservations, visit https://www.swandolphinrestaurants.com/bluezoo/

Review of Costa di Mare – Wynn, Las Vegas

June 24, 2019 By karin Leave a Comment

Costa di Mare – a gorgeous, elegant, but also friendly and vibrant Italian restaurant in the Wynn Las Vegas Hotel. Our experience from start to finish tops the list of our dining adventures in my books. From the coastal Mediterranean cuisine, to the stylish decor, and to the excellent – even exuberant – service, our evening at Costa di Mare was one to remember. First of all – what an entrance!

Curving lines, domed ceiling, and a circular balcony overlooking the main dining area give the restaurant an open feel and make it particularly inviting. The wall of windows overlooking the lagoon adds to the restaurant’s sense of glamour and beauty.

Starting with a terrific vodka martini, it was time to peruse the menu. At first glance, it was somewhat overwhelming: the sheer number of dishes to choose from, the parade of dishes offered even in the curated tasting menus….I was hoping for expert guidance, and everyone delivered. All or our servers were attentive and extremely knowledgeable, demystifying the process but more than that, setting the tone that made us feel like welcomed guests for a refined family feast. This is exactly how I would characterize our dinner – elegant enough for a couples evening, but with the warmth of being taken care of like family members.

In the end, we went for it all – the Gran Menu di Mare tasting menu. An example of the sort of guidance we received from our wonderful servers: we had a discussion right at the outset about what sort of wine could (possibly) pair with the variety of foods we were about to sample. The sommelier was immediately dispatched to our table, selecting gorgeous Italian wines – white and red – that we are likely never to find again, but that we enjoyed immensely. To ensure seamless blending of food and wine, the sommelier arranged to have certain dishes from the tasting menu modified or altered once we’d made our selections to keep things on point. This attention to detail was characteristic of everything that happened during our meal.

Fresh from the sea

Everything on the tasting menu is served family style and it all sounded – and was – delectable. Seafood was at the heart of nearly every dish, and yet the preparation in the fine Italian coastal style was not something we’ve experienced often. Not only was there fish flown in fresh from the Mediterranean that we had never tasted before, the combination with San Marzano tomatoes, olives, and pasta made for bright and surprising combinations.

The ricciola cruda con limone was a simple dish, but utterly delicate and sumptuous. We were off to a marvelous start.

Saute di vongole, Cappesante dorate con mostarda di rabarbaro e gremolata di noci, Polipo Ligure alla grigilia

The festival of food continued with a trio of dishes: clams with tomato sauce, seared sea-scallops with a fennel and endive salad (refreshing!), and a heartier dish of grilled octopus with olives, potatoes and pepper sauce.

We added the grigliata, grabbing the chance to enjoy the fresh shrimp, spiny lobster, and langoustine. The preparation was simple so that the beautiful flavor of the grilled seafood took centre stage.

Griiled shellfish - grigliata mista di gamberi, scampi, aragosta — Griiled shellfish – grigliata mista di gamberi,
scampi, aragosta

Primi - including: Calamarata pasta rings, scopion fish, and risotto with seafood — Primi – including: Calamarata pasta rings, scopion fish, and risotto with seafood

The main course consisted of a number of seafood dishes – a beautiful, velvety risotto with scallops, cuttlefish, lobster, and more (above right). The center dish in the photo above was a rich seafood, pasta and tomato sauce concoction, a substitution to pair with the red wine we were enjoying at this stage of the meal. On the left was a flavor party: calamarata pasta rings, scorpion fish, eggplant and San Marzano tomato sauce – of all the dishes we enjoyed that night, this is the one that stands out in my memory, summing up the spirit and style of this exciting cuisine.

Closer look at the velvety seafood risotto

Tagliatelle di seppia with cuttlefish and shellfish

Shown above was the fourth dish in this course – an incredibly tasty combination of cuttlefish ink ribbon pasta, shrimp, and lobster.

Seafood feast assembled on the plate - lobster with pasta and San Marzano sauce — Seafood feast assembled on the plate – lobster with pasta and San Marzano sauce

Calamarata con scorfano, melanzane e pomodoro

Unfortunately, we neglected to snap a photo of the impressive next course, pescato d’amo al forno – a whole-roasted Mediterranean fish. It was brought out to the table gleaming and whole, then expertly filleted and presented on our plates. The fish was paired with tomato and olive sauce absolutely bursting with flavor – another dish that stands out in my memory as emblematic of our Costa di Mare experience.

Whole roasted fish - Pescato d'amo al forno — Whole roasted fish – Pescato d’amo al forno

Here is where things began to drift into the unbelievable. We had already enjoyed copious flavors and textures. But dessert was still to come. And not just a small slice of tiramisu as you will see below.

The course is called sinfonia di dolci – symphony of desserts – and it was most certainly that. Sugared ‘fritters’ on apples and caramel with gelato, tiramisu, and a flight of half a dozen sorbets, all looking too pretty to eat. It was all incredible even though at this point we were reduced to a bite of this and a bite of that.

Heavenly 'fritters' and rich gelato — Heavenly ‘fritters’ and rich gelato

One final but important note – as someone who suffers from severe food allergies (tree nuts/peanuts) it can be a challenge (to say the least) to dine outside the home; for a dinner where there is this much food, with so many ingredients, and where a foreign language (to me) is used to describe the dishes, the challenge becomes even greater. But every single one of the many servers who attended to our table knew my concerns, and intimately knew every ingredient in each dish. Modifications were made for me as necessary. I felt perfectly comfortable, once again like an honored guest in someone’s home who had bothered to prepare the finest dishes with me in mind.

This was a delicious meal in beautiful surroundings with genuinely friendly and attentive service. I recommend it to you and am counting the days until my next visit.

For more information on Costa di Mare or to make reservations, visit www.wynnlasvegas.com/dining

Review of Lakeside Seafood Restaurant at Wynn Las Vegas

January 25, 2019 By karin Leave a Comment

An elegant seafood feast at Lakeside Seafood, Wynn Las Vegas

We dined at Lakeside Seafood at the Wynn on the first night of our trip (December 9, 2018). We had originally reserved a table for 9:30pm. However, travel and check in had gone so smoothly, and we were ready to get things rolling. It was not a problem whatsoever to change our reservation to 8:30 owing to the rather slow time of year.

So…a pleasant stroll through the casino and a trip down the hotel’s unique winding escalator at the edge of the lobby brought us to the lovely, comfortable Lakeside Seafood restaurant with its wall of windows overlooking the Lake of Dreams.

View of restaurant and Lake of Dreams performance — View of restaurant and Lake of Dreams light-and-image performance

We had the option of eating outdoors right on the lake and had we known how mild it really felt outside, we may have done it. But we opted to stay inside and were quite pleased. The dining room has a warm, comfortable ambience and there were very few people there that evening. Besides the view of the lake with its dancing pop art light show, there’s something whimsical about the restaurant, like a friendly, coral-toned underwater lair from a Bond film.;)

Cocktails to begin, including a very dry martini (Chopin) with blue cheese stuffed olives, and a glass of champagne for me.

Martini at Lakeside, with Chopin and Blue Cheese Olives

Rather famished from a day of travel, we dove right in with a classic shrimp cocktail and a tasty assortment of breads.

As you’d expect, the menu specializes in seafood featuring king crab, a selection of live lobster from around the world (Maine, Scottish – depending on availability) and other market fresh fish (halibut, salmon), and several Hawaiian specialties. There are the requisite ‘turf’ entrees – a nice selection of steaks and a chicken breast option as well.

We were definitely there for the seafood and could not get our minds off the idea of oven-roasted Prime Cut King Crab legs. On the advice of our knowledgeable server, we ordered a pound and a half serving to share. Now, we enjoy a hearty meal and were a bit worried this portion might not do it – but this was honestly more than enough. That’s because it was virtually all meat – succulent, tender, sweet crab meat that deserved the term Prime. The platter was served with a selection of three butters for dipping and dunking – classic drawn butter, a fresh and surprising yuzu-basil butter, and finally a spicy harissa butter. They were all phenomenal when paired with the luscious crab legs – really outstanding!

A beautiful golden-hued,lemony-buttery California Chardonnay made the perfect pairing for this delicious meal, the 2014 Paul Hobbs Chardonnay.

Cheers, we're in Vegas! — Cheers, we’re in Vegas!

I love this photo – the wine was such a beautiful golden color and this captures it. Almost as fun to look at as it was to drink…

Sides are served family style. We indulged in rich accompaniments, Yukon Whipped Potatoes and Black Truffle Creamed Spinach (heavenly). Also pictured below are the trio of dipping butters that accompanied the crab.

Black Truffle Creamed Spinach and a trio of dipping butters

Our dinner at Lakeside Seafood was relaxed, delicious, indulgent, and very memorable. It was the first dinner of our Vegas getaway, and though in some ways the simplest, possibly the best of them all. The highlight of course was the absolutely perfect prime cut king crab legs, because where else are you getting that? I highly recommend Lakeside for seafood lovers who find themselves in Vegas.

For more information about Lakeside Seafood at Wynn Las Vegas, visit www.wynnlasvegas.com

Boulud Sud, New York City

April 30, 2018 By karin Leave a Comment

Daniel Boulud’s Boulud Sud (NYC) is a restaurant located in New York City’s Upper West Side. It’s an easy five minute stroll from Lincoln Center where we were attending the opera (Turandot) later that evening. The show began at 8:45 pm, so we booked a very early dinner (5:45) in order to linger and savor as much as we wanted, and still arrive early at the Met to do a bit of exploring. Immediately upon our arrival we were asked if we were heading to a show (as most people in the restaurant at that time likely were doing). Though we had ample time, we appreciated the consideration and the excellent servers paced everything wonderfully.

Champagne to start the evening – our first official full day and night in New York. As we sipped, we drank in the lively atmosphere of the busy dining room. The open kitchen added to the dynamic feeling, but overall the the room had a comfortable, relaxed, elegant character. Our server soon brought out warm homemade foccacia bread and crisp chickpea crackers with a fruity olive oil for dipping. The chickpea crackers were brought out to accommodate my nut allergy – but they were delicious and addictive in their own right. (Excellent attention was paid to my dietary needs for every course – our server had intimate knowledge of every dish. Because of this, she was also able to steer us toward delicious options).

Homemade Bread, Chickpea Cracker Appetizer

The menu was colourful, promising fresh, interesting ingredients. There were many intriguing choices, so we decided to go in different directions for every course in order to try as much as possible. To start, I had the Spring Onion and Potato Soup with Whipped Goat Cheese and Dill Oil. Ohhh….this was creamy and dreamy, fresh and delicious.

For him – Gambas Al Ajillo, shrimp with red chili and foccacia bread. The verdict here was that it was pleasant but nothing to blow us away – my soup was better. Our least favourite dish of the night.

Moving on to the main course – there were non-fish options to be sure, (Chicken tagine, wagyu beef dish) but the Sea Bass and Daurade caught our eye. Our server nudged us further in this direction. suggesting these were the best items on the menu. I absolutely loved the Seared Mediterranean Sea Bass. Not only was the fish itself perfect, the accompaniments were so bright and interesting – heirloom carrots, clementines, and a saffron fregola sarda (Sardinian semlonina pasta – like a large couscous). There was a lightness about the dish, too (every dish, really), leaving me full but not weighed down in any way.

The Daurade a la Plancha served with Mejadra (a lentils and rice dish), eggplant tahini and pomegranates was gorgeous to look at as well as tasty. I hope it’s obvious from the photos, but the presentation all around was quite lovely.

Now, I enjoy sweet things but I much prefer to spend my appetite on the more savory courses of a given meal, sometimes even skipping dessert entirely. I’m so glad I didn’t miss out this time! This dessert was truly one of the best I’ve ever had: Mango and Cardamom Vacherin with yogurt (almost ‘meringued’ into sticks with a pleasant bite to them). I can still taste this unexpected dish now: it was an awesome mix of creamy, sweet, spicy (the cardamom!) and juicy-fresh from the mango. I wasn’t sure how the vacherin was going to figure in to all this, but what it did was add a slightly savory, tangy yet rich tone – like the exquisite taste you get with a bite of a great cheesecake. I don’t know where or when I’m getting anything like that again. And it was a work of art on the plate!

Speaking of art, for him – the Grapefruit Givre with Sesame Halva, Rose Loukoum, Grapefruit Sorbet. This was apparently the restaurant’s signature dessert. Served in the grapefruit peel itself, it’s certainly impressive to look at (but I think I still scored with the Mango/Cardamom/Vacherin number.). Within the grapefruit is nestled Rose Loukoum -tender morsels of Turkish delight and a lovely sorbet. This is truly creative cuisine unlike anything we’ve tried so far…

I of course must mention the interesting wine we selected with the help of our server (appreciated!). Making a choice with all the unique flavours and ingredients we knew were on the way was not easy, and we were glad for the help. We ended up sharing a beautiful bottle of French Chardonnay (Michel Gahier, “Les Follasses” 2015) from the Jura region in the east of France. It looked and tasted somewhat like a cider with that same sort of dryness – very different in terms of the Chardonnays we know. But we found it paired well with every course which was characterized by such a variety of flavours and textures.

We would highly recommend Boulud Sud if you’re in New York. And after a wonderful dinner, we were off across the street to the Met in plenty of time to people-watch and settle in for an outstanding performance…

Entrance to the Met – for Turandot (March 31, 2018)

Boulud Sud is located at 20 West 46th Street in New York City’s Upper West Side. Visit the website to make reservations, or go to www.opentable.com.