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Small Barrels Magazine

Reviews of Fine Wines, Luxury Hotels and the Best Restaurants on Earth

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Shula’s Steak House – Walt Disney World

December 13, 2019 By karin Leave a Comment

Shula's 22 oz. "Cowboy" Ribeye
Shula’s 22 oz. “Cowboy” Ribeye

Looking for an upscale steak house experience at Walt Disney World? Just like those ’72 Dolphins, we think that Shula’s at the Walt Disney World Dolphin Resort can’t be beat. Founded by legendary Miami Dolphins football coach Don Shula (with fantastic black and white photos of his team’s unparalleled 1972 season gracing the walls), this steak house offers excellent cuts of meat, great service, an awesome wine list, and an overall enjoyable experience. Like most Disney property restaurants, it’s family friendly, but also great for couples (we recommend booking a later dinner to enjoy a more laid back, romantic dinner).

Shula's Steak House - Still Celebrating the Perfect Season
Shula’s Steak House – Still Celebrating the Perfect Season

We began our meal with cocktails; a spot-on perfect martini with blue-cheese stuffed olives for him, and a spicy Bloody Mary for me (it wasn’t brunch, but I was in that kind of a mood!)

Cocktails at Shula's
Cocktails at Shula’s

We went with some classics, but Shula’s offers a nice selection of cocktails with their own signature twist (see above).

Shrimp Cocktail
Shrimp Cocktail

We then tucked into some rich, tasty treats. Shula’s menu is wonderfully ‘traditional steak house’, with appetizers like chilled jumbo shrimp cocktail, wedge and caesar salads, sides served family style.

Shula's Appetizers and Sides
Shula’s Appetizers and Sides

And as if we needed more to fill us up, the freshest, hottest, most tempting sourdough bread was served to get things going…

Wedge Salad - steakhouse classic
Wedge Salad – steakhouse classic
Caesar Salad - another classic
Caesar Salad – another classic
The one and only Shafer 2012
The one and only Shafer 2012
Shafer 2012 Hillside Select
Shafer 2012 Hillside Select

The award-winning wine list offers excellent choices. We went big with the Shafer 2012 Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon. As soon as it was uncorked and decanted, the air was quite literally filled with a rich, heady scent of dark fruit, promising opulent flavors – and it just kept opening and opening throughout our meal. The deep, dark color looked inviting in our glasses, and it was a treat to drink with our delicious steak entrees and rich sides.

Shula's Entrees
Shula’s Entrees
Filet Mignon at Shula's
Filet Mignon at Shula’s

Pictured just above is my 10 oz. filet mignon with bearnaise, along with asparagus and hollandaise. And you should see some lovely panko-crusted potatoes gratin – there’s a tiny scoop at the top of the plate (it was hard to restrain myself). For him – a 22oz “Cowboy” ribeye pictured at the top of the article.

Apple Crisp and Hagen Daas Ice Cream
Apple Crisp and Hagen Daas Ice Cream

Certain dessert selections had to be ordered in advance, like the scrumptious apple crisp we chose, served with Hagen Daas vanilla ice cream. A glass of Buffalo Trace bourbon sealed the evening.

Scotch, Whiskey, Bourbon Menu
Scotch, Whiskey, Bourbon Menu

Shula’s is a wonderful upscale steak house destination at Disney World. It allows you step out of the Disney flow for just a bit to enjoy a different ambience, while still having the top-notch service you expect from this magical place. We highly recommend it, and plan to be back!

For more information or to make reservations, visit www.shulassteakhouse.com

Filed Under: Restaurant Reviews Tagged With: Cabernet Sauvignon, fine dining Disney, shafer hillside select 2012, Steak, steak Disney world, traditional steak house, Walt Disney World Dolphin Resort

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.

Cocktail List, Bluezoo
Cocktail List, Bluezoo

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.

Refreshing Serenity Cocktail at Bluezoo
Refreshing Serenity Cocktail at Bluezoo
Manhattan
Manhattan

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.

Appetizer Menu at Bluezoo
Appetizer Menu at Bluezoo

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
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!


"Simply Fish"
“Simply Fish”

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/

Filed Under: Restaurant Reviews Tagged With: cantonese lobster, craft cocktails, disney date night, disney fine dining, seafood, upscale seafood, walt disney world, Walt Disney World Dolphin Resort

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