We Smelled It...It Had to be Eaten, Part II ... Ding, Dong, Done!!!

[*KeepMovingForward*]

OMG...you guys have my sympathy. We suffered through the blue screen of death once also. Complete nightmare. Had to enlist the help of my computer geek Uncle to fix that problem. Good luck!

 

[Tink rules]

Ohhh Bendy... suddenly my trying all day to get through freezing updates doesn't seem too bad... Many hugs and I hope it all comes back..

 

[whogirl'smom]

I'm so sorry to hear about the computer mess! Hopefully you (or a computer expert) can access that hard drive soon---especially the genealogical stuff. That's one of my interests, too. May the luck o' the Irish be with you this week

 

[WDW Fan]

I hope Jay's able to retrieve the info from your hard drive. It would be so sad to lose all that creativity and hard work.

 

[TheDISneyFamily]

Good luck with the computer. Been there, done that. (the blue screen of death, that is) We'll be waiting for your return.

 

[oybolshoi]

Wednesday, October 15th - Sweeping the Seas Clean at Bluezoo

First there were two; two became three which soon became four; four became six and then suddenly fell to five, jumping to seven at the last minute if you factor our vacation stomachs into the equation.

Confused yet?

Me too.

I need a drink.

In honor of Disney Dining I have pre-selected a list of gentle instrumental arrangements for your listening pleasure while you wait approximately 97 minutes for me to return to this review:

The Girl from Ipanema
Sweet Caroline
Lady Marmalade
Drive My Car
Safety Dance
Love Shack
Papa's Got a Brand New Bag
Smoke on the Water
Margaritaville
The Wind Cries Mary

Thank you for your readership...

Your time is important to us...

Your estimated wait time is 64 minutes...

Please continue to hold.

**The author is not responsible for any muzak-inspired rampages that may occur during the continuous looping of this playlist and pre-recorded message.**

Ahhh, that's better. Now where was I?

Bluezoo.

This restaurant absolutely lived up to the hype that less than ten people here on the DIS consistently give it. Since Todd English thumbs his nose at the Disney Dining powers that be, his establishment does not participate in the dining plan and we are convinced that this has allowed Bluezoo to retain its smart, sophisticated ambience and creative, rather whimsical menu.

Jay and I were meeting BriarRosie (Lori) and TheDISneyfamily (Michelle and her husband Steve) for a late dinner of seafoodie goodness and Disney-inspired good cheer. The hubby and I wanted to get to the restaurant early and have a drink or two in the bar - Michelle and her hubby were attending an Eat to the Beat Concert at Epcot so we didn't expect them until close to 8PM, but we knew that Lori would show up early to share a pre-dinner drink with us. As always when staying at Saratoga Springs the question was how best to reach our destination. We decided to catch a bus to MGM and then from there flag a ride on a Friendship to the Swolphin.

What we failed to remember is that MGM closes at 7:30 so when you board an MGM bus at 6:45PM odds are that you won’t actually get a ride there. This thought audibly clicked in both our heads at the last SSR stop when Jay and I were the only guests left on board the bus. I approached the driver and told him what we were trying to do and asked for his advice. Bless the man if he didn’t offer to take us directly to the damn hotel!

Dude – you were uncomfortably weird and at times I was worried that you might actually drive the bus into dark swamplands from whence we’d never reappear, but you still rock. Thanks for the private bus ride!

Upon arriving at the restaurant we went ahead and checked in with the hostess, telling her that we still wanted to be seated for dinner at 8:30pm once the rest of our group had arrived; and then we sat ourselves down in the bar and squinted at their menu. If I have a single complaint about Bluezoo it is that their lighting is very dim and their menu type is fairly small … it is not easy for a nearsighted, middle-aged dork to decipher their list of delectables without a penlight and a pocket magnifying glass, neither of which I had. Thankfully Jay has vision good enough for the both of us and pointed out a drink that I fell in love with at Party for the Senseless in 2007 when the visiting chefs from Chili pushed ‘em on me every time I walked by their table – the Pisco Sour!

Pisco Sour!

Look – my drink’s been decorated with a trefoil!

This South American cocktail is made with barsol pisco (a regional brandy), fresh lemon or lime juice, rock candy syrup, bitters, and egg whites; it is served very cold and is a delightfully refreshing limey drink with just a bit of a bite to it.

Jay opted for a more manly drink and ordered a Maytag Martini – a stiff vodka martini served with blue-cheese stuffed olives. And not just any old stinky blue cheese, but Maytag Blue … a stinky American blue cheese.

Does the Maytag Man drink these?

Of course it didn’t take long, between sipping our tasty drinks and watching the re-cap of the day’s financial market pummeling on the many television sets in the bar, to decide that we needed an appetizer to take the edge off while we waited for our friends to join us. Shortly after placing our order the lovely Lori walked through the door and pulled up a seat at the table. She ordered the one other drink that I’d seriously considered, but I’d been worried that it might be too sweet and had passed it over.

Zooberry!

Lori kindly allowed me to take a taste of her drink and it was actually very good and not at all the poisonously sweet beverage I’d feared it would be. I’d love nothing more than to share with everyone the ingredients necessary to make a zooberry, but the restaurant recently upgraded their website ala’ Disney, which means that less overall information is being provided but it sure looks sexy. The specialty drink menu and bar appetizer menu are no longer provided, but the ten page wine list is … just in case someone wants to know in advance that a $750 bottle of champagne is available for their drinking pleasure. And while the dining room menu is available the date shows October 2008 … so they’ve updated the look of Bluezoo’s website but not the content.

Niiiiiiiiiiice.

Our first appetizer selection was the Bianco Flatbread: mozzarella, herbed ricotta, parmesan, and garlic cream. I’m really glad that we ordered this because it wasn’t listed on the dining room menu and it was tremendously tasty.

Crispy, cheesy, garlicky bread!

So, so good ... a wonderful blend of goeey, creamy cheese and garlic with olive oil drizzed over the top. I sure hope they keep this item on the menu because it was just terrific and I'd order it again in a heartbeat. Michelle and Steve joined us shortly thereafter and we chatted a bit while finishing our drinks and first appetizer.

We were seated in a dark corner of the restaurant near the entrance to a private dining room that wasn't in use the evening that we were there. I liked the location because it felt like we had some additional privacy. Of course the restaurant is so dark privacy really doesn't seem to be a big issue anyway.

Michelle and Steve

Lori and Michelle and Steve

Remorseless eating machines to the left … normal people to the right

Michelle is such a sweetheart that she brought gifties for everyone, which made me feel a bit schmucky because it didn't dawn on me to do anything that nice for anyone. Among the lovely thoughtful items she gave Jay and me was this:

Homer the Hulk!

She and her family are big Simpsons fans and she remembered how much Jay and I enjoy quoting America's favorite dysfunctional family and she selected the perfect alternate vacation mascot for those trips when Plankton is just too cranky to join us.

Awesome!!!

And now for the food ... we started off with a round of appetizers because there were just too many yummy items to choose from.

I selected the Garlic Roasted Jumbo Shrimp with creamy polenta and fennel butter. This was very good but there was a bit too much fennel for my taste ... a little fennel goes a long way and I think if I were to order this again I'd ask them to lay off the fennel altogether. The polenta was outstanding - creamy and light - it was the best I had on this trip.

Jumbo shrimpies and polenta

Lori and Jay chose the same appetizer: Teppan Seared Jumbo Sea Scallops served with braised beef short rib and silky cauliflower puree.

General consensus?

Outstanding!

Scallops so well cooked that they practically melted in my mouth and cauliflower puree so creamy and good that I'd eat cauliflower every day if it were served up like this. I actually found myself wishing that I'd ordered this instead of the shrimp, in part because of the fennel overdose in my dish.

Scallops and beef and veggie puree'

Steve and Michelle ordered "Olive's" Classico Flatbread which includes roasted tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella and torn basil. This was just as tasty as the flatbread we'd ordered in the bar. It had a nice balance of sauce and cheese and for those of you who like flatbread but don't like garlic, this is a wonderful alternative to the one we shared in the bar earlier in the evening.

Flatbread #2 ... just as good as Flatbread #1

In order to take a bit of the schmuck off our schmuckiness, Jay and I ordered a bottle of Louis Jadot Pouilly Fousse to share with everyone during dinner; it's one of our favorites and an easy to drink wine that most people find very enjoyable.

For dinner I selected an entree the restaurant calls Simply Fish.It includes a selection of one of the evening’s fresh specialty fish selections and a choice of sauce - I chose seared halibut with a warm crabmeat, Dijon mustard, and chive sauce.

It's safe and delicious!

Our server offered to "sauce" the fish for me but I declined. Since I'm not a huge fan of sauce in general I prefer to keep it very light. But I've gotta say, in this case the sauce made the fish. That's not to imply that there was anything wrong with the halibut - there wasn't - but the sauce was such a wonderful blend of slightly spicy, creamy crab that it made the halibut sing.

Jay, Michelle and Steve all ordered the Two-pound Maine "Cantonese" Lobster which is fried and tossed in sticky soy glaze. This is Bluezoo's signature dish and I'd read some rave reviews of it long before we left Stinktown for this trip. Michelle told us before the meal that this dish is so good that she's neverr been able to bring herself to order anything else at Bluezoo. That's a pretty strong endorsement and now my husband has added his voice to hers and Steve's and everyone else who swears by this entree. He said it was worth every penny and he cannot wait to re-visit the zoo this fall and order it all over again.

I don't really care for lobster so I did not try this, but I can tell you that when Jay talks about going back to a restaurant to order the same dish that speaks volumes about just how good he thinks it is.

Sticky lobsters need the most attention

Lori ordered Surf and Turf which included beef tenderloin, a butter poached lobster tail, black pepper potatoes, garlicky swiss chard, brown butter chestnuts, and butternut squash.

I dig this presentation!

Yum!

I know Lori said this in her review which she was able to post many months before me, but I totally agree and have to say it myself: it looks like her lobster took a butter skid before ending up artfully poised at the edge of her plate. From all accounts this dish was also very tasty and comes highly recommended for those of you who, like Lori, want the best of both worlds.

Between the five of us we also ordered two sides to share around the table.

Tempura Haricot Vert, truffle aïoli

I think these are deep fried green beans ... I'm sure they were good but I don't remember trying them.

Shake & Bake Fries - grated parmesan, crushed garlic

These fries were something else that I'd read about before taking this trip. Another Bluezoo signature item, these were addictive and oh-so-good! I had to be careful to ration the number that I ate in order to save space for dessert.

And speaking of dessert, our delightful dinner companions all ordered coffee but I had to have some port. Had to; I am Grimmie's daughter after all and I'm pretty sure this was the only glass of port we had during our entire vacation and was it ever delicious! As an aside, I have got to get me some of these port glasses - they are way cool!

Dow’s 20-year tawny

Lori is a chocolate lover. I think it's safe to say in her book it ain't dessert if it ain't chocolate. So of course she selected Bluezoo's Warm Chocolate Cake, with a liquid ganache center, maracaibo chocolate cream pudding, and peanut ice cream.

She got an album for her garnish!

Lori said this dessert was tremendous and I offered her some port with it and if memory serves she agreed that it was a fine, fine combination.

Jay ordered the Mai Tai Banana Cream Tart with roasted pineapple and dark rum flambéed exotic fruit sorbet. The thing that sucks about this is that I wasn't quick enough with the camera and didn't snap a picture of his dessert when it was first placed on the table. The sorbet was completely enclosed within a sugar globe and the server poured the warm sauce over the top of the globe, melting the sugar and revealing the sorbet hidden within. Coolest thing I've ever seen ... until my dessert arrived, that is.

I'm melting!

How did Jupiter end up in Jay's dessert?

As for me ... I ordered this thing called a Zweetburger. The waitress recommended it and said I'd love the presentation. What is it? Berry Compote & Citrus Cream Filled Lemon Cake served with berry orange zest sorbet and beignets.

Apparently our waitress saw us all passing gifts earlier and noted that we were taking pictures and at one point she asked Jay if someone was celebrating a birthday. He told her that it was mine and look what they did:

Zweet indeed!

Is that the coolest dessert you've ever seen or what? I would have loved it without the birthday message ... it was almost too picturesque to eat. The berry compote was tucked between two layers of lemon cake - the citrus cream was actually the "cheese" so while it doesn't technically qualify as cream it sure tasted good and gets full points for impersonating Kraft's singles. The sorbet was designed to mimic the appearance of a small container of ketchup for the dipping of beignets that were cut to resemble french fries. Rather than being sprinkled with salt they were dusted with granulated sugar.

Now I know that most of us here don't like pictures of partially eaten food, but I really wanted to show everyone what the inside of a zweetburger looks like. So consider yourselves warned ...

Zweetburger innards

Somehow Homer ended up in the beignets … have you ever known him to say "no" to dessert?

Homer hungreeeeee!

So, in a word: WOW!

Bluezoo was an amazing experience. The food and the service absolutely lived up to our expectations and not only do we plan to pay them another visit this fall, but we now offer them our highest food review rating: Monstrous Fine!

Friends, lurkers, occasional readers, random well wishers, and DISers who wish I'd just shut up already and give someone else a chance to share their food reviews ... I'm here to tell each one of you who love seafood that you must pay Todd English a visit. It's expensive but worth every dime; they provide a creative, grown-up menu in a sophisticated setting. We cannot wait to go back and stuff our faces there again!

 

[MA pigletfan]

BLUE ZOO...HOLY CRACKERJACKS!!!!!
ME NEEDS SWEET N STICKY LOBSTAH'!!!!
sorry for the horrible grammar and terrible slang spelling..but my stomach literally growled at me by looking at those pictures. And might I add..what a fun group of foodies..I would have loved to have been at that table. Great review as always Brenda

 

[ChelleinNC]

Wednesday, October 15th - Sweeping the Seas Clean at Bluezoo

First there were two; two became three which soon became four; four became six and then suddenly fell to five, jumping to seven at the last minute if you factor our vacation stomachs into the equation.

Confused yet?

Me too.

I need a drink.

In honor of Disney Dining I have pre-selected a list of gentle instrumental arrangements for your listening pleasure while you wait approximately 97 minutes for me to return to this review:

The Girl from Ipanema
Sweet Caroline
Lady Marmalade
Drive My Car
Safety Dance
Love Shack
Papa's Got a Brand New Bag
Smoke on the Water
Margaritaville
The Wind Cries Mary

Thank you for your readership...

Your time is important to us...

Your estimated wait time is 64 minutes...

Please continue to hold.

**The author is not responsible for any muzak-inspired rampages that may occur during the continuous looping of this playlist and pre-recorded message.**

Of course, now I've got Love Shack stuck in my head

Ahhh, that's better. Now where was I?

Bluezoo.

Yay! It's here, it's finally here

This restaurant absolutely lived up to the hype that less than ten people here on the DIS consistently give it. Since Todd English thumbs his nose at the Disney Dining powers that be, his establishment does not participate in the dining plan and we are convinced that this has allowed Bluezoo to retain its smart, sophisticated ambience and creative, rather whimsical menu.

Jay and I were meeting BriarRosie (Lori) and TheDISneyfamily (Michelle and her husband Steve) for a late dinner of seafoodie goodness and Disney-inspired good cheer. The hubby and I wanted to get to the restaurant early and have a drink or two in the bar - Michelle and her hubby were attending an Eat to the Beat Concert at Epcot so we didn't expect them until close to 8PM, but we knew that Lori would show up early to share a pre-dinner drink with us. As always when staying at Saratoga Springs the question was how best to reach our destination. We decided to catch a bus to MGM and then from there flag a ride on a Friendship to the Swolphin.

What we failed to remember is that MGM closes at 7:30 so when you board an MGM bus at 6:45PM odds are that you won’t actually get a ride there. This thought audibly clicked in both our heads at the last SSR stop when Jay and I were the only guests left on board the bus. I approached the driver and told him what we were trying to do and asked for his advice. Bless the man if he didn’t offer to take us directly to the damn hotel!

Dude – you were uncomfortably weird and at times I was worried that you might actually drive the bus into dark swamplands from whence we’d never reappear, but you still rock. Thanks for the private bus ride!

Unbelieveable! I never get a bus to myself, let alone direct service to where I'm going

Upon arriving at the restaurant we went ahead and checked in with the hostess, telling her that we still wanted to be seated for dinner at 8:30pm once the rest of our group had arrived; and then we sat ourselves down in the bar and squinted at their menu. If I have a single complaint about Bluezoo it is that their lighting is very dim and their menu type is fairly small … it is not easy for a nearsighted, middle-aged dork to decipher their list of delectables without a penlight and a pocket magnifying glass, neither of which I had. Thankfully Jay has vision good enough for the both of us and pointed out a drink that I fell in love with at Party for the Senseless in 2007 when the visiting chefs from Chili pushed ‘em on me every time I walked by their table – the Pisco Sour!

Pisco Sour!

Look – my drink’s been decorated with a trefoil!

This South American cocktail is made with barsol pisco (a regional brandy), fresh lemon or lime juice, rock candy syrup, bitters, and egg whites; it is served very cold and is a delightfully refreshing limey drink with just a bit of a bite to it.

Jay opted for a more manly drink and ordered a Maytag Martini – a stiff vodka martini served with blue-cheese stuffed olives. And not just any old stinky blue cheese, but Maytag Blue … a stinky American blue cheese.

Does the Maytag Man drink these?

does the Maytag Man drink these

Of course it didn’t take long, between sipping our tasty drinks and watching the re-cap of the day’s financial market pummeling on the many television sets in the bar, to decide that we needed an appetizer to take the edge off while we waited for our friends to join us. Shortly after placing our order the lovely Lori walked through the door and pulled up a seat at the table. She ordered the one other drink that I’d seriously considered, but I’d been worried that it might be too sweet and had passed it over.

Zooberry!

Lori kindly allowed me to take a taste of her drink and it was actually very good and not at all the poisonously sweet beverage I’d feared it would be. I’d love nothing more than to share with everyone the ingredients necessary to make a zooberry, but the restaurant recently upgraded their website ala’ Disney, which means that less overall information is being provided but it sure looks sexy. The specialty drink menu and bar appetizer menu are no longer provided, but the ten page wine list is … just in case someone wants to know in advance that a $750 bottle of champagne is available for their drinking pleasure. And while the dining room menu is available the date shows October 2008 … so they’ve updated the look of Bluezoo’s website but not the content.

Niiiiiiiiiiice.

I like sweet drinks and I love champagen but $750

Our first appetizer selection was the Bianco Flatbread: mozzarella, herbed ricotta, parmesan, and garlic cream. I’m really glad that we ordered this because it wasn’t listed on the dining room menu and it was tremendously tasty.

Crispy, cheesy, garlicky bread!

So, so good ... a wonderful blend of goeey, creamy cheese and garlic with olive oil drizzed over the top. I sure hope they keep this item on the menu because it was just terrific and I'd order it again in a heartbeat. Michelle and Steve joined us shortly thereafter and we chatted a bit while finishing our drinks and first appetizer.

oooh, that looks yummy!

We were seated in a dark corner of the restaurant near the entrance to a private dining room that wasn't in use the evening that we were there. I liked the location because it felt like we had some additional privacy. Of course the restaurant is so dark privacy really doesn't seem to be a big issue anyway.

Michelle and Steve

Lori and Michelle and Steve

Remorseless eating machines to the left … normal people to the right

Michelle is such a sweetheart that she brought gifties for everyone, which made me feel a bit schmucky because it didn't dawn on me to do anything that nice for anyone. Among the lovely thoughtful items she gave Jay and me was this:

Homer the Hulk!

She and her family are big Simpsons fans and she remembered how much Jay and I enjoy quoting America's favorite dysfunctional family and she selected the perfect alternate vacation mascot for those trips when Plankton is just too cranky to join us.

Awesome!!!

How sweet

to be continued in next post.....

 

[ChelleinNC]

And now for the food ... we started off with a round of appetizers because there were just too many yummy items to choose from.

I selected the Garlic Roasted Jumbo Shrimp with creamy polenta and fennel butter. This was very good but there was a bit too much fennel for my taste ... a little fennel goes a long way and I think if I were to order this again I'd ask them to lay off the fennel altogether. The polenta was outstanding - creamy and light - it was the best I had on this trip.

Jumbo shrimpies and polenta

Lori and Jay chose the same appetizer: Teppan Seared Jumbo Sea Scallops served with braised beef short rib and silky cauliflower puree.

General consensus?

Outstanding!

Scallops so well cooked that they practically melted in my mouth and cauliflower puree so creamy and good that I'd eat cauliflower every day if it were served up like this. I actually found myself wishing that I'd ordered this instead of the shrimp, in part because of the fennel overdose in my dish.

Scallops and beef and veggie puree'

Steve and Michelle ordered "Olive's" Classico Flatbread which includes roasted tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella and torn basil. This was just as tasty as the flatbread we'd ordered in the bar. It had a nice balance of sauce and cheese and for those of you who like flatbread but don't like garlic, this is a wonderful alternative to the one we shared in the bar earlier in the evening.

Flatbread #2 ... just as good as Flatbread #1

In order to take a bit of the schmuck off our schmuckiness, Jay and I ordered a bottle of Louis Jadot Pouilly Fousse to share with everyone during dinner; it's one of our favorites and an easy to drink wine that most people find very enjoyable.

For dinner I selected an entree the restaurant calls Simply Fish.It includes a selection of one of the evening’s fresh specialty fish selections and a choice of sauce - I chose seared halibut with a warm crabmeat, Dijon mustard, and chive sauce.

It's safe and delicious!

Our server offered to "sauce" the fish for me but I declined. Since I'm not a huge fan of sauce in general I prefer to keep it very light. But I've gotta say, in this case the sauce made the fish. That's not to imply that there was anything wrong with the halibut - there wasn't - but the sauce was such a wonderful blend of slightly spicy, creamy crab that it made the halibut sing.

Jay, Michelle and Steve all ordered the Two-pound Maine "Cantonese" Lobster which is fried and tossed in sticky soy glaze. This is Bluezoo's signature dish and I'd read some rave reviews of it long before we left Stinktown for this trip. Michelle told us before the meal that this dish is so good that she's neverr been able to bring herself to order anything else at Bluezoo. That's a pretty strong endorsement and now my husband has added his voice to hers and Steve's and everyone else who swears by this entree. He said it was worth every penny and he cannot wait to re-visit the zoo this fall and order it all over again.

I don't really care for lobster so I did not try this, but I can tell you that when Jay talks about going back to a restaurant to order the same dish that speaks volumes about just how good he thinks it is.

Sticky lobsters need the most attention

Lori ordered Surf and Turf which included beef tenderloin, a butter poached lobster tail, black pepper potatoes, garlicky swiss chard, brown butter chestnuts, and butternut squash.

I dig this presentation!

Yum!

I know Lori said this in her review which she was able to post many months before me, but I totally agree and have to say it myself: it looks like her lobster took a butter skid before ending up artfully poised at the edge of her plate. From all accounts this dish was also very tasty and comes highly recommended for those of you who, like Lori, want the best of both worlds.

Between the five of us we also ordered two sides to share around the table.

Tempura Haricot Vert, truffle aïoli

I think these are deep fried green beans ... I'm sure they were good but I don't remember trying them.

Shake & Bake Fries - grated parmesan, crushed garlic

These fries were something else that I'd read about before taking this trip. Another Bluezoo signature item, these were addictive and oh-so-good! I had to be careful to ration the number that I ate in order to save space for dessert.

I thought about replying to each item seperately but figured everyone would get tired of "OOOOHHH, YUMMY!!!!" Seriously, it all looks wonderful!

to be continued in next post.....

 

[ChelleinNC]

And speaking of dessert, our delightful dinner companions all ordered coffee but I had to have some port. Had to; I am Grimmie's daughter after all and I'm pretty sure this was the only glass of port we had during our entire vacation and was it ever delicious! As an aside, I have got to get me some of these port glasses - they are way cool!

Dow’s 20-year tawny

Lori is a chocolate lover. I think it's safe to say in her book it ain't dessert if it ain't chocolate. So of course she selected Bluezoo's Warm Chocolate Cake, with a liquid ganache center, maracaibo chocolate cream pudding, and peanut ice cream.

She got an album for her garnish!

Lori said this dessert was tremendous and I offered her some port with it and if memory serves she agreed that it was a fine, fine combination.

Lori, we'd get along just fine That dessert

Jay ordered the Mai Tai Banana Cream Tart with roasted pineapple and dark rum flambéed exotic fruit sorbet. The thing that sucks about this is that I wasn't quick enough with the camera and didn't snap a picture of his dessert when it was first placed on the table. The sorbet was completely enclosed within a sugar globe and the server poured the warm sauce over the top of the globe, melting the sugar and revealing the sorbet hidden within. Coolest thing I've ever seen ... until my dessert arrived, that is.

I'm melting!

How did Jupiter end up in Jay's dessert?

That is really cool looking! Not something that I'd order (duh, no chocolate ) but really really cool looking!

As for me ... I ordered this thing called a Zweetburger. The waitress recommended it and said I'd love the presentation. What is it? Berry Compote & Citrus Cream Filled Lemon Cake served with berry orange zest sorbet and beignets.

Apparently our waitress saw us all passing gifts earlier and noted that we were taking pictures and at one point she asked Jay if someone was celebrating a birthday. He told her that it was mine and look what they did:

Zweet indeed!

Is that the coolest dessert you've ever seen or what? I would have loved it without the birthday message ... it was almost too picturesque to eat. The berry compote was tucked between two layers of lemon cake - the citrus cream was actually the "cheese" so while it doesn't technically qualify as cream it sure tasted good and gets full points for impersonating Kraft's singles. The sorbet was designed to mimic the appearance of a small container of ketchup for the dipping of beignets that were cut to resemble french fries. Rather than being sprinkled with salt they were dusted with granulated sugar.

Now I know that most of us here don't like pictures of partially eaten food, but I really wanted to show everyone what the inside of a zweetburger looks like. So consider yourselves warned ...

Zweetburger innards

Somehow Homer ended up in the beignets … have you ever known him to say "no" to dessert?

Homer hungreeeeee!

So, in a word: WOW!

Ok you win That is the coolest thing, and I might even order it just because it's so cool looking (ok, I'd probably push DH to order it and I'd still get my chocolate )

Bluezoo was an amazing experience. The food and the service absolutely lived up to our expectations and not only do we plan to pay them another visit this fall, but we now offer them our highest food review rating: Monstrous Fine!

Friends, lurkers, occasional readers, random well wishers, and DISers who wish I'd just shut up already and give someone else a chance to share their food reviews ... I'm here to tell each one of you who love seafood that you must pay Todd English a visit. It's expensive but worth every dime; they provide a creative, grown-up menu in a sophisticated setting. We cannot wait to go back and stuff our faces there again!

Damn! Now I have to add Bluezoo to the options for our anniversary dinner I was hoping to keep it to DDE/TiW participating restaurants

Thank you for the wonderful reivew! It was worth the wait

 

[TigerKat]

Brenda - I hope your computer problems can be resolved and you guys don't lose all of your stuff.

I'm so glad you guys enjoyed BZ as much as we did. It is an amazing dining experience that we need to repeat in October. I LOVE that lobstah!

 

[D&R love Disney]

Great meal! We've only had drinks there since Todd has no less than 4 restaurants in Boston.

Your dessert looks so cool and now I'm starving! My peeps just didn't do it

 

[Tink rules]

Pisco Sour!

Look – my drink’s been decorated with a trefoil!

Zweet indeed!

I'M SO CRUSHED... I can see myself sitting in that empty chair...

& Bendy... why does your drink have a nuclear warning on top of it???

& I'm going just for dessert... (and maybe dinner...)

 

[BriarRosie]

Wednesday, October 15th - Sweeping the Seas Clean at Bluezoo

First there were two; two became three which soon became four; four became six and then suddenly fell to five, jumping to seven at the last minute if you factor our vacation stomachs into the equation.

Confused yet?

Nope. It makes perfect sense to me. But I expect 99.99% of everyone else to be confused.

Me too.

I need a drink.

Hey, you promised to buy me my first French slushie drink in October. I'm holding you to that. Maybe.

In honor of Disney Dining I have pre-selected a list of gentle instrumental arrangements for your listening pleasure while you wait approximately 97 minutes for me to return to this review:

The Girl from Ipanema
Sweet Caroline
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Wow, it sounds like all those posts I've been reading about the Disney Dining Purgatory. But I pictured all Hannah Montana, Jonas Bros. and High School Musical songs instead. Egad.

Ahhh, that's better. Now where was I?

Bluezoo.

This restaurant absolutely lived up to the hype that less than ten people here on the DIS consistently give it. Since Todd English thumbs his nose at the Disney Dining powers that be, his establishment does not participate in the dining plan and we are convinced that this has allowed Bluezoo to retain its smart, sophisticated ambience and creative, rather whimsical menu.

You nailed that one. He served foie gras at his food and wine signature dinner too, even though Disney Gestapo tried to strong arm him into keeping it off his menu. This is yet another reason why I'd want to return to his restaurant!

Jay and I were meeting BriarRosie (Lori) and TheDISneyfamily (Michelle and her husband Steve) for a late dinner of seafoodie goodness and Disney-inspired good cheer. The hubby and I wanted to get to the restaurant early and have a drink or two in the bar - Michelle and her hubby were attending an Eat to the Beat Concert at Epcot so we didn't expect them until close to 8PM, but we knew that Lori would show up early to share a pre-dinner drink with us.

Wow, you have me pegged. LOL!

As always when staying at Saratoga Springs the question was how best to reach our destination. We decided to catch a bus to MGM and then from there flag a ride on a Friendship to the Swolphin.

What we failed to remember is that MGM closes at 7:30 so when you board an MGM bus at 6:45PM odds are that you won’t actually get a ride there. This thought audibly clicked in both our heads at the last SSR stop when Jay and I were the only guests left on board the bus. I approached the driver and told him what we were trying to do and asked for his advice. Bless the man if he didn’t offer to take us directly to the damn hotel!

I've had bus drivers do that for me under similar circumstances. It's cool if you get a bus at an "off" time, which for you was not that close to park closing time, I'd expect you would have been able to get to the park, but the wait time for the boats would have been excessively long.

I was early enough, being within walking distance. Yet another reason I'd want to return to Todd English's bluezoo™.

Dude – you were uncomfortably weird and at times I was worried that you might actually drive the bus into dark swamplands from whence we’d never reappear, but you still rock. Thanks for the private bus ride!

I've also encountered some really strange bus drivers, too. I mean real freaks that might make you think twice about riding their busses again.

Upon arriving at the restaurant we went ahead and checked in with the hostess, telling her that we still wanted to be seated for dinner at 8:30pm once the rest of our group had arrived; and then we sat ourselves down in the bar and squinted at their menu. If I have a single complaint about Bluezoo it is that their lighting is very dim and their menu type is fairly small … it is not easy for a nearsighted, middle-aged dork to decipher their list of delectables without a penlight and a pocket magnifying glass, neither of which I had.

I was glad I had my reading glasses with me. I definitely needed them.

Thankfully Jay has vision good enough for the both of us and pointed out a drink that I fell in love with at Party for the Senseless in 2007 when the visiting chefs from Chili pushed ‘em on me every time I walked by their table – the Pisco Sour!

Pisco Sour!

Look – my drink’s been decorated with a trefoil!

This South American cocktail is made with barsol pisco (a regional brandy), fresh lemon or lime juice, rock candy syrup, bitters, and egg whites; it is served very cold and is a delightfully refreshing limey drink with just a bit of a bite to it.

I didn't enjoy the pisco sour at the PFTS enough to ever want to order one again. It just didn't do it for me.

Jay opted for a more manly drink and ordered a Maytag Martini – a stiff vodka martini served with blue-cheese stuffed olives. And not just any old stinky blue cheese, but Maytag Blue … a stinky American blue cheese.

Does the Maytag Man drink these?

Yep, the Magtag repairman can get schnockered off these things because he's really not busy enough with repairs, right? That looked good.

Of course it didn’t take long, between sipping our tasty drinks and watching the re-cap of the day’s financial market pummeling on the many television sets in the bar, to decide that we needed an appetizer to take the edge off while we waited for our friends to join us. Shortly after placing our order the lovely Lori walked through the door and pulled up a seat at the table. She ordered the one other drink that I’d seriously considered, but I’d been worried that it might be too sweet and had passed it over.

Zooberry!

Lori kindly allowed me to take a taste of her drink and it was actually very good and not at all the poisonously sweet beverage I’d feared it would be. I’d love nothing more than to share with everyone the ingredients necessary to make a zooberry, but the restaurant recently upgraded their website ala’ Disney, which means that less overall information is being provided but it sure looks sexy. The specialty drink menu and bar appetizer menu are no longer provided, but the ten page wine list is … just in case someone wants to know in advance that a $750 bottle of champagne is available for their drinking pleasure. And while the dining room menu is available the date shows October 2008 … so they’ve updated the look of Bluezoo’s website but not the content.

Niiiiiiiiiiice.

Uh, thanks for the lovely compliment. (blush). I'm staying away from any emotes because I don't think I'd be able to keep the images down to a 25 image limit. I just looked at the website menu, and it did change. The meal I had doesn't have the same items on it. Some dates were changed for sections. Entrees changed 2/23/09. I enjoyed the Zooberry enough to order it again. It's their signature drink, I think.

Our first appetizer selection was the Bianco Flatbread: mozzarella, herbed ricotta, parmesan, and garlic cream. I’m really glad that we ordered this because it wasn’t listed on the dining room menu and it was tremendously tasty.

Crispy, cheesy, garlicky bread!

So, so good ... a wonderful blend of goeey, creamy cheese and garlic with olive oil drizzed over the top. I sure hope they keep this item on the menu because it was just terrific and I'd order it again in a heartbeat. Michelle and Steve joined us shortly thereafter and we chatted a bit while finishing our drinks and first appetizer.

Was it Bianco or Blanco? Because the lighting the menu writing made for open interpretation, I'm saying Blanco, since that means "white", which is the type of flatbread we got. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. (hehe) It was mighty tasty, and I would definitely grab a dinner in the bar if I didn't feel like doing a full dinner in the restaurant.

We were seated in a dark corner of the restaurant near the entrance to a private dining room that wasn't in use the evening that we were there. I liked the location because it felt like we had some additional privacy. Of course the restaurant is so dark privacy really doesn't seem to be a big issue anyway.

Remorseless eating machines to the left … normal people to the right

I agree. It was so remote, I felt we had that area to ourselves.

Michelle is such a sweetheart that she brought gifties for everyone, which made me feel a bit schmucky because it didn't dawn on me to do anything that nice for anyone. Among the lovely thoughtful items she gave Jay and me was this:

Homer the Hulk!

She and her family are big Simpsons fans and she remembered how much Jay and I enjoy quoting America's favorite dysfunctional family and she selected the perfect alternate vacation mascot for those trips when Plankton is just too cranky to join us.

Awesome!!!

Yeah, I felt a bit schmucky too. LOL. It was awfully sweet of her to do this for us. (giant hug all around)

And now for the food ... we started off with a round of appetizers because there were just too many yummy items to choose from.

I selected the Garlic Roasted Jumbo Shrimp with creamy polenta and fennel butter. This was very good but there was a bit too much fennel for my taste ... a little fennel goes a long way and I think if I were to order this again I'd ask them to lay off the fennel altogether. The polenta was outstanding - creamy and light - it was the best I had on this trip.

Jumbo shrimpies and polenta

Sounds like ordering it without fennel is the way to go. Next time, eh?

Lori and Jay chose the same appetizer: Teppan Seared Jumbo Sea Scallops served with braised beef short rib and silky cauliflower puree.

General consensus?

Outstanding!

Scallops so well cooked that they practically melted in my mouth and cauliflower puree so creamy and good that I'd eat cauliflower every day if it were served up like this. I actually found myself wishing that I'd ordered this instead of the shrimp, in part because of the fennel overdose in my dish.

Scallops and beef and veggie puree'

Sounds like I know what Brenda will order next time as her appetizer. (Insert snarky whistling smilie here.) I know I'd order this again for sure.

Steve and Michelle ordered "Olive's" Classico Flatbread which includes roasted tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella and torn basil. This was just as tasty as the flatbread we'd ordered in the bar. It had a nice balance of sauce and cheese and for those of you who like flatbread but don't like garlic, this is a wonderful alternative to the one we shared in the bar earlier in the evening.

Flatbread #2 ... just as good as Flatbread #1

I don't remember trying it, probably because I didn't want to OD on food before I could order dessert. Looked really good, though.

In order to take a bit of the schmuck off our schmuckiness, Jay and I ordered a bottle of Louis Jadot Pouilly Fousse to share with everyone during dinner; it's one of our favorites and an easy to drink wine that most people find very enjoyable.

Gah, I should have ordered a bottle, too. I'm still schmuckier than you guys. Eek.

For dinner I selected an entree the restaurant calls Simply Fish.It includes a selection of one of the evening’s fresh specialty fish selections and a choice of sauce - I chose seared halibut with a warm crabmeat, Dijon mustard, and chive sauce.

It's safe and delicious!

Our server offered to "sauce" the fish for me but I declined. Since I'm not a huge fan of sauce in general I prefer to keep it very light. But I've gotta say, in this case the sauce made the fish. That's not to imply that there was anything wrong with the halibut - there wasn't - but the sauce was such a wonderful blend of slightly spicy, creamy crab that it made the halibut sing.

This is what I'd want to get next time. Or something similar.

Jay, Michelle and Steve all ordered the Two-pound Maine "Cantonese" Lobster which is fried and tossed in sticky soy glaze. This is Bluezoo's signature dish and I'd read some rave reviews of it long before we left Stinktown for this trip. Michelle told us before the meal that this dish is so good that she's neverr been able to bring herself to order anything else at Bluezoo. That's a pretty strong endorsement and now my husband has added his voice to hers and Steve's and everyone else who swears by this entree. He said it was worth every penny and he cannot wait to re-visit the zoo this fall and order it all over again.

I still don't see the value, but then again, I hadn't tasted anyone's lobster other than mine, so I can't say whether I'd splurge again to try it.

I don't really care for lobster so I did not try this, but I can tell you that when Jay talks about going back to a restaurant to order the same dish that speaks volumes about just how good he thinks it is.

Sticky lobsters need the most attention

That is a pretty good endorsement, but I wish I would have tasted it first.

Lori ordered Surf and Turf which included beef tenderloin, a butter poached lobster tail, black pepper potatoes, garlicky swiss chard, brown butter chestnuts, and butternut squash.

I dig this presentation!

Yum!

I know Lori said this in her review which she was able to post many months before me, but I totally agree and have to say it myself: it looks like her lobster took a butter skid before ending up artfully poised at the edge of her plate. From all accounts this dish was also very tasty and comes highly recommended for those of you who, like Lori, want the best of both worlds.

It wasn't the best of either world, but it was still pretty decent. That's what made me decide to try the simply fish thing next time. The jury is still out for me on the cantonese lobster. I really enjoyed the meal as a whole, though.

Between the five of us we also ordered two sides to share around the table.

Tempura Haricot Vert, truffle aïoli

I think these are deep fried green beans ... I'm sure they were good but I don't remember trying them.

Shake & Bake Fries - grated parmesan, crushed garlic

These fries were something else that I'd read about before taking this trip. Another Bluezoo signature item, these were addictive and oh-so-good! I had to be careful to ration the number that I ate in order to save space for dessert.

I don't think I tried either the green beans or the fries because I wanted to save room for dessert. I've had these things at other places, but didn't taste Todd's spin on them. I don't think I missed much.

And speaking of dessert, our delightful dinner companions all ordered coffee but I had to have some port. Had to; I am Grimmie's daughter after all and I'm pretty sure this was the only glass of port we had during our entire vacation and was it ever delicious! As an aside, I have got to get me some of these port glasses - they are way cool!

Dow’s 20-year tawny

Next time I'm getting port with dessert! Woohoo!

Lori is a chocolate lover. I think it's safe to say in her book it ain't dessert if it ain't chocolate. So of course she selected Bluezoo's Warm Chocolate Cake, with a liquid ganache center, maracaibo chocolate cream pudding, and peanut ice cream.

She got an album for her garnish!

Lori said this dessert was tremendous and I offered her some port with it and if memory serves she agreed that it was a fine, fine combination.

It was pretty darn tasty. I believe I reciprocated and dredged up a spoonful of the chocolate melty goo stuff for you to taste with your port, as well. You really needed to try the combo, and I know that I probably did my Food Pusher thing on you.

Jay ordered the Mai Tai Banana Cream Tart with roasted pineapple and dark rum flambéed exotic fruit sorbet. The thing that sucks about this is that I wasn't quick enough with the camera and didn't snap a picture of his dessert when it was first placed on the table. The sorbet was completely enclosed within a sugar globe and the server poured the warm sauce over the top of the globe, melting the sugar and revealing the sorbet hidden within. Coolest thing I've ever seen ... until my dessert arrived, that is.

I'm melting!

How did Jupiter end up in Jay's dessert?

LOL! That was so awesome! I enjoyed watching the full disintegrating dessert globe, revealing Jupiter inside. Heheh. But I wouldn't give up my chocolate with the edible record. Hee.

As for me ... I ordered this thing called a Zweetburger. The waitress recommended it and said I'd love the presentation. What is it? Berry Compote & Citrus Cream Filled Lemon Cake served with berry orange zest sorbet and beignets.

Apparently our waitress saw us all passing gifts earlier and noted that we were taking pictures and at one point she asked Jay if someone was celebrating a birthday. He told her that it was mine and look what they did:

Zweet indeed!

Is that the coolest dessert you've ever seen or what? I would have loved it without the birthday message ... it was almost too picturesque to eat. The berry compote was tucked between two layers of lemon cake - the citrus cream was actually the "cheese" so while it doesn't technically qualify as cream it sure tasted good and gets full points for impersonating Kraft's singles. The sorbet was designed to mimic the appearance of a small container of ketchup for the dipping of beignets that were cut to resemble french fries. Rather than being sprinkled with salt they were dusted with granulated sugar.

That is really cool, but it messed with my head too much for me to try it. I did not see it on the menu anymore, which is a shame.

Now I know that most of us here don't like pictures of partially eaten food, but I really wanted to show everyone what the inside of a zweetburger looks like. So consider yourselves warned ...

Zweetburger innards

How dare you show half eaten food porn! Bwahahahaha. I thought the beignets were light and crisp, with the citrus taste.

Somehow Homer ended up in the beignets … have you ever known him to say "no" to dessert?

Homer hungreeeeee!

That's the kind of thing we expect from a Bendy food review. Whee!

So, in a word: WOW!

Bluezoo was an amazing experience. The food and the service absolutely lived up to our expectations and not only do we plan to pay them another visit this fall, but we now offer them our highest food review rating: Monstrous Fine!

Friends, lurkers, occasional readers, random well wishers, and DISers who wish I'd just shut up already and give someone else a chance to share their food reviews ... I'm here to tell each one of you who love seafood that you must pay Todd English a visit. It's expensive but worth every dime; they provide a creative, grown-up menu in a sophisticated setting. We cannot wait to go back and stuff our faces there again!

Yeah, October 16, 2009. Will a dancing banana emote push me over the top? Let's see.

 

[TheDISneyFamily]

OK, you two need to stop! Lori & Brenda, you do not need to feel schmucky just because I over-achieved and brought goodie bags. I'm very glad you guys liked the stuff we got you - the F&W coffee mugs were just a last minute addition from our wandering around the shops that afternoon. (I just wish we had bought ourselves a set, too. They were sold out when we went back to the Festival Center the next day!) The wine you and Jay bought for the table was perfect, thank you again! And Lori, the wine glass lanyards were put to good use at PFTS! So, thank you again, too.

Who else would appreciate...

Homer as the Ingestible Bulk?! He was a good addition to our foodie party. I hope he's not getting into too much trouble over at your house, Brenda.

BTW, Steve did not have the lobster, he went for the Surf & Turf like Lori did. He liked it, but he said he would stick to the fish of the day next time. (which is what he usually gets) Yes, I'm a sucker for the big lobster dish, I can't help it. I'm glad Jay liked his. The whole dinner was a lot of fun and I can't wait to dine with my foodie friends again. I'll be living vicariously through your F&W Festival adventures this year...

Great review, Brenda. I hope the computer trouble is behind you.

Cheers!
Michelle

 

[MickeyNicki]

OMG - MUST EAT AT BLUE ZOO!

That review has me drooling like a baby...the food, the drinks, the apps, the desserts..I have got to eat there in Oct..but what should I ditch?

Bren you did it again, FAB review...and bonus points for getting everyone else's food pics

 

[cntkg1]

WOW Bendy! I read it once and had to go back and read it again!! Then I had to drag Chuck to the computer to take a look at that Zweetburger. That looked amazing! How creative was that.

When I finally decide to partake in REAL Disney Dining, Blue Zoo will be in the running for sure.

Thanks for yet another great update B.

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

Ok Brenda,

You've just convinced me to try BlueZoo in September

I have been debating it for a while and I'm totally sold now The lobster, haricot vert and fries are calling to me hehe

 

[DisneyMom5]

Nice review! I'm sort of put off by a drink containing stinky cheese, but ok.

Your dessert sounded yummy. I am a big fan of lemony things, and add raspberry...mmmmmmmmmm.

Wow, it sounds like all those posts I've been reading about the Disney Dining Purgatory. But I pictured all Hannah Montana, Jonas Bros. and High School Musical songs instead. Egad.

You need to elaborate!
I want to be prepared for all circles of disney Dining heck.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Clearly, I need to eat at BlueZoo. Now I need to figure out how to make it happen! Thanks for sharing!