12/27 dinner Flying Fish
One of the downsides of a last minute trip that we turned into an upside is the limited choices for dinner ADRs for tables of 5. Don't get me wrong, there were ADRs available, but choice was limited. Either the time or location tended to be unpopular. We like to eat early, in the 5:00 range, for dinner. This worked to our advantage, as we did have choices. However, many of them were unfamiliar restaurants. Flying Fish was on my short list for restaurants to try after we stayed at the Boardwalk during its refurbishment. My interest was piqued, and DH said go for it when I expressed my hesitation at booking a signature. Other than Le Cellier for lunch and California Grill with my older kids, this was our first signature experience. We called it his Christmas present to me.
We checked in after walking over from the Beach Club. The small waiting area was packed, so I took the kids outside for a bit until a bench opened up in the waiting e wait was short, though, and we were led to a lovely table just beyond the awesome banquette tables. The glass Fish overhead are really stunning. Our service from the start was exceptional.
I started with a blood orange magharita. I am always in search of great margheritas, and this was the best I have had in WDW. Yes, even better than the amazing avocado margarita. It was on the rocks, sugar rimmed, but tart enough that it wasn't overpowering, like the nasty margaritas from Joe's stand on the Boardwalk. My DH ordered a wine flight. He asked the waiter for a recommendation based on his meal choices. I believe it was the old world and he enjoyed it. It came with 1 white and 2 reds.
For apps, I had the tuna, served in a spicy char crust (but completely rare except for very thin edge), over avocado, pickled watermelon, and radish. It was beautiful, bright, and delicious. We were able to share this around the table, with picky kids eating just the tuna, and the rest of us enjoying all of the flavors. The parts were wonderful both separately and composed.
My DH ordered an app, too, but I can't recall exactly what. I believe it was the mission fig salad. Whatever it was was equally delicious, but I was busy swooning, so I missed it.
My entree was the scallops with grits. I hesitated on this, as I adore scallops, but do not like grits. Turns out I love Flying Fish grits. Enough that I could eat just grits and be happy. The scallops were lightly cooked, slightly rare in the middle. The sauce had citrus and was so good. The grits had diced veggies, and I practically licked my plate clean. There was a generous amount of large scallops. I was able to share with DH and the kids (who love scallops) without getting territorial.
DH had the prawns, sea bass, and key west shrimp. This was very good. Each Fish was cooked perfectly. This whole plate got shared and wiped clean, too.
ODD ordered a sirloin steak off the kids menu. My DH almost let her order the bison off the adult menu, but I managed to intervene there. She was totally fine with that switch. The chef didn't explain the $30 price difference, but luckily I had looked at the menu! The sirloin was great, not tough, and she ate it all. She was able to get fries and broccoli. She also ordered hot tea (my kids always want hot drinks when it is hot out! It was mid 80s when we headed into dinner,) She had a choice of blends and chose a black tea with citrus notes. She loved this, and felt very grown up, as it came with it's own little pot of water. YDD had pizza. It was exactly the same as everywhere and she liked it.
DS started to get into a bit of an entitled mood here. This built throughout the trip. He wanted to order off the adult menu. We convinced him to order the kids Fish and chips, which he did love, and we shared our meals with him. I can see on future trips, we need to set very clear rules on what he can order, as he is an order the most expensive item kid. I am okay with that to a point, but we just can't afford $40 entrees for a 9 year old! I offered to share with him after that, but he seemed to think that meant he could pick what he wanted and give me a bite.
He has actually offered to use his spending money on sushi, as he would rather order fine food than but a souvenir.
By the time we finished our meals, my YDD needed to leave the table. The meal was not terribly slow, but this was a signature, and she had been very still and very good. I decided not to press our luck with a dessert course and took her out to the Boardwalk to find ice cream. ODD came, too, while DS and DH stayed for dessert.
They panned the desserts. DH ordered the chocolate gluten free dessert, and DS had the deconstructed s'mores. They both felt the desserts were trying to hard. They were pretty to look at, but just not that good.
The girls had the best luck. We went to Ample Hills. My ODD had a scoop of strawberry and YDD had a scoop of chocolate. Their smalls are huge! I was going to get something sweet somewhere else, but my YDD could only eat half of hers, so I finished it, and it was plenty to share. The chocolate has little bits of chocolate in it. We were trying to figure out toppings, and the CM ended up giving us a bowl of sprinkles and little m and ms. It was very funny. The girls then picked individual toppings out of the bowl all night long! I did see and file mentally for the next trip that you can get a flight of ice cream for $9.00. (Smalls were $6.00.) the flights had 6 mini scoops in a circle. It would be perfect to share and fun to try lots of flavors.
Allergy note: the only 2 flavors that do not have egg are strawberry, and the lemon ginger sorbet. My ODD tried that one and decided it was too tart (and she loves tart.)
