Disney Anniversary Trip, Day 1/4 - Narcoossee's

After going back to the room, we freshened up a bit, and headed out to Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa for our dinner at Narcoossee's at 8:30 pm.  The line for the boat ride to Magic Kingdom was super long, and the one to The Contemporary was short. So we hopped onto the latter, figuring that we could take a monorail ride to GF either way.  The boat ride from the Wilderness Lodge was fun and quite relaxing, with gorgeous scenery.  I love when the sun sets over water.

Anyway, we got to Contemporary (never rode a boat here), and then went through the building to the monorail station.  Quick trip later and we were at the Grand Floridian! We entered the hotel lobby proper, and what a sight!.  I have never been to the GF and I thought it was very elegant.  I especially loved the chandelier.  We cornered an older gentleman who was taking pictures of his family and commandeered him to take ours as well.  Such a nice person! LOL.

Must be difficult to clean.

The band played live music in the lobby.

Forced geriatric photography. Turned out well!

After a brisk walk through the lobby, we exited the other side and meandered through the compound.  On to Narcoossee's!  Once again, anniversary trip means liquor!  Champagne!  Custom menus!

For our appetizers, Brandi ordered the Artisanal Cheeses, while I had the Shrimp and Crab Chowder.  The Purple Haze was the cheese highlight of the entire trip, and I loved this soup!  Quite good. The dill really made it.

(Reypenaer VSOP, Purple Haze, and Fourme d’Ambert)

Dill Crème Fraîche, Chives, and Narcoossee’s Oyster Crackers

For our entrees, Brandi had the Surf & Turf, whereas I ordered and consumed Jacque, my 2lb Steamed Whole Maine Lobster!  Jacque was served with a kind of cheddar and sherry noodle baked dish, with a couple large pieces of asparagus.  Jacque was good.  Keep in mind it's been about 15 or 20 years since I've eaten a whole lobster like this, and it was gooooooood!  Brandi mumbled pleased noises through her mouthful of steak, and the she said the lobster tail was good.

Medallions of Filet Mignon, Lobster Tail, Duchess Potatoes, Broccolini, and Red Wine Butter

Baked Sherry-Cheddar Orecchiette Pasta and Asparagus

By this time, the fireworks for the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP) had started up, so the lights dimmed and they piped in the music and as we were right by the windows, we sat back and watched the show!


Once that was finished, we were still super full, so we ordered our desserts to go.  I got the Strawberry Shortcake (super good), and Brandi got the Almond Crusted Cheesecake.  Sorry no pictures! We ironically ate them as soon as we got back to the room (I guess the wait for the boat back and the trip made us hungry again?)


Overall, Narcoossee's rated the 2nd best restaurant we ate at during our trip.  Stay tuned to find out who ranked 3rd and which one was 1st!


Coming up, Friday, and the start of Epcot's Food & Wine Festival.

Disney Anniversary Trip Day 1 of 4, part 1

So for this year's anniversary, Brandi and I decided to go to Disney (big surprise there).  Thanks to our parents (who provided a place to stay) and our friends Kris and Erin (who provided much needed park ticket assistance), and Delta Sky Miles (which blessed us with tickets), we only had to pay for the food.

And boy, did we eat some food!  Since the Epcot Food & Wine Festival was going on around the same time, we postponed our anniversary date by a month, in order to take advantage of the fabulous eats!

Our Delta flight left ATL at 9 am-ish on Thursday, September 30, so we were in Orlando by 10:20 am or so.  One Disney Magical Express ride later, we were at Disney's Wilderness Lodge.

After checking in, it was off to meet Kris at Magic Kingdom, to get some park fun in (as the F&W didn't start till Friday).  The park was done up for Halloween.  I've never been there during this time of year, and it was really pretty.

After meeting Kris and getting tickets, we were hungry (hadn't eaten since 8 am and I think it was near 1pm by this time).  We didn't have any reservations for lunch anywhere, but we were on the deluxe dining plan, so we had only a couple choices for MK: Liberty Tree Tavern, Tony's Town Square, Crystal Palace, and that other sit down place near the hub... forget the name right now.

We chose Liberty Tree Tavern.

For starters, I had the clam chowder, and Brandi had a fried cheese appetizer, which included both mozzarella sticks and cheese curds.  The clam chowder was awesome, exactly how I like it. Creamy with the taste of clams and broth, thick, not soupy.  Brandi said the cheese curds were pretty good, not as good as the ones in Wisconsin (obviously), and the mozza sticks were pretty good, nothing to write home about.

For our entrees, I had the salmon cakes, which was laid over a salad basically (greens), and Brandi had a chicken salad.  The flavor of the salmon cakes was okay, a bit heavy on the celery, but the consistency was very mushy.  I ultimately did not care for this dish.  I prefer fish cakes like this to be crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside, not mushy all over.  The salad dressing (some kind of ranch) was good and I enjoyed the salad part.  Brandi's salad was good, but we could make it at home, so it was like something we could get at any American restaurant anywhere.

Dessert was really good for me. I had some kind of toffee cookie thing with ice cream.  It was awesome. Brandi had some kind of apple cinnamon tart with butterscotch ice cream on top. Yum. These were good, no real complaints.

As the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party was later that night (we didn't have tickets and they kick you out at 7 pm), we bummed around the park till about 6.30 pm, and then took the boat back to Wilderness Lodge.  See our next post for dinner at Narcoossee's!