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Jun. 18th, 2007 06:21 pmI haven't been posting as often as I should, so I tend to have these random-dump posts. They almost seem like bullet-points. I promise I won't create PowerPoint presentations.
Boston was colder than it should have been, and I was glad I packed long-sleeve shirts. Highs in the 70s already seemed cooler than I was used to, then it stayed in the upper-50s most of the last day I was there. I flew back to mid-80s here.
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Christey took me to Disney Saturday to eat, for a Father's Day present. Blue Zoo is probably my favorite Disney restaurant, but it's kinda weird as Starwood owns the Swan/Dolphin hotels, even though it's on Disney property (and is considered the top Epcot hotel). So, they don't have any of the same Disney specials, and I'm not sure they even get their food from the same suppliers. Disney itself has a lot of buying power, and when 40+ Disney restaurants pool their resources, they can command a lot of raw materials. On the other hand, you get a situation where 25+ of those restaurants all have a special on (say) halibut on the same night. Blue Zoo has some awesome ingredients, however, so it may be a good thing to be independent.
The food is great, and the ambiance is very interesting for a Disney restaurant, which is either all-out luxury (like Blue Zoo or Jiko ) or a place with design very similar to set-design (i.e. a lot of interesting effects with paint). Since many of the restaurants and resorts are themed, and Disney is doing the theming, the effect can sometimes be like Disney's habit of remaking stories into a movie -- the basic structure is there, but it's still Disney's interpretation. A good example is the Artist's Point restaurant in the Fort Wilderness Lodge. A great, wonderful steakhouse, but the restaurant and resort is sort of like Disney's interpretation of Canada.
So, Blue Zoo. I started with a couple Maine Oysters, because I've been re-trying oysters after years of shunning them because I never thought I liked them much. I had a couple last time we ate at Disney around Mother's Day (astute readers will see a theme with Christey and me), from Nova Scotia and Washington State and I still wasn't that impressed. Saturday, though -- mmmmm. I don't know if it was because they were from Maine, or fresher, or whatever the difference was, but they were fantastic. Exactly like eating the smell from a pier in Maine (in a good way...) -- the cold briny water with the scent of sealife. I've heard that's what good oysters are supposed to be like, but up until now, they always seemed a little bitter, or maybe earthy.
Then, I had striped seabass broiled simply, with a caviar beurre blanc. I've been playing with beurre blanc myself lately and I wanted a professional version. It was perfect, especially with the briny caviar (lumpfish, I suspect. Definitely not sturgeon) tying in with the oysters before, then the seabass with skin still crispy...man, that was a good fish.
After dessert, Christey and I figured why not spend the night rather than drive an hour or so back to the beach so after confirming with her mom (who was watching Meta for the evening), the hotel gave us a pretty good special. Nice place. Comfy beds. We missed the Epcot fireworks by 10 minutes or so, but had a good view of Spaceship Earth out the window.
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I've tried fishing a couple times out the back of the new place, but haven't had much luck, even with junk fish. We're on a canal off a fresh-water river that dumps immediately into the intracoastal (which is salt-water). So, the water may be a little too fresh for the fish I look for, but it's too salty for the freshwater fish. Snook, redfish, seatrout, tarpon, and even bull sharks will all take water pretty fresh, but apparently, they're not visiting my backyard. Not so the blue crabs! I've had the crab trap in the water for the last week and I've been getting a couple crab a day. I've picked some meat out of the better males and made some stock out of the leftover shells and stuff, so I'm thinking I'm going to make us some bisque tonight.
Boston was colder than it should have been, and I was glad I packed long-sleeve shirts. Highs in the 70s already seemed cooler than I was used to, then it stayed in the upper-50s most of the last day I was there. I flew back to mid-80s here.
---
Christey took me to Disney Saturday to eat, for a Father's Day present. Blue Zoo is probably my favorite Disney restaurant, but it's kinda weird as Starwood owns the Swan/Dolphin hotels, even though it's on Disney property (and is considered the top Epcot hotel). So, they don't have any of the same Disney specials, and I'm not sure they even get their food from the same suppliers. Disney itself has a lot of buying power, and when 40+ Disney restaurants pool their resources, they can command a lot of raw materials. On the other hand, you get a situation where 25+ of those restaurants all have a special on (say) halibut on the same night. Blue Zoo has some awesome ingredients, however, so it may be a good thing to be independent.
The food is great, and the ambiance is very interesting for a Disney restaurant, which is either all-out luxury (like Blue Zoo or Jiko ) or a place with design very similar to set-design (i.e. a lot of interesting effects with paint). Since many of the restaurants and resorts are themed, and Disney is doing the theming, the effect can sometimes be like Disney's habit of remaking stories into a movie -- the basic structure is there, but it's still Disney's interpretation. A good example is the Artist's Point restaurant in the Fort Wilderness Lodge. A great, wonderful steakhouse, but the restaurant and resort is sort of like Disney's interpretation of Canada.
So, Blue Zoo. I started with a couple Maine Oysters, because I've been re-trying oysters after years of shunning them because I never thought I liked them much. I had a couple last time we ate at Disney around Mother's Day (astute readers will see a theme with Christey and me), from Nova Scotia and Washington State and I still wasn't that impressed. Saturday, though -- mmmmm. I don't know if it was because they were from Maine, or fresher, or whatever the difference was, but they were fantastic. Exactly like eating the smell from a pier in Maine (in a good way...) -- the cold briny water with the scent of sealife. I've heard that's what good oysters are supposed to be like, but up until now, they always seemed a little bitter, or maybe earthy.
Then, I had striped seabass broiled simply, with a caviar beurre blanc. I've been playing with beurre blanc myself lately and I wanted a professional version. It was perfect, especially with the briny caviar (lumpfish, I suspect. Definitely not sturgeon) tying in with the oysters before, then the seabass with skin still crispy...man, that was a good fish.
After dessert, Christey and I figured why not spend the night rather than drive an hour or so back to the beach so after confirming with her mom (who was watching Meta for the evening), the hotel gave us a pretty good special. Nice place. Comfy beds. We missed the Epcot fireworks by 10 minutes or so, but had a good view of Spaceship Earth out the window.
---
I've tried fishing a couple times out the back of the new place, but haven't had much luck, even with junk fish. We're on a canal off a fresh-water river that dumps immediately into the intracoastal (which is salt-water). So, the water may be a little too fresh for the fish I look for, but it's too salty for the freshwater fish. Snook, redfish, seatrout, tarpon, and even bull sharks will all take water pretty fresh, but apparently, they're not visiting my backyard. Not so the blue crabs! I've had the crab trap in the water for the last week and I've been getting a couple crab a day. I've picked some meat out of the better males and made some stock out of the leftover shells and stuff, so I'm thinking I'm going to make us some bisque tonight.
