Flying Fish Chef’s Counter Update

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

From the Disney Food blog.

We tried Flying Fish for the first time in November (regular dining room) and loved it. Anyone ever tried this particular experience there?

Flying Fish Chef’s Counter Update

The Flying Fish Cafe’s Chef’s Counter offers a memorable meal for guests 21 and over!

Crispy Tempura Soft Shell Crab Previously guests were seated in six chairs on the left side of the saute/pasta station. Due to popular demand, more seats have been added to this special tasting experience! At least 3 additional seats are now available on the right side directly in front of the fish/risotto station. These new seats can get a bit smoky, but have a better view of the kitchen.

Slow Braised Colorado Lamb Shank with Saffron Risotto Milanese Flying Fish offers five pairings (originally it was six) and portion sizes are generous. This experience currently costs $142.22 per person, however in October 2011 we hear it will increase to $157.22.

http://www.disneyfoo...ounter-updates/

Guest Review: Flying Fish Cafe Chef’s Counter

Oct 4th, 2010

by AJ. I recently “met” (not yet in person yet, but I hope soon!) a few Disney foodies who have sought out some great culinary experiences. I’ve begged a couple of them to put together guest posts, and the first is this fantastic review from Chelsi Murphy of the new Flying Fish Chef’s Counter at Disney World’s Boardwalk! Take it away, Chelsi!

The Flying Fish Café is connected to The Disney Boardwalk Resort. It has been consistently one of our favorite restaurants through the years. When it was announced in April that Chef Tim Keating would be offering a Chef’s Tasting Wine Dinner at the Chef’s counter, we knew that we would have to book it for our next trip out in July.

Atmosphere:

The Flying Fish Cafe is a beautiful and whimsically decorated restaurant overlooking the busy hustle and bustle of the Boardwalk. The Chef’s Counter is to your left as you walk in and gives you an up close and personal view of Chef Keating and his crew preparing the night’s menu.

Show Kitchen View From Chef's Counter Upon being seated, we were greeted by Sommelier Keith Gimbel and asked if we would mind having our picture taken for a special treat at the end of the meal. After this we received our menu for the evening and asked if we would like to change anything or if we had any food related allergies the staff needed to be aware of. Since we eat just about everything, we gave them the heads up and our evening of food and wine started.

Place Setting and Menu Eats:

Chef Keating at this point came from behind the counter with his Amuse Bouche: Boule of Smoked Salmon, Maine Jonah Crab, and Tobikko — Frisee, Shaved Fennel and Fennel Dill-Emulsion. It was an amazing opening bite (or two) to start off the night; salty, rich and bright. At the same time we were poured Lucien Albrecht Cremant d’ Alsace Brut, NV. I could have drunk this all night. It was crisp, lightly sweet, and cut through the salt of the smoked fish and fish eggs perfectly.

Boule of Smoked Salmon Amuse Bouche Next came the first course, a Crispy Tempura-Crusted Soft Shell Crab with Spring Radishes, Cucumber, shaved Lotus Root and two Fragrant Asian Sauces. This was served with Selbach-Oster Kabinett Riesling, Mosel ’08. I could have eaten this all night! I love soft shell crab and this looked like the Soft-Shell Mountain from Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind. It was amazing and super crispy. The Riesling was another perfect pairing, and I was surprised how much I loved this wine; again, slightly sweet and acidic to go with the fried crab.

Crispy Tempura Soft Shell Crab The second course was Porcini, Pepperberry and Wattleseed-crusted Bay of Fundy Salmon with truffled Preserved Lemon Butter Emulsion served with Francis Ford Coppola Votre Sante Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast ’07. The Salmon was beautifully cooked and the preserved lemon butter was good enough to lick off the plate. Don’t worry – I refrained! This was the only wine pairing of the night we were not thrilled with. There was nothing wrong with the wine, just not our personal favorite.

Porcini,Pepperberry, and Wattleseed-crusted Bay of Fundy Salmon Next up was the Duck Confit-laced Orrechiette Pasta with Roasted Muchrooms, Arugula, Artichokes and Perorino Romano. This was served with Feudo di San Negroamaro, Puglia-Italia ’07. I think this was my husband’s favorite of the night. At this point I knew we still had two courses so I had left half of mine and he was considerate enough to finish it for me! The pasta was cooked perfectly and the duck was rich and salty. The Negroamaro was amazing and was able to stand up to the rich duck dish.

Duck Confit-laced Orrechiette Pasta Next to last course! Slow Braised Colorado Lamb Shank with Saffron Risotto Milanese and Red Wine — Lamb Reduction. It was served with Mettler Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Lodi ’07. What bad can you say about meat cooked all day in red wine? It was wonderful, tender, juicy and rich. Then it’s served with a nice big bold red wine — it was comfort on a plate.

Slow Braised Colorado Lamb Shank with Saffron Risotto Milanese Dessert Course: Early Crop Sweet Florida Peach and Beekeepers’ Honey Delice Fantasie served with Saracco Moscato d’ Asti, Piedmont-Italia NV. It was like a cross between a Napoleon and a Flan with fresh Peaches. Crisp and on the light side, which was perfect after all the richness we’d just enjoyed. The Moscato just smelled of peaches and was a wonderful way to end the night.

Early Crop Sweet Florida Peach and Beekeepers Honey Fantasie While we were finishing up our wine and speaking with Chef Keating, we were presented with two gift menus that had the picture of us from the start of the meal:

Chef Tim, Keith and Craig serving wines Overall:

Our Chef’s Tasting evening was a great event. The hands-on service from both the Chef and the Sommelier made you feel as if you had your own personal signature event from the Food and Wine Festival. In our opinion, well worth the $143.00 per person. The Disney web page says you can book without the wine pairings, but when we called this was not an option and they made it clear it was an experience for guests 21 and up. We loved it so much we have it booked again VERY soon!

http://www.disneyfoo...-chefs-counter/

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

We ate there once many years ago. While all of our meals were delicious, my son ordered the wrong thing.

Now, let me preface, this child was 16 years old at the time, 6'4" tall, 180 lbs, with a garbage disposal appetite and a metabolism to match.

He ordered the scallops.

Out comes this plate with 5 tiny little scallops on a bed of some weird tasting sauce.

Almost $30 for a single mouthful!!!

He went back to All-Stars and ordered a pizza!!!!

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

:rofl2:

Yeah, probably not a good choice for your average teenage boy.

We both ordered the potato wrapped snapper which was freakin fantastic. Gotta say it was a bigger piece than I expected, but most things are a la carte here. We'd shared an app (the tuna tartare - awesome) and split a side of their potato gratin. That was plenty for us.

[Live4FW 30]

We both ordered the potato wrapped snapper which was freakin fantastic. Gotta say it was a bigger piece than I expected, but most things are a la carte here. We'd shared an app (the tuna tartare - awesome) and split a side of their potato gratin. That was plenty for us.

I had that for an aniversary dinner and I have to agree. It was so awesome. That was 3 years ago and I still think that is one of the best pieces of fish I have ever had. Awesome service too.

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

Our server was very pleasant, but not super attentive. Nothing terrible - and we weren't in a big rush anyway.

Gotta say though, that the best fish I've had on WDW property was at Narcoosees last year. The deep fried whole snapper. Looks scary and intimidating, tastes DELICIOUS!!!