BlueZoo

This past Sunday, Frank, his Mom and I went on our annual pre-Christmas dinner excursion. Each year before Christmas we take his Mom out for a special dinner. She really enjoys the attention and the food and she knows we will pick a really good restaurant for her. This year, we ventured out of the Tampa Bay area and made the drive to the Dolphin resort at Walt Disney World for dinner at Todd English's BlueZoo. Frank and I had been there before and loved it. We knew his Mom would enjoy it too. OMG... we had another wonderful meal, with superb service. For starters, I had the Jumbo Seared Sea Scallops, with Braised Beef Short Rib and a Cauliflower puree. My co-worker, Jason, who had been to BlueZoo more times than me (I am working on catching up), highly recommended the scallops, and he was spot on. Frank had the Tuna Tartar, with Crispy Rock Shrimp and Orange Glaze. While I really liked the tuna on my first visit, I think the scallop dish is the winner. Mrs. C. ordered the Clam Chowder with Salt Cured Bacon. She proclaimed it a winner too. For my entree, I ordered the Florida Grouper served with White Truffle Spaetzle. Unfortunately, they get a 1/10 point deduction for a little too much salt in the spaetzle for my taste. But the flavors were amazing, and I still enjoyed the dish. Frank ordered the Miso Glazed Black Cod, served with Warm Sesame Spinach. Yes, I sampled his entree, and it was very good, with the spinach adding a great flavor component to the dish. But... by a narrow margin, Mrs. C's selection was the winner of the evening. She ordered the Chef Pasta special, which this night was Pappardelle with chopped tomato and mushroom sauce, capped with 4 oz. of lobster meat. The pappardelle was obviously made fresh at the restaurant, and cooked perfectly, as was the lobster. Bravo! Next up, like we needed more food, was dessert. We picked two desserts to share. First we selected  a Pavlova with vanilla orange ice cream, raspberry filled French meringue, citrus segments, and more. And for dessert #2, we ordered the Chocolate Melange, five wonderful samples of chocolate, including a cinnamon chocolate sorbet, and a milk chocolate malt creme brulee. Check the website and the menu for a full list of components.
Oh, and not to go unmentioned, Frank selected a wonderful bottle of Ponzi Pinot Noir from Williamette Valley, Oregon.
What a meal and what a lovely evening.