Last weekend, we (my Cliff, my chef friend Jen, and I) were invited to attend the Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin Food & Wine Classic, aka: the food festival with the longest name in the history of food festivals.
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| Tuna tartare "nachos" with sriracha aioli |
This is the first year of the event, and it's definitely not going to be the last. We had a wonderful time eating and drinking for seven hours straight. We started off the evening at a beer seminar, tasting seven trappiste beers from Belgium, Orval, Westmalle and Chimay (made by monks - I love anything monks make).
It was a great seminar, if only for the tasting, but next year I would love to see more of a classroom setting. That would discourage people who are just there for the alcohol and more people who really want to learn about beer (i.e. me).
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| "Pipettes" filled with horseradish, chilled shrimp |
Outside in the quad, 20 different vendors set up with wine, food and cocktails from the Swan & Dolphin Hotel's four award-winning restaurants. There were an amazing amount of people there - I think I heard over 800 - and the event staff were only expecting about 300.
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| Beautiful desserts by Laurent Branlard |
Regardless, the food was top-notch (including our favorite tuna nachos, tartare on a baked tortilla chip settled on sriracha mayo) and we were sloshed by 7pm. By this time, we'd been eating and drinking for three and a half hours. We also loved the shrimp cocktail shooters by Todd English's bluezoo, the flagship restaurant for the Swan & Dolphin. Todd English is a tool, but I love his New American style of cuisine.
Shula's Steakhouse cooked to-order filets along with unremarkable creamed spinach. My long-held view that to get a steak cooked the way you want it, you have to order it one level down from what you really want. I love my steak med-rare, so I always order it rare. By the time it gets to the table, usually after sitting under a heat lamp for at least 5 or 10 minutes, it's med-rare. Just a tip.
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| Grouper, onion foam, shards, heirloom tomato |
By 9:30, we were sitting down at Todd English's bluezoo, ready for an epic tasting menu experience. I loved the grouper first course (after an amazing amuse bouche of foie gras torchon with edible flowers and orange blossom honey).
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| Tuna tartare, cucumber blossom, preserved lemon |
After five and a half hours of eating, the only thing getting me through this five-course tasting menu was the sheer beauty of the plating and how I couldn't bear to let such art go uneaten. After the monkfish, the Wagyu steak with butternut squash puree and the cheese course, I was tapped out. I've never felt so uncomfortable in my life, but the food I'd just eaten was perception-altering.
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| Brillat-Savarin and other stinky cheese w/honey, pecans |
There's nothing like the elegant dance of fine dining to make one feel like royalty for a few hours. Todd English's bluezoo was all hype said it was. This is an Orlando restaurant I'd been wanting to eat at for a while, and after experiencing the gamut of the kitchen's talents, I'll be happy to fork over the $70 for another go at the daily special.
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| Wagyu steak, beet ribbon, turnip, butternut squash puree |
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