All good things comes to an end, they say, and so it is that I'm back from my vacation.  What a time, though!

What do you get when you cross Walt Disney World Signature Dining with Epcot's World Showcase and the 12th Annual International Food & Wine Festival?  An adult playground of diverse culinary delights.  That's what.

My wife had made reservations months in advance.  No expense was spared.  Ok, it hurts a little to talk about the expense.  Oh, but it was worth every penny.  So we ate, I photographed, and now it's time to get all Travel Channel with it.

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We flew in on a Monday and, what with travel and the time change, arrived ready for dinner.  We were booked at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa so dinner that first night was at Narcoossee's, one of the resort's own dining establishments.

The Grand Floridian is a sprawling Victorian complex that lounges on a beach directly across the lagoon from the Magic Kingdom.  It boasts three eateries and Narcoossee's is its seafood joint.  Appropriately enough, the restaurant itself is on the Floridian's pier, a window-walled, octagonal rotunda handsomely stocked with some of Nemo's tastiest compatriots.



While we perused our menus, the missus and I were presented with an amuse bouche, complimentary to resort guests: a bite-sized wedge of seared beef topped with a dollop of bleu cheese, tempura peas, and surrounded by dots of flavor-infused oils.  Oh, my.



Next, it was time to get more in the seafood mood.  Under Starters we both spied the same thing, Dueling Tartare, which we decided to split.  It was Ahi tuna and smoked salmon sashimi served in the French style of tartare, chopped, formed and mixed with herbs.  The egg-topped salmon was lightly smoked, more delicately than lox, so as not to overpower the subtleties of the tuna beside it that had been similarly crowned with a bit of roe.  Now sashimi is already buttery soft, but when minced and pressed this way it became downright creamy.  That made the sides of crispy-fried lotus root shavings and gyoza chips the perfect textural compliment.



Disney World dining, as it turns out, is nothing if not wine friendly.  The menus almost universally list recommended wine pairings for each item.  This trip, I would come to realize, was going to be like attending Walt's Academy of Wine Pairing where I got to sign up for all the lab courses without having to attend any lectures.  Right from the start, I made the decision to sip along with the program.

Not only were we there during the food and wine festival, but it was also the Year of a Million Dreams.  To commemorate, Disney sommeliers had collaborated with wineries around the country and the world to craft special bottlings of custom wines offered only in the park during the celebration.  Our tartare had been paired with just such an exclusive, the '01 Iron Horse Fairy Tale Cuvée (Sonoma), a Chardonnay-based sparkling white in a slightly off-dry style.  Have some, I did.  It was a crisp palate cleanser full of tickly bubbles and citrus flavors.

For entrées, my wife chose the Togarashi-spiced Ahi Tuna, which came with a sticky ball of Lemon Rice, Wasabi Tobiko, and Edamame Salad all wet with soy reduction.



I couldn't resist the Grilled Scallops plopped on a bed of Butternut Squash Risotto, drizzled in Aged Balsamic Vinegar and sprinkled in Pancetta bits.  Yum!  Again I went with the menu for pairing.  It was another Dream Year exlusive, the '04 Chalk Hill Imagine Chardonnay (Sonoma).  I did find some of the "pear, red apple and spicy oak" promised in the finish, but it seemed a bit undersaturated for the incredibly rich flavors of my meal.  I resolved to try the wine again later and see how it fared in another pairing.



One of the many things I find so endearing about my Sweetpea is that she absolutely, unequivocally and without question...

does
NOT
share
dessert.

If I want something, I damn well better order it myself.  Her passion for chocolate is the analog to mine for wine.  Little more than a glance at the dessert menu was required.  The Warm Chocolate-Almond Gâteau, please.  Thankyouverymuch.  It turned out to be a French version of the lava cake, spilling open with gooey, hot-chocolatey goodness once violated by my wife's eager spoon.  Side it with some Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream and she could die happy.  I got permission for just enough of a taste to swear to you how good it was.



As is tradition, I ordered something different so between the two of us we could try as much as possible.  To cap this particular culinary crusade, I chose the Coconut-Mango Panna Cotta, which came wrapped in Orange Chocolate, sided by Kiwi Sorbet, dots of fruit purée, and pixie'd up with some Rasberry Dust.  It was a pretty good second place, the uniqueness of which added to its reward.



Being on a lagoon shared by the Magic Kindom, we were treated to the front row for a tug-boated train of barges that floats by every night with Florida's equivalent to our own Disneyland's Electric Light Parade.  For our dining pleasure, magical blinking sea serpents and other fantastical creations frolicked to the synthesized musings of a invisible orchestra.

And when all was resting comfortably in our eminently satisfied bellies, the perfect ending was a slow promenade around the balconied boardwalk that belts the building, complete with view of Space Mountain and Cinderella's Castle.  Sigh.  And this was only Day One.



Yep.  We were off to a pretty good start.