"We shall double our efforts" - July/Sept 2017 Dining Report - Update 9/26 Flying Fish (Complete)

[pepperandchips]

Happy Birthday!!!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

I'm glad that the service at Morimoto Asia was improved, your meal looked really good there. I had to Google Shine as I hadn't heard of it opening.

Leftovers for breakfast are the best! Yay for the Harry Potter rides being included in the Express Pass! I liked the Butterbeer, but it was a little too sweet for my taste.

Oh sorry! Shine Bar is part of Homecomin' but just the bar that you can either drink at or get stuff togo at!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Thank you! I'm no longer newly in my 30s so I guess that makes me really really an Adult now!

I can't believe they gave you a beer with a hole on the bottom and didn't mention it. I had the exact same thing happen to me at a St. Louis cardinals game a few years ago and what a mess. Its like the don't expect you to wonder why there is a button there.

I didn't realize they had made contraptions to fill the beer from the bottle now! I'm clearing behind on my beer serving technology. Such a bad engineer I am!

I'm also glad that I'm not the only person on this board that has made that mistake Great minds think alike!

Oh god help us when we go to disney if they have fidget spinners. Casey is obsessed and has already amassed herself at least a dozen of them.

Oh do they ever! They have Mickey, Stitch, Minnie and I think someone else too!

I did make Fidget Spinners uncool yesterday at the place I math tutor at a couple evenings a week. Apparently when an adult has one - that makes them the lamest thing ever even if it lights up and has Stitch on it!

Solidarity mushroom hating sister!

I knew you would like that comment

These look great. Would you get them again? Hoping we get to Morimoto on our next trip and so conflicted on what to order

Yes I would! There are a lot of things on the menu though so I may try something else and go back to my various favorites. I don't want Morimoto to become one of those places I only order 1 specific dish at since I have so many restaurants like that already!

How did I not know that this existed? Homecoming mixed drinks in a to go tumbler? Genius!

I just found out about it as well! I'm going to be enjoying this especially since my refills are now only $12.50!

Happy Birthday!!!

Thank you!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Krusty Burger

We headed to Universal Studios via Hogwarts Express once we were done with the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. We started over in Diagon Alley.

We were hungry for real food at this point and headed to Krusty Burger as Diagon Alley was busy! My mother didn’t really read the menus and this proved to not make her happy.

I had Chicken Arms with a Duff Beer. The chicken wings were made fresh to order which made them a little better than normal fast food. Their buffalo sauce was super weak though but I realize it is a theme park and made for the masses.

Chicken Arms (Buffalo Wings) and Duff Beer

My mother got the krusty burger as she didn’t realize they had chicken wings. She was mad at herself at it as theme park burgers suck in her opinion and it just wasn’t what she wanted. She wishes she didn’t give up on the options so easily and read the actual menus! She also got a chocolate milkshake which at least wasn’t bad but not the best.

Krusty Burger w/ Chocolate Milkshake and Sprite

When my mother went to pay for our food, we had a cashier in training who apparently wasn’t given a cash drawer so when my mother tried to pay with cash, she was lost. Since she had to pay with a credit card, the cashier presented us with a free giant pink donut. This was a nice gesture and we each tried a slice (super dense and not something I would get again!) but we weren’t going to carry it around with us the rest of the day since we had rides to go on!

Free Giant Donut

Krusty’s was a bust for my mother but it was fine for me. We continued on our rides through Universal before calling it quits around 3PM as it was HOT!

​

 

[suse66]

We also split the spare ribs with her having 2 and me having 1. These ribs are so tender and have a great sauce on them. As I knew I would be eating more of the entrée than her, I’m glad we split this way.

Those ribs!!!!! Oh my goodness, they look fantastic!

I had figured it would be smart for us to start in Seussland and work clockwise around the park so that we would finish in Wizarding World of Harry Potter and then take the Hogwarts Express over to Universal and then accomplish those rides.

Looks like a fun day! I need to get to WWoHP one day.

 

[Vernie822]

Looks like fun! I'm glad Morimoto's redeemed itself for you service-wise. I've only had appetizers there but their food consistently looks pretty good. I hear those ribs are fantastic.

I hope you had a great birthday! Enjoy your upcoming trip.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Those ribs!!!!! Oh my goodness, they look fantastic!
Looks like a fun day! I need to get to WWoHP one day.

Those ribs were fantastic! I only got to have 1 of the three but that was at least enough to satisfy the craving!

I know - its so hard to skip Disney to go to the other side. This was my first time to WWoHP at Universal Orlando!

Looks like fun! I'm glad Morimoto's redeemed itself for you service-wise. I've only had appetizers there but their food consistently looks pretty good. I hear those ribs are fantastic.

I hope you had a great birthday! Enjoy your upcoming trip.

Their food does consistently look pretty good! The ribs were awesome!

I had a good low key birthday! I'm ready to play tomorrow evening!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Highball and Harvest

Once back at the hotel, my mother wanted to visit her favorite bartender. This meant I would get a beer and snacks! I got a light beer that I know I love - Funky Buddha Floridian! The beer glass was interesting but probably what I expected from this bar. The nuts were fine as well.

Bar Nuts & Corn NUts

Funky Buddha Floridian
​

 

[Keels]

Highball and Harvest

I left work sometime after 6:00PM as my brain was fried and my body sore. I had walked entirely too much for someone that is just out of the walking boot this day (I say this when I’m about to go to Universal the next day) I debated on driving up to Orlando or going home. Idiot me decided to drive up there. I stopped at Sonic at some exit for a slushy (watermelon pop rock) as I figured sugar would help wake me up but it didn’t work. As soon as I turned onto I-4, I was so so very tired. I had to put on some loud angry rap to keep me awake for the drive I had left (about an hour) I made it to the Ritz Carlton Orlando around 9:40PM. Look at my face!

So Tired

My mother had called me while I was on my way up and told me the room number. She was definitely up past her bedtime at this point (she’s usually in bed by 8/9pm) so I was a brat and took a photo anyway as I needed to keep up with my Instagram Project 365. I unwinded on my iPad for about an hour and went to bed until I woke up naturally - around 7:15AM.

Room with View

We decided to go to the buffet for breakfast where I indulged. Seeing as I barely had dinner the night before (if you count a slushy as dinner), I loaded up! Highbar and Harvest is like walking into a Hipster’s dream restaurant. I am not a hipster but I could care less about decor if the food is worth it. Luckily it was.

As this is the Ritz, they serve real bacon unlike the flimsy microwave bacon Disney usually gives you. It was perfectly crispy which is why I ate so much. They also had manchego cheese which made me so happy as I never allow myself to buy it at the store since it is so expensive! The biscuit was dry and disappointing but I’m spoiled when it comes to biscuits so it was my own fault for thinking a buffet biscuit would be good. The donut was a better choice for my carb intake. I had some fruit for good measure. The grits were really good though but that could be because I put a ton of cheese on them.

Plate #1: Bacon, Donut, Watermelon, Biscuit, Manchego Cheese

Grits w/ Cheese & Bacon

I went for a second plate although I probably didn’t need it. I got more bacon (yum!), 2 small pancakes and another piece of watermelon. I couldn’t finish the pancakes as I was full!

Plate #2: Bacon, Pancakes, Watermelon

Overall, I was happy with this breakfast. We’ll be going back on Monday!

We went back to the room to get ready to spend the morning in the pool/lazy river at the Marriott next door. With your resort fee, they include 2 lazy river tubes so we enjoyed that for a little over an hour. When laying on the lounger, drying out, I noticed my left ankle wasn’t happy to not be in compression socks! Opps! I will totally wear them tomorrow at the park.

Pool Time (And a swollen ‘fixed’ ankle) ​

GIRL! THAT ANKLE!

I've been there before ... nothing like lookin' like an orange showed up in your ankle.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

GIRL! THAT ANKLE!

I've been there before ... nothing like lookin' like an orange showed up in your ankle.

I know! I've been good about the compression since then so its a bit better. The joys of post surgery life! Glad I decided to just sign up for the 10K for Wine & Dine and have St. Jude's as my next half marathon since the pace requirement for St. Jude's is much nicer than most.

 

[ariane37]

I'm with your mom on theme park burgers, and at Disney I don't like most QS burgers. However we've had some fantastic TS burgers! There's one at Territory Lounge at the WL that is out of this world

so when my mother tried to pay with cash, she was lost. Since she had to pay with a credit card, the cashier presented us with a free giant pink donut.

Very nice of the cashier; we got one on our last Universal trip but I loved it lol. Everyone else had one little piece and I ate the rest

 

[Dis_Yoda]

I'm with your mom on theme park burgers, and at Disney I don't like most QS burgers. However we've had some fantastic TS burgers! There's one at Territory Lounge at the WL that is out of this world


Very nice of the cashier; we got one on our last Universal trip but I loved it lol. Everyone else had one little piece and I ate the rest

TS tends to be better than than QS anyway! I need to get back out to Territory Lounge one of these days to enjoy their fondue!

I'm glad you enjoyed the donut! I knew I'm probably one of a few people on this board that didn't like it but that's ok - it leaves more for everyone else!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Morton’s Steakhouse

My mother asked me what I wanted for a nice meal for my birthday. After some debate of where to go, we ended up deciding on Morton’s as it had been a while since either of us had eaten there. We remembered how awesome a certain dish was and figured it was a good choice. We made our reservation through OpenTable. We arrived right on time for our 6PM reservation but upon walking in, we realized a reservation wasn’t really needed as there were all of 4 other tables in the restaurant at the time. Guess no one wanted steak this Sunday night!

We reviewed the menu and decided on our meal while sipping on our first glasses of wine and snacked on the bread.

Fresh Bread

We each started with a soup. I went with my favorite soup - onion soup! You can’t go wrong with warm gooey cheese along with a rich broth and onion goodness.

Baked Five Onion Soup

My mother had the lobster bisque. This bisque had a bit of a kick to it and had a nice amount of lobster meat so she was rather happy.

Lobster Bisque

We both had salads to ensure we got some vegetables today. My caesar was a typical steakhouse caesar so I was happy!

Caesar Salad

My mother got the chopped salad which included blue cheese so she was happy.

Chopped Salad

Then came the dish that was the reason we booked the reservation for. I hadn’t had this dish in over 13 years and I totally forgot to take a photo when it was served but I got a picture of 1 of my mother's (blocking out as much as I could of the dirty plate) It was every bit as wonderful as I remember as the shrimp is breaded and then cooked in an the wood burning oven and then served with a wonderful sauce. I had zero problem becoming a member of the clean plate club with this!

Shrimp Alexander

As it was my birthday, they took a photo of us along with serving me their signature dessert. We were really too full to enjoy this dessert but what we could manage, we really liked. It's a classic dessert and sometimes classics are just the best. I love the hot melty center on top of a bit of vanilla ice cream!

Birthday Photo

Morton’s Legendary Hot Chocolate Cake​

 

[kastoney]

Thank you! I'm no longer newly in my 30s so I guess that makes me really really an Adult now!

If you're really, really an adult at 31 god only knows what that makes me

I'm also glad that I'm not the only person on this board that has made that mistake Great minds think alike!

Yes we the great mushroom hating, beer spilling minds

I did make Fidget Spinners uncool yesterday at the place I math tutor at a couple evenings a week. Apparently when an adult has one - that makes them the lamest thing ever even if it lights up and has Stitch on it!

Funny story I was in a meeting at work the other day and one of my staff, who is much older than I, was sitting there spinning one. i of course called him out on it and that turned into a 15 minute discussion on fidget spinners. #TimeWellSpent

Krusty’s was a bust for my mother but it was fine for me. We continued on our rides through Universal before calling it quits around 3PM as it was HOT!

What in the heck in this character? It looks like something horrible you'd see cruising through the mall

Once back at the hotel, my mother wanted to visit her favorite bartender. This meant I would get a beer and snacks! I got a light beer that I know I love - Funky Buddha Floridian! The beer glass was interesting but probably what I expected from this bar. The nuts were fine as well.

Can't beat free bar snacks!

t was every bit as wonderful as I remember as the shrimp is breaded and then cooked in an the wood burning oven and then served with a wonderful sauce. I had zero problem becoming a member of the clean plate club with this!

Yum!!!! This looks and sounds delicious. Glad it was a great birthday dinner

 

[TigerKat]

That Shrimp Alexander looks and sounds like something I would love! Enjoying your reviews as always!

 

[ariane37]

Your soups and salads at Mortons look really good! Glad you enjoyed your birthday dinner

If you're really, really an adult at 31 god only knows what that makes me

And since you're (a little ) younger than I am it pretty much makes me a fossil!

 

[franandaj]

I'm working on an update and I had to chuckle when I read your Morton's update as I was having Deja Vu. The salads look really good. I may be going through salad withdrawl. They never taste as good at home as they do when you're at a restaurant.

I've never had anything besides steak at Morton's but that shrimp dish looked delicious!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

If you're really, really an adult at 31 god only knows what that makes me

It makes you Kari! So you are still an adult with a kid heart!

Yes we the great mushroom hating, beer spilling minds

<3

While I was at Nomad Lounge Friday Night - I told that beer story to the person next to me at the bar - they said they would have done the same thing! It's like a red flag to push me!

Funny story I was in a meeting at work the other day and one of my staff, who is much older than I, was sitting there spinning one. i of course called him out on it and that turned into a 15 minute discussion on fidget spinners. #TimeWellSpent

That is funny! There are some 40 and 50 years old at work that have them as well. Where I tutor also has them as one of the prizes for the kids! They are everywhere!

What in the heck in this character? It looks like something horrible you'd see cruising through the mall

Its apparently a character from the Jimmy Kimmel late night show. He does look really creepy but I guess thats the New York City vibe they are trying for the ride!

Can't beat free bar snacks!

Not at all! I love free food!

Yum!!!! This looks and sounds delicious. Glad it was a great birthday dinner

It was delicious! I'm glad I got a great birthday dinner!

That Shrimp Alexander looks and sounds like something I would love! Enjoying your reviews as always!

If you love seafood, you would totally enjoy it! Thank you for reading along! I'm ready for it to be Food & Wine time!

Your soups and salads at Mortons look really good! Glad you enjoyed your birthday dinner

And since you're (a little ) younger than I am it pretty much makes me a fossil!

It was a great birthday dinner, especially since on my actual birthday - I had work at both jobs (I tutor math a couple days a week) and two doctor's appointments so dinner was Panera & Cold Stone!

You aren't a fossil!

I'm working on an update and I had to chuckle when I read your Morton's update as I was having Deja Vu. The salads look really good. I may be going through salad withdrawl. They never taste as good at home as they do when you're at a restaurant.

I've never had anything besides steak at Morton's but that shrimp dish looked delicious!

It was Deja Vu! You can't go wrong with French Onion or Lobster Bisque! Salads do taste better at restaurants! My salads at home aren't nearly as good! I don't think I've ever had a steak at Morton's, shockingly enough. I had the Shrimp Alexander for the first time at like 12 and never looked back. I'm sure its wonderful though!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Highball & Harvest

As my mother’s room rate included free breakfast, we headed downstairs upon waking up for another breakfast buffet. The options were the same as Saturday and just as awesome. I loaded up on bacon again. The pancakes and grits were also good! I went with a donut as I had a donut every other day this trip and didn’t want to break the streak! My second plate was also good.

Plate #1 - Bacon, Manchego, Pancake, Grits, Donuts

Plate #2 - Bacon, Watermelon, Manchego, Frosted Flakes​

 

[disneyAndi14]

Happy Birthday. The Morton's steakhouse dinner looks delicious. I love shrimp and the whole meal looks wonderful!
Glad it was still as good as 13 years ago!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Happy Birthday. The Morton's steakhouse dinner looks delicious. I love shrimp and the whole meal looks wonderful!
Glad it was still as good as 13 years ago!

It was wonderful! I'm glad it was as good as I remembered it being!