The Beaune Yard

July 23^rd 2009

Fish out of Water – Watercolor Resort Florida – Dinner

I have had the opportunity to travel all over the world.  I have even had the opportunity to have some amazing meals.  Auberge in Napa, Sommelier du Monde in Paris, Aqua in Cabo to name a few.  Meals that are a foodie’s delight.  In each and every case, the meal was fantastic and the food was paired well with wine or the ambiance.  To this hall of fame of culinary giants you must add Fish out of Water. 

A resort?  A resort in Florida?  No way!  Too touristy, too easy to do simple seafood, no way!

You would be wrong, and you will miss one of the best meals of your life. 

I will be the first to admit that the service both from the wait staff as well as the managers is well above average (see Atteca review).  And I will admit that this was a birthday dinner that involved 5 bottles of wine throughout the night.  But being a foodie and really enjoying food I can tell you that this is not a place to stop but a destination.  You need to seek it out.

The appetizers were so well thought out, both in portion and design as well as flavor.  You can almost order tapas style appetizers that cost very little and give you a big punch.  We tried the olives, the Red Snapper ceviche, and a couple of others.   The Ceviche was, with the exception of ceviche prepared right in front of me on a boat in the Galapagos Islands, the best I have ever had.  Hard to top that.

Then came dinner.  You really have to read the Atteca review to understand how Jaie made this dinner work.  Jaie is the General Manager and a wine connoisseur.  This man knows what he likes and likes what he knows.  He was non-obtrusive and helpful as well as engaging and fun.  He let us have our time and helped us along the journey.  A great meal with excellent food.  Even if Jaie is taking the night off you will not regret the experience.  However, if you get the chance, do a head to head wine tasting and let him pick a mid range and high range wine and you will have the time of your life.

For dinner all four dishes were cooked perfectly.  As a cook (I will not even attempt to put myself in the company of the chef’s that prepared that meal) I understand just how hard it is to plate four seafood dishes (three different seafoods) and have it come to the table just at that instant when it is so delicious it melts in your mouth and you go WoW.  We went WOW!  Several times over.  Scallops should only be served like they were here and anyone trying to cook them different should not get the opportunity to sell Scallops.  The grouper was so tender yet cooked and flavorful.  A hard fish to cook that came out like a champ.  And finally, my snapper.  WOW!

We had more wine and desert but you can already tell from this review that if you are in the Destin area it is worth a drive to Watercolor.  Ask for the Sommelier (Jaie will show up) and enjoy the night.  It might be some of the best food you ever get. 

Thanks for a great birthday.

Remember that life is too short for bad wine or bad friends.