Ken's Birthday Dinner - Del Frisco's, Orlando - 2008

Last Friday night was Ken's birthday and dinner was planned at Del Frisco's, Orlando.

That is one of my favorite restaurants and my favorite steakhouse in Florida.

The entrance has recently been redone to provide more room for the large banquets that they accommodate.

I am partial to the way it was but they had to do it to improve the pre-function area.

However they left the original bar and restaurant intact. With its beautiful mahogany walls and bar, this is what a typical upscale steakhouse should look like.

We were made comfortable from the moment we arrived. On the way to our table we saw Dan Colgan, the Sommelier and asked him to come see us when he had a chance.

We were seated in one of the signature red leather booths and were handed our menus.

Were served water immediately and told that our server would be with us shortly.



A very pretty young lady named Taryn introduced herself and said that she would be helping us with our orders for the evening. She was very courteous and pleasant and this set the tone for a great meal to come.

We ordered a Campari on the rocks and an Absolut and soda to start things off.



We were in no hurry so we decided to enjoy a leisurely gourmet experience. We would only order one course at a time which gave us time to savor our food and wine.

For the first course we shared: the Shrimp Sampler Platter (This was made up of two of each creole and marinated shrimps) and The Shrimp Scampi. (Three shrimp in a garlic and olive oil sauce) The shrimp were large, tender, and delicious. Dan helped us select an excellent half-bottle of Chardonnay; Overlook by Landmark 2006 to accompany this wonderful appetizer.

This was followed by the soup course. We both ordered the Lobster Bisque. The bisque was velvety, rich and full of small lobster bits at the bottom of the bowl. We love lobster bisque and have become quite the connoisseurs of this dish. We liked this version very much, it lacked a little bit of tarragon and brandy. We decided to stick with the Chardonnay with the bisque and ordered another half bottle. The wine was excellent.

For our entrees we ordered the 8oz Filet Mignon Oscar and the Osso Bucco.
The filet was requested "black and blue" and it was served just that way. This refers to the steak being charred on the outside and red but warm on the inside. It is also referred to as being "Pittsburg Style". The Oscar dressing was requested on the side. This was made up of delicious lumps of fresh crab served with asparagus in a Hollandaise sauce. The steak and the sauce were both spectacular.

The Osso Bucco (Braised Veal Shank) was also excellent. It was a generous, falling-of-the-bone tender dish, filled with aromatic spices in a tomato sauce ragu. It was delicious. This was served with a side dish of Angel Hair pasta with a Bolognese sauce.

For accompaniments, we ordered the Skillet Potatoes (a beautiful arranged rosette of sliced potatoes that had been baked semi-crispy topped with caramelized sauteed onions) and the Corn.
The portions were enormous. In fact next time we will probably only have one side dish.

The wine for the beef dishes was a new arrival at Del Frisco's; a Volnay, Betouset/Prieser 2004 from France. The first half-bottle he opened was not right, so Dan took it back and brought us another. I liked it , but Ken and Dan thought it was a little "light" for a 2004 so he didnt charge us, because he was returning all bottles of this wine back to the supplier, but allow me to finish it. For Ken, he then brought a Sonoma County 2005 Zinfandel by Blockhedia Ringnosh. I didn't care for that one, so Dan brought me a glass of the premium, house Pinot Noir and it was delicious.

I have learned a lot about wines lately and that is, that it is more important to remember the region where they come from than the actual vineyard that produced it. The vineyards come and go if they are small, but the region maintains the same type of soil and climate that gives a grape variety its unique flavor. Most restaurants like to promote obscure vineyards because they can get maximum profit on their sale.
I am glad we know the wine Stuarts at the restaurants we enjoy. But the lesson learned here is that if the wine doesn't taste right to you, send it back, after the first sip. Chances are that it is bad.

We skipped desert for obvious reasons, and after two hours of fine dining, we ask for our check.

Please note that we had private transportation arrangements for the evening and that we would never drive after drinking alcoholic beverages. We encourage you to do the same.

We called Terry, our driver, before we left our table and he pulled the car around to the front and was waiting for us when we exited through the front doors. Terry is with Terry's VIP Transportation and he can be reached at 407-592-3307 or at terrysvip@cfl.rr.com

We loved the food at Del Frisco's and we rate it..............4.25-Forks and we rate the whole experience of the evening.......................4.75 Forks.

Now that dinner was behind us, we were off to Walt Disney World's Pleasure Island.
(Please see our Trips Sections on this blog)

As always, thank you for visiting our little bit of cyberspace.
Ken and Len

http://www.delfriscosorlando.com/

Del Friscos Restaurant, Winter Park, Fl.

On Monday night we discovered that Del Frisco's Restaurant was having its first ever wine tasting event. Their Sommelier or Wine Steward, Dan Colgan, was sitting at our table at Journeys Restaurant's 4th Birthday Bash and mentioned that to us.

But then he said that the wines being featured would be by Freemark Abbey. Well in an instant I became interested and got the details and made reservations for the two of us. Freemark Abbey was the first Chardonnay I found to be a favorite. It was the first time I ever became interested in a particular Vineyard or producer of wines. Through the years I have pursued the Freemark Abbey Chardonnay and have always enjoyed it.

This is not a wine that is made for the masses. With its very limited production, it is difficult to find on the shelf at most liquor stores. Only a few enlightened souls at small liquor stores seem to carry it more often than not.

We had been to Del Frisco's last year to celebrate Ken's birthday, so we were familiar with their reputation for good service and great steaks.

The first course was the crab cake which was delicious and was accompanied by the Fremark Abbey Viognier. Great pairing. The Viognier is slightly sweet which was excellent with the crab.
The second course was the Salmon served with the Freemark Abbey Chardonnay.The salmon and the wine were both great.
The third course was the petite fillet mignon accompanied with the Freemark Abbey Merlot. The fillet was tender and delicious. The wine was great.
The Fourth course was the New York Strip Steak served with new potatoes and asparagus accompanied by the Fremark Abbey Cabernet Sauvignon.
For dessert they served a simple cheese cake that was delicious.
The wine tasting was great.
Del Frisco's may not be a gourmet restaurant, but the food they serve is excellent both in quality and taste.
Ken and Len give Del Frisco's First Wine Tasting Dinner 4-FORKS
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