Every­one is “buzzin’” about it and let me tell you – it was an event to be remem­bered. Last Sat­ur­day, yours truly, along with a fab­u­lous group of Florida Food­buzz Fea­tured Pub­lish­ers had an evening out at Todd English’s blue­zoo here in Orlando, Florida.

The event was amaz­ing, to say the least. My buddy, SL, and I departed for all things Dis­ney and some­thing about the hotel just reminded me of Palm Beach. Calm, serene and deca­dent. The restau­rant didn’t dis­ap­point either. We met up with a host of fab­u­lous peo­ple and, after a cock­tail at the bar, we were ush­ered into the pri­vate din­ing room (Squ­ueeee!) and treated to a 6 course menu pre­pared by their exec­u­tive chef that was to die for. OK, VIP at the club, I have to say that I’m spoiled. VIP at a fabu restau­rant – just lead the way. Thank you!

The staff at blue­zoo left no need unat­tended. Their wait­ers were atten­tive, the wine was flow­ing and the con­ver­sa­tion was fab­u­lous. Attend­ing this lovely evening were Jenn of The Left­over Queen, Judy of No Fear Enter­tain­ing, Ingar of Taste Mem­ory, Chris of Pick­les & Cake, Susan of Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy, Peter and Christey of Fotocui­sine, Erin and Chris of The Olive Notes, Rachel of My Lit­tle Marsh­mel­low, and Bryan of The Tat­tooed Gourmet. Also, join­ing the Florida crew was the uber fab­u­lous Ryan of Food­Buzz and The Pink Spoon fame.

Now, you get this group together and fun is only the begin­ning.

I know you really want to hear about the food, though so, while these snaps were not pro­fes­sional (have you SEEN the pho­tos on the other blogs – I so need to put back the stilet­tos and get a bet­ter cam­era), trust me when I say you are going to get a lit­tle hun­gry. The menu started off with:

My take: the bacon pro­vided the per­fect touch of smoke to some­thing that was already near per­fect.

The amuse was fol­lowed by:

My take: This was just stun­ning. I wish you could see it in per­son and, if you do get a chance to go to blue­zoo, you MUST try. It’s a decon­structed shrimp cock­tail that was just divine. You have to see some of the other posts to see the hilar­ity that ensued as every­one had their “shot”.

This was fol­lowed by:

SECOND COURSE

beet salad…candied wal­nuts, goat cheese fondue

My take: OK, I have to be hon­est. The salad was just fine but I am NOT a fan of beets. I don’t think I ever have been. It’s just me. That’s all.

This was fol­lowed by:

THIRD COURSE

spice route char…curried bel­uga lentils, zhataar car­rot, yogurt spill

My take: LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE this dish. Did I tell you I loved this dish?? The char was per­fectly cooked. The sauce had the right amount of spice and the car­rots and lentils were fla­vor­ful. If I could pester the chef for the recipe, I would.

This was fol­lowed by:

FOURTH COURSE

sous vide amish chicken…parmesan polenta, picholine olive, decon­structed tomato sauce

My take: While the chicken was good, I was more of a fan of the polenta. (What can I say – I love polenta.) And you pair this with arugula, I’m sold. The decon­structed tomato sauce was also flavorful.

Finally, we were pre­sented with:

FIFTH COURSE

warm choco­late cake with liq­uid ganache cen­ter……
mara­caibo choco­late cream pud­ding, peanut ice cream

My take: Ummm… yes, it was BETTER than it looked. TRUST a gal. Thanks to this deca­dent treat, I am inspired to make the peanut but­ter ice cream.

Din­ner was fol­lowed by cof­fee and cor­dials, more fab­u­lous con­ver­sa­tion and goodie bags cour­tesy of Ingar. Also, before Judy slaps me, I have to divulge a lit­tle secret. If you want a great after din­ner cof­fee, add some Frangelico, Bai­leys and, I believe Amaretto, to the cof­fee and enjoy. If I wasn’t dri­ving, I would have def­i­nitely had one or two. Now if only I can learn how to make a proper cup of cof­fee at home. :::sigh:::

Many thanks to all that came out. The cama­raderie and con­ver­sa­tion is only the begin­ning and I look for­ward to spend­ing more time with these won­der­ful peo­ple. Also, I have to say a spe­cial thank you to Jenn, Judy and Ingar for putting this all together. Finally, we wouldn’t have had this fab­u­lous oppor­tu­nity if it wasn’t for Food­buzz and Ryan. Thank you so much.

blue­zoo rates high on my “must go to” spots here in Orlando and I know I will be going back often. I can­not rec­om­mend them enough. And, com­ing from a gal who goes OUT of her way to avoid all things Dis­ney, you know it must be damn good. Tourists & I are non-mixy things, except when it comes to this spot.

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Check out everyone’s take on the evening:

• The Left­over Queen
• No Fear Entertaining
• Taste Mem­ory
• Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy
• The Olive Notes
• The Tat­tooed Gourmet
• FotoCui­sine
• My Lit­tle Marshmallow