We Smelled It...It Had to be Eaten, Part II ... Ding, Dong, Done!!!

[LiteBrite]

I could have SWORN there was a frog in the picture... and STARED at the photo for quite a while until I did see one... :rolleyes1

I feel better now that I know I'm not the only one who was searching for the frog! :cool1:

[sunny04]

I feel better now that I know I'm not the only one who was searching for the frog! :cool1:
Me too! :rotfl:

[SmallWorld71]

Nice to see you here ... it's been a while since you've posted. :goodvibes

Are you going to tell us what you're drinking? ;)


Just sangria. I need to broaden my horizons. I'm learning a lot from the DIS though.:thumbsup2

[whogirl'smom]

I found Rosa at the grocery store wine section the other day. I've never had it, but it sounds good. Is $23 for a bottle normal, high or low? Ok, sorry back on topic :)

Do you know how much that makes me want to move back to NC where they are sensible and sell wine in grocery stores? I can't even find Rosa here at the "likker" store. I miss Harris Teeter.

Brenda, great review and I missed having my margarita last trip! The sour apple does sound very :scared: ; that flavor always reminds me of the bubble gum we used to get for .02 growing up. And I agree with you on the Samosa--I am sober and thought it was a dessert till I read what you wrote! :rotfl:

[Tink rules]

I feel better now that I know I'm not the only one who was searching for the frog! :cool1:

Me too! :rotfl:

See Bendy... you drive off a bridge....and we follow you... :upsidedow

[oybolshoi]

Do you know how much that makes me want to move back to NC where they are sensible and sell wine in grocery stores? I can't even find Rosa here at the "likker" store. I miss Harris Teeter.

Brenda, great review and I missed having my margarita last trip! The sour apple does sound very :scared: ; that flavor always reminds me of the bubble gum we used to get for .02 growing up. And I agree with you on the Samosa--I am sober and thought it was a dessert till I read what you wrote! :rotfl:

Hi Jamie! Thanks for reading ... you didn't get your margarita in October either? :scared1:

Just sangria. I need to broaden my horizons. I'm learning a lot from the DIS though.:thumbsup2

Mmmm, sangria! I like that just fine! :thumbsup2


I feel better now that I know I'm not the only one who was searching for the frog! :cool1:

Me too! :rotfl:

Sorry about the Kermit incident as I will now term it ... :lmao:

[ChelleinNC]

Do you know how much that makes me want to move back to NC where they are sensible and sell wine in grocery stores? I can't even find Rosa here at the "likker" store. I miss Harris Teeter.


It was Harris Teeter where I saw it :goodvibes Move on back here, I think we could have fun hanging out together :thumbsup2

[oybolshoi]

It was Harris Teeter where I saw it :goodvibes Move on back here, I think we could have fun hanging out together :thumbsup2

Harris Teeter sounds like the opening act for Lynyrd Skynyrd. :lmao:

[oybolshoi]

Tuesday, October 14th - Rose and Crown Pub ... The Beery Interlude

Drinking makes us hungry, especially after looping the World Showcase three times in an effort to drink slowly and walk off the booze we'd already consumed. I knew that we would need a break in our drinkfest with a chance to eat a meal at some point in the afternoon and had made a late lunch reservation at Rose and Crown, one of our favorite places to grab some tasty food and drink while visiting Epcot.

The nice thing about our three o'clock reservation on an uber-windy afternoon was that our request for a patio table didn't even cause the CM to bat an eyelash, much less roll her eyes into the back of her head while muttering under her breath about how everyone and their damned fourth cousin twice removed wanted to sit outside.

We were led to a primo table with a lagoon view and a very brisk breeze - since Jay and I have dined at Rose & Crown many times before we didn't have to spend much time on the menu. When our waiter showed up our first request was for lots of water and a beer sampler, specifically the Imperial Beer Sampler.

While the sampler didn't include anything that we haven't tried before, all five beers hit the spot and tasted great with the food we ordered. So what did it include? From left to right in the pictures that follow: Guinness, Boddingtons, Bass, Stella Artois, and Harp.

Beer us!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/424.jpg

We need more beer over here!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/425.jpg

The rule was that we had to have a picture taken with the booze, so for your viewing pleasure here is ...

Jay the two-fisted drinker.
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/427.jpg

Jay loves to get picures of me drinking dark, chewy beers ... a few short years ago I wouldn't have been caught holding the glass, much less taking a sip of the motor oil inside!

Guinness makes some people burp but it just makes me flirt.
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/431.jpg

I do not exaggerate when I say the afternoon was windy - check out the wave action on the world showcase lagoon. Everything on the patio tables was in danger of blowing away if not securely weighted down. It was kind of funny to watch until it was something on our table that tried to escape. :rotfl2:

Surf's up!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/421.jpg

After we placed our order, our waiter delivered a basket of bread and some butter to the table to hold us over until the food arrived. The bread at Rose & Crown is hit and miss in our opinion ... sometimes it's fresh and warm and soft and other times it's hard and chewy. We were on the receiving end of hard and chewy on this visit but we were so hungry that we really didn't care. And we had lots of beer to help soften the bread.

Fresh bread and spaceship earth butterballs!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/423.jpg

I love the little balls of butter that look like Epcot's giant golfball! I doubt that's really what they're supposed to be, but Jay and I think it's funny to pretend that it's exactly what the kitchen intended.

We ordered an appetizer this afternoon that was new to us. In years past we've split the cheese plate but neither one of us have been overly impressed with the cheese assortment that Rose and Crown offers now compared with the bounty of 2002 when we first dined there. Instead of strangely colored cheeses that taste of wax, we selected the Smoked Scottish Salmon served on a Crispy Potato Cake w/Dill Aioli.

It's tasty!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/432.jpg

This was a nice-sized appetizer with good flavor - the salmon was mild and sweet, the potato pancake provided nice texture with a hint of saltiness, and the dill sauce was creamy and slightly tart. It was just the right size for us to share.

There was never any question in my mind about what I was going to order for lunch ... I could smell it while we were waiting to check in for our reservation. I smelled it ... it had to be eaten! :lmao:

Harry Ramsden's Fish & Chips - Battered Fresh Cod served with English Chips

We needs it ... we must haves it!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/434.jpg

Harry Ramsden's fishie chippies are some of the best I've ever had ... tender, flaky, mild fish with a delightful batter and just a hint of grease enhanced by a sprinkling of salt and my cheap yellow mustard habit.

Jay's lunch selection carried on the theme he began at breakfast: mush ... mish ... mash! He ordered Bangers and Mash: Traditional English Sausages, with Braised Cabbage and Bacon, Mashed Potatoes and Shallot Gravy.

More mush means less chewing!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/433.jpg

Well, I think it looks disgusting but since it wasn't my meal I guess it doesn't really matter, does it? Jay really enjoyed it and highly recommends it for all you lovers of mushy mixed foods out there.

At the end of our highly satisfying meal as we sat and watched the wind blow table trash all over the place we indulged ourselves in Do-Re-Mi-Beer ala' Homer Simpson because it seemed like the thing to do.

Why don't you join in and sing along with us?

Dough – the stuff … that buys my beer;
Ray – the guy that sells me beer;
Me – the guy … who drinks the beer;
Far – the distance to my beer;
So – I think I’ll have a beer;
La – La la la la la la beer;
Tea – No thanks, I’m drinking beer;
That will bring us back to …
(we each looked forlornly into an empty glass)
D’OH!

Thanks for reading!

[ChelleinNC]

Drinking makes us hungry, especially after looping the World Showcase three times in an effort to drink slowly and walk off the booze we'd already consumed. I knew that we would need a break in our drinkfest with a chance to eat a meal at some point in the afternoon and had made a late lunch reservation at Rose and Crown, one of our favorite places to grab some tasty food and drink while visiting Epcot.

Good start :thumbsup2


While the sampler didn't include anything that we haven't tried before, all five beers hit the spot and tasted great with the food we ordered. So what did it include? From left to right in the pictures that follow: Guinness, Boddingtons, Bass, Stella Artois, and Harp.

Beer us!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/424.jpg

We need more beer over here!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/425.jpg

The rule was that we had to have a picture taken with the booze, so for your viewing pleasure here is ...

Jay the two-fisted drinker.
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/427.jpg

Jay loves to get picures of me drinking dark, chewy beers ... a few short years ago I wouldn't have been caught holding the glass, much less taking a sip of the motor oil inside!

Guinness makes some people burp but it just makes me flirt.
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/431.jpg


I'm really not a beer person (I prefer hard liquour :rolleyes: ), but DH always makes me try stuff at R&C and I usually end uplike most of it.

There was never any question in my mind about what I was going to order for lunch ... I could smell it while we were waiting to check in for our reservation. I smelled it ... it had to be eaten! :lmao:

Harry Ramsden's Fish & Chips - Battered Fresh Cod served with English Chips

We needs it ... we must haves it!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/434.jpg

Harry Ramsden's fishie chippies are some of the best I've ever had ... tender, flaky, mild fish with a delightful batter and just a hint of grease enhanced by a sprinkling of salt and my cheap yellow mustard habit.

Well, DUH! I didn't think there was anything else on menu :rotfl:


Jay's lunch selection carried on the theme he began at breakfast: mush ... mish ... mash!

My mistake, I forgot they had mish mash on the menu :laughing:

At the end of our highly satisfying meal as we sat and watched the wind blow table trash all over the place we indulged ourselves in Do-Re-Mi-Beer ala' Homer Simpson because it seemed like the thing to do.

Why don't you join in and sing along with us?

Dough – the stuff … that buys my beer;
Ray – the guy that sells me beer;
Me – the guy … who drinks the beer;
Far – the distance to my beer;
So – I think I’ll have a beer;
La – La la la la la la beer;
Tea – No thanks, I’m drinking beer;
That will bring us back to …
(we each looked forlornly into an empty glass)
D’OH!

Thanks for reading!

:lmao: TOO FUNNY! :rotfl2:

[D&R love Disney]

Tuesday, October 14th - Rose and Crown Pub ... The Beery Interlude

Drinking makes us hungry, especially after looping the World Showcase three times in an effort to drink slowly and walk off the booze we'd already consumed. I knew that we would need a break in our drinkfest with a chance to eat a meal at some point in the afternoon and had made a late lunch reservation at Rose and Crown, one of our favorite places to grab some tasty food and drink while visiting Epcot.

The nice thing about our three o'clock reservation on an uber-windy afternoon was that our request for a patio table didn't even cause the CM to bat an eyelash, much less roll her eyes into the back of her head while muttering under her breath about how everyone and their damned fourth cousin twice removed wanted to sit outside.

We were led to a primo table with a lagoon view and a very brisk breeze - since Jay and I have dined at Rose & Crown many times before we didn't have to spend much time on the menu. When our waiter showed up our first request was for lots of water and a beer sampler, specifically the Imperial Beer Sampler.

While the sampler didn't include anything that we haven't tried before, all five beers hit the spot and tasted great with the food we ordered. So what did it include? From left to right in the pictures that follow: Guinness, Boddingtons, Bass, Stella Artois, and Harp.

Beer us!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/424.jpg

We need more beer over here!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/425.jpg

The rule was that we had to have a picture taken with the booze, so for your viewing pleasure here is ...

Jay the two-fisted drinker.
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/427.jpg

Jay loves to get picures of me drinking dark, chewy beers ... a few short years ago I wouldn't have been caught holding the glass, much less taking a sip of the motor oil inside!

Guinness makes some people burp but it just makes me flirt.
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/431.jpg

I do not exaggerate when I say the afternoon was windy - check out the wave action on the world showcase lagoon. Everything on the patio tables was in danger of blowing away if not securely weighted down. It was kind of funny to watch until it was something on our table that tried to escape. :rotfl2:

Surf's up!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/421.jpg

After we placed our order, our waiter delivered a basket of bread and some butter to the table to hold us over until the food arrived. The bread at Rose & Crown is hit and miss in our opinion ... sometimes it's fresh and warm and soft and other times it's hard and chewy. We were on the receiving end of hard and chewy on this visit but we were so hungry that we really didn't care. And we had lots of beer to help soften the bread.

Fresh bread and spaceship earth butterballs!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/423.jpg

I love the little balls of butter that look like Epcot's giant golfball! I doubt that's really what they're supposed to be, but Jay and I think it's funny to pretend that it's exactly what the kitchen intended.

We ordered an appetizer this afternoon that was new to us. In years past we've split the cheese plate but neither one of us have been overly impressed with the cheese assortment that Rose and Crown offers now compared with the bounty of 2002 when we first dined there. Instead of strangely colored cheeses that taste of wax, we selected the Smoked Scottish Salmon served on a Crispy Potato Cake w/Dill Aioli.

It's tasty!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/432.jpg

This was a nice-sized appetizer with good flavor - the salmon was mild and sweet, the potato pancake provided nice texture with a hint of saltiness, and the dill sauce was creamy and slightly tart. It was just the right size for us to share.

There was never any question in my mind about what I was going to order for lunch ... I could smell it while we were waiting to check in for our reservation. I smelled it ... it had to be eaten! :lmao:

Harry Ramsden's Fish & Chips - Battered Fresh Cod served with English Chips

We needs it ... we must haves it!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/434.jpg

Harry Ramsden's fishie chippies are some of the best I've ever had ... tender, flaky, mild fish with a delightful batter and just a hint of grease enhanced by a sprinkling of salt and my cheap yellow mustard habit.

Jay's lunch selection carried on the theme he began at breakfast: mush ... mish ... mash! He ordered Bangers and Mash: Traditional English Sausages, with Braised Cabbage and Bacon, Mashed Potatoes and Shallot Gravy.

More mush means less chewing!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/433.jpg

Well, I think it looks disgusting but since it wasn't my meal I guess it doesn't really matter, does it? Jay really enjoyed it and highly recommends it for all you lovers of mushy mixed foods out there.

At the end of our highly satisfying meal as we sat and watched the wind blow table trash all over the place we indulged ourselves in Do-Re-Mi-Beer ala' Homer Simpson because it seemed like the thing to do.

Why don't you join in and sing along with us?

Dough – the stuff … that buys my beer;
Ray – the guy that sells me beer;
Me – the guy … who drinks the beer;
Far – the distance to my beer;
So – I think I’ll have a beer;
La – La la la la la la beer;
Tea – No thanks, I’m drinking beer;
That will bring us back to …
(we each looked forlornly into an empty glass)
D’OH!

Thanks for reading!


Great lunch! I like beer but not dark beer, I'd be fine with the Bass to Harp part of the beer flight though.

I forgot about Home singing the beer song :lmao:

[Robert P]

Excellent! Makes me want to add R&C for next trip, as we have yet to dine there.
Though I am puzzled by your impromptu quasi 'fun run' of looping the WS 3 times to counter the alcohol effects. I've never found alcohol and exercise (or alcohol and altitude for that matter) to be winning combinations, but maybe that's the secret, and explains why your reports are so well written, and mine resemble wild hallucinations from after a chili cookoff. I'll have to ask the space coyote about this, the next time I see him....

[DisneyMom5]

Mmmmm....

How many ounces IS that beer flight???

Until the pic of Jay holding the glasses I thought the glasses looked huge.

About 30 oz total???

I'm definately getting the fish next time. I had fish and steak, and wasn't overly impressed with the steak. John loved it though.

I will tell him about the beeeeeeeer fliiiiiiiight, but I bet he'll get another Black and Tan, in honor of the place that first introduced them to him. :thumbsup2

[KristinAnne]

*Love* the Homer beer song! I am really looking forward to reading about how this afternoon ends. I think I would have lost all of my faculties and elected to swim back to my resort if it were me. :rotfl:

[BriarRosie]

Tuesday, October 14th - Rose and Crown Pub ... The Beery Interlude

Drinking makes us hungry, especially after looping the World Showcase three times in an effort to drink slowly and walk off the booze we'd already consumed. I knew that we would need a break in our drinkfest with a chance to eat a meal at some point in the afternoon and had made a late lunch reservation at Rose and Crown, one of our favorite places to grab some tasty food and drink while visiting Epcot.

Ah, it's been a few years since I've had anything at Rose and Crown. Good times.


The nice thing about our three o'clock reservation on an uber-windy afternoon was that our request for a patio table didn't even cause the CM to bat an eyelash, much less roll her eyes into the back of her head while muttering under her breath about how everyone and their damned fourth cousin twice removed wanted to sit outside.

That's because you weren't arriving for a 7:30pm ADR, silly. :rolleyes:
It wouldn't have made me bat an eyelash, either. ;) I enjoy eating out there during the daytime, too.


We were led to a primo table with a lagoon view and a very brisk breeze - since Jay and I have dined at Rose & Crown many times before we didn't have to spend much time on the menu. When our waiter showed up our first request was for lots of water and a beer sampler, specifically the Imperial Beer Sampler.

While the sampler didn't include anything that we haven't tried before, all five beers hit the spot and tasted great with the food we ordered. So what did it include? From left to right in the pictures that follow: Guinness, Boddingtons, Bass, Stella Artois, and Harp.

Beer us!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/424.jpg

We need more beer over here!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/425.jpg

Yowza! That looks like good beer to me! It was a very good beer...


The rule was that we had to have a picture taken with the booze, so for your viewing pleasure here is ...

Jay the two-fisted drinker.
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/427.jpg

His name was Brian McGee? :laughing:


Jay loves to get picures of me drinking dark, chewy beers ... a few short years ago I wouldn't have been caught holding the glass, much less taking a sip of the motor oil inside!

Guinness makes some people burp but it just makes me flirt.
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/431.jpg

I used to get intimidated by dark beers like that, but not anymore. I really like porters and stouts. :)


I do not exaggerate when I say the afternoon was windy - check out the wave action on the world showcase lagoon. Everything on the patio tables was in danger of blowing away if not securely weighted down. It was kind of funny to watch until it was something on our table that tried to escape. :rotfl2:

Surf's up!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/421.jpg

After we placed our order, our waiter delivered a basket of bread and some butter to the table to hold us over until the food arrived. The bread at Rose & Crown is hit and miss in our opinion ... sometimes it's fresh and warm and soft and other times it's hard and chewy. We were on the receiving end of hard and chewy on this visit but we were so hungry that we really didn't care. And we had lots of beer to help soften the bread.

I would just be happy they were still serving bread at at that point, too. But now I'm more inclined to skip the bread altogether.


Fresh bread and spaceship earth butterballs!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/423.jpg

I love the little balls of butter that look like Epcot's giant golfball! I doubt that's really what they're supposed to be, but Jay and I think it's funny to pretend that it's exactly what the kitchen intended.

Who knows? Maybe they are indeed made from Spaceship Earth butter molds. But hey, I'm a nostalgic purist when it comes to Disney butter. I remember the days when butter arrived in the shape of the full body of Mickey Mouse. "Let's decapitate Mickey and spread him on bread! Yummy!" I really miss those days. ;)


We ordered an appetizer this afternoon that was new to us. In years past we've split the cheese plate but neither one of us have been overly impressed with the cheese assortment that Rose and Crown offers now compared with the bounty of 2002 when we first dined there. Instead of strangely colored cheeses that taste of wax, we selected the Smoked Scottish Salmon served on a Crispy Potato Cake w/Dill Aioli.

It's tasty!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/432.jpg

This was a nice-sized appetizer with good flavor - the salmon was mild and sweet, the potato pancake provided nice texture with a hint of saltiness, and the dill sauce was creamy and slightly tart. It was just the right size for us to share.

That looks fabulous. I would have wanted to eat that. Lox on a latke! :banana:


There was never any question in my mind about what I was going to order for lunch ... I could smell it while we were waiting to check in for our reservation. I smelled it ... it had to be eaten! :lmao:

Harry Ramsden's Fish & Chips - Battered Fresh Cod served with English Chips

We needs it ... we must haves it!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/434.jpg

Harry Ramsden's fishie chippies are some of the best I've ever had ... tender, flaky, mild fish with a delightful batter and just a hint of grease enhanced by a sprinkling of salt and my cheap yellow mustard habit.

D'OH! This is where I go off on another rant. I totally refuse to order the fish and chips if I'm eating at the restaurant when I am fully aware that I can get it either at the take-out window next to the pub or inside the pub at the bar itself. I've done both of those options and know what the price is
vs. the restaurant menu price for the same damn fish. Ok, I'm done know.
Rant off.


Jay's lunch selection carried on the theme he began at breakfast: mush ... mish ... mash! He ordered Bangers and Mash: Traditional English Sausages, with Braised Cabbage and Bacon, Mashed Potatoes and Shallot Gravy.

More mush means less chewing!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/433.jpg

Well, I think it looks disgusting but since it wasn't my meal I guess it doesn't really matter, does it? Jay really enjoyed it and highly recommends it for all you lovers of mushy mixed foods out there.

I've actually ordered that before, but my all time favorite menu item was the
pie sampler, more specifically the chicken and leek pie. It was really excellent.


At the end of our highly satisfying meal as we sat and watched the wind blow table trash all over the place we indulged ourselves in Do-Re-Mi-Beer ala' Homer Simpson because it seemed like the thing to do.

Why don't you join in and sing along with us?

Dough – the stuff … that buys my beer;
Ray – the guy that sells me beer;
Me – the guy … who drinks the beer;
Far – the distance to my beer;
So – I think I’ll have a beer;
La – La la la la la la beer;
Tea – No thanks, I’m drinking beer;
That will bring us back to …
(we each looked forlornly into an empty glass)
D’OH!

Thanks for reading!

LOL! The Adventurers Club had a very similar version, probably adapted from the Simpsons version:

Dough, with which, I buy my beer;
Ray, the guy I buy beer from;
Me, the guy I buy beer for;
Far, the distance to the store!
So, I think I'll have a beer!
La, la la la la la la...
Tea? No thanks, I'll have a beer!
Which will bring us back to dough!

Uh, Catherine and I taught a boatload of tourists on the pootastic ship that does the Grand Floridian/Polynesian/Magic Kingdom route this song, mainly to get the group singing "99 bottles of beer on the wall" to stop singing that song and sing this instead. It was a much nicer boat ride after that. :laughing:

[TigerKat]

We're going to try R&C for the first time for lunch in October. The fish & chips are calling my name.....:thumbsup2

[*KeepMovingForward*]

Love the beer song! :rotfl: We went back to R&C after a couple year hiatus this past December and it was a 50/50 mix on what we thought. I can confirm that the cheese platter is still sucky, but the lamb entree was fabulous. That smoked salmon you guys had looked really good and I don't think you can ever go wrong with the fish and chips. :thumbsup2

[whogirl'smom]

Hi Jamie! Thanks for reading ... you didn't get your margarita in October either? :scared1:

It's okay on that one--I had to make a hard choice that day and I chose my Diva wine in Germany! (That I can find here in my teeny package store--what's up with that?)


It was Harris Teeter where I saw it :goodvibes Move on back here, I think we could have fun hanging out together :thumbsup2

I'm jealous. Now I have Teeter envy. Where is Stallings? We used to live in Asheville.

[whogirl'smom]

Harris Teeter sounds like the opening act for Lynyrd Skynyrd. :lmao:

:lmao: My friends used to think I was a grocery store snob for going there instead of Ingles or Bi-Lo. It's near Biltmore Forest, if that tells you anything!

[cntkg1]

ANOTHER meal I'd like B. I see a pattern starting here. I just might like this F&W thingy. :banana:

Great update woman. :hug:

[Krissalee]

R&C is our traditional arrival day lunch - got to have a pint or two, or ehm, five with our food to start the trip off right! Especially after an early morning flight. Only 16 days to go until we are sitting lakeside at R&C!

[oybolshoi]

Good start

Thanks!

I'm really not a beer person (I prefer hard liquour :rolleyes: ), but DH always makes me try stuff at R&C and I usually end uplike most of it.

I like beer but it's taken years of Jay encouraging me to try new stuff for me to reach the point I'm at now.


Well, DUH! I didn't think there was anything else on menu :rotfl:

They used to have a really tasty guinness beef stew on the menu ... along with many other things that seem to have been done away with.


My mistake, I forgot they had mish mash on the menu.

If mish-mash is an option Jay will usually order it!


:lmao: TOO FUNNY!

It's great, isn't it?

Great lunch! I like beer but not dark beer, I'd be fine with the Bass to Harp part of the beer flight though.

I forgot about Home singing the beer song :lmao:

Hi Deb! Thanks for reading ... and as for the beer, I pretty much stuck with the other four in the sampler and let Jay keep the Guinness for himself.

Excellent! Makes me want to add R&C for next trip, as we have yet to dine there.

Though I am puzzled by your impromptu quasi 'fun run' of looping the WS 3 times to counter the alcohol effects. I've never found alcohol and exercise (or alcohol and altitude for that matter) to be winning combinations, but maybe that's the secret, and explains why your reports are so well written, and mine resemble wild hallucinations from after a chili cookoff. I'll have to ask the space coyote about this, the next time I see him....

Hello Mr. Scorpio! I can't believe you of all people haven't dined at Rose & Crown ... you'll really enjoy it once you get there.

Our approach was to drink slowly and enjoy the day ... I know we did stuff in between drinks but I can't remember what any of it was!!!

And your reports are well written, too ... don't be so hard on yourself. I love reading your trippies! :thumbsup2


Mmmmm....

How many ounces IS that beer flight???

Until the pic of Jay holding the glasses I thought the glasses looked huge.

About 30 oz total???

I'm definately getting the fish next time. I had fish and steak, and wasn't overly impressed with the steak. John loved it though.

I will tell him about the beeeeeeeer fliiiiiiiight, but I bet he'll get another Black and Tan, in honor of the place that first introduced them to him. :thumbsup2

Number of ounces? Beats me ... :rotfl2:

The fish & chips are terrific ... I hope you enjoy them! As for your hubby ... why can't he have a black and tan and an imperial sampler? That's the Jay and Bendy way! :thumbsup2

*Love* the Homer beer song! I am really looking forward to reading about how this afternoon ends. I think I would have lost all of my faculties and elected to swim back to my resort if it were me. :rotfl:

The afternoon ends on kind of a bad note but then we were able to save it later in the evening ... :rolleyes1

Ah, it's been a few years since I've had anything at Rose and Crown. Good times.

That's because you weren't arriving for a 7:30pm ADR, silly. :rolleyes:
It wouldn't have made me bat an eyelash, either. ;) I enjoy eating out there during the daytime, too.

Rose & Crown has always been good times for us, too ... even with Grimace around. As for the patio ... as long as the weather is decent I love to eat out there ... love the view and the fresh air.


Yowza! That looks like good beer to me! It was a very good beer...

His name was Brian McGee? :laughing:

He stayed up listening to Queen ... :laughing:


I used to get intimidated by dark beers like that, but not anymore. I really like porters and stouts. :)

I'm developing a greater appreciation for them ... especially with dessert.

I would just be happy they were still serving bread at at that point, too. But now I'm more inclined to skip the bread altogether.

We still ate it even though it wasn't as good as some we've had there before. I'm not going to hold it against them since everything else was so good.


Who knows? Maybe they are indeed made from Spaceship Earth butter molds. But hey, I'm a nostalgic purist when it comes to Disney butter. I remember the days when butter arrived in the shape of the full body of Mickey Mouse. "Let's decapitate Mickey and spread him on bread! Yummy!" I really miss those days. ;)

Ooooooooh .... we've never seen Mickey butter. Have you a picture to share?


That looks fabulous. I would have wanted to eat that. Lox on a latke! :banana:

It was terrific!

D'OH! This is where I go off on another rant. I totally refuse to order the fish and chips if I'm eating at the restaurant when I am fully aware that I can get it either at the take-out window next to the pub or inside the pub at the bar itself. I've done both of those options and know what the price is vs. the restaurant menu price for the same damn fish. Ok, I'm done know.
Rant off.

Yeah, I know that it's cheaper to order at Ramsden's but I figure we're paying for the table, the plate, the silverware, the server, the multitudes of beer choices. And we had our DDE discount and honestly we were too buzzed to care very much. :lmao:

But I don't disagree with you - you make a fair point.


I've actually ordered that before, but my all time favorite menu item was the pie sampler, more specifically the chicken and leek pie. It was really excellent.

Jay has ordered the pie sampler before too and that was also his favorite ... until the Disney Menu Mangling Team got their hands on R&C.

LOL! The Adventurers Club had a very similar version, probably adapted from the Simpsons version:

Dough, with which, I buy my beer;
Ray, the guy I buy beer from;
Me, the guy I buy beer for;
Far, the distance to the store!
So, I think I'll have a beer!
La, la la la la la la...
Tea? No thanks, I'll have a beer!
Which will bring us back to dough!

Uh, Catherine and I taught a boatload of tourists on the pootastic ship that does the Grand Floridian/Polynesian/Magic Kingdom route this song, mainly to get the group singing "99 bottles of beer on the wall" to stop singing that song and sing this instead. It was a much nicer boat ride after that. :laughing:

Excellent!!! :lmao:

We're going to try R&C for the first time for lunch in October. The fish & chips are calling my name.....:thumbsup2

I hope you'll like it - R&C has always been one of our favorite Epcot restaurants.

Love the beer song! :rotfl: We went back to R&C after a couple year hiatus this past December and it was a 50/50 mix on what we thought. I can confirm that the cheese platter is still sucky, but the lamb entree was fabulous. That smoked salmon you guys had looked really good and I don't think you can ever go wrong with the fish and chips. :thumbsup2

Thanks for reading! I'm sorry to hear that the cheese platter still sucks wind ... I'm afraid that's unlikely to change any time soon. But the salmon we ordered was excellent as were my fish and chips.

It's okay on that one--I had to make a hard choice that day and I chose my Diva wine in Germany! (That I can find here in my teeny package store--what's up with that?)

I'm jealous. Now I have Teeter envy. Where is Stallings? We used to live in Asheville.

Diva wine? Wut is das?

:lmao: My friends used to think I was a grocery store snob for going there instead of Ingles or Bi-Lo. It's near Biltmore Forest, if that tells you anything!

Biltmore ... as in the fancy-schmancy estate bult by the Vanderbilts?

ANOTHER meal I'd like B. I see a pattern starting here. I just might like this F&W thingy.

Great update woman. :hug:

Hiya, Goosie! Thanks for reading ... I'm glad you finally saw something you'd enjoy!

R&C is our traditional arrival day lunch - got to have a pint or two, or ehm, five with our food to start the trip off right! Especially after an early morning flight. Only 16 days to go until we are sitting lakeside at R&C!

We love R&C ... it was good to get back there on this last trip since we'd skipped it on the last couple of visits. I hope you have a great trip and a great lunch once you're there!

[whogirl'smom]

Diva wine? Wut is das?



Biltmore ... as in the fancy-schmancy estate bult by the Vanderbilts?

http://www.randolphwinecellars.com/r/products/weingut-gunderloch-diva-riesling-spatlese-2006

Here is the Diva Riesling--this is the one I tried on our first Disney trip and then couldn't remember the name. This year I wrote it down. It's so good and crisp and sweet! We scored a little table outside by the fountain in Germany and just had a nice rest. Ahh.

Yes, Biltmore Forest is the fancy-schmancy neighborhood that borders Biltmore property; it is actually it's own little incorporated town with its own police, town hall, etc. This is where the old money is and where Andie McDowell has/had? a home when I lived there. It's really beautiful with huge older homes on large wooded lots. When we were looking for our first house, there was a teeny little house (probably a carriage house) for only $135,000. It was so out of our range then, but we look back now and think, wow what resale value that would have had!

The fish and chips look very yum! We always get some at the CS place. 'The light ale looks very interesting, too. I wonder if there menu will change again this year? I would have to forego an appetizer to have room for the wonderful Sticky Toffee Pudding. I remember this day and the wind because it's the day we were supposed to go to the beach and they were having high seas and high winds warning all along the Cocoa Beach area.

[oybolshoi]

http://www.randolphwinecellars.com/r/products/weingut-gunderloch-diva-riesling-spatlese-2006

Here is the Diva Riesling--this is the one I tried on our first Disney trip and then couldn't remember the name. This year I wrote it down. It's so good and crisp and sweet! We scored a little table outside by the fountain in Germany and just had a nice rest. Ahh.

Something tells me you told me about this before and I forgot ... :lmao:

Yes, Biltmore Forest is the fancy-schmancy neighborhood that borders Biltmore property; it is actually it's own little incorporated town with its own police, town hall, etc. This is where the old money is and where Andie McDowell has/had? a home when I lived there. It's really beautiful with huge older homes on large wooded lots. When we were looking for our first house, there was a teeny little house (probably a carriage house) for only $135,000. It was so out of our range then, but we look back now and think, wow what resale value that would have had!

I've always wanted to see Biltmore. We actually drove past Asheville once on our way home from florida ... took the scenic route through the Smoky Mountains and Gatlinburg ... but I couldn't convince my parents to stop and let me experience the Gilded Age up close and personal.

I was so deprived. :sad2: ;)

The fish and chips look very yum! We always get some at the CS place. 'The light ale looks very interesting, too. I wonder if there menu will change again this year? I would have to forego an appetizer to have room for the wonderful Sticky Toffee Pudding. I remember this day and the wind because it's the day we were supposed to go to the beach and they were having high seas and high winds warning all along the Cocoa Beach area.

The fish & chips at R&C are the same as the ones you'd purchase next door at the CS place (Harry Ramsden's), so as Lori pointed out you'd pay a little more to eat them at the restaurant but they are delicious!

Was the wind crazy that day or what? It felt kind of good out in the sun but it was strong. :scared:

[DisneyMom5]

The reason I would probably put my foot down on John having both the Black and Tan AND the beer flight, is that he has to help me get 7 kids back to the room, and he doesn't fit in the stroller.

:lmao:

[oybolshoi]

The reason I would probably put my foot down on John having both the Black and Tan AND the beer flight, is that he has to help me get 7 kids back to the room, and he doesn't fit in the stroller.

:lmao:

What if you rented one of those double wide strollers that Disney likes to price gouge its guests for? I bet your older kids could help push. :rotfl2:

[oybolshoi]

Tuesday, October 14th - We Tried and We Failed, the Lesson is ... Drown Your Sorrows in Sushi!

From Rose and Crown we wandered ...

Where?

I don't know.

Why?

Old age and alcohol are a lethal combination.

:rotfl2:

Drink #6: Viking Coffee, Norway

Eventually we found ourselves in the land of Erik the Red and cranky trolls; since our choices were pretty limited and we were feeling a bit drowsy thanks to those earlier drinks, coffee seemed like a good pick-us-up.

Hoooooo-eeeeey! This must be the world renowned Viking blend!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/437.jpg

This $8 plastic coffee cup was filled to the brim with hot coffee, Kamora Coffee liqueur, and Bailey's Irish Cream. When the CM asked me if I wanted whipped cream on that I responded with, "How much for the entire can?"

I think I shocked five years worth of English language study out of that poor CM ... he had the best deer-in-the-headlights look on his face I've seen in a long time. :lmao:

Jay broke the stunned silence in the Kringla Bakery by stepping around me and saying, "She's harmless; really. No need for concern."

We took our coffee outside and found a nice shady area where we could stretch out and watch the world and half-a-billion strollers go by. This was a wonderful drink ... I've grown to appreciate the allure of coffee-flavored-coffee, especially when it cleverly masks the alcohol hidden within ... and our coffee was strong and flavorful with just a touch of creamy sweetness.

Jay and I felt re-energized by the time we were finished and were more than ready for the last five countries in our challenge. Unfortunately our next stop was China and here things came to a crashing halt.

Drink #7: Plum Wine Green Tea Cooler, China

We've had this drink before ... it has always been one of the most refreshing drinks offered at any of the F&W booths and we look forward to having it every year.

Or I should say we used to look forward to drinking it.

It was awful ... only one rung above that vile conconction being sold at the Poland booth. The redeeming factor in China was that this drink was twice the size of the one in Poland for only half the price. It tasted like a plastic cup filled with syrup and ice ... I defy anyone to find the tea in this drink.

Who is responsible for this swill?
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/438.jpg

When ordering the plum wine poison, Jay also picked up some of the dessert being sold at China's F&W booth: Ginger Ice Cream. I'm not a big fan of ginger and I thought this tasted pretty nasty ... cold creamy ginger isn't any better in my book than pickled ginger, so Jay was able to enjoy this all by himself.

Dessert does not make the drink taste any less swill-like.
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/439.jpg

The saddest part about our drink was that it was so bad we tossed it out and immediately agreed that there was no way we could continue our quest without experiencing a reversal of fortune the likes of which hadn't been seen since last year's F&W Festival Viral Agent Adventure.

We know when we're licked.

So thanks a lot China.

First you produce lots of cheap toys made with shoddy materials and lead-based paint ... note to America: why else do you think you could buy these items so inexpensively at Wal-Mart?; then you trot out unknown, under-age gymnasts at the Olympics to steal gold medals from team USA ... note to the IOC: oppressive regimes forge documents all the time, do you think the rest of us are too stupid to know?; and then you go and ruin our favorite F&W drink, derailing our attempt to conquer Epcot's world showcase through alcohol consumption ... note to Jay and Bendy: next time you're in China order the singing toe beer ... at least that can be burped away quickly.

We made our way to Epcot's front entrance and the resort bus stop holding pens where we only had to wait fifteen minutes for a bus to take us back to Saratoga Springs. Jay and I discussed the approach we thought we'd need to try in October 2009, when we would once again take on Epcot's world showcase and all its alcoholic delights. We're convinced that the best strategy may be to stick with beer, ocassionally venturing over into wine when absolutely necessary.

I guess we'll see how that works in another eight months or so. ;)

The last self-portrait of the day:

Jay and Bendy: sadder, wiser, and tipsier ...
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/440.jpg

After doing things that frighten bedbugs and taking a late afternoon nap, Jay and I were hungry ... again. I told the hubby that I was jonesin for sushi, especially after seeing some stunning sushi platters the night before at Wolfgang Puck's. We walked over to the West Side from the resort and immediately found all the people who had been missing in action the previous evening.

It had to have been at least 8PM by the time we arrived at Wolfgang's and there was a line out the door - we almost walked away and tried something else but we realized that we'd have to wait no matter where we ended up. And so we stood in line for about ten minutes before realizing that if we wanted to eat at the sushi bar it was "first-come, first-serve" rather than "wait 60-minutes for the next available table."

The dining gods smiled on us ... two spots opened up at the sushi bar and we pounced faster than a kitty stalking a catnip mouse!

Puck's was busy, busy, busy but our server did a nice job of keeping an eye on us and our drinks. Our first priority was to order some alcohol to wash away the last bitter vestiges of our Chinese defeat. Jay stuck with beer and ordered a Kirin Ichiban while I took the advice of a young lady sitting next to me and selected a Wildberry Lemonade.

What, you ask, is Wildberry Lemonade?

It's stolichnaya blueberry and raspberry vodkas mixed with strawberry and lemonade and it is fantastic! The perfect girly drink with a kick and very refreshing - I highly recommend this one if you ever find yourself dining at Puck's some day.

Always try to end the day with good booze.
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/444.jpg

After much head scratching and sushi ogling, Jay and I chose a spicy tuna roll, a california roll, and three nigiri selections: yellowtail tuna, ahi tuna, and salmon.

It's all so good ... I wish we were eating it right now!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/445.jpg

Mother of Pearl!

This was, without a doubt, the best sushi of the entire trip. Fresh, delicate, flavorful ... we didn't want to stop eating and that's saying something. We struck up a conversation with the couple seated on my right - turns out they were from Yorkshire, England, and had just arrived in Orlando that very day. We eyeballed their plates ... they eyeballed our plates ... we talked about other food joys in Orlando and in between it all we watched in amazement as the sushi chefs performed their magical fish arts.

We tried to get a decent picture of the action going on behind the bar, but those guys move fast! Still, to give you an idea of what it's like at the sushi bar here's a not-very-good picture...

Slap a tourist with some more fish, would ya?
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/447.jpg

I don't know if it was the very obvious pleasure we and our neighbors were taking in our sushi or if we caught the sushi-man on a good night, but either way we were suddenly presented with a surprise ...

Crab flower!!!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/446.jpg

Jay and I received one of these and so did our un-named British friends.

A fabulous and free snow crab sushi flower - one for each of us and almost too pretty to eat, they ended up being too tasty not to eat!!! :rotfl2:

Now you might think that we'd had enough, finally, for one day. But our friends had ordered one of the chef's sushi specials and it looked so darn good that we had to order one too. So the last plate of the night was a rainbow roll, which was a california inside-out roll with tuna, whitefish, salmon, shrimp and avocado.

Somewhere over the rainbow...there are more fish waiting to be eaten.
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/448.jpg

I know that I sound like a broken record, but Wolfgang Puck's sushi bar was producing amazing fishies that night. It all tasted incredible and when I say that, I want you all to understand that I don't use sauce, wasabi, or ginger with my sushi - I just eat the roll or the fish'n'rice as presented. The flavor was absolutely amazing and just thinking about it has set my salivary glands a droolin'.

Jay and I couldn't have been happier with the way our evening turned out and we wholeheartedly gave Wolfgang Puck's sushi bar our highest rating: MONSTROUS FINE!!!!

Friends, if you like sushi you simply must visit Puck's and get yourselves smacked upside the head with some raw fishies. It's just that good.

[TinkerBelle_325]

Ok ALL of that sushi looks AMAZING! I want some now! LOL And you got all of my favorites :thumbsup2 especially the spicy tuna!

Last time we ate at Wolfgang Puck's it was a bit of a miss, but we might just try it again now solely for sushi :)

[Tink rules]

You know... I swear one of these days you two are going to sprout gills!!! :fish: :fish: :fish: :fish: :fish: :fish: :fish: :fish: :fish: :fish: :fish: :fish: :fish: :fish: :fish:

[cntkg1]

Loved the self portrait B. :lmao: You wear your hat in that position around here and you might be finding yourself being initiated into some unsavory gang activity. :scared1: Then again, you could probably talk your way out of it with some sushi conversation. Talk about a deer in headlights! :lmao:

Nice reads B. ;)

[irongirlof12]

wow that sushi looks amazing and a cool drinks count as well :thumbsup2

[TigerKat]

That sushi looks incredible!:thumbsup2

[ChelleinNC]

I'm jealous. Now I have Teeter envy. Where is Stallings? We used to live in Asheville.
Stallings is just outside Charlotte in Union County. I'm about a mile off of I-485.

http://www.randolphwinecellars.com/r/products/weingut-gunderloch-diva-riesling-spatlese-2006

Here is the Diva Riesling--this is the one I tried on our first Disney trip and then couldn't remember the name. This year I wrote it down. It's so good and crisp and sweet! We scored a little table outside by the fountain in Germany and just had a nice rest. Ahh.

Yes, Biltmore Forest is the fancy-schmancy neighborhood that borders Biltmore property; it is actually it's own little incorporated town with its own police, town hall, etc. This is where the old money is and where Andie McDowell has/had? a home when I lived there. It's really beautiful with huge older homes on large wooded lots. When we were looking for our first house, there was a teeny little house (probably a carriage house) for only $135,000. It was so out of our range then, but we look back now and think, wow what resale value that would have had!

Love Rieslings, so I'll have to remeber this one and give it a try :thumbsup2 As far as Andie McDowell, I'm pretty sure she still lives in Asheville. Even in the current market, that house would be worth a good bit more than $135,000 :rolleyes1

[D&R love Disney]

Great self picture:lmao:

The sushi looks amazing :thumbsup2 and I am all over that wildberry lemonade.

[ChelleinNC]

Tuesday, October 14th - We Tried and We Failed, the Lesson is ... Drown Your Sorrows in Sushi!

From Rose and Crown we wandered ...

Where?

I don't know.

Why?

Old age and alcohol are a lethal combination.

:rotfl2:
:lmao:
Drink #6: Viking Coffee, Norway

Eventually we found ourselves in the land of Erik the Red and cranky trolls; since our choices were pretty limited and we were feeling a bit drowsy thanks to those earlier drinks, coffee seemed like a good pick-us-up.

Hoooooo-eeeeey! This must be the world renowned Viking blend!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/437.jpg

This $8 plastic coffee cup was filled to the brim with hot coffee, Kamora Coffee liqueur, and Bailey's Irish Cream. When the CM asked me if I wanted whipped cream on that I responded with, "How much for the entire can?"

I think I shocked five years worth of English language study out of that poor CM ... he had the best deer-in-the-headlights look on his face I've seen in a long time. :lmao:

Jay broke the stunned silence in the Kringla Bakery by stepping around me and saying, "She's harmless; really. No need for concern."

We took our coffee outside and found a nice shady area where we could stretch out and watch the world and half-a-billion strollers go by. This was a wonderful drink ... I've grown to appreciate the allure of coffee-flavored-coffee, especially when it cleverly masks the alcohol hidden within ... and our coffee was strong and flavorful with just a touch of creamy sweetness.

I love coffee, I love alcohol, I really love coffee drinks with alcohol :love: :rotfl2:

Jay and I felt re-energized by the time we were finished and were more than ready for the last five countries in our challenge. Unfortunately our next stop was China and here things came to a crashing halt.

Drink #7: Plum Wine Green Tea Cooler, China

We've had this drink before ... it has always been one of the most refreshing drinks offered at any of the F&W booths and we look forward to having it every year.

Or I should say we used to look forward to drinking it.

It was awful ... only one rung above that vile conconction being sold at the Poland booth. The redeeming factor in China was that this drink was twice the size of the one in Poland for only half the price. It tasted like a plastic cup filled with syrup and ice ... I defy anyone to find the tea in this drink.

Who is responsible for this swill?
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/438.jpg

When ordering the plum wine poison, Jay also picked up some of the dessert being sold at China's F&W booth: Ginger Ice Cream. I'm not a big fan of ginger and I thought this tasted pretty nasty ... cold creamy ginger isn't any better in my book than pickled ginger, so Jay was able to enjoy this all by himself.

Dessert does not make the drink taste any less swill-like.
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/439.jpg

The saddest part about our drink was that it was so bad we tossed it out and immediately agreed that there was no way we could continue our quest without experiencing a reversal of fortune the likes of which hadn't been seen since last year's F&W Festival Viral Agent Adventure.

We know when we're licked.

So thanks a lot China.

Yikes! ya know it's bad when it gets compared to the drink in Poland :eek:

We made our way to Epcot's front entrance and the resort bus stop holding pens where we only had to wait fifteen minutes for a bus to take us back to Saratoga Springs. Jay and I discussed the approach we thought we'd need to try in October 2009, when we would once again take on Epcot's world showcase and all its alcoholic delights. We're convinced that the best strategy may be to stick with beer, ocassionally venturing over into wine when absolutely necessary.

I guess we'll see how that works in another eight months or so. ;)

The last self-portrait of the day:

Jay and Bendy: sadder, wiser, and tipsier ...
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/440.jpg

After doing things that frighten bedbugs and taking a late afternoon nap, Jay and I were hungry ... again.

frighten bedbugs :rotfl2: :lmao: :rotfl:

I would've marched straight back to Norway for more coffee goodness or on to France for a Grand Marnier slushie to get rid of the yucky taste.

I told the hubby that I was jonesin for sushi, especially after seeing some stunning sushi platters the night before at Wolfgang Puck's. We walked over to the West Side from the resort and immediately found all the people who had been missing in action the previous evening.

It had to have been at least 8PM by the time we arrived at Wolfgang's and there was a line out the door - we almost walked away and tried something else but we realized that we'd have to wait no matter where we ended up. And so we stood in line for about ten minutes before realizing that if we wanted to eat at the sushi bar it was "first-come, first-serve" rather than "wait 60-minutes for the next available table."

The dining gods smiled on us ... two spots opened up at the sushi bar and we pounced faster than a kitty stalking a catnip mouse!

Puck's was busy, busy, busy but our server did a nice job of keeping an eye on us and our drinks. Our first priority was to order some alcohol to wash away the last bitter vestiges of our Chinese defeat. Jay stuck with beer and ordered a Kirin Ichiban while I took the advice of a young lady sitting next to me and selected a Wildberry Lemonade.

What, you ask, is Wildberry Lemonade?

It's stolichnaya blueberry and raspberry vodkas mixed with strawberry and lemonade and it is fantastic! The perfect girly drink with a kick and very refreshing - I highly recommend this one if you ever find yourself dining at Puck's some day.

Always try to end the day with good booze.
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/444.jpg


Wildberry lemonade sounds mighty good :thumbsup2

After much head scratching and sushi ogling, Jay and I chose a spicy tuna roll, a california roll, and three nigiri selections: yellowtail tuna, ahi tuna, and salmon.

It's all so good ... I wish we were eating it right now!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/445.jpg

Mother of Pearl!

This was, without a doubt, the best sushi of the entire trip. Fresh, delicate, flavorful ... we didn't want to stop eating and that's saying something. We struck up a conversation with the couple seated on my right - turns out they were from Yorkshire, England, and had just arrived in Orlando that very day. We eyeballed their plates ... they eyeballed our plates ... we talked about other food joys in Orlando and in between it all we watched in amazement as the sushi chefs performed their magical fish arts.

We tried to get a decent picture of the action going on behind the bar, but those guys move fast! Still, to give you an idea of what it's like at the sushi bar here's a not-very-good picture...

Slap a tourist with some more fish, would ya?
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/447.jpg

I don't know if it was the very obvious pleasure we and our neighbors were taking in our sushi or if we caught the sushi-man on a good night, but either way we were suddenly presented with a surprise ...

Crab flower!!!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/446.jpg

Jay and I received one of these and so did our un-named British friends.

A fabulous and free snow crab sushi flower - one for each of us and almost too pretty to eat, they ended up being too tasty not to eat!!! :rotfl2:

Now you might think that we'd had enough, finally, for one day. But our friends had ordered one of the chef's sushi specials and it looked so darn good that we had to order one too. So the last plate of the night was a rainbow roll, which was a california inside-out roll with tuna, whitefish, salmon, shrimp and avocado.

Somewhere over the rainbow...there are more fish waiting to be eaten.
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/448.jpg

I know that I sound like a broken record, but Wolfgang Puck's sushi bar was producing amazing fishies that night. It all tasted incredible and when I say that, I want you all to understand that I don't use sauce, wasabi, or ginger with my sushi - I just eat the roll or the fish'n'rice as presented. The flavor was absolutely amazing and just thinking about it has set my salivary glands a droolin'.

Jay and I couldn't have been happier with the way our evening turned out and we wholeheartedly gave Wolfgang Puck's sushi bar our highest rating: MONSTROUS FINE!!!!

Friends, if you like sushi you simply must visit Puck's and get yourselves smacked upside the head with some raw fishies. It's just that good.

I eat my sushi just like you do; no soy sauce or yucky wasabi or yuckier ginger :goodvibes The sushi all looks incredible! Now I'm jonesin for sushi :sad2:

[oybolshoi]

Ok ALL of that sushi looks AMAZING! I want some now! LOL And you got all of my favorites :thumbsup2 especially the spicy tuna!

Last time we ate at Wolfgang Puck's it was a bit of a miss, but we might just try it again now solely for sushi.

Hi there! Oh, that sushi was incredible - we are totally spoiled now for any kind of sushi here in Stinktown. And before we ate there we were hearing really good things about the sushi bar at Puck's, so I think you're probably in good shape if you give that a try on your next trip.

You know... I swear one of these days you two are going to sprout gills!!! :fish:

I wouldn't be surprised!

Loved the self portrait B. :lmao: You wear your hat in that position around here and you might be finding yourself being initiated into some unsavory gang activity. Then again, you could probably talk your way out of it with some sushi conversation. Talk about a deer in headlights! :lmao:

Nice reads B.

Hi Nancy! I wish we would have finished the world showcase drinking tour because we had some great pictures lined up for the end, but we can't use them yet because we failed. Hopefully this year we'll have better success and then we can really bust a gut with the re-telling! :laughing:

wow that sushi looks amazing and a cool drinks count as well :thumbsup2

Hey stranger! Thanks for reading and posting ... the sushi was awesome!

That sushi looks incredible!:thumbsup2

It was ... try some on your next trip if you get a chance!

Great self picture:lmao:

The sushi looks amazing and I am all over that wildberry lemonade.

Hi Deb! What I like best about that picture is how Jay was able to make it look a little blurry ... just like us! :lmao:

And yes ... the sushi and lemonade were incredible!

I love coffee, I love alcohol, I really love coffee drinks with alcohol :love:

Yes ... you can't go wrong with coffee and booze ... so so good!


Yikes! ya know it's bad when it gets compared to the drink in Poland :eek:

Not only was it bad but it was so disappointing ... that drink used to be a F&W staple and they've ruined it ... those ruiners! :mad:


frighten bedbugs :rotfl2: :lmao: :rotfl:

I thought that was funny, too! :rotfl:

I would've marched straight back to Norway for more coffee goodness or on to France for a Grand Marnier slushie to get rid of the yucky taste.

If it had happened earlier in the day we might have survived it, but we just felt like if we tried to do more we would live to regret it. Ah well, it was good practice for this year!


Wildberry lemonade sounds mighty good. I eat my sushi just like you do; no soy sauce or yucky wasabi or yuckier ginger :goodvibes The sushi all looks incredible! Now I'm jonesin for sushi :sad2:

That wildberry lemonade was terrific and so was the sushi ... Jay and I are kinda jonesin for some ourselves today - I think we're going to have to pick some up at the grocery store this afteroon.

Thanks for reading everyone!

[SmallWorld71]

The sushi looks delicious! :love: DH, DS10 and I are big fans and it's not that often that we get to have really good sushi. Glad the evening ended on a happy food note. I actually remember the China drink from your other reports (not sure what that says about me :confused: ) and I was very disappointed along with you that it wasn't up to snuff. :rotfl:

[oybolshoi]

The sushi looks delicious! :love: DH, DS10 and I are big fans and it's not that often that we get to have really good sushi. Glad the evening ended on a happy food note. I actually remember the China drink from your other reports (not sure what that says about me :confused: ) and I was very disappointed along with you that it wasn't up to snuff. :rotfl:

The sushi was absolutely the best we had during the whole trip ... we still talk about it!

It doesn't say anything about you that you remember me talking about China's tea / wine cooler in past reports ... Jay and always drank at least one every time we went to F&W! It was so good that I always wanted to share the drink-love with you guys but I can't recommend it any longer. Too many other people have mentioned that it just didn't taste good in 2008 ... someone messed with the recipe.

Bleargh! :scared:

[oybolshoi]

For anyone interested in a non-Disney review I've posted a recap of a lunch Jay and I shared yesterday with his parents at Brio, an Italian restaurant here in Stinktown.

If you're interested just click on the link in my signature (gastropod travels) to get to my blog and read all about it.

Thanks and enjoy! :goodvibes

[Briarmom]

Hey Bendy! I've not been posting lately, but I had to pop in to say YUMMMMMM to the sushi pics.:lovestruc

[oybolshoi]

Hey Bendy! I've not been posting lately, but I had to pop in to say YUMMMMMM to the sushi pics.:lovestruc

Briarmom!!! I love hearing from you ... you're always so entertaining and you have the best stuff in your signature. That alcohol card is a perfect example ... :rotfl2:

Oh, and that sushi was terrific so visit Wolfie next time you're at DTD ... and don't forget to have a drink! :thumbsup2

[WDW Fan]

Brenda, I finally got caught up with your dining review and I was absolutely entertained!!! The foodie pictures and your quick witt were wonderful as usual. The sushi pictures were amazing from Wolfgang Puck! I truly admired your effort to drink your way around the World Showcase and you did a great job! Loved your latest review on the Gastropod travels!!! Hurry back with more please.:thumbsup2

[aceys_h0ney]

Loved the newest update! The picture of you two on the bus is priceless. Certainly deserving of being blown up and framed in your home.

Now I have a serious question. I would not mind venturing out into the world of sushi. So where would you recommend a beginner start ? When recommending please type slow and explain things as I am completely sushi illiterate .

[*KeepMovingForward*]

Your description of WP's sushi sounds wonderful. I think DH would be very happy dining there one night-now I must put it on the list. I myself don't touch the stuff, but the man of the house is addicted to it. Maybe one day I'll feel the urge.

Love the exhausted/buzzed pic of you and Jay. You guys look like you ran the Disney gauntlet successfully that day! :rotfl:

[oybolshoi]

Brenda, I finally got caught up with your dining review and I was absolutely entertained!!! The foodie pictures and your quick witt were wonderful as usual. The sushi pictures were amazing from Wolfgang Puck! I truly admired your effort to drink your way around the World Showcase and you did a great job! Loved your latest review on the Gastropod travels!!! Hurry back with more please.:thumbsup2

Hi Linda! :goodvibes Thank you so much for reading and for your lovely comments ... I'm working on the next update and will hopefully get that posted later this week. F&W boothing and then afternoon tea and then dinner at Blue Zoo with BriarRosie and TheDISneyFamily!!!

Loved the newest update! The picture of you two on the bus is priceless. Certainly deserving of being blown up and framed in your home.

Thanks! I don't think I want that picture hanging where anyone could actually see it ... no one would understand like you guys do! :laughing:

Now I have a serious question. I would not mind venturing out into the world of sushi. So where would you recommend a beginner start ? When recommending please type slow and explain things as I am completely sushi illiterate .

Tough question ... I'm no sushi expert so it's really hard for me to say. I thought Puck's had nice variety ... what I like to call "safe" sushi as well as some of the more exotic stuff that Jay likes to eat. I'm a big fan of nigiri sushi which is just the fish and the rice with just a hint of wasabi. I have to be careful with the rolls because too much seaweed and other stuff like seeds and raw veggies can bother my crohn goblin.

Kimonos over at the Swan had a good sushi selection, too. I'm sorry I'm not more help on this ... it's hard to know where to send you and I hate to suggest someplace and then have you go there and hate it. :confused3


Your description of WP's sushi sounds wonderful. I think DH would be very happy dining there one night-now I must put it on the list. I myself don't touch the stuff, but the man of the house is addicted to it. Maybe one day I'll feel the urge.

Jay and I just started getting into sushi a few years ago and I've come a long way but I still won't eat a lot of the more ... creative ... dishes. I'm happy with salmon and tuna nigiri with a rainbow or california roll tossed in for variety. Jay is the one who will eat squid and octopus and kraken ... :lmao:


Love the exhausted/buzzed pic of you and Jay. You guys look like you ran the Disney gauntlet successfully that day! :rotfl:

Thanks! I wish we'd finished the challenge so we could share the really good picture ... :rotfl2: Never fear ... we know what we need to do this fall and we're prepared ... and then we can really dazzle everyone with our achievements. ;)

[blueangel]

Loved the newest update! The picture of you two on the bus is priceless. Certainly deserving of being blown up and framed in your home.

Now I have a serious question. I would not mind venturing out into the world of sushi. So where would you recommend a beginner start ? When recommending please type slow and explain things as I am completely sushi illiterate .

Not to hijack, but a warning. A lot of people recommend starting with a California Roll because there isn't any raw fish, but most places will use roe on them (fish eggs). Make sure you ask about all ingredients before ordering! I am not up to raw yet, so I stick to things labeled tempura or crunchy and use plenty of soy sauce to hide the taste of the seaweed. :thumbsup2

Someday I aspire to be like my sushi heroine, Brenda, but I am not yet couragaous enough. :worship:

[oybolshoi]

Not to hijack, but a warning. A lot of people recommend starting with a California Roll because there isn't any raw fish, but most places will use roe on them (fish eggs). Make sure you ask about all ingredients before ordering! I am not up to raw yet, so I stick to things labeled tempura or crunchy and use plenty of soy sauce to hide the taste of the seaweed. :thumbsup2

Someday I aspire to be like my sushi heroine, Brenda, but I am not yet couragaous enough. :worship:

Hey there! :goodvibes I haven't seen you around for a while ... glad to know you're still here! :flower3:

No need to worry about a thread hijack ... for one thing that never bothers me and for another you posted great advice which I certainly didn't think about (mostly because I've never eaten anything tempura). And I love love love the roe ... :lovestruc

Sushi heroine ... me? I always thought eating nigiri made me a sushi baby because it's so simple. But I think that's why I like it so much ... it's simple and flavorful without being too over the top. And who would have guessed that raw fish could taste so darn good?

Now I'm going to start singing on my way to work:

Fish-heads, fish-heads,
Roly-poly fish-heads;
Fish-heads, fish-heads;
Eat them up, yum!!!

[BriarRosie]

I liked the rant about China. You pull no punches. Go Brenda Go! :banana:

Tuesday, October 14th - We Tried and We Failed, the Lesson is ... Drown Your Sorrows in Sushi!

Jay and I couldn't have been happier with the way our evening turned out and we wholeheartedly gave Wolfgang Puck's sushi bar our highest rating: MONSTROUS FINE!!!!

Friends, if you like sushi you simply must visit Puck's and get yourselves smacked upside the head with some raw fishies. It's just that good.

And now you know why I made that offhand remark earlier:

"I've never made it past the sushi bar at Puck's to try anything else there."
See? See? :rolleyes1

I've gone there for lunch after shopping at Downtown Disney usually. I haven't gone there as the specific destination, but I still love it.

[whogirl'smom]

I really want to be cool and hip and tell you how great that sushi looked, really I do....but alas, I am still a hick at heart and cannot try raw fish. I just (gulp) can't. But you're still my friendie! :goodvibes

Now, the alcohol-laced coffee--that I can get into! And something I can look forward to in December, when I'm not sweating buckets for a change! :thumbsup2

[oybolshoi]

I liked the rant about China. You pull no punches. Go Brenda Go! :banana:

It was just nasty. And knowing how good it's been in past years made that experience a real disappointment. We'll never order it again ... singing toe beer it is this fall. :lmao:

And now you know why I made that offhand remark earlier:

"I've never made it past the sushi bar at Puck's to try anything else there."
See? See? :rolleyes1

I've gone there for lunch after shopping at Downtown Disney usually. I haven't gone there as the specific destination, but I still love it.

Puck's was terrific and now I really do understand why you can't make it to the upstairs dining room. I'm not sure we'll ever be able to walk past the sushi bar again! :rotfl2:


I really want to be cool and hip and tell you how great that sushi looked, really I do....but alas, I am still a hick at heart and cannot try raw fish. I just (gulp) can't. But you're still my friendie! :goodvibes

Now, the alcohol-laced coffee--that I can get into! And something I can look forward to in December, when I'm not sweating buckets for a change! :thumbsup2

You're still cool even if you don't like sushi. It's an acquired taste and some people just don't enjoy it ... I can respect that! :thumbsup2

The viking coffee is excellent ... be sure to ask for extra whipped cream! :lmao:

[oybolshoi]

Wednesday, October 15th - And We're Eating and Eating and Eating ...

Despite the ongoing nuclear meltdown in the financial markets, Jay and I did our best to mentally disconnect from the world's events while at WDW. We both work in the finance / banking / automotive industries and knew that there would be plenty of problems waiting for us when we arrived back in Stinktown. Why borrow trouble when you can pretend to be blissfully ignorant while stuffing yer face and getting yer buzz on?

And that, no doubt, is the reason why this day turned out to be one of the best days of an already very fine trip. We made our way back over to Epcot and positioned ourselves in Canada shortly before 11AM in order to implement our simple yet brilliant Food & Wine strategy: E = MC2.

:confused3

Eating = Masses Circumvented(twice)

Yes, Einstein ... we theorized that the World Showcase would be a lot more enjoyable if we began our snacktacular quest with the booths in Canada and worked our way around the lagoon counter-clockwise like a pair of drunken fishies swimming against the school.

First stop: The Brewer's Collection... a vast selection of beery goodness from around the world. I liked this booth for many reasons, but most especially because they asked me for an ID!!! :rotfl2:

Someone's been at the beer early if I'm being checked for ID!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/452.jpg

There were seven beers to choose from: Stella Artois, Hoegaarden, Staropramen, Boddingtons, Tennent’s Lager, Harbin Beer, and Tiger Beer.

After ruling out those beers we had already tried (Stella's Hoeing the Gaarden of Boddys) and eliminating the one that sounded like a newly discovered form of antibiotic-resistant, flesh-eating bacteria, we opted for a lager since it was still early in the day - there was no need to drink anything too heavy before noon.

Tennent's Lager ... TA DA!!!
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Considered Scotland's best selling pale lager, Tennent's was the first lager brewed in Scotland. Interestingly enough the brewery is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bass Brewers, which is in turn owned by that global brewery gobbling behemoth INBEV!!!

Stinktonians still harbor (harbin?) some hard feelings over the recent acquisition of Anheuser-Busch by InBev. While Jay and I weren't huge fans of many AB products, the brewery and the Busch family were certainly a force in the local community and could always be counted on to give generously to organizations and charities that needed a helping hand. They also had a really cool beer song and a beer wagon and beer horses who lived on a vast expanse of land in the middle of suburban St. Louis that just happened to hold a little log cabin where Sam Grant used to live.

You tell me where else in this great country you could take a field trip that includes the former home of a Civil War general and US President along with massive stables for the beer horses, a pseudo-Bavarian town square, and a beer-baron mansion of truly epic proportions that’s always off-limits to the grubby public?

Viva le Stinktown! Or so it used to be after thirty free beer samples and a burping contest of epic proportions. Now with the advent of InBev all free beer goodies and genial public displays of digestive gassiness are gone gone gone! And the worst thing about it ... InBev actually puts out some damn fine beer so we can't even stay annoyed with them.

But we could be slightly annoyed with the beer booth thanks to their woeful and inadequate food supply which consisted of a sad selection of potato chips.

ICK!
ACK!
GACK!

Who eats potato chips with beer? Our inner Gollum wants a hot pretzel with some spicy mustard or a sausage dog or nachos dripping with processed cheese food. When it became quite clear that none of these options were available Jay strolled over to Turkey and ordered some food to accompany our beer.

Manti with Yogurt Sauce and Meze
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The Manti was basically a spicy meat dumpling with yogurt sauce drizzled attractively over the top. It was a strange taste combination … warm noodle, warmer spiced mystery meat, and chilled, slightly sweet yogurt sauce. I ate a little bit of it but left most for Jay because I just didn't care much for it.

Meze roughly translates as a selection of appetizers or small dishes; in this case we received some steamed eggplant and peppers, some grilled pita bread, and a kind of psuedo-hummus. I liked the psuedo-hummus and the pita bread, although I would have liked the bread better if it had been soft. The veggies must have been OK but neither one of us recall much about them.

From Turkey we strolled halfway around the World Showcase to find ourselves in America Town and the Hops & Barley Market.

Even more beer choices ...
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This is one of those booths that never changes from year-to-year. They offer something like ten different choices of Sam Adams beer varietals, an overpriced lobster roll, and a crab cake. If they ever offered something new at this booth I think I'd drop dead right there outside of America Gardens Theatre, which at last check didn't really have a garden.

Well, since we were here and hungry Jay and I decided to order the lot, less nine beer selections. Behold: Boston Crab Cake w/ Corn & Barley Salad; New England Lobster Roll; Sam Adams Cream Stout.

Eat them up, yum!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/453.jpg

We thought the lobster roll was actually pretty good, even if it carried a rather steep six dollar pricetag. Since we don't have things like this on menus in Stinktown we have no way to gauge it against the real item that one might find in Boston or elsewhere along America's upper East Coast, but we enjoyed it, especially with the cream stout.

The crab cake was tasty but it sure looks to me as if the corn and barley salad were stranded somewhere and didn't quite make it to our plate. I'm pretty sure the salad was burried under the crab cake but it did not make much of an impression.

Surprise of the morning? I really liked the Cream Stout!!! It definitely poured out of the tap like motor oil but it smelled like coffee and had a slightly sweet coffee flavor ... it was really quite good!

We're never so happy as when drinking beer ... unless we're drinking wine ... or scotch ... or some other type of booze
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/454.jpg

Our next stop was Ireland where we made our second mistake of the day. The first mistake was trying to purchase something from the F&W booth in Japan where mass confusion reigned over several Key to the World cards, the Dining Plan, four guests, two cast members, and at least three different languages. We lost fifteen minutes of our vacation in Japan and we want them back ... with interest!

Anyway, our second mistake was in ordering the boxty in Ireland instead of sticking with the Irish cheese plate. Since we'd ordered the cheese plate at last year's festival we wanted to try something new this year ... all I can say is next time I'm going back to the cheese. It's hard to screw up sliced cheese.

Ireland has the cutest F&W booth!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/456.jpg

The official name of our food selection was Boxty with Bacon Chips and Kerrygold Garlic & Fresh Herb Butter. I don't know what I was expecting but it wasn't this:

Pancake with onions and a butter globual...
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/457.jpg

Maybe I'm a little too Americanized, even for an American, but I like maple syrup with my pancake, not fried onions. And I don't see bacon chips ... I see one bacon bit. And as for that huge mound of butter ... Jay and I together wouldn't use that much butter on an entire stack of pancakes much less one. Our final verdict: avoid the boxty at all costs ... it's greasy and overcooked and just not that good.

We hoped that our next stop would be more productive and stopped in Eye-Ta-Lee to see what they had to offer.

My bologna has a first name, it's G-E-O-R-G-E...
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/461.jpg

Here we selected the Baked Ziti; Cream Puff w/Mascarpone & Gianduja Chocolate; and a Moretti Beer. We chose to ignore the other food option - sausage pizza.

Hooray food!
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The baked ziti was very good and certainly large enough for two hogs like Jay and me to share comfortably - it also paired quite nicely with the Moretti Beer, which we'd never tried before. It reminded us a lot of a light beer ala' Bud Light ... oh wait, I guess that's InBev Light, now. ;)

The Cream Puffs were delightful but would have tasted better with some Prosecco or some Rosa Regale rather than with the warm remnants of our beer. As we continued our slow trek through the world showcase look at who we stumbled across! Two of our three dinner partners for the coming evening ... the founding members of TheDISneyFamily!!

Michelle & Steve
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/463.jpg

Self-portrait #87 - yes we can!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/464.jpg

We exchanged greetings and talked a little F&W ... we were eyeballing Spain's booth and had it on good authority from Michelle and Steve that the tuna was definitely worth ordering. And we all agreed that the Cheesemonger booth was one of the best at the festival. Eventually we parted ways since Jay and I had a reservation for afternoon tea over at the Grand Floridian. But before we left Epcot we had time for one more stop at ...

Spain!

I miss the PAIN sign with the floating letter "S".
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/466.jpg

Taking the advice of our friends we selected the Chilled Tomato and Garlic Soup and Seared Tuna Loin w/Spicy Red Pepper Coulis and Garlic Herb Ciabatta. I also decided that we should end the afternoon with some bubbly and selected the Poema Cava Brut to wash down our food.

Excellent!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/465.jpg

Let's start with the chilled soup ... we both really enjoyed this ... a nicely blended mix of tomatoes and garlic with some crispy croutons bobbing along for added texture. I particularly liked how well the soup had been pureed. A few years back we tried gazpacho at Spain's booth and it was like trying to eat cold picante sauce right out of the bottle. :scared: This was a marked improvement.

The tuna was also very tasty and very generously portioned - there are actually two pieces of loin on the plate, but one has been drowned in red pepper coulis. I avoided the sauce for the most part but thought the tuna was excellent and so did Jay. This dish was one of the best we sampled at the entire festival.

And both dishes paired nicely with our champagne, which was light and dry ... not a hint of sweetness to it which is just the way we typically prefer our bubbly.

And then check out what we spotted on our way out of the park ... we were over by the odyssey where it's often less crowded and the bathrooms are less busy ...

TURTLE SOUP!!!

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/469.jpg

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/468.jpg

Stay tuned for another report on afternoon tea at the Gardenview Lounge ... and thanks for reading!! :goodvibes

[Hedy]

For some reason the "founding members of the DISneyfamily" made me snicker.
Mmm...beer (goes off to see if any of the Offshore Ale is left). :rotfl:

[*KeepMovingForward*]

[First stop: The Brewer's Collection... a vast selection of beery goodness from around the world. I liked this booth for many reasons, but most especially because they asked me for an ID!!! :rotfl2:

Someone's been at the beer early if I'm being checked for ID!

I had to laugh at this because I had the same experience, only at the Greece booth. I actually thought the kid was joking when he asked me for ID and busted up laughing in his face...until I realized he was serious-and then I was annoyed. Considering I've already hit the big 4-0, have a kid embarking on college and could have been this kids mother...it just didn't amuse me. It did however, give DH a huge thing to bust me on for the rest of the trip. :sad2:

Love all the food pics. I so wish that the booths were up year round, but I guess it would get old after a while...maybe. ;) Can't wait to hear about your dinner with my pals, Michelle & Steve. They are always great company. :banana:

[DisneyMom5]

As we are hopefully going to be there the first weekend of F & W, John's ears just perked up when I said "A beer booth! No, wait...TWO beer booths!!!"

:thumbsup2

Thanks for the quality review, as always!

[2xcited2sleep]

I am so enjoying your updates. I cannot wait for F&W this year and this is just perfect to tide me over!

[whogirl'smom]

So, you've got me curious...why was it "psuedo-hummus"? I've been craving the Mediterranean Dips at Spoodles. I almost bought feta dip today at Kroger's but I was afraid it would be a sad substitute.

[TigerKat]

We must have caught Spain on a bad day, the Seared Tuna Loin w/Spicy Red Pepper Coulis was voted our least favorite of all.

[ChelleinNC]

Great (funny) update tonight!

"Never so happy as when we're drinking beer or scotch or wine or other alcholic beverage" :lmao:

Thanks for the laughs tonight, oh and the food looked good too :goodvibes

[oybolshoi]

For some reason the "founding members of the DISneyfamily" made me snicker.
Mmm...beer (goes off to see if any of the Offshore Ale is left). :rotfl:

I thought it seemed like a cute title to give them. And as for beer .. we are drinking Schlafly's Reserve Stout ... yum!

I had to laugh at this because I had the same experience, only at the Greece booth. I actually thought the kid was joking when he asked me for ID and busted up laughing in his face...until I realized he was serious-and then I was annoyed. Considering I've already hit the big 4-0, have a kid embarking on college and could have been this kids mother...it just didn't amuse me. It did however, give DH a huge thing to bust me on for the rest of the trip. :sad2:

I thought the lady at the beer booth was joking at first, too. And luckily for me I'd brought my drivers license ... I would have been annoyed beyond all get out if I'd been turned away because I didn't have it with me. I may look a little young for my age but I do not look like I'm in my twenties. I definitely look like I'm in my thirties.

Anyway, I understand exactly where you're coming from. :goodvibes

Love all the food pics. I so wish that the booths were up year round, but I guess it would get old after a while...maybe. ;) Can't wait to hear about your dinner with my pals, Michelle & Steve. They are always great company. :banana:

Jay and I visited Epcot a few years ago in May and we really missed the food booths ... I'm not sure it would get old for those of us who don't get to visit all the time.

We had a really wonderful time at dinner that night at Blue Zoo ... I can't believe I'm finally getting to the point in these reviews where I can post all about it.

As we are hopefully going to be there the first weekend of F & W, John's ears just perked up when I said "A beer booth! No, wait...TWO beer booths!!!"

:thumbsup2

Thanks for the quality review, as always!

Thanks for reading ... I'm sure your hubby will enjoy the booths, especially those with beer. Just tell him to to read up on InBev and Sam Adams products. ;)

I am so enjoying your updates. I cannot wait for F&W this year and this is just perfect to tide me over!

Thanks very much - I'm glad you're enjoying them!

So, you've got me curious...why was it "psuedo-hummus"? I've been craving the Mediterranean Dips at Spoodles. I almost bought feta dip today at Kroger's but I was afraid it would be a sad substitute.

I refer to it as psuedo-hummus because I'm not sure exactly what it was! :lmao: I don't want to call it hummus if that's not really what it was and I just don't know.

We must have caught Spain on a bad day, the Seared Tuna Loin w/Spicy Red Pepper Coulis was voted our least favorite of all.

Too bad ... we definitely got some good stuff - they were cooking it up while we were waiting. That's the crap shoot of F&W ... one day good and then the next is craptacular.

[oybolshoi]

Great (funny) update tonight!

"Never so happy as when we're drinking beer or scotch or wine or other alcholic beverage" :lmao:

Thanks for the laughs tonight, oh and the food looked good too :goodvibes

Thank you very much ... always glad to provide some laughs along with the food porn! :thumbsup2

[cntkg1]

Even more beer choices ...
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/455.jpg

Is it just me or does the left side of that building look like Wisconsin?? :goodvibes I'm sooooo ready for a vacation outta here! :cool1:

Great update B.

[Rebelmom67]

Holy Crap! That was a biggin friggin' turtle! I would hate to be so inebriated that I fell into a WDW pond, I would surely get eaten by the turtles...:lmao: :lmao:

[KristinAnne]

Another great update! Being from Boston, I can tell you that $6 for a lobster roll is pretty cheap, though it's hard to tell how big it is. They are usually twice that price at the very least. It looks like big pieces of lobster too. It was hard to tell about the crab cake though. The picture looked more bread than crab, but then again, they're not as much of a Boston thing, so I only have my trips to Baltimore to judge by. I can assure you though, Baltimore has some *good* crab cakes!

[Me&3]

As we sit here John and Michele relaxing with a few drinks in our home in Florida. I see Steve and Michelle and Jay and Bendy meeting each other and wish we all could meet up together. Maybe one day:goodvibes

[Tink rules]

As we sit here John and Michele relaxing with a few drinks in our home in Florida. I see Steve and Michelle and Jay and Bendy meeting each other and wish we all could meet up together. Maybe one day:goodvibes

Just clear your schedule for Oct...


Oh and Bendy... when I first tried Guinness back in college (with a guy I was dating...) I used to think it tasted like the drippings from a good roast beef... but that cream ale looks really good... :thumbsup2

[DisneyMom5]

John is very good at educating himself on a variety of subjects, and has spent a lot of time on Sam Adams this year. We've gotten every variety pack that has come out locally. :thumbsup2

[oybolshoi]

Is it just me or does the left side of that building look like Wisconsin?? :goodvibes I'm sooooo ready for a vacation outta here! :cool1:

Great update B.

Why does that building look like Wisconsin to you? Inquiring Stinktonians want to know!

Thanks for reading Goosie!

Holy Crap! That was a biggin friggin' turtle! I would hate to be so inebriated that I fell into a WDW pond, I would surely get eaten by the turtles...:lmao: :lmao:

We were really surprised by just how large that sucker was ... and now we understand why Disney always tells people not to feed the animals! :rotfl2:

Another great update! Being from Boston, I can tell you that $6 for a lobster roll is pretty cheap, though it's hard to tell how big it is. They are usually twice that price at the very least. It looks like big pieces of lobster too. It was hard to tell about the crab cake though. The picture looked more bread than crab, but then again, they're not as much of a Boston thing, so I only have my trips to Baltimore to judge by. I can assure you though, Baltimore has some *good* crab cakes!

Thanks for reading and for the information - we always struggle with the lobster roll ... do we buy it or not? It's one of those things that we usually leave to the end of the trip when we're not feeling as tight with our F&W money (unless we've spent it already). Anyway, since it's not something one ever sees in Stinktown it's hard to say how it stacks up against the real thing ... and I can tell you that this was definitely not a full-size portion. ;)

As we sit here John and Michele relaxing with a few drinks in our home in Florida. I see Steve and Michelle and Jay and Bendy meeting each other and wish we all could meet up together. Maybe one day:goodvibes

No chance you can come in October when the rest of us will be there? I'm trying to plan an informal meet-n-drink-n-snack-n-greet ... it would only be better if you were able to join us! :goodvibes


Just clear your schedule for Oct...


Oh and Bendy... when I first tried Guinness back in college (with a guy I was dating...) I used to think it tasted like the drippings from a good roast beef... but that cream ale looks really good... :thumbsup2

It's taken me decades to get to the point where I actually like to drink darker beers, so I completely understand where you're coming from.


John is very good at educating himself on a variety of subjects, and has spent a lot of time on Sam Adams this year. We've gotten every variety pack that has come out locally. :thumbsup2

Here's the listing of beer Sam Adams offered at the Hops & Barley booth:

Sam Adams Light
Boston Ale
Pale Ale
Boston Lager
Oktoberfest
Cherry Wheat
Honey Porter
Black Lager
Cream Stout
Sam Adams 13th Annual F&W Festival Lager

Try them all!!! :thumbsup2 :lmao:

[cntkg1]

Why does that building look like Wisconsin to you? Inquiring Stinktonians want to know!

Thanks for reading Goosie!

The brick work on the left side of the building looks like the shape of the state of WI to me. Well, without the peninsula though. No?? :confused3 :rotfl:

[LiteBrite]

Ireland has the cutest F&W booth!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/456.jpg

Aww - it really is the cutest!

The official name of our food selection was Boxty with Bacon Chips and Kerrygold Garlic & Fresh Herb Butter. I don't know what I was expecting but it wasn't this:

Pancake with onions and a butter globual...
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/457.jpg

Maybe I'm a little too Americanized, even for an American, but I like maple syrup with my pancake, not fried onions. And I don't see bacon chips ... I see one bacon bit. And as for that huge mound of butter ... Jay and I together wouldn't use that much butter on an entire stack of pancakes much less one. Our final verdict: avoid the boxty at all costs ... it's greasy and overcooked and just not that good.

You know, Boxty is something that I have a hard time pinning down. We have an "Irish" restaurant here in my town that has them on the menu, and their version is a deep-fried mashed potato ball.

In Dublin, there's a well-known restaurant called Gallagher's Boxty House, where the boxty is more like a crepe (although I believe there's potato in the batter). They offer them rolled up with various fillings - I think I had chicken and mushroom in a creamy sauce, with more of the creamy sauce ladeled over the top, and it was yummy. I guess this thing you had was closer to that one, only laid flat and just a mess of unappetizing onions and a butter-golfball on top, no yummy filling or creamy goodness. It doesn't look that great.


Stay tuned for another report on afternoon tea at the Gardenview Lounge ... and thanks for reading!! :goodvibes

Looking forward to it! Love the Gardenview. :love:

[Tatania]

Wednesday, October 15th - And We're Eating and Eating and Eating ...
We made our way back over to Epcot and positioned ourselves in Canada shortly before 11AM in order to implement our simple yet brilliant Food & Wine strategy: E = MC2.

:confused3

Eating = Masses Circumvented(twice)

Yes, Einstein ... we theorized that the World Showcase would be a lot more enjoyable if we began our snacktacular quest with the booths in Canada and worked our way around the lagoon counter-clockwise like a pair of drunken fishies swimming against the school.

Your formula actually makes more sense to me than Einsteins - perhaps another Nobel prize is in order?



First stop: The Brewer's Collection... a vast selection of beery goodness from around the world. I liked this booth for many reasons, but most especially because they asked me for an ID!!! :rotfl2:

Someone's been at the beer early if I'm being checked for ID!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/th_452.jpg

There were seven beers to choose from: Stella Artois, Hoegaarden, Staropramen, Boddingtons, Tennent’s Lager, Harbin Beer, and Tiger Beer.

After ruling out those beers we had already tried (Stella's Hoeing the Gaarden of Boddys) and eliminating the one that sounded like a newly discovered form of antibiotic-resistant, flesh-eating bacteria, we opted for a lager since it was still early in the day - there was no need to drink anything too heavy before noon.

I sound like a broken record but your trip reports have me howling with laughter. What a hoot!


Anyway, our second mistake was in ordering the boxty in Ireland instead of sticking with the Irish cheese plate. Since we'd ordered the cheese plate at last year's festival we wanted to try something new this year ... all I can say is next time I'm going back to the cheese. It's hard to screw up sliced cheese.

Ireland has the cutest F&W booth!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/th_456.jpg

The official name of our food selection was Boxty with Bacon Chips and Kerrygold Garlic & Fresh Herb Butter. I don't know what I was expecting but it wasn't this:

Pancake with onions and a butter globual...
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/th_457.jpg

Maybe I'm a little too Americanized, even for an American, but I like maple syrup with my pancake, not fried onions. And I don't see bacon chips ... I see one bacon bit. And as for that huge mound of butter ... Jay and I together wouldn't use that much butter on an entire stack of pancakes much less one. Our final verdict: avoid the boxty at all costs ... it's greasy and overcooked and just not that good.

Boxty is the Irish version of the traditional European potato pancake - known as Latkes, Kartoffelpuffer, Reibekuchen, etc . My mother makes the German version, and if made properly, it's one of the most delicious things in the world. It's definitely not meant to be served with maple syrup - something unknown in Germany until after the war. If you want something sweet on it you would use homemade applesauce and/or some sugar but it's just as frequently served with sour cream and/or crumbled bacon.

[DisneyMom5]

Here's the listing of beer Sam Adams offered at the Hops & Barley booth:

Sam Adams Light
Boston Ale
Pale Ale
Boston Lager
Oktoberfest
Cherry Wheat
Honey Porter
Black Lager
Cream Stout
Sam Adams 13th Annual F&W Festival Lager

Try them all!!! :thumbsup2 :lmao:

Well, I guess he's done pretty well on the self-education, as he's had all of them except for the F & W Lager. :lmao:

But it's all good, there's always the international beers, and if he's tired of that he knows where to find his usual beery goodness!

[Tink rules]

The brick work on the left side of the building looks like the shape of the state of WI to me. Well, without the peninsula though. No?? :confused3 :rotfl:

And she see's hidden Mickey's all over WDW, but nobody will believe her.. ;)

[oybolshoi]

The brick work on the left side of the building looks like the shape of the state of WI to me. Well, without the peninsula though. No?? :confused3 :rotfl:

Oh ... you were talking state boundary! I guess if I look really hard I can see that. Sorry ... we Stinktonians really only recognize the boundaries of the state of Mizery and Florida - the rest just get in the way. :lmao:


Aww - it really is the cutest!

I love the thatched roof ... I swear I can almost smell a peat fire every time I walk past it!


You know, Boxty is something that I have a hard time pinning down. We have an "Irish" restaurant here in my town that has them on the menu, and their version is a deep-fried mashed potato ball.

In Dublin, there's a well-known restaurant called Gallagher's Boxty House, where the boxty is more like a crepe (although I believe there's potato in the batter). They offer them rolled up with various fillings - I think I had chicken and mushroom in a creamy sauce, with more of the creamy sauce ladeled over the top, and it was yummy. I guess this thing you had was closer to that one, only laid flat and just a mess of unappetizing onions and a butter-golfball on top, no yummy filling or creamy goodness. It doesn't look that great.

My pre-F&W research told me that the boxty was supposed to be somthing akin to a potato pancake, which I'm not fond of to begin with. Your description of what they served in Dublin sounds much more appealing than what we had ... even with the mushrooms.

Looking forward to it! Love the Gardenview. :love:

Ah, afternoon tea ... it's just not a trip to WDW without a visit to the Gardenview, is it? :lovestruc

Your formula actually makes more sense to me than Einsteins - perhaps another Nobel prize is in order?

I would be more than happy to accept the first official nobel prize for Food Porn Formulary ... where do I send my dissertation? :lmao:


I sound like a broken record but your trip reports have me howling with laughter. What a hoot!

Then I will sound like a broken record for thanking you for laughing ... I never know when I write some of this stuff if anyone but me finds it all that amusing, so I appreciate your sharing the laughter-love. :goodvibes


Boxty is the Irish version of the traditional European potato pancake - known as Latkes, Kartoffelpuffer, Reibekuchen, etc . My mother makes the German version, and if made properly, it's one of the most delicious things in the world. It's definitely not meant to be served with maple syrup - something unknown in Germany until after the war. If you want something sweet on it you would use homemade applesauce and/or some sugar but it's just as frequently served with sour cream and/or crumbled bacon.

Well, I'd be willing to try your version or your mom's version but this thing at Epcot was nasteeee and we will never order it from them again. Personally I wish they'd bring back the Irish Creme Trifle and Omara's Irish Creme that they had a few years ago ... that was way better than a greasy potato pancake with stringy onions and a ball o' butter.


Well, I guess he's done pretty well on the self-education, as he's had all of them except for the F & W Lager. :lmao:

But it's all good, there's always the international beers, and if he's tired of that he knows where to find his usual beery goodness!

Look at that! Your hubby is ahead of the learning curve with seven months to go! :banana:

And she see's hidden Mickey's all over WDW, but nobody will believe her.. ;)

I see hidden Mickey's all the time ... at work they just think it's a sign of encroaching dementia. :rotfl2:

[oybolshoi]

BTW ... if I'm allowed to veer slightly off topic (surely I can do that now and then ??? ) ...

for those of you who don't make it over to the thread we've got going on the community board - I posted this afternoon that my nephew and his wife are considering taking Jay and me up on our offer to fit them up with a studio during part of the trip we have planned for this coming October.

They haven't made up their minds yet ... and when I was talking with Grimace about it earlier today she told me to make the reservation and if the kids don't use it she and Jon will.

:scared1:

While the comic possibilities of Grimace re-visiting WDW a mere three years from her last unhappy visit are endless ... I'm not sure how Jay and I feel about it. ;) :rotfl2:

Stay tuned for further updates ... Will Grimmie Ride Again? :rolleyes1

[Me&3]

I can't tell you how much I was laughing when I was reading your tr and low and behold I read the name Grimace. The reason this is so funny is because I was just thinking about Grimace today:rotfl2: . I haven't seen you mention her name in awhile.:goodvibes

[*KeepMovingForward*]

They haven't made up their minds yet ... and when I was talking with Grimace about it earlier today she told me to make the reservation and if the kids don't use it she and Jon will.

:scared1:

While the comic possibilities of Grimace re-visiting WDW a mere three years from her last unhappy visit are endless ... I'm not sure how Jay and I feel about it. ;) :rotfl2:

Stay tuned for further updates ... Will Grimmie Ride Again? :rolleyes1

This whole Grimace factor sounds intriguing. So what TR will give me the lowdown on that situation. I guess I must have jumped on board to your reports a little late in the game and need the back story.:confused3

[BriarRosie]

Wednesday, October 15th - And We're Eating and Eating and Eating ...

Despite the ongoing nuclear meltdown in the financial markets, Jay and I did our best to mentally disconnect from the world's events while at WDW. We both work in the finance / banking / automotive industries and knew that there would be plenty of problems waiting for us when we arrived back in Stinktown. Why borrow trouble when you can pretend to be blissfully ignorant while stuffing yer face and getting yer buzz on?

I hear ya, sister. I'm in the manufacturing business (corp accounting side of things) and it ain't pretty no matter how you slice it.

And that, no doubt, is the reason why this day turned out to be one of the best days of an already very fine trip. We made our way back over to Epcot and positioned ourselves in Canada shortly before 11AM in order to implement our simple yet brilliant Food & Wine strategy: E = MC2.

:confused3

Eating = Masses Circumvented(twice)

Yes, Einstein ... we theorized that the World Showcase would be a lot more enjoyable if we began our snacktacular quest with the booths in Canada and worked our way around the lagoon counter-clockwise like a pair of drunken fishies swimming against the school.

Wow, you made a pseudo-scientific sounding formula for eating? :worship:


First stop: The Brewer's Collection... a vast selection of beery goodness from around the world. I liked this booth for many reasons, but most especially because they asked me for an ID!!! :rotfl2:

Someone's been at the beer early if I'm being checked for ID!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/452.jpg

There were seven beers to choose from: Stella Artois, Hoegaarden, Staropramen, Boddingtons, Tennent’s Lager, Harbin Beer, and Tiger Beer.

After ruling out those beers we had already tried (Stella's Hoeing the Gaarden of Boddys) and eliminating the one that sounded like a newly discovered form of antibiotic-resistant, flesh-eating bacteria, we opted for a lager since it was still early in the day - there was no need to drink anything too heavy before noon.

Oh, I would have gotten the Staropramen because it sounded like that bacteria (or even a form of antibiotic Z-Pack to kill the beastie.)


Tennent's Lager ... TA DA!!!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/451.jpg

Considered Scotland's best selling pale lager, Tennent's was the first lager brewed in Scotland. Interestingly enough the brewery is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bass Brewers, which is in turn owned by that global brewery gobbling behemoth INBEV!!!

Stinktonians still harbor (harbin?) some hard feelings over the recent acquisition of Anheuser-Busch by InBev. While Jay and I weren't huge fans of many AB products, the brewery and the Busch family were certainly a force in the local community and could always be counted on to give generously to organizations and charities that needed a helping hand. They also had a really cool beer song and a beer wagon and beer horses who lived on a vast expanse of land in the middle of suburban St. Louis that just happened to hold a little log cabin where Sam Grant used to live.

You tell me where else in this great country you could take a field trip that includes the former home of a Civil War general and US President along with massive stables for the beer horses, a pseudo-Bavarian town square, and a beer-baron mansion of truly epic proportions that’s always off-limits to the grubby public?

Viva le Stinktown! Or so it used to be after thirty free beer samples and a burping contest of epic proportions. Now with the advent of InBev all free beer goodies and genial public displays of digestive gassiness are gone gone gone! And the worst thing about it ... InBev actually puts out some damn fine beer so we can't even stay annoyed with them.

Sounds like InBev is the Beer Borg. Assimilation is already in progress.


But we could be slightly annoyed with the beer booth thanks to their woeful and inadequate food supply which consisted of a sad selection of potato chips.

ICK!
ACK!
GACK!

Who eats potato chips with beer? Our inner Gollum wants a hot pretzel with some spicy mustard or a sausage dog or nachos dripping with processed cheese food. When it became quite clear that none of these options were available Jay strolled over to Turkey and ordered some food to accompany our beer.

Or maybe that krauty wurst from the Germany booth. I'd think that'd go well with beer.


Manti with Yogurt Sauce and Meze
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/450.jpg

The Manti was basically a spicy meat dumpling with yogurt sauce drizzled attractively over the top. It was a strange taste combination … warm noodle, warmer spiced mystery meat, and chilled, slightly sweet yogurt sauce. I ate a little bit of it but left most for Jay because I just didn't care much for it.

Meze roughly translates as a selection of appetizers or small dishes; in this case we received some steamed eggplant and peppers, some grilled pita bread, and a kind of psuedo-hummus. I liked the psuedo-hummus and the pita bread, although I would have liked the bread better if it had been soft. The veggies must have been OK but neither one of us recall much about them.

I was never in the mood to try that stuff, but the eggplant thing looks tasty.


From Turkey we strolled halfway around the World Showcase to find ourselves in America Town and the Hops & Barley Market.

Even more beer choices ...
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/455.jpg

This is one of those booths that never changes from year-to-year. They offer something like ten different choices of Sam Adams beer varietals, an overpriced lobster roll, and a crab cake. If they ever offered something new at this booth I think I'd drop dead right there outside of America Gardens Theatre, which at last check didn't really have a garden.

Well, since we were here and hungry Jay and I decided to order the lot, less nine beer selections. Behold: Boston Crab Cake w/ Corn & Barley Salad; New England Lobster Roll; Sam Adams Cream Stout.

Eat them up, yum!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/453.jpg

We thought the lobster roll was actually pretty good, even if it carried a rather steep six dollar pricetag. Since we don't have things like this on menus in Stinktown we have no way to gauge it against the real item that one might find in Boston or elsewhere along America's upper East Coast, but we enjoyed it, especially with the cream stout.

The crab cake was tasty but it sure looks to me as if the corn and barley salad were stranded somewhere and didn't quite make it to our plate. I'm pretty sure the salad was burried under the crab cake but it did not make much of an impression.

I've always skipped the lobstah roll due to the hefty price and usual lack of substance to go with the price, but it looks like you got a decent portion of lobstah. I didn't do the crab cake, but I have in prior years. I wasn't in the mood I guess.


Surprise of the morning? I really liked the Cream Stout!!! It definitely poured out of the tap like motor oil but it smelled like coffee and had a slightly sweet coffee flavor ... it was really quite good!

We're never so happy as when drinking beer ... unless we're drinking wine ... or scotch ... or some other type of booze
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/454.jpg

I was thinking that the cream stout looked good. I'd want to try that this year. I keep saying that about the France slushie drinks, too. But I've somehow never gotten around to having any. Why is that?? :confused3


Our next stop was Ireland where we made our second mistake of the day. The first mistake was trying to purchase something from the F&W booth in Japan where mass confusion reigned over several Key to the World cards, the Dining Plan, four guests, two cast members, and at least three different languages. We lost fifteen minutes of our vacation in Japan and we want them back ... with interest!

Anyway, our second mistake was in ordering the boxty in Ireland instead of sticking with the Irish cheese plate. Since we'd ordered the cheese plate at last year's festival we wanted to try something new this year ... all I can say is next time I'm going back to the cheese. It's hard to screw up sliced cheese.

Yeah, the cheese is the safe bet. I mooched some of that cheese from Catherine and deemed it simple and tasty.


Ireland has the cutest F&W booth!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/456.jpg

The official name of our food selection was Boxty with Bacon Chips and Kerrygold Garlic & Fresh Herb Butter. I don't know what I was expecting but it wasn't this:

Pancake with onions and a butter globual...
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/457.jpg

Maybe I'm a little too Americanized, even for an American, but I like maple syrup with my pancake, not fried onions. And I don't see bacon chips ... I see one bacon bit. And as for that huge mound of butter ... Jay and I together wouldn't use that much butter on an entire stack of pancakes much less one. Our final verdict: avoid the boxty at all costs ... it's greasy and overcooked and just not that good.

Bleh. That looks nasty.


We hoped that our next stop would be more productive and stopped in Eye-Ta-Lee to see what they had to offer.

My bologna has a first name, it's G-E-O-R-G-E...
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/461.jpg

Here we selected the Baked Ziti; Cream Puff w/Mascarpone & Gianduja Chocolate; and a Moretti Beer. We chose to ignore the other food option - sausage pizza.

Hooray food!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/458.jpg

The baked ziti was very good and certainly large enough for two hogs like Jay and me to share comfortably - it also paired quite nicely with the Moretti Beer, which we'd never tried before. It reminded us a lot of a light beer ala' Bud Light ... oh wait, I guess that's InBev Light, now. ;)

I totally skip that kiosk year after year because pizza and pasta aren't unique enough. I really should have tried the cream puffs, because that's not something I would get every day.


The Cream Puffs were delightful but would have tasted better with some Prosecco or some Rosa Regale rather than with the warm remnants of our beer. As we continued our slow trek through the world showcase look at who we stumbled across! Two of our three dinner partners for the coming evening ... the founding members of TheDISneyFamily!!

Michelle & Steve
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/463.jpg

Self-portrait #87 - yes we can!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/464.jpg

Hey! What's missing from this picture? Oh yeah, your forgotten dinner companion from later that evening....namely me! :laughing: Hmm, where would I have been at that time? I was either heading over to my resort on Magical Express, or I might have been already eating my burger at The Fountain in the Dolphin resort. Wow, I've been done with my review (for Todd English's bluezoo™) months ago, so I'm looking forward to the Brenda Spin Treatment. :rolleyes1


We exchanged greetings and talked a little F&W ... we were eyeballing Spain's booth and had it on good authority from Michelle and Steve that the tuna was definitely worth ordering. And we all agreed that the Cheesemonger booth was one of the best at the festival. Eventually we parted ways since Jay and I had a reservation for afternoon tea over at the Grand Floridian. But before we left Epcot we had time for one more stop at ...

I want some of that Dorothea cheese. It was my favorite of the bunch. :love:


Spain!

I miss the PAIN sign with the floating letter "S".
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/466.jpg

Taking the advice of our friends we selected the Chilled Tomato and Garlic Soup and Seared Tuna Loin w/Spicy Red Pepper Coulis and Garlic Herb Ciabatta. I also decided that we should end the afternoon with some bubbly and selected the Poema Cava Brut to wash down our food.

Excellent!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/465.jpg

Let's start with the chilled soup ... we both really enjoyed this ... a nicely blended mix of tomatoes and garlic with some crispy croutons bobbing along for added texture. I particularly liked how well the soup had been pureed. A few years back we tried gazpacho at Spain's booth and it was like trying to eat cold picante sauce right out of the bottle. :scared: This was a marked improvement.

Wow, I regret not getting that soup. Looks fantastic. Glad to hear it wasn't chunky.


The tuna was also very tasty and very generously portioned - there are actually two pieces of loin on the plate, but one has been drowned in red pepper coulis. I avoided the sauce for the most part but thought the tuna was excellent and so did Jay. This dish was one of the best we sampled at the entire festival.

And both dishes paired nicely with our champagne, which was light and dry ... not a hint of sweetness to it which is just the way we typically prefer our bubbly.

Aww, I missed that too. I really need an eating partner for the kiosks. I can't try as much food as I want because I fill up too quickly.


And then check out what we spotted on our way out of the park ... we were over by the odyssey where it's often less crowded and the bathrooms are less busy ...

TURTLE SOUP!!!

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/469.jpg

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/468.jpg

Stay tuned for another report on afternoon tea at the Gardenview Lounge ... and thanks for reading!!

Now that is cool. You had a visit from Crush. Wish I could have done that tea with you, but I would have never been hungry enough for dinner.

[whogirl'smom]

This whole Grimace factor sounds intriguing. So what TR will give me the lowdown on that situation. I guess I must have jumped on board to your reports a little late in the game and need the back story.:confused3

Read the 2006 trip report in Brenda's signature, "Argle-Bargle or Foofarah?". I promise it's a hoot!

[*KeepMovingForward*]

Read the 2006 trip report in Brenda's signature, "Argle-Bargle or Foofarah?". I promise it's a hoot!

TYVM! I'm off to read up now. We have tons of snow, so what better way to pass the day. ;)

[SmallWorld71]

BTW ... if I'm allowed to veer slightly off topic (surely I can do that now and then ??? ) ...

for those of you who don't make it over to the thread we've got going on the community board - I posted this afternoon that my nephew and his wife are considering taking Jay and me up on our offer to fit them up with a studio during part of the trip we have planned for this coming October.

They haven't made up their minds yet ... and when I was talking with Grimace about it earlier today she told me to make the reservation and if the kids don't use it she and Jon will.

:scared1:

While the comic possibilities of Grimace re-visiting WDW a mere three years from her last unhappy visit are endless ... I'm not sure how Jay and I feel about it. ;) :rotfl2:

Stay tuned for further updates ... Will Grimmie Ride Again? :rolleyes1

I actually gasped when I read this. :scared1: While her last trip did make for an interesting, dramatic piece for us DISers, we certainly don't want you thrown to the wolves in the interest of drama. :eek:

[Tink rules]

BTW ... if I'm allowed to veer slightly off topic (surely I can do that now and then ??? ) ...

for those of you who don't make it over to the thread we've got going on the community board - I posted this afternoon that my nephew and his wife are considering taking Jay and me up on our offer to fit them up with a studio during part of the trip we have planned for this coming October.

They haven't made up their minds yet ... and when I was talking with Grimace about it earlier today she told me to make the reservation and if the kids don't use it she and Jon will.

:scared1:

While the comic possibilities of Grimace re-visiting WDW a mere three years from her last unhappy visit are endless ... I'm not sure how Jay and I feel about it. ;) :rotfl2:

Stay tuned for further updates ... Will Grimmie Ride Again? :rolleyes1

Bendy...

I'll bring the Valium... not sure for which one of you... :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2:

[ChelleinNC]

Read the 2006 trip report in Brenda's signature, "Argle-Bargle or Foofarah?". I promise it's a hoot!
Thank you!

TYVM! I'm off to read up now. We have tons of snow, so what better way to pass the day. ;)

It's been a great way to pass a snow day and I'm only on page 24 :rotfl:

[WDW Fan]

That picture of the turtle swimming in the waters of Epcot was just amazing! I've never seen anything like that there! The food and beer pics from the American Pavilion look really good! In fact, all the beer pics look good.;) Hurry back with more please.:cool1:

[rentayenta]

:cloud9: Bendy, you make me wanna drink around the world! :thumbsup2

[disneyfav4ever]

Brenda - I just recently got the internet again after not having it for a few months, so have a lot of catching up to do, but your review of the WP upstairs dining room was wonderful, and I love that Homer Simpson version of do-re-mi, which I tried to find on YouTube, but couldn't.

[oybolshoi]

I can't tell you how much I was laughing when I was reading your tr and low and behold I read the name Grimace. The reason this is so funny is because I was just thinking about Grimace today:rotfl2: . I haven't seen you mention her name in awhile.:goodvibes

Poor Grimmy ... she's like the gift that keeps on giving! She and my step-dad are actually in Vegas right now and she's happy as a fiddle at a hootenaney!

This whole Grimace factor sounds intriguing. So what TR will give me the lowdown on that situation. I guess I must have jumped on board to your reports a little late in the game and need the back story.:confused3

I think someone may have already mentioned the Argle-Bargle ... but it's a lot to read. Bless you in advance if you even try! :rotfl2:

Long story short ... Grimace is the nickname Jay and I gave my mom after we took her and my step-dad to WDW in October 2006. To say that almost nothing went as planned would be an understatement. :lmao:

She just can't get used to how WDW is today compared with how it was 30 years ago. And she hates spending money on food and doesn't like to smile and can be difficult for the sake of being difficult. :rolleyes1

But she's my mommy and I loves her even if she is a freak. She says the exact same thing about me so I don't feel so bad typing it here. :laughing:

[oybolshoi]

I hear ya, sister. I'm in the manufacturing business (corp accounting side of things) and it ain't pretty no matter how you slice it.

It sure as heck ain't getting any better is it? Jay's company has begun letting people go ... he's OK for now but will be facing a pay-cut and a bonus elimination until things "get better." I guess that means whenever people start buying Toyota again ... along with other things. :scared:


Wow, you made a pseudo-scientific sounding formula for eating? :worship:

I'm always trying to come up with new ways to impress you! ;)


Oh, I would have gotten the Staropramen because it sounded like that bacteria (or even a form of antibiotic Z-Pack to kill the beastie.)

Hee hee hee ... why am I not surprised? Maybe you can order that one with a complimentary side of mushrooms? :rotfl:

Sounds like InBev is the Beer Borg. Assimilation is already in progress.

Oh yeah ... well underway it is. I wonder where I left my Stella? :laughing:

Or maybe that krauty wurst from the Germany booth. I'd think that'd go well with beer.

I'd have been happy with that, minus the kraut of course!


I was never in the mood to try that stuff, but the eggplant thing looks tasty.

It wasn't bad ... not something that either one of us would feel like we had to go back for a second time, but worth trying at least once.


I've always skipped the lobstah roll due to the hefty price and usual lack of substance to go with the price, but it looks like you got a decent portion of lobstah. I didn't do the crab cake, but I have in prior years. I wasn't in the mood I guess.

I agree ... we usually skip this too for the same reason ... too much cost and not enough substance. We hit the jackpot this time and there really was a fair amount of lobster. YUM!

I was thinking that the cream stout looked good. I'd want to try that this year. I keep saying that about the France slushie drinks, too. But I've somehow never gotten around to having any. Why is that?? :confused3

The cream stout was excellent ... really paired well with the seafood which surprised me.

As for France ... I'm just going to have to buy you a birthday drink there this Fall. And I'm not taking no for an answer!


Yeah, the cheese is the safe bet. I mooched some of that cheese from Catherine and deemed it simple and tasty.

Sometimes we get into trouble trying new stuff and this was a perfect example. Live and learn.


Bleh. That looks nasty.

Exactly.


I totally skip that kiosk year after year because pizza and pasta aren't unique enough. I really should have tried the cream puffs, because that's not something I would get every day.

We don't usually get the pizza, although sometimes it just depends on how hungry we are. Jay and I like Italy because it's usually "safe" and the portions are pretty generous so we know we'll get a good deal for our money. I was really happy that they didn't serve the suggestive cannoli this year (want to know what I mean ... PM me so that I don't get in trouble for being offensive). The cream puffs were really good ... you would have liked them, especially with that chockie sauce.

Hey! What's missing from this picture? Oh yeah, your forgotten dinner companion from later that evening....namely me! :laughing: Hmm, where would I have been at that time? I was either heading over to my resort on Magical Express, or I might have been already eating my burger at The Fountain in the Dolphin resort. Wow, I've been done with my review (for Todd English's bluezoo™) months ago, so I'm looking forward to the Brenda Spin Treatment. :rolleyes1

We didn't forget you ... you just weren't there yet! I think you may have been on your way to one of those disappointing beer floats at The Fountain. I can't wait to read my version of Blue Zoo either ... as soon as I get around to writing it. I think I had too much to drink that night ... there are some holes in my memory card! :laughing:

I want some of that Dorothea cheese. It was my favorite of the bunch.

It was really good, wasn't it?

Wow, I regret not getting that soup. Looks fantastic. Glad to hear it wasn't chunky.

Aww, I missed that too. I really need an eating partner for the kiosks. I can't try as much food as I want because I fill up too quickly.

The only way that Jay and I can eat as much as we do is by sharing, so I know what you mean. And the soup was really really good ... color me surprised!

Now that is cool. You had a visit from Crush. Wish I could have done that tea with you, but I would have never been hungry enough for dinner.

The turtle was pretty cool ... we stood there and just watched him swim about for a good 10-15 minutes.

As for tea ... I'm not sure how we managed to put away all the food we did at Blue Zoo considering all that we had at tea. P-I-G-S ... that's what we are!

Read the 2006 trip report in Brenda's signature, "Argle-Bargle or Foofarah?". I promise it's a hoot!

Thanks for pimping the Argle Bargle, Mom of Whogirl! I hope it stands the test of time!

TYVM! I'm off to read up now. We have tons of snow, so what better way to pass the day.

I hope you think it's worth the time ... I really did write a lot (and then I didn't even finish the darn thing).

I actually gasped when I read this. :scared1: While her last trip did make for an interesting, dramatic piece for us DISers, we certainly don't want you thrown to the wolves in the interest of drama. :eek:

Oh, don't worry! This time we know what to expect and will leave them to their own devices and food planning (or not). They wouldn't even be sharing a two-bedroom with us ... they'd have a studio (hopefully far far away) and would really be on their own. But I really do think DylJen (as we like to call my nephew and his wife) will decide to come with us instead. Yea!!

Bendy...

I'll bring the Valium... not sure for which one of you... :rotfl2:

I'll take her share as well as mine!

Thank you!

It's been a great way to pass a snow day and I'm only on page 24 :rotfl:

I hope you're enjoying it ... it's really a lot to read through, so thanks in advance!

That picture of the turtle swimming in the waters of Epcot was just amazing! I've never seen anything like that there! The food and beer pics from the American Pavilion look really good! In fact, all the beer pics look good.;) Hurry back with more please.:cool1:

We've never seen anything other than wee little fishies or ducks or Ibis in the water at Epcot, so seeing this turtle lollygagging around was pretty cool. I wonder if he escaped from The Seas? :lmao:

I hope to get the tea review posted this week ... trying to juggle a lot of work stuff. We lost an employee last week and are fighting with HR to replace him. In the meantime that means your devoted authoress must work longer days and she is also trying to make it to a new workout class three times per week ... my free time is not-so-free these days. :rolleyes1

:cloud9: Bendy, you make me wanna drink around the world! :thumbsup2

Then my work here is done! Go forth my friend, and imbibe! :lmao:

Brenda - I just recently got the internet again after not having it for a few months, so have a lot of catching up to do, but your review of the WP upstairs dining room was wonderful, and I love that Homer Simpson version of do-re-mi, which I tried to find on YouTube, but couldn't.

Hey stranger! I wondered where you'd disappeared to ... glad to know it was the internet and not something else. Thanks as always for reading - glad you enjoyed the reviews so far.

Have you not tried Wolfie's upstairs dining room? If not, you should ... I think you would really enjoy it.

[TheDISneyFamily]

Hey! It was time for my 1st cameo and I totally missed it! :headache: Looks like you two had fun walking around WS that day! :goodvibes

I've got some bad news... I had to cancel our F&W trip. :sad: I'm beyond bummed. BUT, my darling daughter, Jordan will be there working. She got accepted into the Disney College Program! :dance3: We had to cancel Oct. so we could move her down to WDW in August and move her back in early Jan. So, we will miss you guys this year. :sad2: Jordan is looking forward to meeting you & Jay, so I hope you'll stop by and say, 'Hi!' to her during your trip. :goodvibes

[oybolshoi]

Hey! It was time for my 1st cameo and I totally missed it! :headache: Looks like you two had fun walking around WS that day! :goodvibes

I've got some bad news... I had to cancel our F&W trip. :sad: I'm beyond bummed. BUT, my darling daughter, Jordan will be there working. She got accepted into the Disney College Program! :dance3: We had to cancel Oct. so we could move her down to WDW in August and move her back in early Jan. So, we will miss you guys this year. :sad2: Jordan is looking forward to meeting you & Jay, so I hope you'll stop by and say, 'Hi!' to her during your trip. :goodvibes

We had a great time wandering the showcase on Wednesday (it was Thursday unfortunately that wasn't such a good day ... totally my fault, but it usually is).

I'm bummed now too. We were so looking forward to trying to get into Chef's Domaine with you and your family and everyone else. Ah well ... another time.

It's great news for Jordan ... be sure to let us know where she's liable to be come October so that we can be sure to find her and introduce ourselves! :goodvibes

[oybolshoi]

Wednesday, October 15th - Beer? No Thanks, This Time We're Having Tea!

Knowing that we already had plans to break out our emergency vacation stomachs later in the evening at Blue Zoo with some DISfriends, Jay and I deviated somewhat from our traditional afternoon tea pattern. Normally we order the Grand Tea with extra champagne on the side along with some special bakery items and waddle out of the Gardenview Lounge two hours later leaving a trail of gastronomical devastation in our wake. However, on this occasion we both ordered the Buckingham Palace: traditional tea sandwedges, a scone, a jam tart, and a selection of freshly basked pastries or strawberries and cream along with a choice of tea all for the pre-economic recession price of $19.50 per person. The mired-in-the-midst-of-an-economic-depression price actually hasn't changed, but my sources tell me that Disney is now substituting stewed tobacco for tea, churned up bits of golf course clippings for watercress sandwedges, and berries formed from straw. Those intrepid diners who dare to complain have coolly been informed that all changes were in response to guest feedback. ;)

We arrived at the Gardenview Lounge about half-an-hour before our ADR, but we were seated almost immediately. The tea room was busy on the afternoon that we were there and our waitress was a little ... distracted, to put it kindly. She was actually one of the worst servers we've ever had at the gardenview and I will never forgive her for not giving me the one thing that I always always always add to my tea, even after I requested it twice.

Our tea was delivered to our table in relatively short order; I chose my absolute favorite herbal tea of all time - chamomile. The Grand Floridian's tea menu actually calls it Chamomile Flowers - a tranquil and calming herbal infusion of sweet and fragrant golden chamomile blossoms combined for a mild and sweet taste; it has a soft and musty aroma combined with a smooth, apple-like finish.

A French press ... again
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/482.jpg

Something's missing ...
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/485.jpg

Sigh.

I know I ranted about this last year in my afternoon tea review but I feel compelled to do so once more. I do not want my tea served in a French press!! It does nothing to prevent tea leaf floaties from still finding their way into my teacup and it completely ruins the aesthetic of the tea table. And look at the press itself ... even after all these months I still can't decide if it's actually clean because the chrome and glass are so spotted. Honestly, haven't the folks at the Grand Floridian heard of all the products out there that eliminate hard water spots? Or here's an idea ... how about washing those French presses by hand and making sure they're properly dried???

And finally ... where's the fun of having tea without a tea pot? I have five nieces under the age of twelve and as their eccentric but generous Auntie Crohn I've purchased a few tea sets over years and I'm here to tell you that none of them come with a French press in lieu of a porcelain tea pot.

That is all.

Oh, wait.

No it isn't.

I asked our server-lady for some milk for my tea. I always add milk and sugar to my tea ... that's just how I like it. And do you know what she said to me?

"We've been told not to give milk to guests ... it will curdle when they add it to their hot tea."

http://www.thundercrush.com/forum/Smileys/smilies_smf/thud.gif

After a moment of stunned silence, I replied, "I'm willing to take the chance on chunky tea. May I please have a small pitcher of milk?"

"No."

And she walked away.

http://www.thundercrush.com/forum/Smileys/smilies_smf/stunned-1.gif

I suppose I could have complained after I asked her for milk a second time and was refused again, but what difference would it have made? Has anyone without children ever thrown a temper tantrum in the Gardenview Lounge over the staff's refusal to provide liquid bovine by-product? I think the most amazing part of this whole incident was that later in the afternoon while we were enjoying our dessert I actually saw this same woman bring a pitcher of milk to another table.

:confused3

And now, back to the review ...

Jason also has a favorite tea: Jamaican Spice, which the tea menu describes as a zesty herbal infusion with red liquor and a bouquet of flavors, tartness of hibiscus and sweetness of cinnamon for a sweet, tangy, and spicy finish.

De ja vu ...
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/483.jpg

Only a manly-man drinks girly tea!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/484.jpg

The first course, if you will, was a plate of tasty little tea sandwedges which included things like chickie salad, eggie salad, and watercress along with a greasy little onion tart.

Something else appears to be missing ...
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/481.jpg

After my tea pot rant I'm probably going to sound like a crank but I don't really care. In years past there was a sixth item on the plate: pate'. It was cold and disgusting to be sure, but I always traded mine to Jay for his egg salad and we were both school-yard happy. Since WDW has belatedly jumped on the "let's ban certain foods because it's trendy to so do" bandwagon, pate' has been eliminated from this course in the afternoon tea service. Isn't it interesting to note how the prices haven't been reduced and yet nothing has replaced the pate'? ;)

Our second course in the tea service was the scone and jam tart with yummy Devonshire crème. The scone was warm and soft - the creme melted into it just like butter and it was ever-so-delectable with the preserves smeared over the top. My only real issue with this course was with the miserly portion of Devonshire crème ... there wasn't nearly enough in that little dish to smear on both the scone and the tart and who wants to ration a product with a 60% fat content while on vacation?

Any chance for seconds?
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/486.jpg

When it came time for dessert Jay and I chose both options; one of us selected strawberries and cream and the other chose a few pastries and all was right with the world. Up first: one bowl of strawberries and cream to be followed closely by one plate of tea pastries which included a chocolate éclair and a lychee nut mousse in a chocolate shell.

I really do wish we were eating this right now.
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/491.jpg

One out of two ain't bad I suppose
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/490.jpg

All we can say about the strawberries and cream can be summed up as follows: Can't talk, eating.

The berries were amazingly fresh and sweet with just a hint of tartness. As for the whipped cream ... it was the real deal, my friends; there was none of that "whipped topping" stuff that Grimace thinks is made from cream. She didn't believe Jay or me when we told her many years ago that there wasn't a trace of milk or cream in Cool Whip; when I rather sarcastically pointed out that the label actually reads "Non-Dairy Whipped Topping" she called me an over-achieving food snob. :rotfl2:

Our other two choices were good and bad. The chocolate eclair was terrific, coated with rich, dark chocolate and filled with light custard. The lychee-nut mousse thing ... well, that was just not very good. I'm not even sure how to describe the taste. I took one bite, made a face, and went back to the strawberries and cream. Even Jay didn't think that it tasted very good although he manfully did his best to eat as much of it as possible. Our final verdict : some things are better left uneaten.

You'd think we'd be finished by now, wouldn't you? But no ... I still had to go and order myself a wee little birthday cake early in October before we left Stinktown. Is it so wrong to want something special for my two-days-before-my-birthday afternoon tea party?

The cake, vanilla with vanilla mousse filling and vanilla buttercream frosting, was as good as the last time we were lucky enough to have it. But the presentation left a little to be desired because there was no birthday message on the plate, no birthday candle to make a wish on, and no lovely pink rose as a parting gift. I must have really offended someone with that request for milk.

Cindy's Castle Cake
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/487.jpg

And here's the white chocolate castle once we were finished inhaling the cake:

Eat this too? Don't mind if we do!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/489.jpg

And thus we finished our tea with about four hours remaining until we'd be eating appetizers and then more appetizers and then dinner and then more dessert ... liberally sprinkled with alcohol along the way ... at Todd English's Blue Zoo with BriarRosie and TheDISneyFamily.

Afternoon tea is a perennial favorite in both our books ... it's a lovely break from theme park madness in an elegant, quiet setting. Jay and I highly recommend paying the Gardenview Lounge a visit if you haven't already done so; even without the pate' they still plate up a great mid-afternoon meal!

[TinkerBelle_325]

Wednesday, October 15th - Beer? No Thanks, This Time We're Having Tea!

In progress ... computer is stupid and obviously so am I ...

:lmao: Oh the joys of technology :rolleyes1

[Tink rules]

Wednesday, October 15th - Beer? No Thanks, This Time We're Having Tea!

In progress ... computer is stupid and obviously so am I ...

Is your 'puter poopy too???

May I suggest slapping it a few times??? I did that last week and it worked wonders...

[oybolshoi]

:lmao: Oh the joys of technology :rolleyes1

Is your 'puter poopy too???

May I suggest slapping it a few times??? I did that last week and it worked wonders...

It only took me something like five hours to get it right ... genius burns, huh? ;) :lmao: :rotfl2: :rotfl:

[BriarRosie]

Wednesday, October 15th - Beer? No Thanks, This Time We're Having Tea!

However, on this occasion we both ordered the Buckingham Palace: traditional tea sandwedges, a scone, a jam tart, and a selection of freshly basked pastries or strawberries and cream along with a choice of tea all for the pre-economic recession price of $19.50 per person. The mired-in-the-midst-of-an-economic-depression price actually hasn't changed, but my sources tell me that Disney is now substituting stewed tobacco for tea, churned up bits of golf course clippings for watercress sandwedges, and berries formed from straw. Those intrepid diners who dare to complain have coolly been informed that all changes were in response to guest feedback. ;)

:rotfl2: :worship:
Oh that's too funny. Sounds like the Grand Tea without the booze. But those substitutions....snarky much? :rolleyes1


We arrived at the Gardenview Lounge about half-an-hour before our ADR, but we were seated almost immediately. The tea room was busy on the afternoon that we were there and our waitress was a little ... distracted, to put it kindly. She was actually one of the worst servers we've ever had at the gardenview and I will never forgive her for not giving me the one thing that I always always always add to my tea, even after I requested it twice.

Unforgivable considering you can't have more than about 30 people in there. And most of their stuff is pre-packaged combinations that probably should be second nature. I could phone it in better than she probably could.


Our tea was delivered to our table in relatively short order; I chose my absolute favorite herbal tea of all time - chamomile. The Grand Floridian's tea menu actually calls it Chamomile Flowers - a tranquil and calming herbal infusion of sweet and fragrant golden chamomile blossoms combined for a mild and sweet taste; it has a soft and musty aroma combined with a smooth, apple-like finish.

A French press ... again
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/482.jpg

Something's missing ...
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/485.jpg

Sigh.

I know I ranted about this last year in my afternoon tea review but I feel compelled to do so once more. I do not want my tea served in a French press!! It does nothing to prevent tea leaf floaties from still finding their way into my teacup and it completely ruins the aesthetic of the tea table. And look at the press itself ... even after all these months I still can't decide if it's actually clean because the chrome and glass are so spotted. Honestly, haven't the folks at the Grand Floridian heard of all the products out there that eliminate hard water spots? Or here's an idea ... how about washing those French presses by hand and making sure they're properly dried???

And finally ... where's the fun of having tea without a tea pot? I have five nieces under the age of twelve and as their eccentric but generous Auntie Crohn I've purchased a few tea sets over years and I'm here to tell you that none of them come with a French press in lieu of a porcelain tea pot.

I know, it stinks they don't use the teapots on anything but black teas. I wonder if you could have requested a teapot if you would have gotten your tea in it?


That is all.

Yeah right, I doubt THAT. :rolleyes:


Oh, wait.

No it isn't.

Knew it!


I asked our server-lady for some milk for my tea. I always add milk and sugar to my tea ... that's just how I like it. And do you know what she said to me?

"We've been told not to give milk to guests ... it will curdle when they add it to their hot tea."

http://www.thundercrush.com/forum/Smileys/smilies_smf/thud.gif

You have got to be KIDDING me.


After a moment of stunned silence, I replied, "I'm willing to take the chance on chunky tea. May I please have a small pitcher of milk?"

"No."

And she walked away.

Oh, I would have asked to speak to a manager, in my best Iron Fist in a Velvet Glove kind of a way. When she made the lame curdle comment, I would have said, "What? They aren't worried about cream in coffee. Why would this be any different? Please get me some milk." She might have still refused, but I would probably have said something to a manager on the way out.


I suppose I could have complained after I asked her for milk a second time and was refused again, but what difference would it have made? Has anyone without children ever thrown a temper tantrum in the Gardenview Lounge over the staff's refusal to provide liquid bovine by-product? I think the most amazing part of this whole incident was that later in the afternoon while we were enjoying our dessert I actually saw this same woman bring a pitcher of milk to another table.

Ok, If I saw her give milk to another table, the Iron Fist/Velvet Glove would be working overtime. I'd have gotten a manager to the table so fast, her head would spin. The manager would not only hear the excuse she gave and outright refusal to handle a simple request, but the hypocrisy of serving said milk to another guest. Not only would I suggest that the server might need a refresher course in Disney Traditions, I don't think you'd have been paying that $19.50 after I was done. ;)

At any rate, I would have left her a penny tip for doing that.


And now, back to the review ...

Jason also has a favorite tea: Jamaican Spice, which the tea menu describes as a zesty herbal infusion with red liquor and a bouquet of flavors, tartness of hibiscus and sweetness of cinnamon for a sweet, tangy, and spicy finish.

De ja vu ...
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/483.jpg

Only a manly-man drinks girly tea!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/484.jpg

The first course, if you will, was a plate of tasty little tea sandwedges which included things like chickie salad, eggie salad, and watercress along with a greasy little onion tart.

Something else appears to be missing ...
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/481.jpg

After my tea pot rant I'm probably going to sound like a crank but I don't really care. In years past there was a sixth item on the plate: pate'. It was cold and disgusting to be sure, but I always traded mine to Jay for his egg salad and we were both school-yard happy. Since WDW has belatedly jumped on the "let's ban certain foods because it's trendy to so do" bandwagon, pate' has been eliminated from this course in the afternoon tea service. Isn't it interesting to note how the prices haven't been reduced and yet nothing has replaced the pate'? ;)

Maybe it fell victim to the foie gras ban? Was the paté related to the foie gras in any way? Perhaps second cousins? ;)


Our second course in the tea service was the scone and jam tart with yummy Devonshire crème. The scone was warm and soft - the creme melted into it just like butter and it was ever-so-delectable with the preserves smeared over the top. My only real issue with this course was with the miserly portion of Devonshire crème ... there wasn't nearly enough in that little dish to smear on both the scone and the tart and who wants to ration a product with a 60% fat content while on vacation?

Any chance for seconds?
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/486.jpg

You can ask for more Devonshire cream. I've done it because I would bathe in it, it's so good. If the Clueless Wonder of a server refused, that would have been actionable, IMHO.


When it came time for dessert Jay and I chose both options; one of us selected strawberries and cream and the other chose a few pastries and all was right with the world. Up first: one bowl of strawberries and cream to be followed closely by one plate of tea pastries which included a chocolate éclair and a lychee nut mousse in a chocolate shell.

I really do wish we were eating this right now.
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/491.jpg

One out of two ain't bad I suppose
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/490.jpg

All we can say about the strawberries and cream can be summed up as follows: Can't talk, eating.

The berries were amazingly fresh and sweet with just a hint of tartness. As for the whipped cream ... it was the real deal, my friends; there was none of that "whipped topping" stuff that Grimace thinks is made from cream. She didn't believe Jay or me when we told her many years ago that there wasn't a trace of milk or cream in Cool Whip; when I rather sarcastically pointed out that the label actually reads "Non-Dairy Whipped Topping" she called me an over-achieving food snob. :rotfl2:

Who wants strawberries when there's chocolate to be had? Unless it's a chocolate covered strawberry, that is. :cutie:


Our other two choices were good and bad. The chocolate eclair was terrific, coated with rich, dark chocolate and filled with light custard. The lychee-nut mousse thing ... well, that was just not very good. I'm not even sure how to describe the taste. I took one bite, made a face, and went back to the strawberries and cream. Even Jay didn't think that it tasted very good although he manfully did his best to eat as much of it as possible. Our final verdict : some things are better left uneaten.

Bleh, I would have asked for two eclairs, and make it snappy. :cloud9:


You'd think we'd be finished by now, wouldn't you? But no ... I still had to go and order myself a wee little birthday cake early in October before we left Stinktown. Is it so wrong to want something special for my two-days-before-my-birthday afternoon tea party?

The cake, vanilla with vanilla mousse filling and vanilla buttercream frosting, was as good as the last time we were lucky enough to have it. But the presentation left a little to be desired because there was no birthday message on the plate, no birthday candle to make a wish on, and no lovely pink rose as a parting gift. I must have really offended someone with that request for milk.

Cindy's Castle Cake
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/487.jpg

And here's the white chocolate castle once we were finished inhaling the cake:

Eat this too? Don't mind if we do!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/489.jpg

And thus we finished our tea with about four hours remaining until we'd be eating appetizers and then more appetizers and then dinner and then more dessert ... liberally sprinkled with alcohol along the way ... at Todd English's Blue Zoo with BriarRosie and TheDISneyFamily.

Afternoon tea is a perennial favorite in both our books ... it's a lovely break from theme park madness in an elegant, quiet setting. Jay and I highly recommend paying the Gardenview Lounge a visit if you haven't already done so; even without the pate' they still plate up a great mid-afternoon meal!

Wow I can't believe you ate that and the huge dinner that night! :eek:
I still want to go to the tea since I hadn't done it in a few years, but I really hope that server will be out of the picture by then. Sheesh.

[LiteBrite]

Wednesday, October 15th - Beer? No Thanks, This Time We're Having Tea!


A French press ... again
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/482.jpg


Gross! That press looks just plain awful.

Something's missing ...
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/485.jpg

Sigh.

I know I ranted about this last year in my afternoon tea review but I feel compelled to do so once more. I do not want my tea served in a French press!! It does nothing to prevent tea leaf floaties from still finding their way into my teacup and it completely ruins the aesthetic of the tea table. And look at the press itself ... even after all these months I still can't decide if it's actually clean because the chrome and glass are so spotted. Honestly, haven't the folks at the Grand Floridian heard of all the products out there that eliminate hard water spots? Or here's an idea ... how about washing those French presses by hand and making sure they're properly dried???

And finally ... where's the fun of having tea without a tea pot? I have five nieces under the age of twelve and as their eccentric but generous Auntie Crohn I've purchased a few tea sets over years and I'm here to tell you that none of them come with a French press in lieu of a porcelain tea pot.

That is all.

Oh, wait.

No it isn't.

I asked our server-lady for some milk for my tea. I always add milk and sugar to my tea ... that's just how I like it. And do you know what she said to me?

"We've been told not to give milk to guests ... it will curdle when they add it to their hot tea."

http://www.thundercrush.com/forum/Smileys/smilies_smf/thud.gif

After a moment of stunned silence, I replied, "I'm willing to take the chance on chunky tea. May I please have a small pitcher of milk?"

"No."

And she walked away.

http://www.thundercrush.com/forum/Smileys/smilies_smf/stunned-1.gif

I suppose I could have complained after I asked her for milk a second time and was refused again, but what difference would it have made? Has anyone without children ever thrown a temper tantrum in the Gardenview Lounge over the staff's refusal to provide liquid bovine by-product? I think the most amazing part of this whole incident was that later in the afternoon while we were enjoying our dessert I actually saw this same woman bring a pitcher of milk to another table.

:confused3

:scared1:

I find this story to be dismaying at best and possibly even shocking! I can't even believe she did that. I like milk in my tea, too, and I will be very upset if they won't give it to me when I'm there in May. Plus, that attitude - what the heck?


I really do wish we were eating this right now.
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/491.jpg

One out of two ain't bad I suppose
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/490.jpg

All we can say about the strawberries and cream can be summed up as follows: Can't talk, eating.

mmmmmmmmmmmmmm....

The berries were amazingly fresh and sweet with just a hint of tartness. As for the whipped cream ... it was the real deal, my friends; there was none of that "whipped topping" stuff that Grimace thinks is made from cream. She didn't believe Jay or me when we told her many years ago that there wasn't a trace of milk or cream in Cool Whip; when I rather sarcastically pointed out that the label actually reads "Non-Dairy Whipped Topping" she called me an over-achieving food snob. :rotfl2:

Every year for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners I make real whipped cream for the pies, and every year my mother shows up at the door with a tub of Cool Whip in her hands. Then I have my annual exercise in diplomacy while I try to find a non-"over-achieving food snob" sounding way to offer the guests their choice of my delicious homemade real cream and my mother's straight-from-the-freezer non-dairy whipped topping. :rotfl2:


Afternoon tea is a perennial favorite in both our books ... it's a lovely break from theme park madness in an elegant, quiet setting. Jay and I highly recommend paying the Gardenview Lounge a visit if you haven't already done so; even without the pate' they still plate up a great mid-afternoon meal!

I'm glad you can still say you feel this way after the couple of problems you had with this tea. I have always loved and adored the Gardenview, and I would hate to lose it!

[*KeepMovingForward*]

I know I ranted about this last year in my afternoon tea review but I feel compelled to do so once more. I do not want my tea served in a French press!! It does nothing to prevent tea leaf floaties from still finding their way into my teacup and it completely ruins the aesthetic of the tea table. And look at the press itself ... even after all these months I still can't decide if it's actually clean because the chrome and glass are so spotted. Honestly, haven't the folks at the Grand Floridian heard of all the products out there that eliminate hard water spots? Or here's an idea ... how about washing those French presses by hand and making sure they're properly dried???

I didn't realize they served the tea in a press. Can't say I ever saw that done before. I'd been mulling over taking DD there for the tea and well, she'd probably look at me like the press was some alien contraption. :sad2:


And finally ... where's the fun of having tea without a tea pot? I have five nieces under the age of twelve and as their eccentric but generous Auntie Crohn I've purchased a few tea sets over years and I'm here to tell you that none of them come with a French press in lieu of a porcelain tea pot.

The least they could do was give you one of those industrial stainless steel mini teapots. Although being the GF and whooping up the victorian theme, they really should be serving tea in a porcelain pot.


I asked our server-lady for some milk for my tea. I always add milk and sugar to my tea ... that's just how I like it. And do you know what she said to me?

"We've been told not to give milk to guests ... it will curdle when they add it to their hot tea."

That's pretty lame. They should have given it to you anyway. Hasn't anyone ever told them the customer is always right? :confused3

[DisneyMom5]

You know, if you had asked for bright yellow MUSTARD for you tea, she should have brought it with a smile.

Absolutely unacceptable.

Lite Brite - Your mom thing makes me think of some smack-downs between my mom and I over what constitutes real chili (macaroni and corn do NOT!)

I love Cool Whip, but since there have been those commercials that go "Oil, or cream?" I have tried to use more real cream.
Though, I'm pretty sure that Reddi-Whip, although cream based, still has enough weird stuff in it not to qualify as real food. :rotfl:

Great review Brenda!
Your ability to consume mass quantities is second only to my seven year old,
who is a force to reckon with,
and would probably give you a run for your money.
Without the alcohol, of course! LOL

[whogirl'smom]

I think, given the right mood of the day, I would have had to ask that server why she gave the other customer milk and not me. Cold milk doesn't curdle in coffee, why should tea be any different! (and you remember I'm too lazy to heat the milk like you do, so I should know.;) ) What would she have done if you had ordered a glass of milk on the side?

You are very right about the tea pot--none of whogirl's tea sets came with a french press! :rotfl2:

I swear if Disney keeps trimming here and there, we will be having a lot of meals at Red Lobster come December! :fish:

[Me&3]

I think, given the right mood of the day, I would have had to ask that server why she gave the other customer milk and not me. Cold milk doesn't curdle in coffee, why should tea be any different! (and you remember I'm too lazy to heat the milk like you do, so I should know.;) ) What would she have done if you had ordered a glass of milk on the side?

You are very right about the tea pot--none of whogirl's tea sets came with a french press! :rotfl2:

I swear if Disney keeps trimming here and there, we will be having a lot of meals at Red Lobster come December! :fish:

I agree You should have told her CURDLED TEA is what you like. Now bring me my Damn milk:rotfl2: :goodvibes

[Tink rules]

I agree You should have told her CURDLED TEA is what you like. Now bring me my Damn milk:rotfl2: :goodvibes

:thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao:

[aceys_h0ney]

Great review! I have to agree with the masses the tea press looks disgusting. Really at such a fine place you would think they would take better care of them.

[oybolshoi]

:rotfl2: :worship:
Oh that's too funny. Sounds like the Grand Tea without the booze. But those substitutions....snarky much? :rolleyes1

Actually the only differences, other than price, between the Grand Tea and the Buckingham Tea were the champagne and a choice of trifle or tea pastries instead of the strawberries and cream.

As for snarky ... I'm snarky every day of my life in varying degrees. :lmao:


Unforgivable considering you can't have more than about 30 people in there. And most of their stuff is pre-packaged combinations that probably should be second nature. I could phone it in better than she probably could.

We usually get good service at the Gardenview ... don't know what happened on this day. Luck of the draw I suppose.


I know, it stinks they don't use the teapots on anything but black teas. I wonder if you could have requested a teapot if you would have gotten your tea in it?

I seriously considered asking for a teapot when I ordered but I didn't. My bad ... I guess I was waiting to see what we'd get this year thinking maybe that last year's teapot dome scandal was a blip and they'd go back to tradition this year.

Wrong!


You have got to be KIDDING me.

Oh, I would have asked to speak to a manager, in my best Iron Fist in a Velvet Glove kind of a way. When she made the lame curdle comment, I would have said, "What? They aren't worried about cream in coffee. Why would this be any different? Please get me some milk." She might have still refused, but I would probably have said something to a manager on the way out.

I've never heard of milk or even cream curdling when being added to a cup of tea ... it would have to be scalding hot and as long as it's been stirred it wouldn't be curdled.

On a different day I might have pushed back more, but I just didn't want to leave with a bad experience. I guess I was just being lazy ... at least it gave me another something funny to share here.


Ok, If I saw her give milk to another table, the Iron Fist/Velvet Glove would be working overtime. I'd have gotten a manager to the table so fast, her head would spin. The manager would not only hear the excuse she gave and outright refusal to handle a simple request, but the hypocrisy of serving said milk to another guest. Not only would I suggest that the server might need a refresher course in Disney Traditions, I don't think you'd have been paying that $19.50 after I was done. ;)

At any rate, I would have left her a penny tip for doing that.

Note to self ... bring Lori to all future tea parties!

And if it had been earlier in the meal when I saw the milk being delivered to that other table I might have thrown a bit of a fit. But we were so close to being finished that I just let it all go ... until writing this review made me re-live the awful memory. ;) :lmao:


Maybe it fell victim to the foie gras ban? Was the paté related to the foie gras in any way? Perhaps second cousins? ;)

I'm 100% sure that the pate' was gone because of the foie gras ban.

You can ask for more Devonshire cream. I've done it because I would bathe in it, it's so good. If the Clueless Wonder of a server refused, that would have been actionable, IMHO.

I don't think I've ever needed to ask for more cream because past tea times always saw a very generous portion delivered to the table. And you can imagine why I was reluctant to ask Server Wretched for more!

Who wants strawberries when there's chocolate to be had? Unless it's a chocolate covered strawberry, that is. :cutie:

Bleh, I would have asked for two eclairs, and make it snappy. :cloud9:

I chose one pastry and Jay chose the other ... that's how we ended up with the lychee thing. Trying different stuff sometimes ends in a bleh.

The strawberries and cream were really really good ... I would order that again in a heartbeat, even before the eclair!

Wow I can't believe you ate that and the huge dinner that night! :eek: I still want to go to the tea since I hadn't done it in a few years, but I really hope that server will be out of the picture by then. Sheesh.

:lmao:

You and Michelle and Steve and among the rare few who've watched Jay and me pack it away.

For everyone else's benefit ... Jay and Lori and I spilt a cheesy flatbread appetizer with some drinks at Blue Zoo's bar, then we all ordered appetizers in the dining room, along with entrees, sides, dessert, and even more booze. There are many pictures to come of the devastation! :laughing:

If you do tea this Fall try asking for a tea pot and see what happens. :thumbsup2


Gross! That press looks just plain awful.

Nasty, aren't they? I guess if I ran that place the staff would hate me because I'd make sure those presses were gleaming before they were ever set down in front of a customer.

I find this story to be dismaying at best and possibly even shocking! I can't even believe she did that. I like milk in my tea, too, and I will be very upset if they won't give it to me when I'm there in May. Plus, that attitude - what the heck?

I always add milk to my tea so I have no idea what this woman was talking about ... it's never curdled. Even cream wouldn't curdle ... the tea wouldn't be hot enough.

She just didn't want to be bothered with us for some reason.


Every year for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners I make real whipped cream for the pies, and every year my mother shows up at the door with a tub of Cool Whip in her hands. Then I have my annual exercise in diplomacy while I try to find a non-"over-achieving food snob" sounding way to offer the guests their choice of my delicious homemade real cream and my mother's straight-from-the-freezer non-dairy whipped topping. :rotfl2:

Do you know how much better you've made me feel? :rotfl2:

And I'm not even diplomatic anymore. Every year Grimmie asks me if I want her to bring cool whip at the holidays and I always tell her that if she wants to eat that stuff then she should bring it but no one else is going to chose that over real whipped cream. :laughing:


I'm glad you can still say you feel this way after the couple of problems you had with this tea. I have always loved and adored the Gardenview, and I would hate to lose it!

I still love the Gardenview as well. I don't know what I must have done to set this lady on edge but it was pretty clear she didn't like serving us. She seemed OK to the people at tables around us.

Now, we didn't have time to clean up like we normally do before afternoon tea but while we were very casually dressed (shorts, tank, t-shirt) we didn't have stink lines eminating from our persons and we were our usual blandly pleasant selves.

Anyway, I didn't want to let her ruin the experience for us since we probably won't do tea again this fall so I just decided to let it go. I still think it's a wonderful and unique experience and would urge everyone to try it once.

[cntkg1]

B, make your way to the (Real) Dairy state of Wisconsin and we will NEVER deny you milk. Heck, it makes the body good, no matter what form it's in, right?;)

Great update, as always. :thumbsup2

[oybolshoi]

I didn't realize they served the tea in a press. Can't say I ever saw that done before. I'd been mulling over taking DD there for the tea and well, she'd probably look at me like the press was some alien contraption. :sad2:

Based on our experience they started doing this at the Gardenview Lounge last year. I questioned it last year and was told that management decided that the French press limited the loose leaf floaties that people ended up with in their teacups. That doesn't make a lot of sense to me because they will still serve black teas in a regular pot but supposedly the herbals are all served in a press. We've been going there for years and never had that many floaties in our cups ... certainly nothing to warrant complaining about.

My guess is that it was a cost saving measure in some way but it totally ruins the Victorian atmosphere and overall effect.

Still, it would probably be a lot of fun for you and your daughter ... I'd say you should still give it a try!

The least they could do was give you one of those industrial stainless steel mini teapots. Although being the GF and whooping up the victorian theme, they really should be serving tea in a porcelain pot.

Exactly!


That's pretty lame. They should have given it to you anyway. Hasn't anyone ever told them the customer is always right? :confused3

It was a very weird thing, that's for sure. And it's not like a small pitcher of milk would have required a huge effort on her part.


You know, if you had asked for bright yellow MUSTARD for you tea, she should have brought it with a smile.

Absolutely unacceptable.

:lmao: Maybe I'll try asking for mustard next time!


Lite Brite - Your mom thing makes me think of some smack-downs between my mom and I over what constitutes real chili (macaroni and corn do NOT!)

I love Cool Whip, but since there have been those commercials that go "Oil, or cream?" I have tried to use more real cream.
Though, I'm pretty sure that Reddi-Whip, although cream based, still has enough weird stuff in it not to qualify as real food. :rotfl:

:rotfl2: Too funny.

I'm with you lady ... macaroni and corn don't belong in chili ... they don't even belong together!

Reddi-Whip I think at least has cream in it, so that's a step up from Cool Whip!

Great review Brenda!
Your ability to consume mass quantities is second only to my seven year old,
who is a force to reckon with,
and would probably give you a run for your money.
Without the alcohol, of course! LOL

Thanks very much! You know, after we get home and I start working on these reviews I am also somewhat amazed at the amount of food we can pack away. :laughing:

I think, given the right mood of the day, I would have had to ask that server why she gave the other customer milk and not me. Cold milk doesn't curdle in coffee, why should tea be any different! (and you remember I'm too lazy to heat the milk like you do, so I should know.;) ) What would she have done if you had ordered a glass of milk on the side?

On the right day I probably would have asked the same question. I guess I was just too lazy and fat with food by the time I noticed. ;)

You are very right about the tea pot--none of whogirl's tea sets came with a french press! :rotfl2:

I knew it! Could you imagine trying to have a tea party with a french press? That's just wrong. :lmao:

I swear if Disney keeps trimming here and there, we will be having a lot of meals at Red Lobster come December! :fish:

It will be interesting to watch how this year unfolds with WDW. Even their corporate sponsors who may not be in financial troubles will likely be cutting back. I've been wondering how that may affect this year's F&W Festival. Maybe I'm just borrowing trouble but after the cutbacks they made last year I feel certain we will see more of the same this year.


I agree You should have told her CURDLED TEA is what you like. Now bring me my Damn milk:rotfl2: :goodvibes

:thumbsup2 :lmao:

It's true! :rotfl2:


Great review! I have to agree with the masses the tea press looks disgusting. Really at such a fine place you would think they would take better care of them.

Thanks for reading! Those presses are gross looking aren't they? I wonder if anyone ever actually looks at them before they're presented to customers?

[oybolshoi]

B, make your way to the (Real) Dairy state of Wisconsin and we will NEVER deny you milk. Heck, it makes the body good, no matter what form it's in, right?;)

Great update, as always. :thumbsup2

Thanks for reading, Goosie! I will stop by in July and request some fresh milk, OK? :hug:

[LiteBrite]

Based on our experience they started doing this at the Gardenview Lounge last year. I questioned it last year and was told that management decided that the French press limited the loose leaf floaties that people ended up with in their teacups. That doesn't make a lot of sense to me because they will still serve black teas in a regular pot but supposedly the herbals are all served in a press. We've been going there for years and never had that many floaties in our cups ... certainly nothing to warrant complaining about.

My guess is that it was a cost saving measure in some way but it totally ruins the Victorian atmosphere and overall effect.



Now see, that doesn't even make sense, because they give you a little strainer for your cup anyway.

I actually make my coffee at home in a french press, and even though it's a really good french press (stainless steel, heavy duty, much tighter seal than those glass ones), I still like to strain the coffee on its way into the cup, because a few grounds always do seem to slip past. All of that to say, I think it's silly for them to put the herbal teas in a press rather than a pot, because you're going to get some floaties no matter what you do!

About the curdling thing, to be fair, I have had cream or milk curdle in tea before, if it was a particularly acidic one (like raspberry, for instance). But even then, it didn't taste bad, not like spoiled milk. It just looked weird, sort of marbled. However, even if your tea was the curdling kind, that was your business if you wanted milk. I still can't believe she straight out told you no! Jeez!

[D&R love Disney]

Wednesday, October 15th - Beer? No Thanks, This Time We're Having Tea!

I really do wish we were eating this right now.

All we can say about the strawberries and cream can be summed up as follows: Can't talk, eating.

You'd think we'd be finished by now, wouldn't you? But no ... I still had to go and order myself a wee little birthday cake early in October before we left Stinktown. Is it so wrong to want something special for my two-days-before-my-birthday afternoon tea party?

Cindy's Castle Cake
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/487.jpg




Just give me those strawberries and cream and a glass or 3 of champagne and I'd be all set.

I can't get into tea, I wish I could because going for tea looks like such a fun experience except for your waitress, I cannot believe she wouldn't serve you any milk then brought some to another table


I had the castle cake for our anniversary a few years ago and it was so good and totally surprised Rick. Of course I didn't share the chocolate castle just like with our wedding cake :lmao:

[oybolshoi]

Now see, that doesn't even make sense, because they give you a little strainer for your cup anyway.

I actually make my coffee at home in a french press, and even though it's a really good french press (stainless steel, heavy duty, much tighter seal than those glass ones), I still like to strain the coffee on its way into the cup, because a few grounds always do seem to slip past. All of that to say, I think it's silly for them to put the herbal teas in a press rather than a pot, because you're going to get some floaties no matter what you do!

Yeah, I hear you. There are tea leaf floaties regardless and that still happens with the press, so I'm not sure I understand the rationale either.

Honestly Litebrite, lately it seems like Disney won't give anyone a straight answer to a question anymore. It's discouraging ... it may explain why we drink so much while we're vacationing there. ;)

About the curdling thing, to be fair, I have had cream or milk curdle in tea before, if it was a particularly acidic one (like raspberry, for instance). But even then, it didn't taste bad, not like spoiled milk. It just looked weird, sort of marbled. However, even if your tea was the curdling kind, that was your business if you wanted milk. I still can't believe she straight out told you no! Jeez!

Well, now that is interesting to know. I've never had that happen, but as someone else already said... maybe I like curdled tea! :lmao:

Looking back on it I'm surprised I didn't act more forcefully ... I guess I really was exceptionally laid back on this trip (for me!).

Just give me those strawberries and cream and a glass or 3 of champagne and I'd be all set.

I can't get into tea, I wish I could because going for tea looks like such a fun experience except for your waitress, I cannot believe she wouldn't serve you any milk then brought some to another table

I had the castle cake for our anniversary a few years ago and it was so good and totally surprised Rick. Of course I didn't share the chocolate castle just like with our wedding cake :lmao:

Deb, just so you know ... you can order ala carte at the gardenview lounge. So you could go there for tea and then just order champagne and stawberries. Make sure you have an ADR though because it's tough to get in sometimes just walking up.

The cake was wonderful ... so light and sweet and tasty! It's one of our favorite treats to order. :cloud9:

[Angelrose]

I believe I would have taken a little walk to the manager and asked again for my milk. I would have mentioned my server's rudeness in not giving me what I asked for. But then I am a mean old lady. (and proud of it)

[MA pigletfan]

FUN FUN.
but what is with that pressed pot o' tea!??? and the diabolical milk refusal!??? Very questionable tea practices for sure..but I do love a "proper tea" and have yet to try the one at the GF so i might try and sneak it in during out honeymoon in OCtober...perhaps the elusive pate' will reappear!
Great reviews as always Brenda..really looking forward to BlueZoo.that place looks amazing!:thumbsup2

[AlohaPolynesian]

I just found you and caught up - you're hilarious!! The reviews are awesome and we'll be trying the Drinks Around the World using the same rule you did. And, thanks to you, won't be trying that awful "tea" from China!!

[ChelleinNC]

All caught up now :thumbsup2 DS's birthday was yesterday, so I've been busy getting ready for that :rolleyes:

I've really been wanting to go for Tea, I hope your experience was just a fluke. Is it just me, or was the presentation of the cake a little underwhelming? An all white cake, on a white plate? JMHO but I think that could've been done a whole lot better :sad2:

Looking forward to the Bluezoo review! DH and I haven't decided yet on where to go for our anniversary dinner this summer, so I'm sure your review will give us one more thing to consider :laughing:

[WDW Fan]

I can't believe your server wouldn't bring you the milk you requested!!!:furious: I would have had to speak with the manager over that one! I've done the afternoon tea several times at the Grand Floridian and the server does make or break your experience there. Do they not serve any of the teas in teapots anymore? I thought it was just the herbal teas that were brought out in the presses. They sure did look kind of dirty in the pictures. I noticed it right away:sad2: I usually feel quite full by the time we walk out of there. Great review Brenda;)

[Robert P]

[B][I]
I asked our server-lady for some milk for my tea. I always add milk and sugar to my tea ... that's just how I like it. And do you know what she said to me?

"We've been told not to give milk to guests ... it will curdle when they add it to their hot tea."

http://www.thundercrush.com/forum/Smileys/smilies_smf/thud.gif

After a moment of stunned silence, I replied, "I'm willing to take the chance on chunky tea. May I please have a small pitcher of milk?"

"No."

And she walked away.



Okay Brenda, if you are going to lob the ball up over the net......

Maybe your waitress was just in a bad moooooooooood?

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

[ibouncetoo]

Blue Zoo! Blue Zoo! Blue Zoo!

I'm really ready to hear about it! :lmao:

.

[oybolshoi]

I believe I would have taken a little walk to the manager and asked again for my milk. I would have mentioned my server's rudeness in not giving me what I asked for. But then I am a mean old lady. (and proud of it)

I probably should have ... honestly I don't know why I was being so passive this time. I'm usually a mean old lady, too! :laughing:

FUN FUN.
but what is with that pressed pot o' tea!??? and the diabolical milk refusal!??? Very questionable tea practices for sure..but I do love a "proper tea" and have yet to try the one at the GF so i might try and sneak it in during out honeymoon in OCtober...perhaps the elusive pate' will reappear!
Great reviews as always Brenda..really looking forward to BlueZoo.that place looks amazing!:thumbsup2

You should definitely go to afternoon tea for your honeymoon trip - that's the perfect excuse to drag your man if he's being a little reluctant. It really is a lovely experience ... I wouldn't want our milk-free afternoon to deter anyone from going.

Blue Zoo was AMAZING!!! I can't wait to share it with everyone!

I just found you and caught up - you're hilarious!! The reviews are awesome and we'll be trying the Drinks Around the World using the same rule you did. And, thanks to you, won't be trying that awful "tea" from China!!

Hi there and welcome aboard! I'm so glad you're enjoying our food tales - that makes me happy. :goodvibes Be sure to report back here about your Drink Around the World-a-thon ... I wish you success and avoid the tea at all costs!! :laughing: Thanks for reading!

All caught up now :thumbsup2 DS's birthday was yesterday, so I've been busy getting ready for that :rolleyes:

I've really been wanting to go for Tea, I hope your experience was just a fluke. Is it just me, or was the presentation of the cake a little underwhelming? An all white cake, on a white plate? JMHO but I think that could've been done a whole lot better :sad2:

Looking forward to the Bluezoo review! DH and I haven't decided yet on where to go for our anniversary dinner this summer, so I'm sure your review will give us one more thing to consider :laughing:

Happy birthday to your DS ... be sure to let him know that the two food freaks in the middle of the country wish him all the best! ;)

We've had afternoon tea many many times at the GF and this was the first time we had poor service, so I do think it was a fluke. And yes, the cake is usually presented on a decorated plate and it's all OOOOOOH and AAHHHHHHH but this time it fell a little flat. Still tasted great, though!

And I just have to say ... Blue Zoo was AMAZING!!! I think I already said it but it blew us away. We went in with sort of medioce expectations and it was so darn good that we are determined to go back again this fall.

I can't believe your server wouldn't bring you the milk you requested!!!:furious: I would have had to speak with the manager over that one! I've done the afternoon tea several times at the Grand Floridian and the server does make or break your experience there. Do they not serve any of the teas in teapots anymore? I thought it was just the herbal teas that were brought out in the presses. They sure did look kind of dirty in the pictures. I noticed it right away:sad2: I usually feel quite full by the time we walk out of there. Great review Brenda;)

Thanks for getting mad on our behalf ... I know I should have said something and I didn't - my bad. :headache:

We saw very few porcelain teapots while we were there - we were told it was just the herbal teas that were being served in the press pots so I don't know what would happen if you ordered a black tea.

Thanks for reading - it's good to hear from you! :goodvibes


Okay Brenda, if you are going to lob the ball up over the net......

Maybe your waitress was just in a bad moooooooooood?

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Mr Scorpio ... any post from you is always welcome ... even when it's a truly awful joke! :rotfl2:

Lemme guess ... you're gonna milk this one for all it's worth, right? ;)


Blue Zoo! Blue Zoo! Blue Zoo!

I'm really ready to hear about it! :lmao:

.

Later this week, I promise! My work schedule is screwed up through Thursday thanks to meetings and people on vacation. But let me assure you ... Blue Zoo was AMAZING!!!
:thumbsup2

[disneegrl4eva]

yay I found a new food TR from you:banana: last year when you went I read yours and you had me in stitches so I was really looking forward to another one...glad I found you and Im enjoying it immensly...keep up the good work and dont make us wait so long in between updates:thumbsup2

[rentayenta]

She wouldn't give you











milk? :faint: And about the hard water spots: ew, ick, gross. I hesitate to use my own stuff if I see nary a spot. :scared: I say you go back, barf up the goods, and get your money back! ;)

[oybolshoi]

yay I found a new food TR from you:banana: last year when you went I read yours and you had me in stitches so I was really looking forward to another one...glad I found you and Im enjoying it immensly...keep up the good work and dont make us wait so long in between updates:thumbsup2

Hi there and welcome to the newest batch of insanity! I hope to update with Blue Zoo this weekend - this was a bad week at work (we had someone quit at the end of February and another employee is on vacation this week and I was stuck in a meeting last night until 7PM). Still, for me I'm doing pretty good with updates - there are only a handful left and there's still half the month to go!

Thanks for reading! :goodvibes


She wouldn't give you











milk? :faint: And about the hard water spots: ew, ick, gross. I hesitate to use my own stuff if I see nary a spot. :scared: I say you go back, barf up the goods, and get your money back! ;)


The water spots were nasty, weren't they? I'm embarrassed if I use something here at home with spots like that ... and I immediately wag a finger at the dishwasher and give it a good cleaning.

I like your idea ... if it weren't so far after the actual event. :lmao: I'll remember it for the next time although I don't know when that will be. We're not planning on afternoon tea this fall and we aren't headed to WDW in 2010 so it may be a while.

As I mentioned earlier ... look for Blue Zoo sometime this weeked but not before Saturday for sure.

Thanks! :grouphug:

[Tink rules]

Bendy...

Sounds like you need some sushi... and a drinky... :hug:

[oybolshoi]

Bendy...

Sounds like you need some sushi... and a drinky... :hug:


Thanks. I would love both of those but I can't because I'm trying to lose weight and after two weeks of jazzercise (six 1-hour workouts that have left me sweating like a pig at a pork rendering plant) my weight hasn't budged.


:confused3 :headache: :mad: :sad2:

It looks like I'm going to have to move up to five workouts a week, which isn't a bad thing but it eats into the little bit of free time I have in the evenings. I think some of my medications are messing with my metabolism (and I ain't getting any younger ... :rolleyes1 ) but what's a girl supposed to do? Go to the bathroom 30+ times a day or pop a pill that keeps it under control and helps you sleep?

Oh well ... once the weather warms up I can start walking outdoors again and that will help too (it better). Otherwise I'm not eating anything in October and that's gonna make for a really dull dining review. Not how I pictured my swansong here on the restaurant boards. :lmao:

[Tink rules]

Well... what you don't eat... we will... (just make sure you send Jay with the camera...)

(btw... the little green guy says Hi... he's celebrating the fact that Jumpin Jacks opens for the season in 2 weeks... Viva La Jack Burger!!!:thumbsup2 )

[Tatania]

The mired-in-the-midst-of-an-economic-depression price actually hasn't changed, but my sources tell me that Disney is now substituting stewed tobacco for tea, churned up bits of golf course clippings for watercress sandwedges, and berries formed from straw. Those intrepid diners who dare to complain have coolly been informed that all changes were in response to guest feedback.

I'm sorry for not posting more on all your threads but I just don't know where the time goes everyday. However, I still head here whenever possible to catch up - esp. because I can ALWAYS count on knee- slappers like the one above. How do you come up with such funny stuff?? :rotfl:



Now see, that doesn't even make sense, because they give you a little strainer for your cup anyway.

I actually make my coffee at home in a french press, and even though it's a really good french press (stainless steel, heavy duty, much tighter seal than those glass ones), I still like to strain the coffee on its way into the cup, because a few grounds always do seem to slip past. All of that to say, I think it's silly for them to put the herbal teas in a press rather than a pot, because you're going to get some floaties no matter what you do!


I have the same problem with coffee grounds when I use the French press. It never occured to me to use it with tea. BTW, I would have told the server that traditionally, English tea is ALWAYS served in a teapot with milk and sugar. British guests would have set her straight in a real hurry.

[oybolshoi]

I'm sorry for not posting more on all your threads but I just don't know where the time goes everyday. However, I still head here whenever possible to catch up - esp. because I can ALWAYS count on knee- slappers like the one above. How do you come up with such funny stuff?? :rotfl:

Don't apologize ... we're all busy. But I can't deny that I love to hear from everyone - it provides me inspiration!

How do I come up with this stuff? Hmmmm, well first of all I'm never sure that anyone but me ever finds it funny, so thanks for laughing. And secondly, I write most of these as I go ... sometimes I have a draft that I tweak for a day or two, but usually I just sit down with the pictures and my vacation notes and wait for my fingers to have a brainwave. In this case I'd been reading a lot about all the cutbacks and streamling and whatnot at the Mousetrap and thought it might be amusing to tie it in with the missing pate' on the tea plate and poke fun at the whole situation. So I sat here for a couple of minutes and thought about it and my fingers typed it and my brain said, "that's not bad, fingers; keep going."

Oh, and coffee. Coffee helps, too! :thumbsup2



I have the same problem with coffee grounds when I use the French press. It never occured to me to use it with tea. BTW, I would have told the server that traditionally, English tea is ALWAYS served in a teapot with milk and sugar. British guests would have set her straight in a real hurry.

Yes, we've noticed that with our French Press, too. There are always random coffee grounds that slip through. Had I been more British and less American mutt I might have done just that - but it didn't even occur to me. :headache:

Thanks for reading and taking the time to post - I appreciate it! :hug:

[jakenjess]

Brenda! I can't believe she wouldn't bring you milk!!:scared1: That's just beyond bizarre! The tea is something I keep saying we'll do on the next trip, and it just hasn't happened yet. I admit I would be disappointed to get the press pot (with all the icky water spots, eww) instead of the cute little teapots. What's a nice, formal tea without a teapot?:confused3

Looking forward to hearing about Blue Zoo!:goodvibes

[ChelleinNC]

I hope to update with Blue Zoo this weekend - this was a bad week at work (we had someone quit at the end of February and another employee is on vacation this week and I was stuck in a meeting last night until 7PM). Still, for me I'm doing pretty good with updates - there are only a handful left and there's still half the month to go!



As I mentioned earlier ... look for Blue Zoo sometime this weeked but not before Saturday for sure.

Thanks! :grouphug:

Sorry it was such a bad week :hug: Bummer that you won't have the review up sooner, I'm really looking forward to it :goodvibes

Have a great weekend honey! :flower3:

[irongirlof12]

can't believe you were refused 'cow juice', what difference did it make to her?

the only solution is to take your own cow and milk it along side the table :rotfl:

[IAMaGR8DISMOM]

I drink my tea every morning with milk. This would be a big issue for me.

This no milk thing must be recent. Last time I was there getting milk was not a problem.

Crazy:scared1:

[oybolshoi]

Brenda! I can't believe she wouldn't bring you milk!!:scared1: That's just beyond bizarre! The tea is something I keep saying we'll do on the next trip, and it just hasn't happened yet. I admit I would be disappointed to get the press pot (with all the icky water spots, eww) instead of the cute little teapots. What's a nice, formal tea without a teapot?:confused3

Looking forward to hearing about Blue Zoo!:goodvibes

Hi Lori! I hope you and yours are doing well. :hug:

I don't get the milk refusal either unless the Grand Floridian cow went missing while we were there and the milk source dried up. ;) And I totally agree about the teapots ... it just not the same without them.

Sorry it was such a bad week :hug: Bummer that you won't have the review up sooner, I'm really looking forward to it :goodvibes

Have a great weekend honey! :flower3:

Thanks, dearie! :hug: It could have been a worse week so I don't mean to complain ... just didn't have much free time. I'm working on blue zoo now so hopefully it will be posted later this evening or early tomorrow.

can't believe you were refused 'cow juice', what difference did it make to her?

the only solution is to take your own cow and milk it along side the table :rotfl:

:rotfl2: Next time I may just try to find my own cow! It's nice to see you here, by the way! :goodvibes

I drink my tea every morning with milk. This would be a big issue for me.

This no milk thing must be recent. Last time I was there getting milk was not a problem.

Crazy:scared1:

I think the milk refusal was just something that our waitress was having issues with because other people had milk ... I saw them with pitchers on their tables. And if I'd been less passive I would have made an issue over it but I was too lazy.

Thanks for reading everyone!

Also ... I have good news / bad news. The good news is that last weekend I had the foresight to upload the rest of our October vacation pictures to photobucket but the bad news is that our primary computer gifted us with the blue screen of death today. I'm using my laptop from work right now but that's not going to be a viable option for long. Anyhoo ... we're in the midst of figuring out what we can do to salvage the hard drive which Jay can't even access right now. And if it's gone we've lost years of genealogical work on Jay's part and years of writing on mine ... :headache: :scared1:

So if it's taking longer than usual between updates (and be fair ... this time I've actually been pretty good about updating weekly) you know that we have technical difficulties ... please stand by. :flower3:

[Me&3]

GOOD LUCK WITH THE COMPUTER:badpc: We will be here waiting to hear from you:goodvibes

[*KeepMovingForward*]

OMG...you guys have my sympathy. We suffered through the blue screen of death once also. Complete nightmare. Had to enlist the help of my computer geek Uncle to fix that problem. Good luck! :goodvibes

[Tink rules]

Ohhh Bendy... suddenly my trying all day to get through freezing updates doesn't seem too bad... Many hugs and I hope it all comes back.. :grouphug:

[whogirl'smom]

I'm so sorry to hear about the computer mess! Hopefully you (or a computer expert) can access that hard drive soon---especially the genealogical stuff. That's one of my interests, too. May the luck o' the Irish be with you this week :goodvibes

[WDW Fan]

:tinker: I hope Jay's able to retrieve the info from your hard drive.:sad1: It would be so sad to lose all that creativity and hard work.

[TheDISneyFamily]

Good luck with the computer. :hug: Been there, done that. :headache: (the blue screen of death, that is) We'll be waiting for your return. :goodvibes

[oybolshoi]

Wednesday, October 15th - Sweeping the Seas Clean at Bluezoo

First there were two; two became three which soon became four; four became six and then suddenly fell to five, jumping to seven at the last minute if you factor our vacation stomachs into the equation.

Confused yet?

Me too.

I need a drink.

In honor of Disney Dining I have pre-selected a list of gentle instrumental arrangements for your listening pleasure while you wait approximately 97 minutes for me to return to this review:

The Girl from Ipanema
Sweet Caroline
Lady Marmalade
Drive My Car
Safety Dance
Love Shack
Papa's Got a Brand New Bag
Smoke on the Water
Margaritaville
The Wind Cries Mary

Thank you for your readership...

Your time is important to us...

Your estimated wait time is 64 minutes...

Please continue to hold.

**The author is not responsible for any muzak-inspired rampages that may occur during the continuous looping of this playlist and pre-recorded message.**

Ahhh, that's better. Now where was I?

Bluezoo.

This restaurant absolutely lived up to the hype that less than ten people here on the DIS consistently give it. Since Todd English thumbs his nose at the Disney Dining powers that be, his establishment does not participate in the dining plan and we are convinced that this has allowed Bluezoo to retain its smart, sophisticated ambience and creative, rather whimsical menu.

Jay and I were meeting BriarRosie (Lori) and TheDISneyfamily (Michelle and her husband Steve) for a late dinner of seafoodie goodness and Disney-inspired good cheer. The hubby and I wanted to get to the restaurant early and have a drink or two in the bar - Michelle and her hubby were attending an Eat to the Beat Concert at Epcot so we didn't expect them until close to 8PM, but we knew that Lori would show up early to share a pre-dinner drink with us. As always when staying at Saratoga Springs the question was how best to reach our destination. We decided to catch a bus to MGM and then from there flag a ride on a Friendship to the Swolphin.

What we failed to remember is that MGM closes at 7:30 so when you board an MGM bus at 6:45PM odds are that you won’t actually get a ride there. This thought audibly clicked in both our heads at the last SSR stop when Jay and I were the only guests left on board the bus. I approached the driver and told him what we were trying to do and asked for his advice. Bless the man if he didn’t offer to take us directly to the damn hotel!

Dude – you were uncomfortably weird and at times I was worried that you might actually drive the bus into dark swamplands from whence we’d never reappear, but you still rock. Thanks for the private bus ride!

Upon arriving at the restaurant we went ahead and checked in with the hostess, telling her that we still wanted to be seated for dinner at 8:30pm once the rest of our group had arrived; and then we sat ourselves down in the bar and squinted at their menu. If I have a single complaint about Bluezoo it is that their lighting is very dim and their menu type is fairly small … it is not easy for a nearsighted, middle-aged dork to decipher their list of delectables without a penlight and a pocket magnifying glass, neither of which I had. Thankfully Jay has vision good enough for the both of us and pointed out a drink that I fell in love with at Party for the Senseless in 2007 when the visiting chefs from Chili pushed ‘em on me every time I walked by their table – the Pisco Sour!

Pisco Sour!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/494.jpg

Look – my drink’s been decorated with a trefoil!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/496.jpg

This South American cocktail is made with barsol pisco (a regional brandy), fresh lemon or lime juice, rock candy syrup, bitters, and egg whites; it is served very cold and is a delightfully refreshing limey drink with just a bit of a bite to it.

Jay opted for a more manly drink and ordered a Maytag Martini – a stiff vodka martini served with blue-cheese stuffed olives. And not just any old stinky blue cheese, but Maytag Blue … a stinky American blue cheese.

Does the Maytag Man drink these?
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/495.jpg

Of course it didn’t take long, between sipping our tasty drinks and watching the re-cap of the day’s financial market pummeling on the many television sets in the bar, to decide that we needed an appetizer to take the edge off while we waited for our friends to join us. Shortly after placing our order the lovely Lori walked through the door and pulled up a seat at the table. She ordered the one other drink that I’d seriously considered, but I’d been worried that it might be too sweet and had passed it over.

Zooberry!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/498.jpg

Lori kindly allowed me to take a taste of her drink and it was actually very good and not at all the poisonously sweet beverage I’d feared it would be. I’d love nothing more than to share with everyone the ingredients necessary to make a zooberry, but the restaurant recently upgraded their website ala’ Disney, which means that less overall information is being provided but it sure looks sexy. The specialty drink menu and bar appetizer menu are no longer provided, but the ten page wine list is … just in case someone wants to know in advance that a $750 bottle of champagne is available for their drinking pleasure. And while the dining room menu is available the date shows October 2008 … so they’ve updated the look of Bluezoo’s website but not the content.

Niiiiiiiiiiice.

Our first appetizer selection was the Bianco Flatbread: mozzarella, herbed ricotta, parmesan, and garlic cream. I’m really glad that we ordered this because it wasn’t listed on the dining room menu and it was tremendously tasty.

Crispy, cheesy, garlicky bread!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/499.jpg

So, so good ... a wonderful blend of goeey, creamy cheese and garlic with olive oil drizzed over the top. I sure hope they keep this item on the menu because it was just terrific and I'd order it again in a heartbeat. Michelle and Steve joined us shortly thereafter and we chatted a bit while finishing our drinks and first appetizer.

We were seated in a dark corner of the restaurant near the entrance to a private dining room that wasn't in use the evening that we were there. I liked the location because it felt like we had some additional privacy. Of course the restaurant is so dark privacy really doesn't seem to be a big issue anyway.

Michelle and Steve
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/500.jpg

Lori and Michelle and Steve
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/501.jpg

Remorseless eating machines to the left … normal people to the right
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/502.jpg

Michelle is such a sweetheart that she brought gifties for everyone, which made me feel a bit schmucky because it didn't dawn on me to do anything that nice for anyone. Among the lovely thoughtful items she gave Jay and me was this:

Homer the Hulk!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/503.jpg

She and her family are big Simpsons fans and she remembered how much Jay and I enjoy quoting America's favorite dysfunctional family and she selected the perfect alternate vacation mascot for those trips when Plankton is just too cranky to join us.

Awesome!!!

And now for the food ... we started off with a round of appetizers because there were just too many yummy items to choose from.

I selected the Garlic Roasted Jumbo Shrimp with creamy polenta and fennel butter. This was very good but there was a bit too much fennel for my taste ... a little fennel goes a long way and I think if I were to order this again I'd ask them to lay off the fennel altogether. The polenta was outstanding - creamy and light - it was the best I had on this trip.

Jumbo shrimpies and polenta
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/504.jpg

Lori and Jay chose the same appetizer: Teppan Seared Jumbo Sea Scallops served with braised beef short rib and silky cauliflower puree.

General consensus?

Outstanding!

Scallops so well cooked that they practically melted in my mouth and cauliflower puree so creamy and good that I'd eat cauliflower every day if it were served up like this. I actually found myself wishing that I'd ordered this instead of the shrimp, in part because of the fennel overdose in my dish.

Scallops and beef and veggie puree'
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/506.jpg

Steve and Michelle ordered "Olive's" Classico Flatbread which includes roasted tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella and torn basil. This was just as tasty as the flatbread we'd ordered in the bar. It had a nice balance of sauce and cheese and for those of you who like flatbread but don't like garlic, this is a wonderful alternative to the one we shared in the bar earlier in the evening.

Flatbread #2 ... just as good as Flatbread #1
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/507.jpg

In order to take a bit of the schmuck off our schmuckiness, Jay and I ordered a bottle of Louis Jadot Pouilly Fousse to share with everyone during dinner; it's one of our favorites and an easy to drink wine that most people find very enjoyable.

For dinner I selected an entree the restaurant calls Simply Fish.It includes a selection of one of the evening’s fresh specialty fish selections and a choice of sauce - I chose seared halibut with a warm crabmeat, Dijon mustard, and chive sauce.

It's safe and delicious!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/510.jpg

Our server offered to "sauce" the fish for me but I declined. Since I'm not a huge fan of sauce in general I prefer to keep it very light. But I've gotta say, in this case the sauce made the fish. That's not to imply that there was anything wrong with the halibut - there wasn't - but the sauce was such a wonderful blend of slightly spicy, creamy crab that it made the halibut sing.

Jay, Michelle and Steve all ordered the Two-pound Maine "Cantonese" Lobster which is fried and tossed in sticky soy glaze. This is Bluezoo's signature dish and I'd read some rave reviews of it long before we left Stinktown for this trip. Michelle told us before the meal that this dish is so good that she's neverr been able to bring herself to order anything else at Bluezoo. That's a pretty strong endorsement and now my husband has added his voice to hers and Steve's and everyone else who swears by this entree. He said it was worth every penny and he cannot wait to re-visit the zoo this fall and order it all over again.

I don't really care for lobster so I did not try this, but I can tell you that when Jay talks about going back to a restaurant to order the same dish that speaks volumes about just how good he thinks it is.

Sticky lobsters need the most attention
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/512.jpg

Lori ordered Surf and Turf which included beef tenderloin, a butter poached lobster tail, black pepper potatoes, garlicky swiss chard, brown butter chestnuts, and butternut squash.

I dig this presentation!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/511.jpg

Yum!

I know Lori said this in her review which she was able to post many months before me, but I totally agree and have to say it myself: it looks like her lobster took a butter skid before ending up artfully poised at the edge of her plate. From all accounts this dish was also very tasty and comes highly recommended for those of you who, like Lori, want the best of both worlds.

Between the five of us we also ordered two sides to share around the table.

Tempura Haricot Vert, truffle aïoli
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/513.jpg

I think these are deep fried green beans ... I'm sure they were good but I don't remember trying them.

Shake & Bake Fries - grated parmesan, crushed garlic
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/514.jpg

These fries were something else that I'd read about before taking this trip. Another Bluezoo signature item, these were addictive and oh-so-good! I had to be careful to ration the number that I ate in order to save space for dessert.

And speaking of dessert, our delightful dinner companions all ordered coffee but I had to have some port. Had to; I am Grimmie's daughter after all and I'm pretty sure this was the only glass of port we had during our entire vacation and was it ever delicious! As an aside, I have got to get me some of these port glasses - they are way cool!

Dow’s 20-year tawny
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/515.jpg


Lori is a chocolate lover. I think it's safe to say in her book it ain't dessert if it ain't chocolate. So of course she selected Bluezoo's Warm Chocolate Cake, with a liquid ganache center, maracaibo chocolate cream pudding, and peanut ice cream.

She got an album for her garnish!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/516.jpg

Lori said this dessert was tremendous and I offered her some port with it and if memory serves she agreed that it was a fine, fine combination.

Jay ordered the Mai Tai Banana Cream Tart with roasted pineapple and dark rum flambéed exotic fruit sorbet. The thing that sucks about this is that I wasn't quick enough with the camera and didn't snap a picture of his dessert when it was first placed on the table. The sorbet was completely enclosed within a sugar globe and the server poured the warm sauce over the top of the globe, melting the sugar and revealing the sorbet hidden within. Coolest thing I've ever seen ... until my dessert arrived, that is.

I'm melting!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/517.jpg

How did Jupiter end up in Jay's dessert?
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/519.jpg

As for me ... I ordered this thing called a Zweetburger. The waitress recommended it and said I'd love the presentation. What is it? Berry Compote & Citrus Cream Filled Lemon Cake served with berry orange zest sorbet and beignets.

Apparently our waitress saw us all passing gifts earlier and noted that we were taking pictures and at one point she asked Jay if someone was celebrating a birthday. He told her that it was mine and look what they did:

Zweet indeed!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/518.jpg

Is that the coolest dessert you've ever seen or what? I would have loved it without the birthday message ... it was almost too picturesque to eat. The berry compote was tucked between two layers of lemon cake - the citrus cream was actually the "cheese" so while it doesn't technically qualify as cream it sure tasted good and gets full points for impersonating Kraft's singles. The sorbet was designed to mimic the appearance of a small container of ketchup for the dipping of beignets that were cut to resemble french fries. Rather than being sprinkled with salt they were dusted with granulated sugar.

Now I know that most of us here don't like pictures of partially eaten food, but I really wanted to show everyone what the inside of a zweetburger looks like. So consider yourselves warned ...

Zweetburger innards
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/521.jpg

Somehow Homer ended up in the beignets … have you ever known him to say "no" to dessert?

Homer hungreeeeee!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/520.jpg

So, in a word: WOW!

Bluezoo was an amazing experience. The food and the service absolutely lived up to our expectations and not only do we plan to pay them another visit this fall, but we now offer them our highest food review rating: Monstrous Fine!

Friends, lurkers, occasional readers, random well wishers, and DISers who wish I'd just shut up already and give someone else a chance to share their food reviews ... I'm here to tell each one of you who love seafood that you must pay Todd English a visit. It's expensive but worth every dime; they provide a creative, grown-up menu in a sophisticated setting. We cannot wait to go back and stuff our faces there again!

[MA pigletfan]

BLUE ZOO...HOLY CRACKERJACKS!!!!!
ME NEEDS SWEET N STICKY LOBSTAH'!!!!
sorry for the horrible grammar and terrible slang spelling..but my stomach literally growled at me by looking at those pictures. And might I add..what a fun group of foodies..I would have loved to have been at that table. Great review as always Brenda :)

[ChelleinNC]

Wednesday, October 15th - Sweeping the Seas Clean at Bluezoo

First there were two; two became three which soon became four; four became six and then suddenly fell to five, jumping to seven at the last minute if you factor our vacation stomachs into the equation.

Confused yet?

Me too.

I need a drink.

In honor of Disney Dining I have pre-selected a list of gentle instrumental arrangements for your listening pleasure while you wait approximately 97 minutes for me to return to this review:

The Girl from Ipanema
Sweet Caroline
Lady Marmalade
Drive My Car
Safety Dance
Love Shack
Papa's Got a Brand New Bag
Smoke on the Water
Margaritaville
The Wind Cries Mary

Thank you for your readership...

Your time is important to us...

Your estimated wait time is 64 minutes...

Please continue to hold.

**The author is not responsible for any muzak-inspired rampages that may occur during the continuous looping of this playlist and pre-recorded message.**

:lmao: Of course, now I've got Love Shack stuck in my head :rolleyes1

Ahhh, that's better. Now where was I?

Bluezoo.

Yay! It's here, it's finally here :yay:

This restaurant absolutely lived up to the hype that less than ten people here on the DIS consistently give it. Since Todd English thumbs his nose at the Disney Dining powers that be, his establishment does not participate in the dining plan and we are convinced that this has allowed Bluezoo to retain its smart, sophisticated ambience and creative, rather whimsical menu.

Jay and I were meeting BriarRosie (Lori) and TheDISneyfamily (Michelle and her husband Steve) for a late dinner of seafoodie goodness and Disney-inspired good cheer. The hubby and I wanted to get to the restaurant early and have a drink or two in the bar - Michelle and her hubby were attending an Eat to the Beat Concert at Epcot so we didn't expect them until close to 8PM, but we knew that Lori would show up early to share a pre-dinner drink with us. As always when staying at Saratoga Springs the question was how best to reach our destination. We decided to catch a bus to MGM and then from there flag a ride on a Friendship to the Swolphin.

What we failed to remember is that MGM closes at 7:30 so when you board an MGM bus at 6:45PM odds are that you won’t actually get a ride there. This thought audibly clicked in both our heads at the last SSR stop when Jay and I were the only guests left on board the bus. I approached the driver and told him what we were trying to do and asked for his advice. Bless the man if he didn’t offer to take us directly to the damn hotel!

Dude – you were uncomfortably weird and at times I was worried that you might actually drive the bus into dark swamplands from whence we’d never reappear, but you still rock. Thanks for the private bus ride!

Unbelieveable! I never get a bus to myself, let alone direct service to where I'm going

Upon arriving at the restaurant we went ahead and checked in with the hostess, telling her that we still wanted to be seated for dinner at 8:30pm once the rest of our group had arrived; and then we sat ourselves down in the bar and squinted at their menu. If I have a single complaint about Bluezoo it is that their lighting is very dim and their menu type is fairly small … it is not easy for a nearsighted, middle-aged dork to decipher their list of delectables without a penlight and a pocket magnifying glass, neither of which I had. Thankfully Jay has vision good enough for the both of us and pointed out a drink that I fell in love with at Party for the Senseless in 2007 when the visiting chefs from Chili pushed ‘em on me every time I walked by their table – the Pisco Sour!

Pisco Sour!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/494.jpg

Look – my drink’s been decorated with a trefoil!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/496.jpg

This South American cocktail is made with barsol pisco (a regional brandy), fresh lemon or lime juice, rock candy syrup, bitters, and egg whites; it is served very cold and is a delightfully refreshing limey drink with just a bit of a bite to it.

Jay opted for a more manly drink and ordered a Maytag Martini – a stiff vodka martini served with blue-cheese stuffed olives. And not just any old stinky blue cheese, but Maytag Blue … a stinky American blue cheese.

Does the Maytag Man drink these?
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/495.jpg


:rotfl: does the Maytag Man drink these :rotfl2:

Of course it didn’t take long, between sipping our tasty drinks and watching the re-cap of the day’s financial market pummeling on the many television sets in the bar, to decide that we needed an appetizer to take the edge off while we waited for our friends to join us. Shortly after placing our order the lovely Lori walked through the door and pulled up a seat at the table. She ordered the one other drink that I’d seriously considered, but I’d been worried that it might be too sweet and had passed it over.

Zooberry!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/498.jpg

Lori kindly allowed me to take a taste of her drink and it was actually very good and not at all the poisonously sweet beverage I’d feared it would be. I’d love nothing more than to share with everyone the ingredients necessary to make a zooberry, but the restaurant recently upgraded their website ala’ Disney, which means that less overall information is being provided but it sure looks sexy. The specialty drink menu and bar appetizer menu are no longer provided, but the ten page wine list is … just in case someone wants to know in advance that a $750 bottle of champagne is available for their drinking pleasure. And while the dining room menu is available the date shows October 2008 … so they’ve updated the look of Bluezoo’s website but not the content.

Niiiiiiiiiiice.

I like sweet drinks and I love champagen but $750 :scared1:

Our first appetizer selection was the Bianco Flatbread: mozzarella, herbed ricotta, parmesan, and garlic cream. I’m really glad that we ordered this because it wasn’t listed on the dining room menu and it was tremendously tasty.

Crispy, cheesy, garlicky bread!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/499.jpg

So, so good ... a wonderful blend of goeey, creamy cheese and garlic with olive oil drizzed over the top. I sure hope they keep this item on the menu because it was just terrific and I'd order it again in a heartbeat. Michelle and Steve joined us shortly thereafter and we chatted a bit while finishing our drinks and first appetizer.

oooh, that looks yummy!

We were seated in a dark corner of the restaurant near the entrance to a private dining room that wasn't in use the evening that we were there. I liked the location because it felt like we had some additional privacy. Of course the restaurant is so dark privacy really doesn't seem to be a big issue anyway.

Michelle and Steve
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/500.jpg

Lori and Michelle and Steve
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/501.jpg

Remorseless eating machines to the left … normal people to the right
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/502.jpg

Michelle is such a sweetheart that she brought gifties for everyone, which made me feel a bit schmucky because it didn't dawn on me to do anything that nice for anyone. Among the lovely thoughtful items she gave Jay and me was this:

Homer the Hulk!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/503.jpg

She and her family are big Simpsons fans and she remembered how much Jay and I enjoy quoting America's favorite dysfunctional family and she selected the perfect alternate vacation mascot for those trips when Plankton is just too cranky to join us.

Awesome!!!

How sweet :flower3:

to be continued in next post.....

[ChelleinNC]

And now for the food ... we started off with a round of appetizers because there were just too many yummy items to choose from.

I selected the Garlic Roasted Jumbo Shrimp with creamy polenta and fennel butter. This was very good but there was a bit too much fennel for my taste ... a little fennel goes a long way and I think if I were to order this again I'd ask them to lay off the fennel altogether. The polenta was outstanding - creamy and light - it was the best I had on this trip.

Jumbo shrimpies and polenta
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/504.jpg

Lori and Jay chose the same appetizer: Teppan Seared Jumbo Sea Scallops served with braised beef short rib and silky cauliflower puree.

General consensus?

Outstanding!

Scallops so well cooked that they practically melted in my mouth and cauliflower puree so creamy and good that I'd eat cauliflower every day if it were served up like this. I actually found myself wishing that I'd ordered this instead of the shrimp, in part because of the fennel overdose in my dish.

Scallops and beef and veggie puree'
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/506.jpg

Steve and Michelle ordered "Olive's" Classico Flatbread which includes roasted tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella and torn basil. This was just as tasty as the flatbread we'd ordered in the bar. It had a nice balance of sauce and cheese and for those of you who like flatbread but don't like garlic, this is a wonderful alternative to the one we shared in the bar earlier in the evening.

Flatbread #2 ... just as good as Flatbread #1
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/507.jpg

In order to take a bit of the schmuck off our schmuckiness, Jay and I ordered a bottle of Louis Jadot Pouilly Fousse to share with everyone during dinner; it's one of our favorites and an easy to drink wine that most people find very enjoyable.

For dinner I selected an entree the restaurant calls Simply Fish.It includes a selection of one of the evening’s fresh specialty fish selections and a choice of sauce - I chose seared halibut with a warm crabmeat, Dijon mustard, and chive sauce.

It's safe and delicious!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/510.jpg

Our server offered to "sauce" the fish for me but I declined. Since I'm not a huge fan of sauce in general I prefer to keep it very light. But I've gotta say, in this case the sauce made the fish. That's not to imply that there was anything wrong with the halibut - there wasn't - but the sauce was such a wonderful blend of slightly spicy, creamy crab that it made the halibut sing.

Jay, Michelle and Steve all ordered the Two-pound Maine "Cantonese" Lobster which is fried and tossed in sticky soy glaze. This is Bluezoo's signature dish and I'd read some rave reviews of it long before we left Stinktown for this trip. Michelle told us before the meal that this dish is so good that she's neverr been able to bring herself to order anything else at Bluezoo. That's a pretty strong endorsement and now my husband has added his voice to hers and Steve's and everyone else who swears by this entree. He said it was worth every penny and he cannot wait to re-visit the zoo this fall and order it all over again.

I don't really care for lobster so I did not try this, but I can tell you that when Jay talks about going back to a restaurant to order the same dish that speaks volumes about just how good he thinks it is.

Sticky lobsters need the most attention
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/512.jpg

Lori ordered Surf and Turf which included beef tenderloin, a butter poached lobster tail, black pepper potatoes, garlicky swiss chard, brown butter chestnuts, and butternut squash.

I dig this presentation!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/511.jpg

Yum!

I know Lori said this in her review which she was able to post many months before me, but I totally agree and have to say it myself: it looks like her lobster took a butter skid before ending up artfully poised at the edge of her plate. From all accounts this dish was also very tasty and comes highly recommended for those of you who, like Lori, want the best of both worlds.

Between the five of us we also ordered two sides to share around the table.

Tempura Haricot Vert, truffle aïoli
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/513.jpg

I think these are deep fried green beans ... I'm sure they were good but I don't remember trying them.

Shake & Bake Fries - grated parmesan, crushed garlic
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/514.jpg

These fries were something else that I'd read about before taking this trip. Another Bluezoo signature item, these were addictive and oh-so-good! I had to be careful to ration the number that I ate in order to save space for dessert.

I thought about replying to each item seperately but figured everyone would get tired of "OOOOHHH, YUMMY!!!!" :cloud9: Seriously, it all looks wonderful!

to be continued in next post.....

[ChelleinNC]

And speaking of dessert, our delightful dinner companions all ordered coffee but I had to have some port. Had to; I am Grimmie's daughter after all and I'm pretty sure this was the only glass of port we had during our entire vacation and was it ever delicious! As an aside, I have got to get me some of these port glasses - they are way cool!

Dow’s 20-year tawny
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/515.jpg


Lori is a chocolate lover. I think it's safe to say in her book it ain't dessert if it ain't chocolate. So of course she selected Bluezoo's Warm Chocolate Cake, with a liquid ganache center, maracaibo chocolate cream pudding, and peanut ice cream.

She got an album for her garnish!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/516.jpg

Lori said this dessert was tremendous and I offered her some port with it and if memory serves she agreed that it was a fine, fine combination.

Lori, we'd get along just fine :goodvibes That dessert :worship: :cloud9:

Jay ordered the Mai Tai Banana Cream Tart with roasted pineapple and dark rum flambéed exotic fruit sorbet. The thing that sucks about this is that I wasn't quick enough with the camera and didn't snap a picture of his dessert when it was first placed on the table. The sorbet was completely enclosed within a sugar globe and the server poured the warm sauce over the top of the globe, melting the sugar and revealing the sorbet hidden within. Coolest thing I've ever seen ... until my dessert arrived, that is.

I'm melting!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/517.jpg

How did Jupiter end up in Jay's dessert?
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/519.jpg

That is really cool looking! Not something that I'd order (duh, no chocolate ;) ) but really really cool looking!

As for me ... I ordered this thing called a Zweetburger. The waitress recommended it and said I'd love the presentation. What is it? Berry Compote & Citrus Cream Filled Lemon Cake served with berry orange zest sorbet and beignets.

Apparently our waitress saw us all passing gifts earlier and noted that we were taking pictures and at one point she asked Jay if someone was celebrating a birthday. He told her that it was mine and look what they did:

Zweet indeed!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/518.jpg

Is that the coolest dessert you've ever seen or what? I would have loved it without the birthday message ... it was almost too picturesque to eat. The berry compote was tucked between two layers of lemon cake - the citrus cream was actually the "cheese" so while it doesn't technically qualify as cream it sure tasted good and gets full points for impersonating Kraft's singles. The sorbet was designed to mimic the appearance of a small container of ketchup for the dipping of beignets that were cut to resemble french fries. Rather than being sprinkled with salt they were dusted with granulated sugar.

Now I know that most of us here don't like pictures of partially eaten food, but I really wanted to show everyone what the inside of a zweetburger looks like. So consider yourselves warned ...

Zweetburger innards
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/521.jpg

Somehow Homer ended up in the beignets … have you ever known him to say "no" to dessert?

Homer hungreeeeee!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/520.jpg

So, in a word: WOW!

Ok you win :worship: That is the coolest thing, and I might even order it just because it's so cool looking (ok, I'd probably push DH to order it and I'd still get my chocolate :laughing: )

Bluezoo was an amazing experience. The food and the service absolutely lived up to our expectations and not only do we plan to pay them another visit this fall, but we now offer them our highest food review rating: Monstrous Fine!

Friends, lurkers, occasional readers, random well wishers, and DISers who wish I'd just shut up already and give someone else a chance to share their food reviews ... I'm here to tell each one of you who love seafood that you must pay Todd English a visit. It's expensive but worth every dime; they provide a creative, grown-up menu in a sophisticated setting. We cannot wait to go back and stuff our faces there again!

Damn! Now I have to add Bluezoo to the options for our anniversary dinner :confused3 I was hoping to keep it to DDE/TiW participating restaurants :sad2: :rotfl:

Thank you for the wonderful reivew! It was worth the wait :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2

[TigerKat]

Brenda - I hope your computer problems can be resolved and you guys don't lose all of your stuff.:hug:

I'm so glad you guys enjoyed BZ as much as we did. It is an amazing dining experience that we need to repeat in October. I LOVE that lobstah!:thumbsup2

[D&R love Disney]

Great meal! We've only had drinks there since Todd has no less than 4 restaurants in Boston.

Your dessert looks so cool and now I'm starving! My peeps just didn't do it :lmao:

[Tink rules]

[B]
[I]Pisco Sour!

Look – my drink’s been decorated with a trefoil!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/496.jpg


Zweet indeed!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/518.jpg



:sad: :sad: :sad: :sad: :sad: :sad: :sad: :sad: :sad: :sad:

I'M SO CRUSHED... I can see myself sitting in that empty chair... :sad1:

& Bendy... why does your drink have a nuclear warning on top of it???

& I'm going just for dessert... (and maybe dinner...):thumbsup2

[BriarRosie]

Wednesday, October 15th - Sweeping the Seas Clean at Bluezoo

First there were two; two became three which soon became four; four became six and then suddenly fell to five, jumping to seven at the last minute if you factor our vacation stomachs into the equation.

Confused yet?

Nope. It makes perfect sense to me. But I expect 99.99% of everyone else to be confused.


Me too.

I need a drink.

Hey, you promised to buy me my first French slushie drink in October. I'm holding you to that. Maybe.


In honor of Disney Dining I have pre-selected a list of gentle instrumental arrangements for your listening pleasure while you wait approximately 97 minutes for me to return to this review:

The Girl from Ipanema
Sweet Caroline
Lady Marmalade
Drive My Car
Safety Dance
Love Shack
Papa's Got a Brand New Bag
Smoke on the Water
Margaritaville
The Wind Cries Mary

Thank you for your readership...

Your time is important to us...

Your estimated wait time is 64 minutes...

Please continue to hold.

Wow, it sounds like all those posts I've been reading about the Disney Dining Purgatory. But I pictured all Hannah Montana, Jonas Bros. and High School Musical songs instead. Egad.



Ahhh, that's better. Now where was I?

Bluezoo.

This restaurant absolutely lived up to the hype that less than ten people here on the DIS consistently give it. Since Todd English thumbs his nose at the Disney Dining powers that be, his establishment does not participate in the dining plan and we are convinced that this has allowed Bluezoo to retain its smart, sophisticated ambience and creative, rather whimsical menu.

You nailed that one. He served foie gras at his food and wine signature dinner too, even though Disney Gestapo tried to strong arm him into keeping it off his menu. This is yet another reason why I'd want to return to his restaurant!


Jay and I were meeting BriarRosie (Lori) and TheDISneyfamily (Michelle and her husband Steve) for a late dinner of seafoodie goodness and Disney-inspired good cheer. The hubby and I wanted to get to the restaurant early and have a drink or two in the bar - Michelle and her hubby were attending an Eat to the Beat Concert at Epcot so we didn't expect them until close to 8PM, but we knew that Lori would show up early to share a pre-dinner drink with us.

Wow, you have me pegged. LOL!


As always when staying at Saratoga Springs the question was how best to reach our destination. We decided to catch a bus to MGM and then from there flag a ride on a Friendship to the Swolphin.

What we failed to remember is that MGM closes at 7:30 so when you board an MGM bus at 6:45PM odds are that you won’t actually get a ride there. This thought audibly clicked in both our heads at the last SSR stop when Jay and I were the only guests left on board the bus. I approached the driver and told him what we were trying to do and asked for his advice. Bless the man if he didn’t offer to take us directly to the damn hotel!

I've had bus drivers do that for me under similar circumstances. It's cool if you get a bus at an "off" time, which for you was not that close to park closing time, I'd expect you would have been able to get to the park, but the wait time for the boats would have been excessively long.

I was early enough, being within walking distance. Yet another reason I'd want to return to Todd English's bluezoo™.


Dude – you were uncomfortably weird and at times I was worried that you might actually drive the bus into dark swamplands from whence we’d never reappear, but you still rock. Thanks for the private bus ride!

I've also encountered some really strange bus drivers, too. I mean real freaks that might make you think twice about riding their busses again.


Upon arriving at the restaurant we went ahead and checked in with the hostess, telling her that we still wanted to be seated for dinner at 8:30pm once the rest of our group had arrived; and then we sat ourselves down in the bar and squinted at their menu. If I have a single complaint about Bluezoo it is that their lighting is very dim and their menu type is fairly small … it is not easy for a nearsighted, middle-aged dork to decipher their list of delectables without a penlight and a pocket magnifying glass, neither of which I had.

I was glad I had my reading glasses with me. I definitely needed them.


Thankfully Jay has vision good enough for the both of us and pointed out a drink that I fell in love with at Party for the Senseless in 2007 when the visiting chefs from Chili pushed ‘em on me every time I walked by their table – the Pisco Sour!

Pisco Sour!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/494.jpg

Look – my drink’s been decorated with a trefoil!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/496.jpg

This South American cocktail is made with barsol pisco (a regional brandy), fresh lemon or lime juice, rock candy syrup, bitters, and egg whites; it is served very cold and is a delightfully refreshing limey drink with just a bit of a bite to it.

I didn't enjoy the pisco sour at the PFTS enough to ever want to order one again. It just didn't do it for me.


Jay opted for a more manly drink and ordered a Maytag Martini – a stiff vodka martini served with blue-cheese stuffed olives. And not just any old stinky blue cheese, but Maytag Blue … a stinky American blue cheese.

Does the Maytag Man drink these?
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/495.jpg

Yep, the Magtag repairman can get schnockered off these things because he's really not busy enough with repairs, right? That looked good.


Of course it didn’t take long, between sipping our tasty drinks and watching the re-cap of the day’s financial market pummeling on the many television sets in the bar, to decide that we needed an appetizer to take the edge off while we waited for our friends to join us. Shortly after placing our order the lovely Lori walked through the door and pulled up a seat at the table. She ordered the one other drink that I’d seriously considered, but I’d been worried that it might be too sweet and had passed it over.

Zooberry!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/498.jpg

Lori kindly allowed me to take a taste of her drink and it was actually very good and not at all the poisonously sweet beverage I’d feared it would be. I’d love nothing more than to share with everyone the ingredients necessary to make a zooberry, but the restaurant recently upgraded their website ala’ Disney, which means that less overall information is being provided but it sure looks sexy. The specialty drink menu and bar appetizer menu are no longer provided, but the ten page wine list is … just in case someone wants to know in advance that a $750 bottle of champagne is available for their drinking pleasure. And while the dining room menu is available the date shows October 2008 … so they’ve updated the look of Bluezoo’s website but not the content.

Niiiiiiiiiiice.

Uh, thanks for the lovely compliment. (blush). I'm staying away from any emotes because I don't think I'd be able to keep the images down to a 25 image limit. I just looked at the website menu, and it did change. The meal I had doesn't have the same items on it. Some dates were changed for sections. Entrees changed 2/23/09. I enjoyed the Zooberry enough to order it again. It's their signature drink, I think.


Our first appetizer selection was the Bianco Flatbread: mozzarella, herbed ricotta, parmesan, and garlic cream. I’m really glad that we ordered this because it wasn’t listed on the dining room menu and it was tremendously tasty.

Crispy, cheesy, garlicky bread!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/499.jpg

So, so good ... a wonderful blend of goeey, creamy cheese and garlic with olive oil drizzed over the top. I sure hope they keep this item on the menu because it was just terrific and I'd order it again in a heartbeat. Michelle and Steve joined us shortly thereafter and we chatted a bit while finishing our drinks and first appetizer.

Was it Bianco or Blanco? Because the lighting the menu writing made for open interpretation, I'm saying Blanco, since that means "white", which is the type of flatbread we got. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. (hehe) It was mighty tasty, and I would definitely grab a dinner in the bar if I didn't feel like doing a full dinner in the restaurant.


We were seated in a dark corner of the restaurant near the entrance to a private dining room that wasn't in use the evening that we were there. I liked the location because it felt like we had some additional privacy. Of course the restaurant is so dark privacy really doesn't seem to be a big issue anyway.

Remorseless eating machines to the left … normal people to the right
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/502.jpg

I agree. It was so remote, I felt we had that area to ourselves.


Michelle is such a sweetheart that she brought gifties for everyone, which made me feel a bit schmucky because it didn't dawn on me to do anything that nice for anyone. Among the lovely thoughtful items she gave Jay and me was this:

Homer the Hulk!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/503.jpg

She and her family are big Simpsons fans and she remembered how much Jay and I enjoy quoting America's favorite dysfunctional family and she selected the perfect alternate vacation mascot for those trips when Plankton is just too cranky to join us.

Awesome!!!

Yeah, I felt a bit schmucky too. LOL. It was awfully sweet of her to do this for us. (giant hug all around)


And now for the food ... we started off with a round of appetizers because there were just too many yummy items to choose from.

I selected the Garlic Roasted Jumbo Shrimp with creamy polenta and fennel butter. This was very good but there was a bit too much fennel for my taste ... a little fennel goes a long way and I think if I were to order this again I'd ask them to lay off the fennel altogether. The polenta was outstanding - creamy and light - it was the best I had on this trip.

Jumbo shrimpies and polenta
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/504.jpg

Sounds like ordering it without fennel is the way to go. Next time, eh?


Lori and Jay chose the same appetizer: Teppan Seared Jumbo Sea Scallops served with braised beef short rib and silky cauliflower puree.

General consensus?

Outstanding!

Scallops so well cooked that they practically melted in my mouth and cauliflower puree so creamy and good that I'd eat cauliflower every day if it were served up like this. I actually found myself wishing that I'd ordered this instead of the shrimp, in part because of the fennel overdose in my dish.

Scallops and beef and veggie puree'
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/506.jpg

Sounds like I know what Brenda will order next time as her appetizer. (Insert snarky whistling smilie here.) I know I'd order this again for sure.


Steve and Michelle ordered "Olive's" Classico Flatbread which includes roasted tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella and torn basil. This was just as tasty as the flatbread we'd ordered in the bar. It had a nice balance of sauce and cheese and for those of you who like flatbread but don't like garlic, this is a wonderful alternative to the one we shared in the bar earlier in the evening.

Flatbread #2 ... just as good as Flatbread #1
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/507.jpg

I don't remember trying it, probably because I didn't want to OD on food before I could order dessert. Looked really good, though.


In order to take a bit of the schmuck off our schmuckiness, Jay and I ordered a bottle of Louis Jadot Pouilly Fousse to share with everyone during dinner; it's one of our favorites and an easy to drink wine that most people find very enjoyable.

Gah, I should have ordered a bottle, too. I'm still schmuckier than you guys. Eek.


For dinner I selected an entree the restaurant calls Simply Fish.It includes a selection of one of the evening’s fresh specialty fish selections and a choice of sauce - I chose seared halibut with a warm crabmeat, Dijon mustard, and chive sauce.

It's safe and delicious!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/510.jpg

Our server offered to "sauce" the fish for me but I declined. Since I'm not a huge fan of sauce in general I prefer to keep it very light. But I've gotta say, in this case the sauce made the fish. That's not to imply that there was anything wrong with the halibut - there wasn't - but the sauce was such a wonderful blend of slightly spicy, creamy crab that it made the halibut sing.

This is what I'd want to get next time. Or something similar.


Jay, Michelle and Steve all ordered the Two-pound Maine "Cantonese" Lobster which is fried and tossed in sticky soy glaze. This is Bluezoo's signature dish and I'd read some rave reviews of it long before we left Stinktown for this trip. Michelle told us before the meal that this dish is so good that she's neverr been able to bring herself to order anything else at Bluezoo. That's a pretty strong endorsement and now my husband has added his voice to hers and Steve's and everyone else who swears by this entree. He said it was worth every penny and he cannot wait to re-visit the zoo this fall and order it all over again.

I still don't see the value, but then again, I hadn't tasted anyone's lobster other than mine, so I can't say whether I'd splurge again to try it.

I don't really care for lobster so I did not try this, but I can tell you that when Jay talks about going back to a restaurant to order the same dish that speaks volumes about just how good he thinks it is.

Sticky lobsters need the most attention
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/512.jpg

That is a pretty good endorsement, but I wish I would have tasted it first.

Lori ordered Surf and Turf which included beef tenderloin, a butter poached lobster tail, black pepper potatoes, garlicky swiss chard, brown butter chestnuts, and butternut squash.

I dig this presentation!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/511.jpg

Yum!

I know Lori said this in her review which she was able to post many months before me, but I totally agree and have to say it myself: it looks like her lobster took a butter skid before ending up artfully poised at the edge of her plate. From all accounts this dish was also very tasty and comes highly recommended for those of you who, like Lori, want the best of both worlds.

It wasn't the best of either world, but it was still pretty decent. That's what made me decide to try the simply fish thing next time. The jury is still out for me on the cantonese lobster. I really enjoyed the meal as a whole, though.


Between the five of us we also ordered two sides to share around the table.

Tempura Haricot Vert, truffle aïoli
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/513.jpg

I think these are deep fried green beans ... I'm sure they were good but I don't remember trying them.

Shake & Bake Fries - grated parmesan, crushed garlic
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/514.jpg

These fries were something else that I'd read about before taking this trip. Another Bluezoo signature item, these were addictive and oh-so-good! I had to be careful to ration the number that I ate in order to save space for dessert.

I don't think I tried either the green beans or the fries because I wanted to save room for dessert. I've had these things at other places, but didn't taste Todd's spin on them. I don't think I missed much.


And speaking of dessert, our delightful dinner companions all ordered coffee but I had to have some port. Had to; I am Grimmie's daughter after all and I'm pretty sure this was the only glass of port we had during our entire vacation and was it ever delicious! As an aside, I have got to get me some of these port glasses - they are way cool!

Dow’s 20-year tawny
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/515.jpg

Next time I'm getting port with dessert! Woohoo!

Lori is a chocolate lover. I think it's safe to say in her book it ain't dessert if it ain't chocolate. So of course she selected Bluezoo's Warm Chocolate Cake, with a liquid ganache center, maracaibo chocolate cream pudding, and peanut ice cream.

She got an album for her garnish!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/516.jpg

Lori said this dessert was tremendous and I offered her some port with it and if memory serves she agreed that it was a fine, fine combination.

It was pretty darn tasty. I believe I reciprocated and dredged up a spoonful of the chocolate melty goo stuff for you to taste with your port, as well. You really needed to try the combo, and I know that I probably did my Food Pusher thing on you.


Jay ordered the Mai Tai Banana Cream Tart with roasted pineapple and dark rum flambéed exotic fruit sorbet. The thing that sucks about this is that I wasn't quick enough with the camera and didn't snap a picture of his dessert when it was first placed on the table. The sorbet was completely enclosed within a sugar globe and the server poured the warm sauce over the top of the globe, melting the sugar and revealing the sorbet hidden within. Coolest thing I've ever seen ... until my dessert arrived, that is.

I'm melting!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/517.jpg

How did Jupiter end up in Jay's dessert?
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/519.jpg

LOL! That was so awesome! I enjoyed watching the full disintegrating dessert globe, revealing Jupiter inside. Heheh. But I wouldn't give up my chocolate with the edible record. Hee.


As for me ... I ordered this thing called a Zweetburger. The waitress recommended it and said I'd love the presentation. What is it? Berry Compote & Citrus Cream Filled Lemon Cake served with berry orange zest sorbet and beignets.

Apparently our waitress saw us all passing gifts earlier and noted that we were taking pictures and at one point she asked Jay if someone was celebrating a birthday. He told her that it was mine and look what they did:

Zweet indeed!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/518.jpg

Is that the coolest dessert you've ever seen or what? I would have loved it without the birthday message ... it was almost too picturesque to eat. The berry compote was tucked between two layers of lemon cake - the citrus cream was actually the "cheese" so while it doesn't technically qualify as cream it sure tasted good and gets full points for impersonating Kraft's singles. The sorbet was designed to mimic the appearance of a small container of ketchup for the dipping of beignets that were cut to resemble french fries. Rather than being sprinkled with salt they were dusted with granulated sugar.

That is really cool, but it messed with my head too much for me to try it. I did not see it on the menu anymore, which is a shame.

Now I know that most of us here don't like pictures of partially eaten food, but I really wanted to show everyone what the inside of a zweetburger looks like. So consider yourselves warned ...

Zweetburger innards
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/521.jpg

How dare you show half eaten food porn! Bwahahahaha. I thought the beignets were light and crisp, with the citrus taste.


Somehow Homer ended up in the beignets … have you ever known him to say "no" to dessert?

Homer hungreeeeee!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/520.jpg

That's the kind of thing we expect from a Bendy food review. Whee!


So, in a word: WOW!

Bluezoo was an amazing experience. The food and the service absolutely lived up to our expectations and not only do we plan to pay them another visit this fall, but we now offer them our highest food review rating: Monstrous Fine!

Friends, lurkers, occasional readers, random well wishers, and DISers who wish I'd just shut up already and give someone else a chance to share their food reviews ... I'm here to tell each one of you who love seafood that you must pay Todd English a visit. It's expensive but worth every dime; they provide a creative, grown-up menu in a sophisticated setting. We cannot wait to go back and stuff our faces there again!

Yeah, October 16, 2009. Will a dancing banana emote push me over the top? Let's see. :banana:

[TheDISneyFamily]

OK, you two need to stop! Lori & Brenda, you do not need to feel schmucky just because I over-achieved and brought goodie bags. I'm very glad you guys liked the stuff we got you - the F&W coffee mugs were just a last minute addition from our wandering around the shops that afternoon. :goodvibes (I just wish we had bought ourselves a set, too. :sad1: They were sold out when we went back to the Festival Center the next day!) The wine you and Jay bought for the table was perfect, thank you again! And Lori, the wine glass lanyards were put to good use at PFTS! So, thank you again, too. :grouphug:

Who else would appreciate...

http://www.familyphotoquilt.com/homer-simpson-as-hulk.jpg

Homer as the Ingestible Bulk?! :lmao: He was a good addition to our foodie party. :banana: I hope he's not getting into too much trouble over at your house, Brenda. :scared:

BTW, Steve did not have the lobster, he went for the Surf & Turf like Lori did. He liked it, but he said he would stick to the fish of the day next time. (which is what he usually gets) Yes, I'm a sucker for the big lobster dish, I can't help it. :rolleyes: I'm glad Jay liked his. The whole dinner was a lot of fun and I can't wait to dine with my foodie friends again. :goodvibes I'll be living vicariously through your F&W Festival adventures this year...

Great review, Brenda. I hope the computer trouble is behind you. :hug:

Cheers!
Michelle

[MickeyNicki]

OMG - MUST EAT AT BLUE ZOO!

That review has me drooling like a baby...the food, the drinks, the apps, the desserts..I have got to eat there in Oct..but what should I ditch? :rotfl2:

Bren you did it again, FAB review...and bonus points for getting everyone else's food pics :rotfl:

[cntkg1]

WOW Bendy! I read it once and had to go back and read it again!! Then I had to drag Chuck to the computer to take a look at that Zweetburger. That looked amazing! :yay: How creative was that. :worship:

When I finally decide to partake in REAL Disney Dining, Blue Zoo will be in the running for sure.

Thanks for yet another great update B. :woohoo:

[TinkerBelle_325]

Ok Brenda,

You've just convinced me to try BlueZoo in September :goodvibes

I have been debating it for a while and I'm totally sold now :thumbsup2 The lobster, haricot vert and fries are calling to me hehe :thumbsup2

[DisneyMom5]

Nice review! I'm sort of put off by a drink containing stinky cheese, but ok.

Your dessert sounded yummy. I am a big fan of lemony things, and add raspberry...mmmmmmmmmm.


Wow, it sounds like all those posts I've been reading about the Disney Dining Purgatory. But I pictured all Hannah Montana, Jonas Bros. and High School Musical songs instead. Egad.


You need to elaborate!
I want to be prepared for all circles of disney Dining heck.

[2xcited2sleep]

Clearly, I need to eat at BlueZoo. ::yes:: Now I need to figure out how to make it happen! Thanks for sharing! :upsidedow

[Tink rules]

Nice review! I'm sort of put off by a drink containing stinky cheese, but ok.

Your dessert sounded yummy. I am a big fan of lemony things, and add raspberry...mmmmmmmmmm.



You need to elaborate!
I want to be prepared for all circles of disney Dining heck.

ADR h e ll has begun... 1/2 hour on hold before I spoke to a human... and they now want you to give them names and addresses and cell numbers for each ressie... trying to cut down on double bookings and this is before the new "online" adr's go into effect - which will be a madhouse.. I suspect things will crash like DCL's does... :sad2:

[TigerKat]

ADR h e ll has begun... 1/2 hour on hold before I spoke to a human... and they now want you to give them names and addresses and cell numbers for each ressie... trying to cut down on double bookings and this is before the new "online" adr's go into effect - which will be a madhouse.. I suspect things will crash like DCL's does... :sad2:

When will this start?

[whogirl'smom]

Brenda, that was a wonderful review! I really want some of those fries! Everything looked great (well, maybe not the stinky cheese martini :rolleyes1 , sorry Jay) and seemed like so much fun. All the presentations were very nice and original, especially your dessert. That would have cracked me up!



ADR h e ll has begun... 1/2 hour on hold before I spoke to a human... and they now want you to give them names and addresses and cell numbers for each ressie... trying to cut down on double bookings and this is before the new "online" adr's go into effect - which will be a madhouse.. I suspect things will crash like DCL's does... :sad2:

I'm glad I won't have to make any adrs till September--maybe some of the glitches will be worked out by then.

[Tink rules]

When will this start?

no date announced....

Brenda, that was a wonderful review! I really want some of those fries! Everything looked great (well, maybe not the stinky cheese martini :rolleyes1 , sorry Jay) and seemed like so much fun. All the presentations were very nice and original, especially your dessert. That would have cracked me up!





I'm glad I won't have to make any adrs till September--maybe some of the glitches will be worked out by then.

:lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao:

[A fat english gent]

"Chips,for the love of God i see Chips".....Now Miss Bendy do you understand when i say fries ain't Chips?.....:rotfl2: :lmao: :rotfl2:

Quick question,why are all American fries coated in "Stroke dust"?.....:rolleyes1

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/514.jpg

[disgrits]

HI Bendy! Your review of Bluezoo is great! The food looked so good to me. Hope you are well.....:goodvibes

[wilma-bride]

OH. MY. GOODNESS. I am absolutely loving Blue Zoo - wonder if I can persuade DH that we need a meal out on our own next trip ;)

[*KeepMovingForward*]

I had to laugh when I saw the Classico flatbread because it brought back memories of when we ate at Blue Zoo. My son proclaimed during our meal that it wasn't flatbread at all...he said it was pizza. Darn it if we can't get thin crust pizza just like it here at home, complete with torn basil! :rotfl: Now we had a server at BZ who had extreme PMS when we were there. I don't recall much else about our meal...just the fact that I wanted to knock her out all during our meal because of her attitude. Oh, I do remember the wicked wine trees they served your wine flight on. We got a good chuckle out of those. I guess we need to go back so that I remember more about the food this time. Everything you guys had looks delicious! I especially love the desserts-that burger is way too cute. I don't think I would have wanted to eat it. :)

[BriarRosie]

I had to laugh when I saw the Classico flatbread because it brought back memories of when we ate at Blue Zoo. My son proclaimed during our meal that it wasn't flatbread at all...he said it was pizza. Darn it if we can't get thin crust pizza just like it here at home, complete with torn basil! :rotfl: Now we had a server at BZ who had extreme PMS when we were there. I don't recall much else about our meal...just the fact that I wanted to knock her out all during our meal because of her attitude. Oh, I do remember the wicked wine trees they served your wine flight on. We got a good chuckle out of those. I guess we need to go back so that I remember more about the food this time. Everything you guys had looks delicious! I especially love the desserts-that burger is way too cute. I don't think I would have wanted to eat it. :)

Maybe your server moved to the Afternoon Tea at the Garden View Lounge and refused to serve milk to Brenda for her tea. :rotfl2:

[*KeepMovingForward*]

Maybe your server moved to the Afternoon Tea at the Garden View Lounge and refused to serve milk to Brenda for her tea. :rotfl2:

I think you may be on to something. Apparently she's putting some mileage on her broomstick going between resorts. You spurred my memory a bit too...we asked at BZ if they had a childrens menu (DD can revert to childhood picky eater syndrome). The server tells us yes and so naturally we ask, well can we see it? She says no. DD was only offered pizza, which coincidentally, was the Classico flatbread. :lmao: Yup...this definitely sounds like Brenda's milk nazi.

[AlohaPolynesian]

Oh my gosh, I need to go there!!

[Tink rules]

"Chips,for the love of God i see Chips".....Now Miss Bendy do you understand when i say fries ain't Chips?.....:rotfl2: :lmao: :rotfl2:

Quick question,why are all American fries coated in "Stroke dust"?.....:rolleyes1

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/514.jpg

Cause we won't eat anything that is good for us... :lmao: :lmao: :lmao:

[KristinAnne]

Wow, that whole meal looked phenomenal! I'd go for the flatbread...and the lobster...and all of the desserts...:rotfl:

[cdtommie]

Brenda, fantastic review as always. We haven't been to Blue Zoo in a few years as with the ever rising Disney restaurant prices I've resisted places that don't take TIW. I think we'll have to give it a shot later this year.

I also have had the Maytag martini (what's with the tumblers? I want a martini glass with a stem!)

I see that the clam flatbread is no longer on the menu - it was our favorite appetizer. The Chilean Sea Bass was also always really good here.

[Tink rules]

Bendy... any luck on the computer??? :rolleyes:

[madameleota71]

Well thanks a lot Brenda...just what I need, another restaurant to put on my list!:laughing:

Blue Zoo sounds amazing and those desserts look so cool!

[luvillians]

Well....we did it. Based on all the recommendations I read on this board and after we read the BZ review here.....we cancelled our Narcoossees ressies and made new ressies at BZ!! My DH isn't a big fan of seafood but he thought the beef tenderloin looked good so he said yes! My whole family is going this trip so the kids are going to stay behind with the grandparents this night while my DH, my DB and my DSIL go on a date night. :thumbsup2

Looking forward to more great food stories and pics from the foodies on this thread!!

[TigerKat]

Well....we did it. Based on all the recommendations I read on this board and after we read the BZ review here.....we cancelled our Narcoossees ressies and made new ressies at BZ!! My DH isn't a big fan of seafood but he thought the beef tenderloin looked good so he said yes! My whole family is going this trip so the kids are going to stay behind with the grandparents this night while my DH, my DB and my DSIL go on a date night. :thumbsup2

Looking forward to more great food stories and pics from the foodies on this thread!!

Not Brenda but I just had to say "great decision"! Narcoossee's isn't close to BZ.:thumbsup2

[luvillians]

Not Brenda but I just had to say "great decision"! Narcoossee's isn't close to BZ.:thumbsup2

Thank you! My DH is sitting next to me and I had to show him your reply. He laughed and said he hopes you're right!:rolleyes:

[madameleota71]

Zooberry!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/498.jpg

I'm a whiskey girl, but I must say that drink looks absolutely yummy!:drinking1

[Tink rules]

& it's a food group all to itself... :goodvibes

[madameleota71]

& it's a food group all to itself... :goodvibes

So Very True!::yes::

[WDW Fan]

What a great review of BlueZoo!!! The food looks so delicious.:thumbsup2 Once again, thanks for sharing Brenda.;)

[BriarRosie]

I just realized that Brenda completely forgot to mention the part during our meal where she pulled some teensy bottles of liquor out of her purse. :laughing:

I went back to look at my report, and I said Brenda would review her dinner 6 months after me. I was close. It was only 5 months. ;)

[ChelleinNC]

I just realized that Brenda completely forgot to mention the part during our meal where she pulled some teensy bottles of liquor out of her purse. :laughing:



Do tell more ::yes::

[TigerKat]

Do tell more ::yes::

Please do tell more....:woohoo:

[Tink rules]

I just realized that Brenda completely forgot to mention the part during our meal where she pulled some teensy bottles of liquor out of her purse. :laughing:

I went back to look at my report, and I said Brenda would review her dinner 6 months after me. I was close. It was only 5 months. ;)

Those little tiny bottles show up in the most interesting places... :rolleyes:

[BriarRosie]

Do tell more ::yes::

Please do tell more....:woohoo:

Those little tiny bottles show up in the most interesting places... :rolleyes:

I posted it in my report of this dinner. I was the lucky recipient of a teensy bottle of Courvoisier. :laughing: Somehow the conversation turned to bringing the TSA approved sizes of alcohol along on a plane, and suddenly Brenda played show and tell. ;) She may have been embarrassed that the server came by as this was happening. :rolleyes1

[oybolshoi]

I posted it in my report of this dinner. I was the lucky recipient of a teensy bottle of Courvoisier. :laughing: Somehow the conversation turned to bringing the TSA approved sizes of alcohol along on a plane, and suddenly Brenda played show and tell. ;) She may have been embarrassed that the server came by as this was happening. :rolleyes1

I'm sure I was. :lmao:

I think I brought those with the idea that we could share them around while having dessert but then I saw the port on the menu and I forgot all about the wee little bottles. In the cold light of post-vacation reality five months later ... I'm not sure why I thought it was necessary to bring booze in my purse. Maybe I was afraid the bus would break down and we'd need a drink to fortify us against the wait for another bus. :rotfl2:

"Not right in the head." That's how Jay usually characterizes me in moments like the one Lori described. ;)

[oybolshoi]

BLUE ZOO...HOLY CRACKERJACKS!!!!!
ME NEEDS SWEET N STICKY LOBSTAH'!!!!
sorry for the horrible grammar and terrible slang spelling..but my stomach literally growled at me by looking at those pictures. And might I add..what a fun group of foodies..I would have loved to have been at that table. Great review as always Brenda :)

Crack indeed ... oh wait; you said crackerjacks! :lmao:

I can't remember if your soon to be spouse likes seafood or not, but I really do think you'd love this restaurant. We had such a good time that evening ... Jay and I are looking forward to more of the same this fall.

Thanks for reading!

:lmao: Of course, now I've got Love Shack stuck in my head :rolleyes1

That's the only reason I chose that song ... for its insidious head-stickin' properties! :lmao:


Unbelieveable! I never get a bus to myself, let alone direct service to where I'm going

Pretty amazing, huh? I just wanted him to take us to MGM ... I never dreamed that he'd offer to drop us off directly at the Dolphin.


:rotfl: does the Maytag Man drink these :rotfl2:

I bet he does if he's bored enough!


I like sweet drinks and I love champagen but $750 :scared1:

You should take a look at their wine list some day. Jay was particularly taken with a $300 glass of whisky being offered on the dessert menu (Macallan 1945) but in the end he decided not to order it. :lmao:


oooh, that looks yummy!

Everything was yummy!


How sweet :flower3:

to be continued in next post.....

I think you win the unofficial prize for number of posts responding to one food porn installment. :laughing: :hug:

I thought about replying to each item seperately but figured everyone would get tired of "OOOOHHH, YUMMY!!!!" :cloud9: Seriously, it all looks wonderful!

to be continued in next post.....

Really, the entire meal was amazingly good. I hope you get a chance to try it - well worth a visit!

Lori, we'd get along just fine :goodvibes That dessert :cloud9:

That is really cool looking! Not something that I'd order (duh, no chocolate ;) ) but really really cool looking!

Lori's dessert was quite tasty (she let me have a sample) and Jay's was very cool. I wish we'd had a video camera so we could have filmed it - none of us realized from the description that our server was going to "destroy" it for Jay before he could eat it.


Ok you win :worship: That is the coolest thing, and I might even order it just because it's so cool looking (ok, I'd probably push DH to order it and I'd still get my chocolate :laughing: )


Damn! Now I have to add Bluezoo to the options for our anniversary dinner :confused3 I was hoping to keep it to DDE/TiW participating restaurants :sad2: :rotfl:

Thank you for the wonderful reivew! It was worth the wait :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2

The zweetburger was awesome ... the most fun presentation I've seen with a dessert in a long time (although I got something pretty cool at Citricos, too, but you'll have to wait a bit for that one).

Thanks so much for reading and I'm very happpy that you enjoyed it although I am sorry to complicate your anniversary planning. Which other restaurants are you considering?

Jay and I give high marks to Jiko, Flying Fish, Citricos, and Bistro Paris. And if you really want to splurge you can try V&A - that DDE discount is good in the dining room and that's a pretty hefty discount! :thumbsup2

[Tink rules]

She was afraid she was going to get stuck on a deserted island... :rolleyes:

[oybolshoi]

She was afraid she was going to get stuck on a deserted island... :rolleyes:

Anything's possible ... and if you've had too much to drink and take a wrong turn on the way to your vacation villa and end up in sand trap it can seem just like a dessert island. Not that I would know this from personal experience ... :rolleyes1 :lmao:

[TheDISneyFamily]

I just realized that Brenda completely forgot to mention the part during our meal where she pulled some teensy bottles of liquor out of her purse. :laughing:

I went back to look at my report, and I said Brenda would review her dinner 6 months after me. I was close. It was only 5 months. ;)

I haven't even come close to posting my version of the review. :rolleyes1 Maybe in a few months. :rotfl: I just throw my food reviews in with my regular, never-ending TR. :rolleyes:

Oh, and the tiny tiny bottles of booze were way cool. :thumbsup2 You've gotta be prepared for any circumstance! :goodvibes Good thinking, Brenda! :hug:

[irongirlof12]

how nice of the bus driver to take you right to the hotel :)

the food at blue zoo looks incredible.nice to hear good things about it :thumbsup2

[Tink rules]

Anything's possible ... and if you've had too much to drink and take a wrong turn on the way to your vacation villa and end up in sand trap it can seem just like a dessert island. Not that I would know this from personal experience ... :rolleyes1 :lmao:

You and Jay makin sandcastles again??? :rolleyes:

[oybolshoi]

Brenda - I hope your computer problems can be resolved and you guys don't lose all of your stuff.:hug:

I'm so glad you guys enjoyed BZ as much as we did. It is an amazing dining experience that we need to repeat in October. I LOVE that lobstah!:thumbsup2

Thanks Kathy! Obviously now you can tell that Jay was able to restore the computer (yippee!) and I'm finally trying to catch up with everyone's lovely posts. We really had a great time at BZ and are really looking forward to dining there again this fall. Jay loved the lobstah, too!

Great meal! We've only had drinks there since Todd has no less than 4 restaurants in Boston.

Your dessert looks so cool and now I'm starving! My peeps just didn't do it :lmao:

Hi Deb! Ahhhh, you have the same problem with Todd that we have with steak. :lmao: Can't blame you in the least for not trying more of the same while on vacation. The zweetburger was a hoot ... way better than peeps (and I loves me some yellow peeps).

:sad: :sad:

I'M SO CRUSHED... I can see myself sitting in that empty chair... :sad1:

& Bendy... why does your drink have a nuclear warning on top of it???

& I'm going just for dessert... (and maybe dinner...):thumbsup2

We saved an empty seat for you and toasted to your health. :hug:

I think my drink was served that way to let everyone know radioactive good times were inside that glass! :lmao:

[Tink rules]

remind me to wear lead this fall... :rotfl:

[oybolshoi]

Nope. It makes perfect sense to me. But I expect 99.99% of everyone else to be confused.

If everyone here isn't confused by something I post on this thread at one point or another then I am not doing my job. ;)


Hey, you promised to buy me my first French slushie drink in October. I'm holding you to that. Maybe.

You should hold me to that ... I promised after all. You may just need to remind me though, my memory ain't what it used to be.


Wow, it sounds like all those posts I've been reading about the Disney Dining Purgatory. But I pictured all Hannah Montana, Jonas Bros. and High School Musical songs instead. Egad.

I had to poke fun at all the carping about the wait times, even though I totally agree that people have a right to be upset because WDW has managed to really screw things up right now for people trying to make ADRs.


You nailed that one. He served foie gras at his food and wine signature dinner too, even though Disney Gestapo tried to strong arm him into keeping it off his menu. This is yet another reason why I'd want to return to his restaurant!

Thanks! I remember reading TDC Nala's review of Toddie's signature dinner and I thought it was awesome that he kept the foie gras for the event. He can trademark himself until the geese come home just for that! :laughing:


Wow, you have me pegged. LOL!

Great minds!


I've had bus drivers do that for me under similar circumstances. It's cool if you get a bus at an "off" time, which for you was not that close to park closing time, I'd expect you would have been able to get to the park, but the wait time for the boats would have been excessively long.

I was early enough, being within walking distance. Yet another reason I'd want to return to Todd English's bluezoo™.

I've also encountered some really strange bus drivers, too. I mean real freaks that might make you think twice about riding their busses again.

This was the first time on any trip to WDW where we had bus drivers go out of their way to do something like that for us. It was verry kind and much appreciated even though the driver was a little ... strange ... as in unabomber strange. :scared1:

I'm glad we're within walking distance of Bluezoo this fall ... that will be nice.


I was glad I had my reading glasses with me. I definitely needed them.

You wore reading glasses? :confused3 I guess it really was dark (or I was already well on the way to being snookered!)


I didn't enjoy the pisco sour at the PFTS enough to ever want to order one again. It just didn't do it for me.

We all like different things. And I'm surprised that I like the pisco as much as I do because it is pretty sour, but I'd rather have a sour drink than a sweet one. I guess that means I'm getting old because it sure didn't used to be that way!

Yep, the Magtag repairman can get schnockered off these things because he's really not busy enough with repairs, right? That looked good.

Jay definitely enjoyed this martini!


Uh, thanks for the lovely compliment. (blush). I'm staying away from any emotes because I don't think I'd be able to keep the images down to a 25 image limit. I just looked at the website menu, and it did change. The meal I had doesn't have the same items on it. Some dates were changed for sections. Entrees changed 2/23/09. I enjoyed the Zooberry enough to order it again. It's their signature drink, I think.

You're welcome! And you are correct - the zooberry is a signature drink. I may have to order one myself the next time we're there.


Was it Bianco or Blanco? Because the lighting the menu writing made for open interpretation, I'm saying Blanco, since that means "white", which is the type of flatbread we got. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. (hehe) It was mighty tasty, and I would definitely grab a dinner in the bar if I didn't feel like doing a full dinner in the restaurant.

I wrote down Bianco but that doesn't mean that I can't mis-read my own scribbles. Blanco makes sense given all the white cheese ... so so good! I wish we were eating it right now!

Yeah, I felt a bit schmucky too. LOL. It was awfully sweet of her to do this for us. (giant hug all around)

She was definitely sweet ... we'll have to find her a giftie this fall since she can't make the festival this year.

Sounds like ordering it without fennel is the way to go. Next time, eh?

Absolutely!


Sounds like I know what Brenda will order next time as her appetizer. (Insert snarky whistling smilie here.) I know I'd order this again for sure.

I don't remember trying it, probably because I didn't want to OD on food before I could order dessert. Looked really good, though.

I may very well order the scallops next time ... depends on what Jay orders since we don't like to duplicate. The classico flatbread was quite tasty ... sort of like cheese pizza with the perfect blend of cheese and sauce.


Gah, I should have ordered a bottle, too. I'm still schmuckier than you guys. Eek.

No no no! No one is a schmuck ... Michelle said so! :hug:


This is what I'd want to get next time. Or something similar.

I think you'd like it just fine!


I still don't see the value, but then again, I hadn't tasted anyone's lobster other than mine, so I can't say whether I'd splurge again to try it.

That is a pretty good endorsement, but I wish I would have tasted it first.

I didn't taste the lobster either, since I'm not a big fan. But Jay and I maintain that since it's something that we could never find here in Stinktown the overpriced vacation splurge is worth it, especially if it makes his tummy happy.


It wasn't the best of either world, but it was still pretty decent. That's what made me decide to try the simply fish thing next time. The jury is still out for me on the cantonese lobster. I really enjoyed the meal as a whole, though.

Very good meal all around. I thought yours looked really good and if I liked lobster more I'd be tempted to order it next time around.


I don't think I tried either the green beans or the fries because I wanted to save room for dessert. I've had these things at other places, but didn't taste Todd's spin on them. I don't think I missed much.

I do remember the fries being really good and Jay liked the beans a lot ... it was just getting to be too much food - even for us! :lmao:


Next time I'm getting port with dessert! Woohoo!

Excellent! Grimace strikes again!


It was pretty darn tasty. I believe I reciprocated and dredged up a spoonful of the chocolate melty goo stuff for you to taste with your port, as well. You really needed to try the combo, and I know that I probably did my Food Pusher thing on you.

You did reciprocate, now that you remind me. I thought your dessert was excellent - I especially liked the chocolate album garnish.


LOL! That was so awesome! I enjoyed watching the full disintegrating dessert globe, revealing Jupiter inside. Heheh. But I wouldn't give up my chocolate with the edible record. Hee.

The globe dissolve was the best part of Jay's dessert in my opinion.


That is really cool, but it messed with my head too much for me to try it. I did not see it on the menu anymore, which is a shame.

How dare you show half eaten food porn! Bwahahahaha. I thought the beignets were light and crisp, with the citrus taste.

The presentation was half the fun of the zweetburger, don't you think? And I noticed that it's not listed on their current menu, either, which is a total bummer.


That's the kind of thing we expect from a Bendy food review. Whee!

Yeah, October 16, 2009. Will a dancing banana emote push me over the top? Let's see. :banana:

Homer will return this fall, so be on the lookout! We'll see you on 10/16/09!

OK, you two need to stop! Lori & Brenda, you do not need to feel schmucky just because I over-achieved and brought goodie bags. I'm very glad you guys liked the stuff we got you - the F&W coffee mugs were just a last minute addition from our wandering around the shops that afternoon. :goodvibes (I just wish we had bought ourselves a set, too. :sad1: They were sold out when we went back to the Festival Center the next day!) The wine you and Jay bought for the table was perfect, thank you again! And Lori, the wine glass lanyards were put to good use at PFTS! So, thank you again, too. :grouphug:

Well thank you all for agreeing to join us for dinner - we really had a fine fine time. And we loves our F&W mugs ... we're getting ready to have some coffee in them right now to accompany the finale of BSG. We'll just have to see if we can find you some good ones this fall!


Who else would appreciate...

http://www.familyphotoquilt.com/homer-simpson-as-hulk.jpg

Homer as the Ingestible Bulk?! :lmao: He was a good addition to our foodie party. :banana: I hope he's not getting into too much trouble over at your house, Brenda. :scared:

That was awesome! We have Homer someplace safe in the kitchen ... he can't wait to get back to WDW this fall. :laughing:

BTW, Steve did not have the lobster, he went for the Surf & Turf like Lori did. He liked it, but he said he would stick to the fish of the day next time. (which is what he usually gets) Yes, I'm a sucker for the big lobster dish, I can't help it. :rolleyes: I'm glad Jay liked his. The whole dinner was a lot of fun and I can't wait to dine with my foodie friends again. :goodvibes I'll be living vicariously through your F&W Festival adventures this year...

Great review, Brenda. I hope the computer trouble is behind you. :hug:

Cheers!
Michelle

Oooops ... sorry about the mistake there. I knew I was going to mess something up. I knew that you had said your favorite dish was the lobster and I just assumed the same for Steve. My bad.

Thanks for taking the time to read - we're looking forward to meeting up with you guys again some time in the future! :hug:

OMG - MUST EAT AT BLUE ZOO!

That review has me drooling like a baby...the food, the drinks, the apps, the desserts..I have got to eat there in Oct..but what should I ditch? :rotfl2:

Bren you did it again, FAB review...and bonus points for getting everyone else's food pics!

Somehow I knew you'd like this review, Nicki! As for what to ditch ... don't ditch anything ... just work in another meal (it's what we do!). Thanks for reading!

And the pictures ... the wait staff had to have been confused by all the alternate picture taking of people's food! :laughing:

WOW Bendy! I read it once and had to go back and read it again!! Then I had to drag Chuck to the computer to take a look at that Zweetburger. That looked amazing! How creative was that?

When I finally decide to partake in REAL Disney Dining, Blue Zoo will be in the running for sure.

Thanks for yet another great update B.

Hiya Goosie! Thanks for reading - I'm glad you liked this one!

Ok Brenda,

You've just convinced me to try BlueZoo in September :goodvibes

I have been debating it for a while and I'm totally sold now. The lobster, haricot vert and fries are calling to me hehe :thumbsup2

Thanks for reading! Now I can't wait to read your review ... I'm sure it will be a good one!


Nice review! I'm sort of put off by a drink containing stinky cheese, but ok.

Your dessert sounded yummy. I am a big fan of lemony things, and add raspberry...mmmmmmmmmm.

Thank you! I'm put off by drinks with stinky-toe cheese, too; but Jay enjoyed it. And yes, dessert was deeeeee-licious!

Clearly, I need to eat at BlueZoo. Now I need to figure out how to make it happen! Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for reading - glad you liked it! I hope you get to bluezoo and then come back and tell us all about it.

Brenda, that was a wonderful review! I really want some of those fries! Everything looked great (well, maybe not the stinky cheese martini, sorry Jay) and seemed like so much fun. All the presentations were very nice and original, especially your dessert. That would have cracked me up!

Thanks for reading, Jamie! It really was a great meal and we had tons of fun.

"Chips,for the love of God i see Chips".....Now Miss Bendy do you understand when i say fries ain't Chips?.....:rotfl2:

Quick question,why are all American fries coated in "Stroke dust"?.....

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/514.jpg

No, my balding English love ... I don't understand because I don't think I've ever heard you say that. And they're coated in salt because salt makes everything taste better!

[oybolshoi]

HI Bendy! Your review of Bluezoo is great! The food looked so good to me. Hope you are well.....:goodvibes

Sistah P! Long time no see ... thanks for taking the time to read and all things considered we are doing quite well. Hope the same is true for you and yours!

OH. MY. GOODNESS. I am absolutely loving Blue Zoo - wonder if I can persuade DH that we need a meal out on our own next trip

Hi Joh! Thanks for reading - I'm glad you liked the review. And you should defnitley try for a night out on your own, especially if you like seafood.

I had to laugh when I saw the Classico flatbread because it brought back memories of when we ate at Blue Zoo. My son proclaimed during our meal that it wasn't flatbread at all...he said it was pizza. Darn it if we can't get thin crust pizza just like it here at home, complete with torn basil! :rotfl:

It's true but it was still pretty darn tasty!

Now we had a server at BZ who had extreme PMS when we were there. I don't recall much else about our meal...just the fact that I wanted to knock her out all during our meal because of her attitude.

Too bad that you had a PMSing server ... totally colors the meal when you get a wonky server. :hug:


Oh, I do remember the wicked wine trees they served your wine flight on. We got a good chuckle out of those. I guess we need to go back so that I remember more about the food this time. Everything you guys had looks delicious! I especially love the desserts-that burger is way too cute. I don't think I would have wanted to eat it. :)

I don't recall a wine flight being an option when we were there ... Lori, Michelle ... did Jay and I miss this on the menu?

And the food was wonderful as was the company!


Maybe your server moved to the Afternoon Tea at the Garden View Lounge and refused to serve milk to Brenda for her tea. :rotfl2:
I think you may be on to something. Apparently she's putting some mileage on her broomstick going between resorts. You spurred my memory a bit too...we asked at BZ if they had a childrens menu (DD can revert to childhood picky eater syndrome). The server tells us yes and so naturally we ask, well can we see it? She says no. DD was only offered pizza, which coincidentally, was the Classico flatbread. :lmao: Yup...this definitely sounds like Brenda's milk nazi.

:rotfl2:

Oh my gosh, I need to go there!!

It was fabulous - thanks for reading!

Wow, that whole meal looked phenomenal! I'd go for the flatbread...and the lobster...and all of the desserts...:rotfl:

It was it was it was! And I like the way you're thinking of your meal there! :laughing:

Brenda, fantastic review as always. We haven't been to Blue Zoo in a few years as with the ever rising Disney restaurant prices I've resisted places that don't take TIW. I think we'll have to give it a shot later this year.

I also have had the Maytag martini (what's with the tumblers? I want a martini glass with a stem!)

I see that the clam flatbread is no longer on the menu - it was our favorite appetizer. The Chilean Sea Bass was also always really good here.

Hey there! How are you? Thanks for reading and I know what you mean about not hitting those places that don't take the DDE / TIW ... it was tough not to get a discount on our meal but it was so good that we're glad we went ahead and tried it anyway.

I have to agree with you on the martini glass ... I like a traditional glass myself.

And now that you mention it ... I do remember seeing those items on older Bluezoo menus. I know that I wouldn't have liked the clams but the sea bass would have been tremendous, I'm sure of it.

Bendy... any luck on the computer???

Yes indeedy - thanks for checking in on us!

Well thanks a lot Brenda...just what I need, another restaurant to put on my list!:laughing:

Blue Zoo sounds amazing and those desserts look so cool!

Hey, I'm here to help. :lmao: Thanks for reading and I do hope you get a chance to try Bluezoo ... it really was amazing.

Well....we did it. Based on all the recommendations I read on this board and after we read the BZ review here.....we cancelled our Narcoossees ressies and made new ressies at BZ!! My DH isn't a big fan of seafood but he thought the beef tenderloin looked good so he said yes! My whole family is going this trip so the kids are going to stay behind with the grandparents this night while my DH, my DB and my DSIL go on a date night. :thumbsup2

Looking forward to more great food stories and pics from the foodies on this thread!!

Woohoo for you! I hope your evening there is a wonderful and memorable one. Be sure to let us know what you think when you get back home. :hug:

Not Brenda but I just had to say "great decision"! Narcoossee's isn't close to BZ.:thumbsup2

Couldn't have said it better myself!

Thank you! My DH is sitting next to me and I had to show him your reply. He laughed and said he hopes you're right!

I hope we're all right, too! :lmao:

Zooberry!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/498.jpg

I'm a whiskey girl, but I must say that drink looks absolutely yummy!:drinking1

Ahhh, whisky! They have some great scotches on the dessert menu ... including a $300 per glass Macallan 1945. :scared1:

[*KeepMovingForward*]

I don't recall a wine flight being an option when we were there ... Lori, Michelle ... did Jay and I miss this on the menu?


Maybe they don't offer them anymore? I don't know...but here's a pic of the ugly wine trees that they were serving the wine flights on. This was about 18 months ago. Not the best pic, but its the only one I could find. (That's my very bored son in the background).
http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa198/Keep-Moving-Forward/baa39c17.jpg
I wouldn't have minded the wine trees, but somebody didn't think those through too much-they took up way too much of the table and we wound up downing the wine quickly just to get rid of those clunky things.

[Tatania]

I think we've all been sold on Blue Zoo. I know it's pricey but judging from the pictures it's worth every dollar. I'll have to make it there as well.

[oybolshoi]

Maybe they don't offer them anymore? I don't know...but here's a pic of the ugly wine trees that they were serving the wine flights on. This was about 18 months ago. Not the best pic, but its the only one I could find. (That's my very bored son in the background).
http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa198/Keep-Moving-Forward/baa39c17.jpg
I wouldn't have minded the wine trees, but somebody didn't think those through too much-they took up way too much of the table and we wound up downing the wine quickly just to get rid of those clunky things.

Thanks for sharing the wine-tree picture. You're right ... that thing is UG-LEEEEEE! :rotfl2: It kind of reminds me of the tequilia tree we were presented with in Vegas at this restaurant where we ordered a tequilia flight. It was certainly smaller than your tree and I actually thought it looked kind of cool, but it still took up a lot of space; especially at a table for two.


I think we've all been sold on Blue Zoo. I know it's pricey but judging from the pictures it's worth every dollar. I'll have to make it there as well.

Why did I think you had already visited bluezoo? :confused3 Ah well, I think you'd like it just fine especially if you enjoy seafood. I'd be very interested to read about your experiences there if you do try it. :thumbsup2

Thanks again to everyone for reading whether you posted or not. I hope to update later with our breakfast at Wolfgang Puck Express and the last depressing remnants of our food and wine snacking. The last day of WDW vacation is always kind of sad. :sad1:

Have a great weekend ... :grouphug:

[oybolshoi]

Thursday, October 16th - Wurra! The Final Day Arrives and We're Still Hungry!

In the continued interests of trying new and potentially scary eating establishments, Jay and I hoofed it over to Downtown Disney for breakfast on this sunny, warm, and humid morning. We had discussed dining here before ever leaving Stinktown to embark on our delicious voyage of food discovery and the conversation went something like this:

Brenda: Peeps on the DIS rave frothy about WPE QS; you know, at DTD.

Jason: Huh?

Brenda (very loudly): PEEPS ON THE DIS RAVE FROTHY ABOUT WPE QS; YOU KNOW …AT DTD!!!

Jason: In English – you know I’m acronym averse!

Brenda: Uh, no; actually I didn’t know that. Anyway, I've noticed lately there seem to be a lot of people on the restaurant forums who have really good things to say about Wolfgang Puck Express; I thought we could give it a try for breakfast one morning since it’s within easy walking distance of the resort.

Jason: I should have known you were talking about food.

:lmao:

Since the restaurant doesn't open until 9AM we basically had the place to ourselves when we arrived. I was not feeling well at all this day ... I suppose the previous day's gluttony and overly rich food was finally catching up with my intestinal tract. And it didn't help that I was suffering from a bout of the end-o-trip blues, either. So what did I do in my infinite wisdom, knowing that the Crohn goblin was stirring and it was going to be a hot, sticky day?

I ordered a Belgian Waffle with whipped cream. :rotfl2: It was served with fresh fruit and a miserly portion of maple syrup.

It looks better than it tastes
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/522.jpg

In retrospect I should have been more picky and demanding when I placed my order. For one thing, I don't really like whipped cream on my waffles. That was easily disposed of however; I just used my fork to transfer the whole glob into my coffee cup. I like a little bit of butter and a whole lotta syrup for my waffles, neither of which I received. I also should have asked for my fruit to be served on the side - it would have been much easier for Jay and me to share. The waffle was well cooked and had a light, sweet flavor but it was on the dry side and there was just not enough maple syrup in that weensy plastic container to drown the dry. I suppose I could have asked for more but when I get into this kind of moody funk the fewer people I interact with the better.

Jay selected Wolfgang’s Breakfast Pocket for his morning meal: scrambled eggs, peppers, Niman Ranch bacon, onions, mushrooms, mozzarella and cheddar cheeses baked into Wolfie’s signature pizza dough.

On a different day, sans mushrooms, I might have ordered something like this
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/523.jpg

The husband really enjoyed this - he said it was like eating a great omelet that's been tucked inside perfectly baked pizza dough. Right now it sounds pretty tasty but that morning the sight of it made me want to hurl. :laughing:

From Downtown Disney we snagged a ride on a bus over to the Boardwalk and then made our way into Epcot through the International Gateway. Once the World Showcase opened our first stop was at Ireland for a quick caffeine infusion - I don't know about the rest of you, but frozen alcoholic coffee always makes me feel better.

Frozen Irish Coffee … that’s what they called this. I think it’s coffee, melted ice cream, and a splish of Bailey’s. It’s good but I’m always on the fence as to whether or not it’s $7.50 worth of good. Especially since they didn’t even serve it in a cute little plastic coffee cup like they did last year. So that means we’re being charged a lot for even less boozinated caffeine and that makes me sad.

Do you know how hard it is to drink something like this in cup with no handles?
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/525.jpg

Along our wanderings we stopped in Buenos Aires, Argentina because Jay likes the kind of stuff they serve at their booth. We ordered the Beef and Corn Pie and the Grilled Beef with Chimichurri Sauce

Meh...
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/526.jpg

Time for some brutal truth: the beef and corn pie was nasty - overcooked with chewy chunks of some kind of meat. I found this disappointing because it could have and should have been so much better. Our other choice wasn't bad as long as a certain someone could eat around the violently green sauce but I thought the beef was a little stringy. Also, in years past when this has been served at the F&W Festival it usually was resting on a bed of some kind of tasty, mashed vegetable which we both really enjoyed; sadly this year the mash was missing.

We also paid a visit to Santiago, Chile, where we purchased some Shrimp with Cilantro Salsa. This was just as disappointing ... prior festival samples of this item yielded generous servings of shrimp with a lightly spiced salsa. Our sample had three shrimpies and a whole lotta of runny salsa which tasted of vinegar.

Not at all good
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/535.jpg

Blech! After trying this I was just about ready to drink one of those nasty wine coolers from China to wash the awful taste from my mouth. And speaking of China ... by the time we arrived there my intestines seemed to have straightened themselves out and I was hungry ... still very tired but definitely in need of a pick-me-up. The Chicken sha-cha has always been a safe bet so I parked myself on a shady bench and waited for my lovey to return to me with chick-on-a-stick and a beer.

Chicken Sha Cha Cha
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/529.jpg

The beer that Jay purchased was Yanjing Beer - the other official beer of the Beijing Olympics. Michelle and Steve had suggested that we give it a try and they were spot on - it was quite good and much better than the singing toe beer that usually is sold at the China booth. My chicken was OK - a little overdone and chewier than usual, but it still had nice flavor, in part thanks to the sauce it was drizzled with.

And then to finish up our grazing before heading over to the Festival Welcome Center and our Kitchen Conversation with Robert Irvine, we stopped in Australia to sample a taste treat called Wattleseed Mousse!

Weetles wattle and then end up in dessert
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/532.jpg

How best to describe this? It was light and custardy and sweet but the taste actually reminded us of coffee. It wasn't bad but it was a little odd ... I think it might have been better on a less warm day when it wasn't being digested on top of 12 ounces of Chinese beer. :rotfl2:

I'm glad we tried it because with a name like wattleseed it demands to be eaten but I'm not sure that we'd eat it again. I always find the dessert options in Australia to be a disappointment ... if they're not making something that's crawling with macadamia nuts they're offering up desserts made from seeds named after birds. Maybe next year ... ooops, now that's this year ... they can offer up a chocolate covered dingo delight. ;)

And thus ended our F&W snacking for the trip. We disappointed ourselves because we didn't hit up every booth, although some of that was from choice. Canada hasn't offered anything new in so long that we don't even stop to look at their menu board and South Africa isn't much better. And while we wanted to try the booth from Austria their food choices just never sounded all that appealing to us when we happened to be there. Overall we were pleased with much of our grazing - there were some misses but for the most part we enjoyed our snacking and thought much (not all) of the food was well prepared and tasty. We're looking forward to trying to eat the entire World Showcase one last time in October 2009!

Next up: a review of Kitchen Conversations ... Turn up the Volume!

[DisneyMom5]

Some of that looked mildly tasty.
With ya on the appearance of the egg thing.

I'm getting scared to spend money at the booths now! LOL

Appreciate your witty foodisms, as usual.

:thumbsup2

[SmallWorld71]

Just got caught up. Blue Zoo looked amazing.:thumbsup2 Count me as one of those DISers who like WPE although we've only ever had dinner there. Sorry things are almost at an end. We are sadly skipping Disney this year since we just bought a house (hoping to go in 2010) so I will be living through everyone else's reports and will be on the lookout for your next one. :goodvibes

[*KeepMovingForward*]

I agree with you about the Irish Coffee. Overpriced, crappy cup & not that much booze, but it still was refreshing on those hot days. I admit being a sucker 2 or 3 times for that one on our trip.

Now about that Beef & Chimichurri...you were swindled my friend. I must have hit that stand up a good 10 times and always got mashed potatoes with my beef. We need to call the potato police. :sad2:

[oybolshoi]

Some of that looked mildly tasty.
With ya on the appearance of the egg thing.

I'm getting scared to spend money at the booths now! LOL

Appreciate your witty foodisms, as usual.

:thumbsup2

Thanks for reading! And don't be scared ... well, maybe a little apprehensive. Eating at the booths is similar to the restaurants in that on any given day you could get good food or crappy food - most of the time our experiences at the F&W booths have been good but there have also been some memorable blechie moments. You just gotta roll with it, mom of many, and stick with the things you really want to try. You'll enjoy the experience, I'm sure of it.*

*not a guarantee

Just got caught up. Blue Zoo looked amazing.:thumbsup2 Count me as one of those DISers who like WPE although we've only ever had dinner there. Sorry things are almost at an end. We are sadly skipping Disney this year since we just bought a house (hoping to go in 2010) so I will be living through everyone else's reports and will be on the lookout for your next one. :goodvibes

Hey lady! How've you been? Glad you've enjoyed the newest updates and Bluezoo was amazing - that's the perfect word.

Congrats on the house! I guess we'll have to rely on you and everyone else for 2010 since we know we won't be at WDW next year. Maybe we'll see each other in 2011? :confused3 :laughing:

I agree with you about the Irish Coffee. Overpriced, crappy cup & not that much booze, but it still was refreshing on those hot days. I admit being a sucker 2 or 3 times for that one on our trip.

I'm a sucker for it too because it was so tasty but I do wish they could have served it in a better cup. I think the version they served in 2007 was boozier ... otherwise I don't think I'd have such fond memories of it. :lmao:

Now about that Beef & Chimichurri...you were swindled my friend. I must have hit that stand up a good 10 times and always got mashed potatoes with my beef. We need to call the potato police. :sad2:

I KNEW IT!!!! :scared1:

I knew something was missing when Jay showed up with that plate. And now I'm outraged that our taters, precious, were withheld from us!

That's it! Argentina is now officially on The List. :mad: ;)

Thanks for reading! :goodvibes

[BriarRosie]

Maybe they don't offer them anymore? I don't know...but here's a pic of the ugly wine trees that they were serving the wine flights on. This was about 18 months ago. Not the best pic, but its the only one I could find. (That's my very bored son in the background).
http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa198/Keep-Moving-Forward/baa39c17.jpg
I wouldn't have minded the wine trees, but somebody didn't think those through too much-they took up way too much of the table and we wound up downing the wine quickly just to get rid of those clunky things.

I totally don't remember seeing those on the menu. They look like avant garde Seussian wine trees. They are interesting in a strange way, though.
But yeah, kinda ugly.

[TigerKat]

Of all the booth grub the Grilled Beef with Chimichurri Sauce was our favorite. Ours was served atop a yummy mash of some kind, it was really good. Sorry y'all had a bad one.

[oybolshoi]

Of all the booth grub the Grilled Beef with Chimichurri Sauce was our favorite. Ours was served atop a yummy mash of some kind, it was really good. Sorry y'all had a bad one.

OUTRAGE IS BUILDING IN STINKTOWN!!!

:lmao:

Jay still really liked it, but it was the taters that always made this dish edible for me since the sauce doesn't sit well with the Crohn goblin. Oh well, can't win 'em all I suppose. :goodvibes

[WDW Fan]

Your breakfast at WPE looked really delicious but I know what you mean about the maple syrup! I like my waffles to be swimming in syrup;) Some of the F&W foods didn't look all that appetizing but I'm glad you were able to sample so many of the booths this year. My DH and I haven't ever tried any of the foods at the F&W Festival because we're too cheap. :lmao: It's fun to live vicarious through your dining reports!:thumbsup2

[BriarRosie]

Thursday, October 16th - Wurra! The Final Day Arrives and We're Still Hungry!

In the continued interests of trying new and potentially scary eating establishments, Jay and I hoofed it over to Downtown Disney for breakfast on this sunny, warm, and humid morning. We had discussed dining here before ever leaving Stinktown to embark on our delicious voyage of food discovery and the conversation went something like this:

Brenda: Peeps on the DIS rave frothy about WPE QS; you know, at DTD.

Jason: Huh?

Brenda (very loudly): PEEPS ON THE DIS RAVE FROTHY ABOUT WPE QS; YOU KNOW …AT DTD!!!

Jason: In English – you know I’m acronym averse!

Brenda: Uh, no; actually I didn’t know that. Anyway, I've noticed lately there seem to be a lot of people on the restaurant forums who have really good things to say about Wolfgang Puck Express; I thought we could give it a try for breakfast one morning since it’s within easy walking distance of the resort.

Jason: I should have known you were talking about food.

:lmao:

This is one of those times I wish I was able to eavesdrop on your conversations. Too funny!

Since the restaurant doesn't open until 9AM we basically had the place to ourselves when we arrived. I was not feeling well at all this day ... I suppose the previous day's gluttony and overly rich food was finally catching up with my intestinal tract. And it didn't help that I was suffering from a bout of the end-o-trip blues, either. So what did I do in my infinite wisdom, knowing that the Crohn goblin was stirring and it was going to be a hot, sticky day?

Oh no, I was just starting my gluttony that I never considered you were starting to OD on it!

I ordered a Belgian Waffle with whipped cream. :rotfl2: It was served with fresh fruit and a miserly portion of maple syrup.

It looks better than it tastes
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/522.jpg

In retrospect I should have been more picky and demanding when I placed my order. For one thing, I don't really like whipped cream on my waffles. That was easily disposed of however; I just used my fork to transfer the whole glob into my coffee cup. I like a little bit of butter and a whole lotta syrup for my waffles, neither of which I received. I also should have asked for my fruit to be served on the side - it would have been much easier for Jay and me to share. The waffle was well cooked and had a light, sweet flavor but it was on the dry side and there was just not enough maple syrup in that weensy plastic container to drown the dry. I suppose I could have asked for more but when I get into this kind of moody funk the fewer people I interact with the better.

That looked great to me, except my pet peeve are strawberries that have the little green tops still attached. Come on people, it's not that hard to slice strawberries. :cutie: I would have kept the whipped cream on them, as well.

Jay selected Wolfgang’s Breakfast Pocket for his morning meal: scrambled eggs, peppers, Niman Ranch bacon, onions, mushrooms, mozzarella and cheddar cheeses baked into Wolfie’s signature pizza dough.

On a different day, sans mushrooms, I might have ordered something like this
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/523.jpg

The husband really enjoyed this - he said it was like eating a great omelet that's been tucked inside perfectly baked pizza dough. Right now it sounds pretty tasty but that morning the sight of it made me want to hurl. :laughing:

That looked awesome, but I probably would have wanted to split that and add some fresh fruit. Pizza dough and omelet? Who'd have thunk it?

From Downtown Disney we snagged a ride on a bus over to the Boardwalk and then made our way into Epcot through the International Gateway. Once the World Showcase opened our first stop was at Ireland for a quick caffeine infusion - I don't know about the rest of you, but frozen alcoholic coffee always makes me feel better.

Frozen Irish Coffee … that’s what they called this. I think it’s coffee, melted ice cream, and a splish of Bailey’s. It’s good but I’m always on the fence as to whether or not it’s $7.50 worth of good. Especially since they didn’t even serve it in a cute little plastic coffee cup like they did last year. So that means we’re being charged a lot for even less boozinated caffeine and that makes me sad.

I didn't try this, mainly because of the price point. I just don't think I would have wanted to spend $7.50 on that, but I do like Irish Coffee. I make my own. :cloud9:

Do you know how hard it is to drink something like this in cup with no handles?
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/525.jpg

I blame the Disney Dining Borg Collective for those cups. That's their all-purpose generic drink cup, right?

Along our wanderings we stopped in Buenos Aires, Argentina because Jay likes the kind of stuff they serve at their booth. We ordered the Beef and Corn Pie and the Grilled Beef with Chimichurri Sauce

Meh...
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/526.jpg

Time for some brutal truth: the beef and corn pie was nasty - overcooked with chewy chunks of some kind of meat. I found this disappointing because it could have and should have been so much better. Our other choice wasn't bad as long as a certain someone could eat around the violently green sauce but I thought the beef was a little stringy. Also, in years past when this has been served at the F&W Festival it usually was resting on a bed of some kind of tasty, mashed vegetable which we both really enjoyed; sadly this year the mash was missing.

Ok, since I ordered the same corn pie thing on the SAME day, but pretty close to the time we went to the Kitchen Conversation, I have to say that I liked mine. It was hot and fresh and reminded me of an omelet or quiche. The meat in it had a nice spice kick to it. Maybe you had a bad batch. Or like my reaction last year to the Peru thing I found nasty, Catherine just loved. You don't like mushrooms and I do, so I'll just chalk it up to different tastes. :)

We also paid a visit to Santiago, Chile, where we purchased some Shrimp with Cilantro Salsa. This was just as disappointing ... prior festival samples of this item yielded generous servings of shrimp with a lightly spiced salsa. Our sample had three shrimpies and a whole lotta of runny salsa which tasted of vinegar.

Not at all good
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/535.jpg

Totally looked disappointing, and I didn't get that either.

Blech! After trying this I was just about ready to drink one of those nasty wine coolers from China to wash the awful taste from my mouth. And speaking of China ... by the time we arrived there my intestines seemed to have straightened themselves out and I was hungry ... still very tired but definitely in need of a pick-me-up. The Chicken sha-cha has always been a safe bet so I parked myself on a shady bench and waited for my lovey to return to me with chick-on-a-stick and a beer.

Chicken Sha Cha Cha
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/529.jpg

The beer that Jay purchased was Yanjing Beer - the other official beer of the Beijing Olympics. Michelle and Steve had suggested that we give it a try and they were spot on - it was quite good and much better than the singing toe beer that usually is sold at the China booth. My chicken was OK - a little overdone and chewier than usual, but it still had nice flavor, in part thanks to the sauce it was drizzled with.

I never found the Chicken Sha Cha or the pot stickers to be bad choices in China. Wish I tried that beer, though.

And then to finish up our grazing before heading over to the Festival Welcome Center and our Kitchen Conversation with Robert Irvine, we stopped in Australia to sample a taste treat called Wattleseed Mousse!

Weetles wattle and then end up in dessert
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/532.jpg

How best to describe this? It was light and custardy and sweet but the taste actually reminded us of coffee. It wasn't bad but it was a little odd ... I think it might have been better on a less warm day when it wasn't being digested on top of 12 ounces of Chinese beer. :rotfl2:

Yay, another item I tried. I would call it Australian Tiramisu. It was not overly sweet, so people who find desserts too sweet might actually love this dessert.

I'm glad we tried it because with a name like wattleseed it demands to be eaten but I'm not sure that we'd eat it again. I always find the dessert options in Australia to be a disappointment ... if they're not making something that's crawling with macadamia nuts they're offering up desserts made from seeds named after birds. Maybe next year ... ooops, now that's this year ... they can offer up a chocolate covered dingo delight. ;)

ROFL chocolate covered dingo! :rotfl2:

And thus ended our F&W snacking for the trip. We disappointed ourselves because we didn't hit up every booth, although some of that was from choice. Canada hasn't offered anything new in so long that we don't even stop to look at their menu board and South Africa isn't much better. And while we wanted to try the booth from Austria their food choices just never sounded all that appealing to us when we happened to be there. Overall we were pleased with much of our grazing - there were some misses but for the most part we enjoyed our snacking and thought much (not all) of the food was well prepared and tasty. We're looking forward to trying to eat the entire World Showcase one last time in October 2009!

Yeah, I regret not trying the Tafelspitz thing in Austria. :laughing:

Next up: a review of Kitchen Conversations ... Turn up the Volume!

Woohoo, this is where I met my new BFF, Robert Irvine! :love:

[PNO4TE]

I really enjoyed the bluezoo review, Brenda. Might have to put it on our list for October! Thanks for the evening's entertainment! :goodvibes

[*KeepMovingForward*]

I totally don't remember seeing those on the menu. They look like avant garde Seussian wine trees. They are interesting in a strange way, though.
But yeah, kinda ugly.

OMG! :rotfl2: I'm laughing because I thought they looked like something out of Dr. Seuss too-its the swirly tops I think. Maybe they shipped those ugly things over to Universal where they would fit in? :rotfl:

Of all the booth grub the Grilled Beef with Chimichurri Sauce was our favorite. Ours was served atop a yummy mash of some kind, it was really good. Sorry y'all had a bad one.

It was our favorite dish too. Me and DD were totally addicted and it was the dish we got the most. If they dared serve me without potatoes, it would not have been pretty. :sad2:

[Tink rules]

I ordered a Belgian Waffle with whipped cream. :rotfl2: It was served with fresh fruit and a miserly portion of maple syrup.

It looks better than it tastes
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/522.jpg

In retrospect I should have been more picky and demanding when I placed my order. For one thing, I don't really like whipped cream on my waffles. That was easily disposed of however; I just used my fork to transfer the whole glob into my coffee cup. I like a little bit of butter and a whole lotta syrup for my waffles, neither of which I received. I also should have asked for my fruit to be served on the side - it would have been much easier for Jay and me to share. The waffle was well cooked and had a light, sweet flavor but it was on the dry side and there was just not enough maple syrup in that weensy plastic container to drown the dry. I suppose I could have asked for more but when I get into this kind of moody funk the fewer people I interact with the better.



Why am I seeing Meg Ryan BEFORE the famous "O" scene???

[sunny04]

I have to say your "weetles wattle but they don't fall down" might be my favorite joke in your trip reports. Considering the numerous funny lines you write, that is probably pretty sad on my part, but I just find that hilarious.:rotfl:

[ChelleinNC]

Don't ya know that as soon as I had finished my reply last night, the clock had struck 10pm and the boards went down......ugh! I saved it to Word, so hopefully this works:



Thanks so much for reading and I'm very happpy that you enjoyed it although I am sorry to complicate your anniversary planning. Which other restaurants are you considering?

Jay and I give high marks to Jiko, Flying Fish, Citricos, and Bistro Paris. And if you really want to splurge you can try V&A - that DDE discount is good in the dining room and that's a pretty hefty discount! :thumbsup2

We're staying at BCV in July, so we're thinking of something in the Epcot/Epcot resort area. Flying Fish and Bistro are 2 that we've never been to that we thought would be nice for our anniversary (and within stumbling distance of Jellyrolls and our villa ;) ). DH has already decided that we'll do V&A in 2 years for our :eek: 20th

Anything's possible ... and if you've had too much to drink and take a wrong turn on the way to your vacation villa and end up in sand trap it can seem just like a dessert island. Not that I would know this from personal experience ... :rolleyes1 :lmao:

:rotfl: :rotfl2:

Thursday, October 16th - Wurra! The Final Day Arrives and We're Still Hungry!

In the continued interests of trying new and potentially scary eating establishments, Jay and I hoofed it over to Downtown Disney for breakfast on this sunny, warm, and humid morning. We had discussed dining here before ever leaving Stinktown to embark on our delicious voyage of food discovery and the conversation went something like this:

Brenda: Peeps on the DIS rave frothy about WPE QS; you know, at DTD.

Jason: Huh?

Brenda (very loudly): PEEPS ON THE DIS RAVE FROTHY ABOUT WPE QS; YOU KNOW …AT DTD!!!

Jason: In English – you know I’m acronym averse!

Brenda: Uh, no; actually I didn’t know that. Anyway, I've noticed lately there seem to be a lot of people on the restaurant forums who have really good things to say about Wolfgang Puck Express; I thought we could give it a try for breakfast one morning since it’s within easy walking distance of the resort.

Jason: I should have known you were talking about food.

:lmao:

Since the restaurant doesn't open until 9AM we basically had the place to ourselves when we arrived. I was not feeling well at all this day ... I suppose the previous day's gluttony and overly rich food was finally catching up with my intestinal tract. And it didn't help that I was suffering from a bout of the end-o-trip blues, either. So what did I do in my infinite wisdom, knowing that the Crohn goblin was stirring and it was going to be a hot, sticky day?

I ordered a Belgian Waffle with whipped cream. :rotfl2: It was served with fresh fruit and a miserly portion of maple syrup.

It looks better than it tastes
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/522.jpg

In retrospect I should have been more picky and demanding when I placed my order. For one thing, I don't really like whipped cream on my waffles. That was easily disposed of however; I just used my fork to transfer the whole glob into my coffee cup. I like a little bit of butter and a whole lotta syrup for my waffles, neither of which I received. I also should have asked for my fruit to be served on the side - it would have been much easier for Jay and me to share. The waffle was well cooked and had a light, sweet flavor but it was on the dry side and there was just not enough maple syrup in that weensy plastic container to drown the dry. I suppose I could have asked for more but when I get into this kind of moody funk the fewer people I interact with the better.

Jay selected Wolfgang’s Breakfast Pocket for his morning meal: scrambled eggs, peppers, Niman Ranch bacon, onions, mushrooms, mozzarella and cheddar cheeses baked into Wolfie’s signature pizza dough.

On a different day, sans mushrooms, I might have ordered something like this
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/523.jpg

The husband really enjoyed this - he said it was like eating a great omelet that's been tucked inside perfectly baked pizza dough. Right now it sounds pretty tasty but that morning the sight of it made me want to hurl. :laughing:


Breakfast looks really good :thumbsup2 and the commentary was :thumbsup2
From Downtown Disney we snagged a ride on a bus over to the Boardwalk and then made our way into Epcot through the International Gateway. Once the World Showcase opened our first stop was at Ireland for a quick caffeine infusion - I don't know about the rest of you, but frozen alcoholic coffee always makes me feel better.

Frozen Irish Coffee … that’s what they called this. I think it’s coffee, melted ice cream, and a splish of Bailey’s. It’s good but I’m always on the fence as to whether or not it’s $7.50 worth of good. Especially since they didn’t even serve it in a cute little plastic coffee cup like they did last year. So that means we’re being charged a lot for even less boozinated caffeine and that makes me sad.

Do you know how hard it is to drink something like this in cup with no handles?
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/525.jpg

Along our wanderings we stopped in Buenos Aires, Argentina because Jay likes the kind of stuff they serve at their booth. We ordered the Beef and Corn Pie and the Grilled Beef with Chimichurri Sauce

Meh...
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/526.jpg

Time for some brutal truth: the beef and corn pie was nasty - overcooked with chewy chunks of some kind of meat. I found this disappointing because it could have and should have been so much better. Our other choice wasn't bad as long as a certain someone could eat around the violently green sauce but I thought the beef was a little stringy. Also, in years past when this has been served at the F&W Festival it usually was resting on a bed of some kind of tasty, mashed vegetable which we both really enjoyed; sadly this year the mash was missing.

We also paid a visit to Santiago, Chile, where we purchased some Shrimp with Cilantro Salsa. This was just as disappointing ... prior festival samples of this item yielded generous servings of shrimp with a lightly spiced salsa. Our sample had three shrimpies and a whole lotta of runny salsa which tasted of vinegar.

Not at all good
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/535.jpg

Blech! After trying this I was just about ready to drink one of those nasty wine coolers from China to wash the awful taste from my mouth. And speaking of China ... by the time we arrived there my intestines seemed to have straightened themselves out and I was hungry ... still very tired but definitely in need of a pick-me-up. The Chicken sha-cha has always been a safe bet so I parked myself on a shady bench and waited for my lovey to return to me with chick-on-a-stick and a beer.

Chicken Sha Cha Cha
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/529.jpg

The beer that Jay purchased was Yanjing Beer - the other official beer of the Beijing Olympics. Michelle and Steve had suggested that we give it a try and they were spot on - it was quite good and much better than the singing toe beer that usually is sold at the China booth. My chicken was OK - a little overdone and chewier than usual, but it still had nice flavor, in part thanks to the sauce it was drizzled with.

And then to finish up our grazing before heading over to the Festival Welcome Center and our Kitchen Conversation with Robert Irvine, we stopped in Australia to sample a taste treat called Wattleseed Mousse!

Weetles wattle and then end up in dessert
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/532.jpg

How best to describe this? It was light and custardy and sweet but the taste actually reminded us of coffee. It wasn't bad but it was a little odd ... I think it might have been better on a less warm day when it wasn't being digested on top of 12 ounces of Chinese beer. :rotfl2:

I'm glad we tried it because with a name like wattleseed it demands to be eaten but I'm not sure that we'd eat it again. I always find the dessert options in Australia to be a disappointment ... if they're not making something that's crawling with macadamia nuts they're offering up desserts made from seeds named after birds. Maybe next year ... ooops, now that's this year ... they can offer up a chocolate covered dingo delight. ;)

And thus ended our F&W snacking for the trip. We disappointed ourselves because we didn't hit up every booth, although some of that was from choice. Canada hasn't offered anything new in so long that we don't even stop to look at their menu board and South Africa isn't much better. And while we wanted to try the booth from Austria their food choices just never sounded all that appealing to us when we happened to be there. Overall we were pleased with much of our grazing - there were some misses but for the most part we enjoyed our snacking and thought much (not all) of the food was well prepared and tasty. We're looking forward to trying to eat the entire World Showcase one last time in October 2009!

Next up: a review of Kitchen Conversations ... Turn up the Volume!

1. Anything with Bailey's in it :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2
2. Most of the snacks looked "eh", take it or leave it (except the shrimp which really looked like leave it). Or maybe I'm just really full after eating Chinese buffet tonight :rolleyes1

Another great review! :goodvibes

[oybolshoi]

Your breakfast at WPE looked really delicious but I know what you mean about the maple syrup! I like my waffles to be swimming in syrup. Some of the F&W foods didn't look all that appetizing but I'm glad you were able to sample so many of the booths this year. My DH and I haven't ever tried any of the foods at the F&W Festival because we're too cheap. :lmao: It's fun to live vicarious through your dining reports!

My waffles must swim in syrup and the excess is usually used for sausage and / or bacon ... which sadly I didn't have on this morning.

This was the day when most of our F&W samples were meh. We did have some good stuff earlier in the trip so I can't really complain.

And your comment about not trying food at the festival made me laugh ... the first year that Jay and I attended F&W we were too cheap to try anything too. :laughing:


This is one of those times I wish I was able to eavesdrop on your conversations. Too funny!

We aim to please. ;)


Oh no, I was just starting my gluttony that I never considered you were starting to OD on it!

It happens now and then. Luckily we were able to rebound from the poor showing at Kitchen Conversation and have a properly piggish end to the trip with dinner at Citricos.


That looked great to me, except my pet peeve are strawberries that have the little green tops still attached. Come on people, it's not that hard to slice strawberries. I would have kept the whipped cream on them, as well.

That's one of my pet peeves about strawberries, too.


That looked awesome, but I probably would have wanted to split that and add some fresh fruit. Pizza dough and omelet? Who'd have thunk it?

Jay thought it was great. And like I said ... on a different morning I might even have ordered something similar or at least tried his.


I didn't try this, mainly because of the price point. I just don't think I would have wanted to spend $7.50 on that, but I do like Irish Coffee. I make my own. :cloud9:

I think Allison said it best earlier ... it's a refreshing and very tasty beverage to pick up during F&W even though it's overpriced. We make Irish Coffee here in Stinktown too, and it's way better than what we were served in Epcot.


I blame the Disney Dining Borg Collective for those cups. That's their all-purpose generic drink cup, right?

The Dining Borg strike again! Yes ... that's the standard plastic crappy cup and it was a terrible idea to serve this drink in it. Very sloppy.


Ok, since I ordered the same corn pie thing on the SAME day, but pretty close to the time we went to the Kitchen Conversation, I have to say that I liked mine. It was hot and fresh and reminded me of an omelet or quiche. The meat in it had a nice spice kick to it. Maybe you had a bad batch. Or like my reaction last year to the Peru thing I found nasty, Catherine just loved. You don't like mushrooms and I do, so I'll just chalk it up to different tastes. :)


Too bad for Jay we didn't get a sample like yours. And it's true ... we all like different things - that's what makes us all so much fun!

Totally looked disappointing, and I didn't get that either.

We won't be getting it this fall if it's still on the menu, that's for sure.


I never found the Chicken Sha Cha or the pot stickers to be bad choices in China. Wish I tried that beer, though.

The beer was good and the chicken is almost always a safe bet. Jay likes the pot stickers, too.


Yay, another item I tried. I would call it Australian Tiramisu. It was not overly sweet, so people who find desserts too sweet might actually love this dessert.

Good point.


ROFL chocolate covered dingo! :rotfl2:

I thought that was inspired on my part if I do say so myself. :laughing:


Yeah, I regret not trying the Tafelspitz thing in Austria. :laughing:

Jay would have liked to try that one but it just didn't work out.


Woohoo, this is where I met my new BFF, Robert Irvine! :love:

I'll try not to be toooooo negative about the experience. ;)

I really enjoyed the bluezoo review, Brenda. Might have to put it on our list for October! Thanks for the evening's entertainment!

Glad you enjoyed it Elin! Blue zoo was tremendous so I do hope you have a chance to try it some day.


OMG! :rotfl2: I'm laughing because I thought they looked like something out of Dr. Seuss too-its the swirly tops I think. Maybe they shipped those ugly things over to Universal where they would fit in? :rotfl:

I've never seen alcohol being sold in Suess-land. We also never were able to buy green eggs and ham - every time we've been there the place that sells it has been closed.

That was totally off topic, wasn't it? :lmao:


It was our favorite dish too. Me and DD were totally addicted and it was the dish we got the most. If they dared serve me without potatoes, it would not have been pretty. :sad2:


note to self: never deprive this woman of her mashed taters. :laughing:

Why am I seeing Meg Ryan BEFORE the famous "O" scene???

Well, I was thinking of that scene when I was writing this. I totally felt like I could have been that picky ... ;)

I have to say your "weetles wattle but they don't fall down" might be my favorite joke in your trip reports. Considering the numerous funny lines you write, that is probably pretty sad on my part, but I just find that hilarious.:rotfl:

Thank you - what a nice compliment! I'm always happy to make someone laugh and I thought the Weetle / Weeble comment was amusing - glad you liked it too!


Don't ya know that as soon as I had finished my reply last night, the clock had struck 10pm and the boards went down......ugh! I saved it to Word, so hopefully this works:


We're staying at BCV in July, so we're thinking of something in the Epcot/Epcot resort area. Flying Fish and Bistro are 2 that we've never been to that we thought would be nice for our anniversary (and within stumbling distance of Jellyrolls and our villa). DH has already decided that we'll do V&A in 2 years for our :eek: 20th

I made sure that I posted this early enough not to have the boards swallow it ... that's happened to me plenty of times in the past so I wasn't about to let it happen again if I could help it.

Flying Fish and Bistro are both great choices - I think you'd really enjoy them both.

20 years ... that's great! :hug:



Breakfast looks really good :thumbsup2 and the commentary was :thumbsup2

Thanks!


1. Anything with Bailey's in it :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2
2. Most of the snacks looked "eh", take it or leave it (except the shrimp which really looked like leave it). Or maybe I'm just really full after eating Chinese buffet tonight :rolleyes1

Another great review! :goodvibes

Our snacks on this day weren't nearly as good as those on past days ... sometimes it just isn't your day (and that's how I felt until about 4PM that afternoon).

Thanks for reading!

[kabuki]

OK Brenda! I have just done the catch up thing on your reports! :cool1:
Great as always .. and we only have 7 month to get ready for the trip around the lake eater fest! :lmao: What will Disney do with so many DIS-Foodies all noshing at once?! :3dglasses Put on your goggles folks it may get ugly!

[Robert P]

B,
I loved the latest review, but that waffle looked like an Eggo having a bad day. And not enough syrup to boot, that's just not right.

The breakfast thingy Jay ordered gave me chills. The picture resembles some kind of Iron Chef attempt at a breakfast cornucopia, gone horribly wrong.

The Epcot food pix, however, made me feel better.

HS

[cdtommie]

Brenda, they may have cheaped out on the maple syrup portions at WPE (assuming it was real maple syrup) because of the cost...maple syrup prices have gone through the roof!

We really like WPE for breakfast because the coffee is good (ie. no Nescrap) and the food is made to order (the breakfast pocket and pizza are very good (no ranch for me please).

Thanks for the review and yes indeed, I was thinking of putting some Optimator in the Passat this weekend...the tank was getting low. (I periodically disappear from the Disney boards (work seems to get in the way sometimes lol) but I have to always read your posts first when I return).

[BreTyPres87]

*Food porn faint* :rotfl: I love your reviews! That tiny cup of syrup at WPE would have highly irritated me it reminds me of what my mom told me about when she worked at Bob's Big Boy (I know not the same line of class :rotfl2:) and they told them to give the tiniest cups of syrup and after a while she got so tired of running back and forth she would give 3 or 4 tiny cups to begin with lol, same thing when I worked at a BBQ restaurant, but its just so inconvenient at a CS place where u have to get it yourself!!:sad2:

[BreTyPres87]

B,
I loved the latest review, but that waffle looked like an Eggo having a bad day. And not enough syrup to boot, that's just not right.

The breakfast thingy Jay ordered gave me chills. The picture resembles some kind of Iron Chef attempt at a breakfast cornucopia, gone horribly wrong

The Epcot food pix, however, made me feel better.

HS

:lmao::lmao: i just about died at this!

[wdwfanatic316]

Thanks for all the great reviews! I'm planning on going to F&W for the first time this Oct, and reading your reviews are definitely giving me a taste :rotfl2: of what to expect!

Can't wait for your conversation with Robert Irvine- I love Dinner Impossible! :goodvibes

[cntkg1]

Great update as usual B. Your Austrailian dessert reminded me of Tiramisu which I love enough to drink out of a dirty cup or lick off of a sidewalk! :goodvibes Sorry you didn't care for it.

I'm thinking Wolfies may be on our list this year. It sounds like both the Tuna and I would enjoy quite a few things there. :thumbsup2

Looking forward to the next report with Robert. :)

[dvc4life]

Brenda - now not to get your dandruff up, but I thought I would share our grilled beef with you. This is what we got when we were there in October of 2008:



http://i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo39/dvc4lifechris/IMG_2137.jpg

We thought it was very tasty and my kids loved it. Sorry you weren't lucky enough to receive the potatoes. That is a shame as they were very good. Hopefully you will get them next time.

Your reviews are great and I'm sad to see this one coming to the end. But it's not over yet!

[Briarmom]

What days are you going in October, Brenda?

[oybolshoi]

What days are you going in October, Brenda?

Briarmom!!! We are booked October 14th (Wednesday) - October 24th (Saturday morning checkout).

Come visit us and lets have some slushies in France! :cool1:

[Briarmom]

Briarmom!!! We are booked October 14th (Wednesday) - October 24th (Saturday morning checkout).

Come visit us and lets have some slushies in France! :cool1:

I keep telling you to come visit my house and we could have slushies in REAL France...
I will keep your dates in mind. I need a F&W trip.:cool2:

I have to save enough money and lose half a ton.:headache:

[oybolshoi]

OK Brenda! I have just done the catch up thing on your reports! Great as always .. and we only have 7 month to get ready for the trip around the lake eater fest! :lmao: What will Disney do with so many DIS-Foodies all noshing at once?! :3dglasses Put on your goggles folks it may get ugly!

Hiya lady! Thanks for taking the time to read and I was thinking along the same lines as you ... only seven more months to go. I've gotta lose weight before I can indulge again!

B,
I loved the latest review, but that waffle looked like an Eggo having a bad day. And not enough syrup to boot, that's just not right.

The breakfast thingy Jay ordered gave me chills. The picture resembles some kind of Iron Chef attempt at a breakfast cornucopia, gone horribly wrong.

The Epcot food pix, however, made me feel better.

HS

:rotfl2: Mr. Scorpio, that was the best five sentence review I've ever read. You should be doing this, not me! :thumbsup2

Brenda, they may have cheaped out on the maple syrup portions at WPE (assuming it was real maple syrup) because of the cost...maple syrup prices have gone through the roof!

We really like WPE for breakfast because the coffee is good (ie. no Nescrap) and the food is made to order (the breakfast pocket and pizza are very good (no ranch for me please).

Thanks for the review and yes indeed, I was thinking of putting some Optimator in the Passat this weekend...the tank was getting low. (I periodically disappear from the Disney boards (work seems to get in the way sometimes lol) but I have to always read your posts first when I return).

Thanks for reading and posting, sir! Mmmmm, optimator sounds pretty good right about now. And you are spot on about the coffee at WPE ... I totally forgot to mention that they don't serve Hot Swill.

*Food porn faint* :rotfl: I love your reviews! That tiny cup of syrup at WPE would have highly irritated me it reminds me of what my mom told me about when she worked at Bob's Big Boy (I know not the same line of class :rotfl2:) and they told them to give the tiniest cups of syrup and after a while she got so tired of running back and forth she would give 3 or 4 tiny cups to begin with lol, same thing when I worked at a BBQ restaurant, but its just so inconvenient at a CS place where u have to get it yourself!!:sad2:

Hi there and thanks for taking the plunge into our food reviews - glad you've enjoyed them! Ahhh, Big Boy ... that brings back good college memories. :thumbsup2

:lmao::lmao: i just about died at this!

He's a funny man ... you should read his reviews!

Thanks for all the great reviews! I'm planning on going to F&W for the first time this Oct, and reading your reviews are definitely giving me a taste :rotfl2: of what to expect!

Can't wait for your conversation with Robert Irvine- I love Dinner Impossible! :goodvibes

Thanks for taking the time to read - glad to know they've been useful. I hope you enjoy your first F&W Festival ... lots of yummy taste treats.

I should prepare you ... our Kitchen Conversation was not so hot, but I'll try to be fair about the experience.

Great update as usual B. Your Austrailian dessert reminded me of Tiramisu which I love enough to drink out of a dirty cup or lick off of a sidewalk! :goodvibes Sorry you didn't care for it.

I'm thinking Wolfies may be on our list this year. It sounds like both the Tuna and I would enjoy quite a few things there.

Looking forward to the next report with Robert. :)

Hi Goosie! The wattleseed mousse wasn't bad it just wasn't what we were really expecting. I wouldn't warn anyone away from it but I'm not interested in eating it again.

Don't look too forward to Kitchen Conversations. You might want to look past it to our final review at Citricos ... that was everything we wanted it to be and more. :lovestruc

Brenda - now not to get your dandruff up, but I thought I would share our grilled beef with you. This is what we got when we were there in October of 2008:

http://i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo39/dvc4lifechris/IMG_2137.jpg

We thought it was very tasty and my kids loved it. Sorry you weren't lucky enough to receive the potatoes. That is a shame as they were very good. Hopefully you will get them next time.

Your reviews are great and I'm sad to see this one coming to the end. But it's not over yet!

Jay said that he wants epcot to send us our mashed taters, Federal Express, with $1 billion to compensate us for pain and suffering. :lmao:

Your sample looks too pretty to eat ... that's how I remember it being!

Thanks for reading ... there still a bit more to come!

What days are you going in October, Brenda?

I'll send you a PM in case you miss my earlier response.

[whogirl'smom]

I must be Jay's long lost sister--I keep agreeing with him on the mixed-up breakfast items! :rotfl:I thought his omelet pizza looked pretty tasty! But, then again, I loved Pop's breakfast pizza with the sausage gravy, eggs and bacon on it....I am really surprised that your waffle wasn't better, because everything we've had at WPE was really good. Have you tried their pizzas? Mmm, spicy chicken with roasted peppers.

I do agree that waffles and pancakes should be swimming in syrup. But I like the fake stuff. :scared1:

[irongirlof12]

splendid reviews as per usual Brenda :thumbsup2

[rentayenta]

Holy crap :faint: I missed two reviews! The Blue Zoo looks fab and so nice you got to hang with some new friends. :thumbsup2



The waffle looks like a doorstop. :scared:

[oybolshoi]

I must be Jay's long lost sister--I keep agreeing with him on the mixed-up breakfast items! :rotfl:I thought his omelet pizza looked pretty tasty! But, then again, I loved Pop's breakfast pizza with the sausage gravy, eggs and bacon on it....I am really surprised that your waffle wasn't better, because everything we've had at WPE was really good. Have you tried their pizzas? Mmm, spicy chicken with roasted peppers.

I do agree that waffles and pancakes should be swimming in syrup. But I like the fake stuff. :scared1:

Some people likes the breakfast mish-mash ... me, not so much. :lmao:

This was the first time that we tried WPE ... never been there for any other meal but I've heard it's very good. Couldn't tell you when we'll get back over there ... years from now I suppose.

And yes ... pancakes and waffles should bathe in syrup. And I can make do with Mrs. Butterworth ... I don't have to have the stuff straight from the tree! :laughing:

splendid reviews as per usual Brenda :thumbsup2

Thanks very much! And I see you now have a scrolling tag ... that's way cool! :thumbsup2

Holy crap :faint: I missed two reviews! The Blue Zoo looks fab and so nice you got to hang with some new friends. :thumbsup2

Blue zoo was amazing ... if you get a chance go there yourself and give it a try. And we had a great time with our DIS-buddies. :goodvibes

The waffle looks like a doorstop. :scared:

Bwwwwwaaaahahahahahaha!!! :rotfl2:

[honeybee30]

Hi, Brenda!

I feel like a dead-beat....I've been away so long....But I just treated myself to marathon food porn (ba chicka wa waaa) and read the whole review in two days. It was crunked up as always. A few random thoughts (in my case, there's rarely any other kind):

First of all, Heather is so jealous of your fancy-shmancy Beedle the Bard. She demands to know why I got her the plain old version and not the jewel encrusted one. I think you may have met your match in dorkiness. Along with Beedle the Bard, I got Heather a bunch of comics and a Buffy the Vampire Slayer action figure for christmas..... :rolleyes: BTW, did you guys do LotR and Kirs for New Years again this year? Or were we the only ones?

I can totally understand why families with children enjoy dining here, but after the first five thunderstorms / eruptions with squawking birds, screeching monkeys, and stampeding elephants (get it ... Stampy!), Jay and I couldn't wait to get the hell out of there.

I'm right there with ya on that one. The Rainforest Cafe should supply complimentary earplugs to all adults upon entering the premises.

Wow. Wolfgang Puck's Upstairs looks so good. We've also been hesitant to try it, but we'll have to give it a swing one of these days. That Shrimp Scampi Risotto reminds me of a decadent shrimp and grits dish that I get at this little restaurant on the NC coast. Drool... We've also had the rainbow roll at the sushi bar downstairs, and it is mighty tasty. :goodvibes

Drink #7: Plum Wine Green Tea Cooler, China

Who is responsible for this swill?
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/438.jpg

Jay's expression says it all. :laughing: Was that not the most disgusting, funky-butt-tasting drink ever! I was soooo disappointed in the green tea plum wine cooler thingy this year. What could they have possibly done to it to make it taste that bad!? :eek:

Surprise of the morning? I really liked the Cream Stout!!! It definitely poured out of the tap like motor oil but it smelled like coffee and had a slightly sweet coffee flavor ... it was really quite good!

Cream Stout is one of Heather's favorite beers! We get it every year, along with the requisite over-priced lobster roll, of course....

Jay opted for a more manly drink and ordered a Maytag Martini – a stiff vodka martini served with blue-cheese stuffed olives. And not just any old stinky blue cheese, but Maytag Blue … a stinky American blue cheese.

Does the Maytag Man drink these?
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/495.jpg

Oh mama! That drink looks good! And the Zweetburger. What a cool dessert! I'm so glad you enjoyed bluezoo. For all of its trendy, pretentious Todd Englishyness, it is a really good restaurant with a low toddler to adult ratio, which is never under-valued at WDW (by us at least...)

[oybolshoi]

Thursday, October 16th - Celebrity is as Celebrity Does ... Could You Please Turn Up the Volume???

In retrospect I booked this event for all the wrong reasons:

1) We can actually purchase Caymus wines in Stinktown ... even Conundrum of which everyone seems so fond.
2) We don't collect "celebrity" cookbooks.
3) Generally speaking we're not all that impressed by famous people.
4) Trying new things isn't always what it's cracked up to be.

Epcot officially describes this event as follows: Discover how an acclaimed television personality enjoys life inside - and outside - the kitchen. Culinary demonstration, single-dish tasting, and an autographed copy of the celebrity's cookbook are included; $75 per person, plus tax (gratuity included).

Yep.

Reading back over that description tells me everything I needed to know about where the Disney Dining Borg are planning to take our beloved F&W Festival in the years to come. Why I was so slow on the uptake is beyond me, but since it provides a convenient excuse I will blame it on a combination of bad eyesight, too many prescription medications, and a burning desire to try a new Festival event.

I realize now that burning sensation was actually a new chronic inflammatory issue making its presence known. :lmao:

This is one of those rare instances where we actually did enjoy the celebrity guest's show on Food Network and thought the event might be a lot of fun. For those people who got good seats and could actually hear the conversation it probably was fun. For those stinky relations like us, who were stuck in a corner (see ... sometimes Bendy does get put in a corner), it was about as much fun as a screen door on a submarine.

Lemme 'splain what happened. The program was scheduled to begin at 2pm - Jay and I finished up some last minute giftie shopping and then made our way over to the Festival Welcome Center (The Wonders of Life Pavilion) to check in. Since we all paid in advance to attend I did not dream that Jay and I (or anyone else) would need to line up days before the event to be seated at a good table.

How stupid of me.

Our penalty for booking on the first day of F&W availability and daring to show up with mere minutes to spare was to be seated at the very back table of the venue ... tucked amongst the potted plants and the peepers who didn't pay to attend but felt no compunction at sticking their heads through the foliage to take in the "show" while loudly discussing everything from their personal moment of spewth on Mission Space to the merits of boxed versus bottled wine. :scared1:

There were two other couples at the table with us and it was pretty obvious that they weren't pleased with the arrangement either. To be fair I will comment that there were large flat-screen monitors set up near our table so that we could watch events unfold on stage but we didn't pay $150 + tax to watch a television show, thanks anyway.

You all need some pictures before I continue with my rancorous review. :laughing:

Table setting … at least the wine glass was fairly generously filled
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/538.jpg

Robert Irvine makes his appearance ...
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/541.jpg

How far were we seated from the stage and the demonstration kitchen?

In a galaxy far, far away ...
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/536.jpg

I'll give Robert Irvine some credit; he was personable and charming and larger than life ... with those tables where he actually stopped to talk to guests. He only wandered so far amongst the tables and never crossed the state line to greet any of us. I wonder if the camera angles were too crappy and if he was told not to go past a certain point? I would like to tell you more about the conversation Mr. Irvine had with the facilitator (Pam Smith?) and all that happy crap but I can't ... it's not even a memory issue this time because we really couldn't hear much of what took place during the 90 minute program. I know the dish he was "preparing" was salmon and he wandered around between tables interacting with guests and there was some discussion of the featured wine for the event - Conundrum - but the finer details are dust in the wind.

Look; it's a conversation! I wonder what they're talking about?

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/542.jpg

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/544.jpg

Our fabulous food?

Pan Seared Salmon with Bok Choy and some stuff. I want to apologize to you in advance because the servings we received were not at all appetizing. Furthermore, the quality of the food was not good - most of the guests at our table received over-cooked, dry salmon. It's the irony of ironies that I received a decently prepared piece of fish when I'm not a big fan of salmon.

Salmon Tongue?
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/548.jpg

This looks like a mistake ...
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/549.jpg

And this looks like Fancy Feast ...
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/550.jpg

From what I understand the food quality at this event was uneven across the board and I think that's absolutely unacceptable. There is no excuse for that kind of poor quality from a culinary team that is supposed to specialize in event preparation and cooking. The next time Jay and I want to overpay for poorly cooked salmon at WDW we'll go back to Artist Point - at least there we can drink more than one glass of wine. Yeah, now I'm snarking at Caymus Wineries ... how about a refill you miserly bastiches?

There was one cool aspect of the afternoon and it was this: Caymus was giving away a monster-sized bottle of Conundrum to one lucky guest (read: not us) who could recite back to Robert Irvine the procedure for properly cooking the dish we'd all been served.

:rotfl2:

I love irony.

:rotfl2:

One of the couples seated at our table won the prize! Of course, Irvine couldn't make it all the way back to our table in the forest primeval so the winner had to walk up for the meet and greet and smile for the camera moment. Still, it was pretty cool seeing one of the shunned take home a giftie that every single one of us would have gladly given our pan seared salmon for!

The winners and their big big bottle of wine! I hope they don't mind my using this image here. :goodvibes

How do you explain this to the TSA?
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/553.jpg

One last picture ... Lori was also at this event but we weren't able to hook up before seating and thus spent the event separated by the vast open space between the welcomes and the not-welcomes. ;) She got a much better table and was even on the receiving end of a hug from Mr. Irvine. I'm glad someone had a good time!

Oybolshoi & BriarRosie ... bluezoo was better!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/555.jpg

For a different perspective on the same event, click on this link to read BriarRosie's excellent review:

Lori liked it just fine! (http://disboards.com/showpost.php?p=28469716&postcount=81)

Our final verdict is that it wouldn't matter who was featured at this event in the future - there is no way we will ever attend a Kitchen Conversation again. The event needs to be held in a private area and attendance needs to be more limited; quite frankly I would have rather been told the afternoon was sold out than pay that kind of money for us to get so little enjoyment from the event. I don't really fault Irvine for much of this, but I do fault the F&W planners who most certainly should have known better than to schedule a program like this in a venue where non-paying guests could wander around to their hearts content unintentionally disrupting the event for some attendees.

I was very disappointed to leave Epcot and the F&W Festival on such a down note, especially since we were going home the next day which was also my birthday. Jay was disappointed too, which is rare ... I'm usually the one with expectations so high that they have no alternative but to come crashing to earth at the speed of sound. But we talked our way through it as we waited one last time for our Disney chariot to whisk us back to the resort. We were having dinner at Citricos for my birthday and we refused to let a poor Festival experience put the exclamation point on our vacation.

Coming soon ... the last review of the trip: Citricos gives Bluezoo a real run for its money!

[PixieDustandEeyore]

i love Robert Irvine he was pretty nifty on Dinner Impossible.... Crappy tables though the salmon tongue looks..um interesting lol

[oybolshoi]

Hi, Brenda!

I feel like a dead-beat....I've been away so long....But I just treated myself to marathon food porn (ba chicka wa waaa) and read the whole review in two days. It was crunked up as always. A few random thoughts (in my case, there's rarely any other kind):

First of all, Heather is so jealous of your fancy-shmancy Beedle the Bard. She demands to know why I got her the plain old version and not the jewel encrusted one. I think you may have met your match in dorkiness. Along with Beedle the Bard, I got Heather a bunch of comics and a Buffy the Vampire Slayer action figure for christmas..... :rolleyes: BTW, did you guys do LotR and Kirs for New Years again this year? Or were we the only ones?

HONEYBEE!!! Long time no see ... it's so good to read a post from you! :hug:

Crunked up? Is that a good thing? Regardless thanks for reading ... what a binge if you pulled it off in two days! I'm impressed. :goodvibes

I loves my beedle the bard ... it's so cool! :thumbsup2

Lemme think ... New Year's Eve ... we were playing with the wii this year and didn't watch any movies at all. Had a tasty dinner and some fancy chocolates with some Rosa Regale ... yum!


I'm right there with ya on that one. The Rainforest Cafe should supply complimentary earplugs to all adults upon entering the premises.

That is a fabulous idea! Maybe you should market it to them?


Wow. Wolfgang Puck's Upstairs looks so good. We've also been hesitant to try it, but we'll have to give it a swing one of these days. That Shrimp Scampi Risotto reminds me of a decadent shrimp and grits dish that I get at this little restaurant on the NC coast. Drool... We've also had the rainbow roll at the sushi bar downstairs, and it is mighty tasty. :goodvibes

The dining room was a very pleasant surprise and that shrimp dish was tremendous! And the sushi bar ... gawd! We've been missing out on so much good food for so long ... I feel much food-related shame. :lmao:


Jay's expression says it all. :laughing: Was that not the most disgusting, funky-butt-tasting drink ever! I was soooo disappointed in the green tea plum wine cooler thingy this year. What could they have possibly done to it to make it taste that bad!? :eek:

That drink used to be one of the most reliable at the entire festival. I don't know what they did but I'm not sure that either one of us will be brave enough to try it again this fall.


Cream Stout is one of Heather's favorite beers! We get it every year, along with the requisite over-priced lobster roll, of course....

It was good ... I think I may be hooked!


Oh mama! That drink looks good! And the Zweetburger. What a cool dessert! I'm so glad you enjoyed bluezoo. For all of its trendy, pretentious Todd Englishyness, it is a really good restaurant with a low toddler to adult ratio, which is never under-valued at WDW (by us at least...)

Bluezoo was really one of the highlights of our trip - we liked it so much we're going back again this October. And we did really enjoy the grown-up atmosphere - very refreshing not to worry about little ones running around or throwing tantrums or falling asleep in their food. :laughing:

i love Robert Irvine he was pretty nifty on Dinner Impossible.... Crappy tables though the salmon tongue looks..um interesting lol

We always enjoyed Dinner Impossible as well. He was fine it was just everything else that was crappy for us.

Thanks for reading and be sure to come back ... my next (and last) review for this trip will be a good one for sure!

[BreTyPres87]

I'm soooo disappointed in reading that review this is the man who got on volunteers because something was placed wrong on the plate during a Dinner Impossible episode, that salmon looks horrendous!(for the record i'm not muh of a salmon eater either!) I'm sorry you forked over so much money for such a blah experience wow that sucks I love Robert Irvine and was sad to see him replaced on Dinner Impossible but seriously I heard him say a milion times on that show he wasnt serving anything halfway under his name what happened?!!! even if the salmon was perfectly cooked its not a very creative dish :confused3

[Tink rules]

So I take it that Bobby (not Flay) didn't cook everyone's dish individually??? He does so much better in a half hour on TV... go figure... :confused3

They definately need to do those events in private... like they couldn't find someplace to have it... :confused3:confused3:confused3

& take your time with Citricos... we need to make it last... :rolleyes:

[cntkg1]

Hmmmmm,what can I say B? Looking forward to your next review?? ;):goodvibes

[*KeepMovingForward*]

I remember Lori saying in her review how you and Jay were placed in the outer limits for this event. Its really a shame because the event had the potential to be great for everyone. Back in 2005 we had done a lunch and learn with Ming Tsai and they held it in the Odyssey. No interlopers and everyone there could see and hear everything that was going on. Maybe they will reevaluate the kitchen conversations and hold them someplace different this year, although I probably wouldn't hold my breath. Disney seems so determined to make use of the old Wonders of Life Pavilion for the F&W events now. :sad2: I am totally amazed by the differences in dishes from one person to the next. Maybe somebody in the kitchen thought it would be cute to cut the salmon up into a variety of shapes and sizes? :rotfl:

[oybolshoi]

I'm soooo disappointed in reading that review this is the man who got on volunteers because something was placed wrong on the plate during a Dinner Impossible episode, that salmon looks horrendous!(for the record i'm not muh of a salmon eater either!) I'm sorry you forked over so much money for such a blah experience wow that sucks I love Robert Irvine and was sad to see him replaced on Dinner Impossible but seriously I heard him say a milion times on that show he wasnt serving anything halfway under his name what happened?!!! even if the salmon was perfectly cooked its not a very creative dish :confused3

Yeah, I was surprised at the lack of presentation and the inconsistency of the food quality. And I recall hearing him make that kind of comment about not serving "icky" stuff unger his name, too. My guess would be that Disney drove a dumptruck full of money up to his house to change his mind. :lmao:

And you make a great point - it wasn't a very creative dish at all. I was disappointed by that.

Thanks for reading!

So I take it that Bobby (not Flay) didn't cook everyone's dish individually??? He does so much better in a half hour on TV... go figure... :confused3

They definately need to do those events in private... like they couldn't find someplace to have it... :confused3:confused3:confused3

& take your time with Citricos... we need to make it last... :rolleyes:

Yeah, they definitely need to move these events back to the Odyssey but I doubt that will happen because it would cost them more money to do that.

It will be a few days at least for Citricos but once it's done I'm taking a break. I don't have a choice really - the workplace is getting wacked out lately and ain't likely to change through the end of the second quarter.

Hmmmmm,what can I say B? Looking forward to your next review?? ;):goodvibes

Thanks for reading Goosie ... the next review will be worth your time! :flower3:

I remember Lori saying in her review how you and Jay were placed in the outer limits for this event. Its really a shame because the event had the potential to be great for everyone. Back in 2005 we had done a lunch and learn with Ming Tsai and they held it in the Odyssey. No interlopers and everyone there could see and hear everything that was going on. Maybe they will reevaluate the kitchen conversations and hold them someplace different this year, although I probably wouldn't hold my breath. Disney seems so determined to make use of the old Wonders of Life Pavilion for the F&W events now. :sad2: I am totally amazed by the differences in dishes from one person to the next. Maybe somebody in the kitchen thought it would be cute to cut the salmon up into a variety of shapes and sizes? :rotfl:


We definitely were seated in the outer limits. :laughing: You said the same thing that Jay did - the event had a lot of potential. And I agree that the Odyssey would have been the perfect venue for this although I did hear from people who attended other Kitchen Conversations during the Festival who didn't have the same problems that we did. That might be because they weren't as heavily attended but I'm just guessing.

[whogirl'smom]

I'm so sorry this was such a disappointment, but you had me :lmao::rotfl2: all the way through! Did you reach back and smack the people's heads that had poked through the trees? Unbelievable.

I am sure your cat would have appreciated the salmon dish--my cat won't eat it. Isn't that weird? He sure loves some peas, though!

[Robert P]

Two off topic whacky comments:

1 - you saw Salmon Tongue, I saw McRib. If we combine those ideas, we could call it McTongue. (it even had a garnish of pickles on the plate).

2 - "Nobody puts Bendy in a corner".

Still, loved the review.

[cdtommie]

Brenda, 75 bucks for a salmon sample a mile away from the chef is crazy (conundrum is fine by me - we buy it by the case)...I miss the old lunch and learns for the same price with three courses. I bet the tab will only be worse this year when we go (Oct 17-27). Deb's shows price increases for the California F&W events so it's likely WDW will follow.

[ChelleinNC]

Yeah, I was surprised at the lack of presentation and the inconsistency of the food quality. And I recall hearing him make that kind of comment about not serving "icky" stuff unger his name, too. My guess would be that Disney drove a dumptruck full of money up to his house to change his mind. :lmao:

Yeah, they definitely need to move these events back to the Odyssey but I doubt that will happen because it would cost them more money to do that.

We definitely were seated in the outer limits. :laughing: You said the same thing that Jay did - the event had a lot of potential. And I agree that the Odyssey would have been the perfect venue for this although I did hear from people who attended other Kitchen Conversations during the Festival who didn't have the same problems that we did. That might be because they weren't as heavily attended but I'm just guessing.

Things like this are making me wonder if DH & I should come this fall to try out F&W :confused3

I'm so sorry this was such a disappointment, but you had me :lmao::rotfl2: all the way through! Did you reach back and smack the people's heads that had poked through the trees? Unbelievable.


Smacking the poking heads :lmao: love that!

Two off topic whacky comments:

1 - you saw Salmon Tongue, I saw McRib. If we combine those ideas, we could call it McTongue. (it even had a garnish of pickles on the plate).

2 - "Nobody puts Bendy in a corner".

Still, loved the review.

1. eewww :sick:
2. :laughing: I wanna see Bendy dance

Brenda, 75 bucks for a salmon sample a mile away from the chef is crazy (conundrum is fine by me - we buy it by the case)...I miss the old lunch and learns for the same price with three courses. I bet the tab will only be worse this year when we go (Oct 17-27). Deb's shows price increases for the California F&W events so it's likely WDW will follow.

:sad2:

[Hedy]

Briarmom!!! We are booked October 14th (Wednesday) - October 24th (Saturday morning checkout).

Come visit us and lets have some slushies in France! :cool1:

I get in 10/22.

Sorry the Robert Irvine thing was a bust.

[MickeyNicki]

The salmon tongue had me laughing my pants off...and at work that is not a pretty sight!

Cannot wait to hear all about Citrico's, thinking of trying that in Oct.

[D&R love Disney]

Thursday, October 16th - Wurra! The Final Day Arrives and We're Still Hungry!

In the continued interests of trying new and potentially scary eating establishments, Jay and I hoofed it over to Downtown Disney for breakfast on this sunny, warm, and humid morning. We had discussed dining here before ever leaving Stinktown to embark on our delicious voyage of food discovery and the conversation went something like this:

Brenda: Peeps on the DIS rave frothy about WPE QS; you know, at DTD.

Jason: Huh?

Brenda (very loudly): PEEPS ON THE DIS RAVE FROTHY ABOUT WPE QS; YOU KNOW …AT DTD!!!

Jason: In English – you know I’m acronym averse!

Brenda: Uh, no; actually I didn’t know that. Anyway, I've noticed lately there seem to be a lot of people on the restaurant forums who have really good things to say about Wolfgang Puck Express; I thought we could give it a try for breakfast one morning since it’s within easy walking distance of the resort.

Jason: I should have known you were talking about food.

:lmao:

Since the restaurant doesn't open until 9AM we basically had the place to ourselves when we arrived. I was not feeling well at all this day ... I suppose the previous day's gluttony and overly rich food was finally catching up with my intestinal tract. And it didn't help that I was suffering from a bout of the end-o-trip blues, either. So what did I do in my infinite wisdom, knowing that the Crohn goblin was stirring and it was going to be a hot, sticky day?

I ordered a Belgian Waffle with whipped cream. It was served with fresh fruit and a miserly portion of maple syrup.

It looks better than it tastes
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/522.jpg

In retrospect I should have been more picky and demanding when I placed my order. For one thing, I don't really like whipped cream on my waffles. That was easily disposed of however; I just used my fork to transfer the whole glob into my coffee cup. I like a little bit of butter and a whole lotta syrup for my waffles, neither of which I received. I also should have asked for my fruit to be served on the side - it would have been much easier for Jay and me to share. The waffle was well cooked and had a light, sweet flavor but it was on the dry side and there was just not enough maple syrup in that weensy plastic container to drown the dry. I suppose I could have asked for more but when I get into this kind of moody funk the fewer people I interact with the better.

Jay selected Wolfgang’s Breakfast Pocket for his morning meal: scrambled eggs, peppers, Niman Ranch bacon, onions, mushrooms, mozzarella and cheddar cheeses baked into Wolfie’s signature pizza dough.

On a different day, sans mushrooms, I might have ordered something like this
The husband really enjoyed this - he said it was like eating a great omelet that's been tucked inside perfectly baked pizza dough. Right now it sounds pretty tasty but that morning the sight of it made me want to hurl. :laughing:

From Downtown Disney we snagged a ride on a bus over to the Boardwalk and then made our way into Epcot through the International Gateway. Once the World Showcase opened our first stop was at Ireland for a quick caffeine infusion - I don't know about the rest of you, but frozen alcoholic coffee always makes me feel better.

Frozen Irish Coffee … that’s what they called this. I think it’s coffee, melted ice cream, and a splish of Bailey’s. It’s good but I’m always on the fence as to whether or not it’s $7.50 worth of good. Especially since they didn’t even serve it in a cute little plastic coffee cup like they did last year. So that means we’re being charged a lot for even less boozinated caffeine and that makes me sad.

Do you know how hard it is to drink something like this in cup with no handles?
Along our wanderings we stopped in Buenos Aires, Argentina because Jay likes the kind of stuff they serve at their booth. We ordered the Beef and Corn Pie and the Grilled Beef with Chimichurri Sauce

Meh...
Time for some brutal truth: the beef and corn pie was nasty - overcooked with chewy chunks of some kind of meat. I found this disappointing because it could have and should have been so much better. Our other choice wasn't bad as long as a certain someone could eat around the violently green sauce but I thought the beef was a little stringy. Also, in years past when this has been served at the F&W Festival it usually was resting on a bed of some kind of tasty, mashed vegetable which we both really enjoyed; sadly this year the mash was missing.

We also paid a visit to Santiago, Chile, where we purchased some Shrimp with Cilantro Salsa. This was just as disappointing ... prior festival samples of this item yielded generous servings of shrimp with a lightly spiced salsa. Our sample had three shrimpies and a whole lotta of runny salsa which tasted of vinegar.

Not at all good

Blech! After trying this I was just about ready to drink one of those nasty wine coolers from China to wash the awful taste from my mouth. And speaking of China ... by the time we arrived there my intestines seemed to have straightened themselves out and I was hungry ... still very tired but definitely in need of a pick-me-up. The Chicken sha-cha has always been a safe bet so I parked myself on a shady bench and waited for my lovey to return to me with chick-on-a-stick and a beer.

Chicken Sha Cha Cha

The beer that Jay purchased was Yanjing Beer - the other official beer of the Beijing Olympics. Michelle and Steve had suggested that we give it a try and they were spot on - it was quite good and much better than the singing toe beer that usually is sold at the China booth. My chicken was OK - a little overdone and chewier than usual, but it still had nice flavor, in part thanks to the sauce it was drizzled with.

And then to finish up our grazing before heading over to the Festival Welcome Center and our Kitchen Conversation with Robert Irvine, we stopped in Australia to sample a taste treat called Wattleseed Mousse!

Weetles wattle and then end up in dessert

How best to describe this? It was light and custardy and sweet but the taste actually reminded us of coffee. It wasn't bad but it was a little odd ... I think it might have been better on a less warm day when it wasn't being digested on top of 12 ounces of Chinese beer. :rotfl2:

I'm glad we tried it because with a name like wattleseed it demands to be eaten but I'm not sure that we'd eat it again. I always find the dessert options in Australia to be a disappointment ... if they're not making something that's crawling with macadamia nuts they're offering up desserts made from seeds named after birds. Maybe next year ... ooops, now that's this year ... they can offer up a chocolate covered dingo delight. ;)

And thus ended our F&W snacking for the trip. We disappointed ourselves because we didn't hit up every booth, although some of that was from choice. Canada hasn't offered anything new in so long that we don't even stop to look at their menu board and South Africa isn't much better. And while we wanted to try the booth from Austria their food choices just never sounded all that appealing to us when we happened to be there. Overall we were pleased with much of our grazing - there were some misses but for the most part we enjoyed our snacking and thought much (not all) of the food was well prepared and tasty. We're looking forward to trying to eat the entire World Showcase one last time in October 2009!

Next up: a review of Kitchen Conversations ... Turn up the Volume!


I've been a fan of WPE since we found the little hole in the wall back in 1996. Never tried breakfast though. I love waffles but don't want whipped cream on them unless they are a dessert waffle.

Your booth foods didn't look very appealing, not a very good day for Disney dining for you :sad2:
Thursday, October 16th - Celebrity is as Celebrity Does ... Could You Please Turn Up the Volume???

In retrospect I booked this event for all the wrong reasons:

1) We can actually purchase Caymus wines in Stinktown ... even Conundrum of which everyone seems so fond.
2) We don't collect "celebrity" cookbooks.
3) Generally speaking we're not all that impressed by famous people.
4) Trying new things isn't always what it's cracked up to be.

Epcot officially describes this event as follows: Discover how an acclaimed television personality enjoys life inside - and outside - the kitchen. Culinary demonstration, single-dish tasting, and an autographed copy of the celebrity's cookbook are included; $75 per person, plus tax (gratuity included).

Yep.

Reading back over that description tells me everything I needed to know about where the Disney Dining Borg are planning to take our beloved F&W Festival in the years to come. Why I was so slow on the uptake is beyond me, but since it provides a convenient excuse I will blame it on a combination of bad eyesight, too many prescription medications, and a burning desire to try a new Festival event.

I realize now that burning sensation was actually a new chronic inflammatory issue making its presence known. :lmao:

This is one of those rare instances where we actually did enjoy the celebrity guest's show on Food Network and thought the event might be a lot of fun. For those people who got good seats and could actually hear the conversation it probably was fun. For those stinky relations like us, who were stuck in a corner (see ... sometimes Bendy does get put in a corner), it was about as much fun as a screen door on a submarine.

Lemme 'splain what happened. The program was scheduled to begin at 2pm - Jay and I finished up some last minute giftie shopping and then made our way over to the Festival Welcome Center (The Wonders of Life Pavilion) to check in. Since we all paid in advance to attend I did not dream that Jay and I (or anyone else) would need to line up days before the event to be seated at a good table.

How stupid of me.

Our penalty for booking on the first day of F&W availability and daring to show up with mere minutes to spare was to be seated at the very back table of the venue ... tucked amongst the potted plants and the peepers who didn't pay to attend but felt no compunction at sticking their heads through the foliage to take in the "show" while loudly discussing everything from their personal moment of spewth on Mission Space to the merits of boxed versus bottled wine. :scared1:

There were two other couples at the table with us and it was pretty obvious that they weren't pleased with the arrangement either. To be fair I will comment that there were large flat-screen monitors set up near our table so that we could watch events unfold on stage but we didn't pay $150 + tax to watch a television show, thanks anyway.

You all need some pictures before I continue with my rancorous review. :laughing:

Table setting … at least the wine glass was fairly generously filled
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/538.jpg

Robert Irvine makes his appearance ...
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/541.jpg

How far were we seated from the stage and the demonstration kitchen?

In a galaxy far, far away ...
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/536.jpg

I'll give Robert Irvine some credit; he was personable and charming and larger than life ... with those tables where he actually stopped to talk to guests. He only wandered so far amongst the tables and never crossed the state line to greet any of us. I wonder if the camera angles were too crappy and if he was told not to go past a certain point? I would like to tell you more about the conversation Mr. Irvine had with the facilitator (Pam Smith?) and all that happy crap but I can't ... it's not even a memory issue this time because we really couldn't hear much of what took place during the 90 minute program. I know the dish he was "preparing" was salmon and he wandered around between tables interacting with guests and there was some discussion of the featured wine for the event - Conundrum - but the finer details are dust in the wind.

Look; it's a conversation! I wonder what they're talking about?

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/542.jpg

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/544.jpg

Our fabulous food?

Pan Seared Salmon with Bok Choy and some stuff. I want to apologize to you in advance because the servings we received were not at all appetizing. Furthermore, the quality of the food was not good - most of the guests at our table received over-cooked, dry salmon. It's the irony of ironies that I received a decently prepared piece of fish when I'm not a big fan of salmon.

Salmon Tongue?
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/548.jpg

This looks like a mistake ...
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/549.jpg

And this looks like Fancy Feast ...
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/550.jpg

From what I understand the food quality at this event was uneven across the board and I think that's absolutely unacceptable. There is no excuse for that kind of poor quality from a culinary team that is supposed to specialize in event preparation and cooking. The next time Jay and I want to overpay for poorly cooked salmon at WDW we'll go back to Artist Point - at least there we can drink more than one glass of wine. Yeah, now I'm snarking at Caymus Wineries ... how about a refill you miserly bastiches?

There was one cool aspect of the afternoon and it was this: Caymus was giving away a monster-sized bottle of Conundrum to one lucky guest (read: not us) who could recite back to Robert Irvine the procedure for properly cooking the dish we'd all been served.

:rotfl2:

I love irony.

:rotfl2:

One of the couples seated at our table won the prize! Of course, Irvine couldn't make it all the way back to our table in the forest primeval so the winner had to walk up for the meet and greet and smile for the camera moment. Still, it was pretty cool seeing one of the shunned take home a giftie that every single one of us would have gladly given our pan seared salmon for!

The winners and their big big bottle of wine! I hope they don't mind my using this image here. :goodvibes

How do you explain this to the TSA?
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/553.jpg

One last picture ... Lori was also at this event but we weren't able to hook up before seating and thus spent the event separated by the vast open space between the welcomes and the not-welcomes. ;) She got a much better table and was even on the receiving end of a hug from Mr. Irvine. I'm glad someone had a good time!

Oybolshoi & BriarRosie ... bluezoo was better!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/555.jpg

For a different perspective on the same event, click on this link to read BriarRosie's excellent review:

Lori liked it just fine! (http://disboards.com/showpost.php?p=28469716&postcount=81)

Our final verdict is that it wouldn't matter who was featured at this event in the future - there is no way we will ever attend a Kitchen Conversation again. The event needs to be held in a private area and attendance needs to be more limited; quite frankly I would have rather been told the afternoon was sold out than pay that kind of money for us to get so little enjoyment from the event. I don't really fault Irvine for much of this, but I do fault the F&W planners who most certainly should have known better than to schedule a program like this in a venue where non-paying guests could wander around to their hearts content unintentionally disrupting the event for some attendees.

I was very disappointed to leave Epcot and the F&W Festival on such a down note, especially since we were going home the next day which was also my birthday. Jay was disappointed too, which is rare ... I'm usually the one with expectations so high that they have no alternative but to come crashing to earth at the speed of sound. But we talked our way through it as we waited one last time for our Disney chariot to whisk us back to the resort. We were having dinner at Citricos for my birthday and we refused to let a poor Festival experience put the exclamation point on our vacation.

Coming soon ... the last review of the trip: Citricos gives Bluezoo a real run for its money!

Bummer on the event all around. I like watching Robert on tv and his food is interesting but that salmon looks terrible :scared: and not very edible. And, don't they know it's just not right to put Bendy in the corner :rotfl:

Looking forward to Citricos, I think we'll be going there in September based on your recommondation since it's been about 5 years since we last ate there.

[BriarRosie]

Thursday, October 16th - Celebrity is as Celebrity Does ... Could You Please Turn Up the Volume???

In retrospect I booked this event for all the wrong reasons:

1) We can actually purchase Caymus wines in Stinktown ... even Conundrum of which everyone seems so fond.
2) We don't collect "celebrity" cookbooks.
3) Generally speaking we're not all that impressed by famous people.
4) Trying new things isn't always what it's cracked up to be.

Epcot officially describes this event as follows: Discover how an acclaimed television personality enjoys life inside - and outside - the kitchen. Culinary demonstration, single-dish tasting, and an autographed copy of the celebrity's cookbook are included; $75 per person, plus tax (gratuity included).

Yep.

I like Conundrum and Robert Irvine, so I thought it was a nice fit when I booked it.


Reading back over that description tells me everything I needed to know about where the Disney Dining Borg are planning to take our beloved F&W Festival in the years to come. Why I was so slow on the uptake is beyond me, but since it provides a convenient excuse I will blame it on a combination of bad eyesight, too many prescription medications, and a burning desire to try a new Festival event.

I realize now that burning sensation was actually a new chronic inflammatory issue making its presence known. :lmao:

Well, I really miss the Lunch and Learn. You got 3 courses with wine, and they charged the same price. That was the thing that got me when I first saw these Kitchen Conversation events. I tried hard to convince myself to go, and I probably wouldn't have if it weren't the wine/chef combo we had.


This is one of those rare instances where we actually did enjoy the celebrity guest's show on Food Network and thought the event might be a lot of fun. For those people who got good seats and could actually hear the conversation it probably was fun. For those stinky relations like us, who were stuck in a corner (see ... sometimes Bendy does get put in a corner), it was about as much fun as a screen door on a submarine.

Lemme 'splain what happened. The program was scheduled to begin at 2pm - Jay and I finished up some last minute giftie shopping and then made our way over to the Festival Welcome Center (The Wonders of Life Pavilion) to check in. Since we all paid in advance to attend I did not dream that Jay and I (or anyone else) would need to line up days before the event to be seated at a good table.

How stupid of me.

I was equally as stupid. I was running late and knew it should be a good idea to get in line early for seating. I knew better and should have mentioned it at Toddy's Place. :headache: At least somehow I lucked out as a "single" and made it to a decent table.


Our penalty for booking on the first day of F&W availability and daring to show up with mere minutes to spare was to be seated at the very back table of the venue ... tucked amongst the potted plants and the peepers who didn't pay to attend but felt no compunction at sticking their heads through the foliage to take in the "show" while loudly discussing everything from their personal moment of spewth on Mission Space to the merits of boxed versus bottled wine. :scared1:

There were two other couples at the table with us and it was pretty obvious that they weren't pleased with the arrangement either. To be fair I will comment that there were large flat-screen monitors set up near our table so that we could watch events unfold on stage but we didn't pay $150 + tax to watch a television show, thanks anyway.

I probably would have said something about the looky-loos to the cast members who worked the event. They might have been able to rope off the area or something.


How far were we seated from the stage and the demonstration kitchen?

In a galaxy far, far away ...
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/536.jpg

I'll give Robert Irvine some credit; he was personable and charming and larger than life ... with those tables where he actually stopped to talk to guests. He only wandered so far amongst the tables and never crossed the state line to greet any of us. I wonder if the camera angles were too crappy and if he was told not to go past a certain point? I would like to tell you more about the conversation Mr. Irvine had with the facilitator (Pam Smith?) and all that happy crap but I can't ... it's not even a memory issue this time because we really couldn't hear much of what took place during the 90 minute program. I know the dish he was "preparing" was salmon and he wandered around between tables interacting with guests and there was some discussion of the featured wine for the event - Conundrum - but the finer details are dust in the wind.

Wow, I would have said, "We can't hear you back here!" I'm not shy. Pam Smith does host all these events.


Look; it's a conversation! I wonder what they're talking about?

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/542.jpg

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/544.jpg

Our fabulous food?

Pan Seared Salmon with Bok Choy and some stuff. I want to apologize to you in advance because the servings we received were not at all appetizing. Furthermore, the quality of the food was not good - most of the guests at our table received over-cooked, dry salmon. It's the irony of ironies that I received a decently prepared piece of fish when I'm not a big fan of salmon.

Salmon Tongue?
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/548.jpg

This looks like a mistake ...
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/549.jpg

And this looks like Fancy Feast ...
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/550.jpg

From what I understand the food quality at this event was uneven across the board and I think that's absolutely unacceptable. There is no excuse for that kind of poor quality from a culinary team that is supposed to specialize in event preparation and cooking. The next time Jay and I want to overpay for poorly cooked salmon at WDW we'll go back to Artist Point - at least there we can drink more than one glass of wine. Yeah, now I'm snarking at Caymus Wineries ... how about a refill you miserly bastiches?

1. The Salmon. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that when your prep kitchen is located a few floors above you and there's transport time to be factored in, the quality can suffer. Oh yeah, it did take a rocket scientist to figure it out. The guy sitting next to me who works at NASA mentioned this.

He gave up his plate to me out of some whacked out sense of chivalry, because the server didn't have enough plates for our table. It turned out he got the "good" batch of fish when they came back to serve him, as we got a dry batch at our table. He tasted his wife's fish, and then told us to try his. It was a big difference.

The irony was that Robert Irvine did talk about preventing dry salmon by making sure it was seared well first before putting it in an oven. He did also get on the case of the guy in charge of the kitchen because he asked if we did get dry fish.

2. Those stingy bastages at Conundrum didn't bring enough wine to the event to give any refills. That didn't go unnoticed at our table, either.


There was one cool aspect of the afternoon and it was this: Caymus was giving away a monster-sized bottle of Conundrum to one lucky guest (read: not us) who could recite back to Robert Irvine the procedure for properly cooking the dish we'd all been served.

:rotfl2:

I love irony.

:rotfl2:

I was too busy in conversation with NASA man and his wife to pay close attention to the cooking process. :laughing:


One of the couples seated at our table won the prize! Of course, Irvine couldn't make it all the way back to our table in the forest primeval so the winner had to walk up for the meet and greet and smile for the camera moment. Still, it was pretty cool seeing one of the shunned take home a giftie that every single one of us would have gladly given our pan seared salmon for!

The winners and their big big bottle of wine! I hope they don't mind my using this image here. :goodvibes

How do you explain this to the TSA?
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/553.jpg

ROFL! I thought about the TSA when I saw that ginormous bottle, too!


One last picture ... Lori was also at this event but we weren't able to hook up before seating and thus spent the event separated by the vast open space between the welcomes and the not-welcomes. ;) She got a much better table and was even on the receiving end of a hug from Mr. Irvine. I'm glad someone had a good time!

Oybolshoi & BriarRosie ... bluezoo was better!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/555.jpg

And I'm modeling the official Festival tshirt from the prior year, the one we both had issues finding. But you didn't have a friend who found the shirt for you a week later like I did. :rolleyes: And I like this photo better than the sweaty self-portrait one of me and my BFF Robert. :)


For a different perspective on the same event, click on this link to read BriarRosie's excellent review:

Lori liked it just fine! (http://disboards.com/showpost.php?p=28469716&postcount=81)

Well, I liked it "just ok" for the most part. I had issues with the food and the wine, but getting the greeting by Robert Irvine made up for it. I will not book this event again, as I really didn't perceive the value in it for what we actually got.


Our final verdict is that it wouldn't matter who was featured at this event in the future - there is no way we will ever attend a Kitchen Conversation again. The event needs to be held in a private area and attendance needs to be more limited; quite frankly I would have rather been told the afternoon was sold out than pay that kind of money for us to get so little enjoyment from the event. I don't really fault Irvine for much of this, but I do fault the F&W planners who most certainly should have known better than to schedule a program like this in a venue where non-paying guests could wander around to their hearts content unintentionally disrupting the event for some attendees.

That's why I'm using the money I would be paying for special events (with the exception of the Party for the Senses) for lots of good dinners instead. Moving events from the Odyssey building into the Wonders of Life space was a mistake, too.


I was very disappointed to leave Epcot and the F&W Festival on such a down note, especially since we were going home the next day which was also my birthday. Jay was disappointed too, which is rare ... I'm usually the one with expectations so high that they have no alternative but to come crashing to earth at the speed of sound. But we talked our way through it as we waited one last time for our Disney chariot to whisk us back to the resort. We were having dinner at Citricos for my birthday and we refused to let a poor Festival experience put the exclamation point on our vacation.

Coming soon ... the last review of the trip: Citricos gives Bluezoo a real run for its money!

Oh good, you ended your trip on a high note! :banana:

[wilma-bride]

:mad: Nobody puts Bendy in a corner

Sounds like a pretty naff experience to me Brenda :sad2:

[Tatania]

Bendy, you outdid yourself in the "Kitchen Conversations with Robert Irvine" review. By the time I got to the "Fancy Feast" caption, I was literally howling with laughter and the other folks in the house were giving me very odd looks. How do you come up with lines like: "as much fun as a screen door on a submarine."?

Anyway, I was telling my sister the other day but I'm toying with the idea of going to the 2009 F & W Festival - though taking a business leave from work during these economic times is looking less feasible by the week. She's never been to Disney World and immediately chimed in that she'd love to go to the Festival because she heard how amazing it is. Well, after reading your reviews and those of other attendees, I had to bring her down to earth quickly by telling her that the festival seems to have changed for the worse as the years go by. The overcrowded cooking demos, the ever shrinking portions accompanied by higher prices at the food booths, and the pandemonium at events like "Dining for the Senses", is probably not the best introduction to Disney World for someone who's never been there.

[oybolshoi]

I'm so sorry this was such a disappointment, but you had me :lmao::rotfl2: all the way through! Did you reach back and smack the people's heads that had poked through the trees? Unbelievable.

Well, it could have been worse but it sure could have been a lot better. I'm glad you enjoyed reading about it ... I always try to poke fun, even when I'm upset about something. As for those peepers ... I wish I had smacked them on their heads! :lmao:

I am sure your cat would have appreciated the salmon dish--my cat won't eat it. Isn't that weird? He sure loves some peas, though!

Oh yes - Handsome Pete would have been all over that salmon. He loves salmon (and tuna). And he also likes fresh spinach ... I think he'd get along just fine with your kitty. :goodvibes


Two off topic whacky comments:

1 - you saw Salmon Tongue, I saw McRib. If we combine those ideas, we could call it McTongue. (it even had a garnish of pickles on the plate).

2 - "Nobody puts Bendy in a corner".

Still, loved the review.

Thanks for reading!

McTongue ... :rotfl2: It could be a seasonal item on WacArnold's menu!

And the corner comment ... I thought I was going to soil myself I laughed so hard. :rotfl2:

Brenda, 75 bucks for a salmon sample a mile away from the chef is crazy (conundrum is fine by me - we buy it by the case)...I miss the old lunch and learns for the same price with three courses. I bet the tab will only be worse this year when we go (Oct 17-27). Deb's shows price increases for the California F&W events so it's likely WDW will follow.

Yeah, it was overpriced for the end result, that's for sure. Of course the autographed cookbook was definitely factored into the event cost but it's not that good a cookbook, ya know what I mean?

I wish we could have attended the event that featured one of the chef's from Commander's Palace in Nola. That's one of our favorite restaurants and a cookbook from that place would already have slop stains from my recreation efforts. :lmao:

Ah well, live and learn. This year we'll use that money for a tasty dinner somewhere. And I think you're spot on about the price increases this year - I noticed that the DL F&W prices had jumped this year, too. :rolleyes:

Things like this are making me wonder if DH & I should come this fall to try out F&W :confused3

Oh no ... don't change your plans because we pre-paid for a special event that turned out to be not-so-special. You two will have a great time just eating your way around the WS food booths and you might be able to catch a free cooking demo or wine tasting. Unfortunately it's just the special events that have become something of a crapshoot over the last few years - they used to be as reliable as a bowel movement after a dose of Exlax, but now you just never know.


Smacking the poking heads :lmao: love that!

I thought that was a pretty good idea, too - wish I'd actually done it!



1. eewww :sick:
2. :laughing: I wanna see Bendy dance

Actually if you ever saw me dance you'd just reverse the order of your numbers in that last part of your post. :rotfl2:


I get in 10/22.

Sorry the Robert Irvine thing was a bust.

Excellent - another October friendie! Bob was a bust but at least we tried something (and know never to try it again!). Thanks for reading!



The salmon tongue had me laughing my pants off...and at work that is not a pretty sight!

Cannot wait to hear all about Citrico's, thinking of trying that in Oct.

Hiya Nicki! Thanks for reading - glad to hear I was able to give you a laugh! You will love Citricos ... amazing food and if I do say so, our pictures are oh-so-yummy!

[oybolshoi]

I've been a fan of WPE since we found the little hole in the wall back in 1996. Never tried breakfast though. I love waffles but don't want whipped cream on them unless they are a dessert waffle.

I guess I shouldn't complain too much about WPE breakfast - Jay was very happy with his choice, and all of our other dining experiences at Wolfie's establishments on the WestSide were outstanding. It just wasn't my morning - sometimes that happens.

Your booth foods didn't look very appealing, not a very good day for Disney dining for you :sad2:

Yeah ... it was an icky morning. The good news is that we finished strong at Citricos ... I can't wait to share that with everyone!

Bummer on the event all around. I like watching Robert on tv and his food is interesting but that salmon looks terrible :scared: and not very edible. And, don't they know it's just not right to put Bendy in the corner :rotfl:

The salmon was not enjoyable and neither was the event - and we like Dinner Impossible quite a bit. Irvine did seem like a pretty decent guy but I don't think he had much control over anything that afternoon.

Bendy in a corner ... :rotfl2:

Looking forward to Citricos, I think we'll be going there in September based on your recommondation since it's been about 5 years since we last ate there.

Citricos was amazing and I think you're going to be very happy with your decision to dine there. At least, I hope you're going to be happy because if not I'm really going to feel terrible.


I like Conundrum and Robert Irvine, so I thought it was a nice fit when I booked it.

Us, too.


Well, I really miss the Lunch and Learn. You got 3 courses with wine, and they charged the same price. That was the thing that got me when I first saw these Kitchen Conversation events. I tried hard to convince myself to go, and I probably wouldn't have if it weren't the wine/chef combo we had.

I think we would have liked that event a lot better, especially for the pricetag. And I wanted to try something new so badly and was so disappointed that F&W eliminated most of their signature dinners that I went a little crazy looking for a replacement. We would have been happier spending one last afternoon at the pool ... won't make the same mistake twice!


I was equally as stupid. I was running late and knew it should be a good idea to get in line early for seating. I knew better and should have mentioned it at Toddy's Place. :headache: At least somehow I lucked out as a "single" and made it to a decent table.

I was getting worried about you when we arrived and couldn't find you. You just have good karma, Lori - I'm glad you aced a good a seat!

I probably would have said something about the looky-loos to the cast members who worked the event. They might have been able to rope off the area or something.

That's a great idea but I don't recall seeing any CMs hanging out near our table. They probably needed a map to find us. :rotfl2:


Wow, I would have said, "We can't hear you back here!" I'm not shy. Pam Smith does host all these events.

I do know that one lady at our table did get up and find a CM to complain about the sound issue but nothing really changed. I applaud her for taking the initiative to do so ... which is more than I did. The only time I got up was when I had to sneak through those potted plants to visit the bathroom. :lmao:

1. The Salmon. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that when your prep kitchen is located a few floors above you and there's transport time to be factored in, the quality can suffer. Oh yeah, it did take a rocket scientist to figure it out. The guy sitting next to me who works at NASA mentioned this.

He gave up his plate to me out of some whacked out sense of chivalry, because the server didn't have enough plates for our table. It turned out he got the "good" batch of fish when they came back to serve him, as we got a dry batch at our table. He tasted his wife's fish, and then told us to try his. It was a big difference.

The irony was that Robert Irvine did talk about preventing dry salmon by making sure it was seared well first before putting it in an oven. He did also get on the case of the guy in charge of the kitchen because he asked if we did get dry fish.

2. Those stingy bastages at Conundrum didn't bring enough wine to the event to give any refills. That didn't go unnoticed at our table, either.

That's a riot ... you were seated with a rocket scientist! And he was smarter than the entire F&W culinary team ... no surprise there.

And I do recall Irvine talking about not over-cooking the salmon. That part came through loud and clear. It's just too bad that the irony wasn't delicious. :laughing:

I have the same beef with Caymus that I have with Banfi ... be a little generous with the damn wine - it's not like we all didn't pay to be there.

I was too busy in conversation with NASA man and his wife to pay close attention to the cooking process. :laughing:

I think that guy read all about it in the handy little recipe flyer they gave us (and which we misplaced on purpose). Good for him ... I'm glad someone at our table had something to show for their overpriced 90 minutes. :lmao:


ROFL! I thought about the TSA when I saw that ginormous bottle, too!

Great minds!


And I'm modeling the official Festival tshirt from the prior year, the one we both had issues finding. But you didn't have a friend who found the shirt for you a week later like I did. :rolleyes: And I like this photo better than the sweaty self-portrait one of me and my BFF Robert. :)

I didn't have anyone that I knew well enough that I could have asked to find me that shirt after we were home. And I like the photo of you and Bob - it's cute!


Well, I liked it "just ok" for the most part. I had issues with the food and the wine, but getting the greeting by Robert Irvine made up for it. I will not book this event again, as I really didn't perceive the value in it for what we actually got.

That's why I'm using the money I would be paying for special events (with the exception of the Party for the Senses) for lots of good dinners instead. Moving events from the Odyssey building into the Wonders of Life space was a mistake, too.

Oh good, you ended your trip on a high note! :banana:

I agree with you completely - this fall we're using our money for table service unless something really jumps out at us and we just feel like throwing money away. And I don't think that's going to happen this year.


:mad: Nobody puts Bendy in a corner

Sounds like a pretty naff experience to me Brenda :sad2:

Another corner comment ... I love it! :lmao: It wasn't worth the money, that's for sure. But I did hear that other Kitchen Conversation events were very good ... so go figure.


Bendy, you outdid yourself in the "Kitchen Conversations with Robert Irvine" review. By the time I got to the "Fancy Feast" caption, I was literally howling with laughter and the other folks in the house were giving me very odd looks. How do you come up with lines like: "as much fun as a screen door on a submarine."?

You always make me smile! :goodvibes I'm glad you enjoyed the review and have this mental picture of you cackling madly at your computer while others look on with mild concern. OK ... I'm projecting ... that's what used to happen to me when I could still access the DIS from work. ;)

I don't know where some of the things I write actually come from ... I just pull 'em out of my alcohol-fueled whimsy machine, I suppose ... BUT, I must give credit where credit is due ...

the submarine line is something that my step-father said to me while I was in high school and the visual image struck me as so comical that it has stuck with me ever since.

Anyway, I was telling my sister the other day but I'm toying with the idea of going to the 2009 F & W Festival - though taking a business leave from work during these economic times is looking less feasible by the week. She's never been to Disney World and immediately chimed in that she'd love to go to the Festival because she heard how amazing it is. Well, after reading your reviews and those of other attendees, I had to bring her down to earth quickly by telling her that the festival seems to have changed for the worse as the years go by. The overcrowded cooking demos, the ever shrinking portions accompanied by higher prices at the food booths, and the pandemonium at events like "Dining for the Senses", is probably not the best introduction to Disney World for someone who's never been there.

I hope you do get a chance to attend F&W this fall, expecially if our dates overlapped a bit. It would be terrific to meet a real writer (as opposed to me ... a wanna-be who never actually does anything about being a wanna-be).

You know ... in your sister's case, she might like it just fine as it is now because she wouldn't actually have a real-life frame of reference. Those of us who've been attending pretty frequently are always the ones to point out the changes (for the worse) over the years but newbies don't know what they're missing and still seem to like it just fine.

Keep us posted on your plans and thanks for reading!

[honeybee30]

Crunked up? Is that a good thing?

:lmao: It's a good thing. Crunk is sort of an overused hip-hop term, which is probably way out of date, and if I used it in front of my students, they would all roll their eyes at me. Etimologically speaking, it's a combination of the words crazy and drunk, which your dining reviews almost always are! :rotfl:

[oybolshoi]

:lmao: It's a good thing. Crunk is sort of an overused hip-hop term, which is probably way out of date, and if I used it in front of my students, they would all roll their eyes at me. Etimologically speaking, it's a combination of the words crazy and drunk, which your dining reviews almost always are! :rotfl:

Excellent! Now I can tell Jay that our food reviews are crunky, just like that candy bar we like to laugh at in Japan-mart. :lmao:

[mickeys#1fan]

Wednesday, October 15th - Sweeping the Seas Clean at Bluezoo






Does the Maytag Man drink these?
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/495.jpg

OMG!! (Did I just write that?) My dream drink. I'd like to fill my bathtub with this.

Lori and Jay chose the same appetizer: Teppan Seared Jumbo Sea Scallops served with braised beef short rib and silky cauliflower puree.

General consensus?

Outstanding!

Scallops so well cooked that they practically melted in my mouth and cauliflower puree so creamy and good that I'd eat cauliflower every day if it were served up like this. I actually found myself wishing that I'd ordered this instead of the shrimp, in part because of the fennel overdose in my dish.

Scallops and beef and veggie puree'
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l213/oybolshoi/October%202008/506.jpg

Love this! Best scallops I've had anywhere. At first you think scallops and shortribs are a weird combo, but it works.

Bluezoo was an amazing experience. The food and the service absolutely lived up to our expectations and not only do we plan to pay them another visit this fall, but we now offer them our highest food review rating: Monstrous Fine!

Friends, lurkers, occasional readers, random well wishers, and DISers who wish I'd just shut up already and give someone else a chance to share their food reviews ... I'm here to tell each one of you who love seafood that you must pay Todd English a visit. It's expensive but worth every dime; they provide a creative, grown-up menu in a sophisticated setting. We cannot wait to go back and stuff our faces there again!

Couldn't agree more! Bluezoo is quite possibly the best restaurant on Disney property. But I've said before and I'll say again, AVOID THE DANCING FISH.

On a non-food review note, I dig the way you write. You obviously know food, and people who know food tend to write stuffy reviews. But not you - you're a fun read, and if we ever get the chance, my wife and I would love to eat with you and your husband. Heck, we might even get drunk with you, which I usually hate doing.

[BriarRosie]

Couldn't agree more! Bluezoo is quite possibly the best restaurant on Disney property. But I've said before and I'll say again, AVOID THE DANCING FISH.

On a non-food review note, I dig the way you write. You obviously know food, and people who know food tend to write stuffy reviews. But not you - you're a fun read, and if we ever get the chance, my wife and I would love to eat with you and your husband. Heck, we might even get drunk with you, which I usually hate doing.

First, I am intrigued about the "beware the dancing fish comment". Love to find out why. popcorn::

And boy, that last part is a compliment of the first order, I'd say! :rotfl2:
I can attest to their fun quotient, but I did not get smashed in their presence. ;)

[Tink rules]

Hey Lori... do you think we should just tell them to show up in October??? :thumbsup2:thumbsup2