Columbia Harbour House, snack, 11.12.08
I wasn't really sure what I was going to do for dinner this night, as I wanted to see Spectro at 7 and Wishes at 8. While lounging with my drink earlier in the day, I decided to make an ADR for 8:50pm at the Wave...for 3 people...and to invite my BFF's parents! Thankfully, they were on board. So I was really looking forward to that, a place none of us had ever been.
But I got a bit hungry before Spectro. I hadn't eaten since around noon, and it was now 6:15/6:30. Well, I absolutely *love* the vegetarian chili at CHH, so since I was watching the parade from Liberty Square anyway, it was a perfect place to stop. Easy to carry too and eat while I waited.
Mmm, so tasty. I do hate olives, though, and it has olives in it, so I kinda ate around them. I only managed to eat about 1/3 of it anyway, though, as I just wanted something to tide me over. But it was perfect and hit the spot.
The Wave, dinner, 11.12.08
So as I mentioned, my BFF's parents were going to join me for dinner! I was so excited, as I didn't get to see them on my trip in August, as they were out of town. So I took the monorail over to the Contemporary (yeah normally I'd walk, but well, I didn't know when else I was actually going to *need* to use the monorail this trip, and I needed to ride it at least once), and waited in the lobby area. They arrived right on time, and then we waited a few minutes in the "blue room" as Morgan's dad referred to it. Here's the entrance
I know BFF's dad took a pic of me and BFF's mom in the blue room, but he hasn't sent it to me. Oh wait! I think he put it on facebook...yup! I got it!
So anyway, I had been eyeing the Anti-Oxidant Coctail on the standardized drink menu, and had decided earlier in the day that that's what I would order here. So once we were seated, that's what I got. It was very sweet. Probably too much sugary syrup for me, but it was okay.
Here's me enjoying my drink
So I didn't get a picture of the bread basket, as I was *trying* to be as unobtrusive as possible, LOL! Although, they were used to me taking lots of food pics when we ate at Narcoossee's last May. But I digress! The bread and butter w/sea salt was very good. For my appetizer, I ordered Seasonal Mixed Greens - with spaghetti squash, edamame, flax seed, baby mozzarella and red wine vinaigrette. I absolutely love edamame, so I was all over this one. And it was very good. Nice blend of flavors, and the vinaigrette was nice and light.
For their appys, both of the parental units ordered the soup of the day, which was an Artichoke Hazelnut. Sounded like an interesting combination, and they both enjoyed it very much. They said the hazelnut flavor was very light. And I forgot until it was served that the soup comes with mini grilled cheeses! They thought these were adorable, and quite tasty as well. I apologize for lack of pics, but again, I just took pics of mine.
For main meal, I got the Grilled Pork Tenderloin - with pineapple rice, wilted greens and black been sauce. The waiter told me it was best cooked medium, but I'm a little wary of undercooked meats, so I went with medium-well. I'm glad I did! It was cooked perfectly for me, and it melted in my mouth. The rice was a nice accompaniment, but I didn't really notice a pineapple taste. More of a nutty/grainy taste, which I love. Not just your plain old white rice. The sauce was very nice as well, and brought everything together.
Pretty sure they both got the Grilled Beef Tenderloin - with oven- dried tomatoes, roasted fingerling potatoes, cabernet sauce and local greens, both cooked medium. The potatoes were more of a mashed potato, and they both commented that it had some sort of "interesting" taste to it, and couldn't figure out what it was. Their meats were cooked perfectly, and they really enjoyed their meals.
Now, I was full. Granted, I couldn't even finish my whole meal, and BFF's parents decided we needed to have dessert. I told them I didn't want anything, but they kinda twisted my arm. Worked out pretty perfectly that they have those mini dessert trios...one for each of us! So we each picked the one that we wanted. I picked the Vanilla-braised Pineapple Spears, BFF's mom picked the Almond-Pineapple-Raisin "Baklava", and BFF's dad decided to finish out the "Crispy and Crunchy" trio and went with the Zucchini-Carrot Cake with Vanilla Panna Cotta.
The pineapple was good. Just tasted like grilled pineapple with a bit of sugary sweetness added. I thought it would be crispier, but it was just like soft grilled pineapple. Fine, nothing spectacular. BFF mom said the "baklava" wasn't what she was expecting, and that I'd probably have loved it as it tasted a lot like pineapple. BFF dad enjoyed his zucchini-carrot cake, even though at first he wasn't sure what to expect. But he liked it.
Oh I forgot! They each had a drink, too. BFF Dad had some sort of frozen margarita...I know it had strawberry in it, maybe lychee as well...something like that! He loved it. But he loves margaritas, so he's easy to please! And BFF mom got a glass of red wine. I didn't pay attention to which, as I'm not a wine drinker, but she seemed to enjoy it.
It was a nice, leisurely meal, and the dining room was pretty empty when we left. We got our waiter to take a pic of the three of us. Me and my "Florida parents" as I refer to them!
And BFF dad insisted on taking a picture of me under the entrance
We all talked about the meal on the drive back to the hotel (they were nice enough to drop me off so I didn't have to take a bus...they insist it's on the way home, but Pop can't be on the way home from *everywhere*...can it?
). Anyway, we were all pleased that we tried a new place, and all decided we'd definitely be back again.
next up: Kringla bakery "b'fast", snack @Tangeriene Cafe