Our November Grazings Report

[prttynpnk]

Hello,
My husband and I are 1st time reporters but not new to the gorging scene at-Lake Buena Vista.We've long read these reviews and swore that next trip, we will properly document the spreading of our wallets and waistlines for people other than our patient co-workers.
November 2009 was our 1st time combining the festival and deluxe dining, but my husband does not back down when offered an appetizer or tapas portion, he is fearless!
We are passholders who make the sacred trek about twice a year and the plan goes as follows:
We leave the gritty SC around 2 am and for the 1st 20 minutes or miles, whichever comes first, I am co-pilot. After that I am mostly cargo to be shifted and checked at rest stops and the Mcky D's in Georgia.
My husband is a sweetheart who tolerates my wimpy butt and is the best travel companion there is- part Indiana Jones, part concierge and part curmudgeon- I could ask for nothing more. He will provide the food details and I will provide snarky detail.
Please be gentle, we will attempt not to bore!

 

[dancin Disney style]

 

[Disney_Mama]

Can't wait

 

[tinkerbell48]

Can't wait

 

[prttynpnk]

So by noon we were checked in at Riverside- love it- and sitting in the strange genie bottle that is the waiting area at the Wave. Seriously, I expect Major Healey to look down from the ceiling when we're in there, am I the only one?
I know that many don't care for the Wave- it takes a lot of heat on another-that-shall-not-be-named-forum, but we love it. OK, I love it, my husband likes it a bit more each time.
This lunch is becoming our 1st meal tradition and I feel like after rest stop dining on the trip down, I need the organic sort of healthy thing to balance out my system. Ok, I will admit before you are on to me- I talk a good game, but I am a serious swine who can be swayed easily from her healthy pretensions by a buffet or a fudge display. This is a good combo for my husband who I like to think of as a culinary Noah- he likes the idea of animals 2 by 2 on his plate. But at the Wave, I can retain my illusions toward healthy living for the duration of the meal!
Before I let him cover the food play-by-play, I will mention that I got my new fav drink there- the sun-kissed cocktail. Fruity, yummy,hoo-ha!
http://i576.photobucket.com/albums/ss201/mousebound04/disnov09/DSC06615.jpg
Our server was great- sometimes when you are the 1st arrivals the servers just don’t have their game faces on yet, but ours was great- really attentive even as she started getting larger tables.
For appetizers I had the citrus and avocado salad with orange vinaigrette. Beautiful salad- I must admit that I liked it more in theory than in practice- the grapefruit was overpowering, so I spent a lot of time choreographing bites to keep the citrus ratio done to a low scream.

http://i576.photobucket.com/albums/ss201/mousebound04/disnov09/DSC06617.jpg

Mr B got the Black Bean Chili - with pork tenderloin and jalapeno corn muffin and found it most tasty. So tasty that we asked if a recipe was available. Mr B likes to do a little cooking at home and there was a flavor in the chili that he couldn't place and I thought the challenge was going to kill him. Ginger!
Ding! THe Wave just raised itself 2 points in his little heart.

http://i576.photobucket.com/albums/ss201/mousebound04/disnov09/DSC06616.jpg

For entrees he got the classic reuben and again, the Wave won some points.

http://i576.photobucket.com/albums/ss201/mousebound04/disnov09/DSC06618.jpg
Ok, no major points for artistic presentation, but is was still quite swell.
I had to pause here and reflect on my still very romantic feelings toward my entree- I swear, I would take it to the prom if I could- it was killah. The seasonal vegetable stew- how I love thee. It was so well balanced- not all zuchini, not too mushroomy, just enough acorn squash- really, how often do you say that?

http://i576.photobucket.com/albums/ss201/mousebound04/disnov09/DSC06619.jpg

Dessert was as usual very good- I like the format- it makes me feel like I'm not really being a major swine, but I probably am.
http://i576.photobucket.com/albums/ss201/mousebound04/disnov09/DSC06620.jpg


By the end of lunch we were in full 5 year old mode and couldn't think of anything else but getting to MK and getting my 1st castle glimpse! Mr B had some pirate ride he was harping about, perhaps you've heard of it?

 

[prttynpnk]

Delays, delays! Mr B has been called into work again- we'll have to delay Citrico's because little me thinks remoulade is the 5th musketeer.

 

[prttynpnk]

So after a great afternoon of jungle cruising and carousel of progressing, we trotted back to POR to gussy-up a bit for dinner at Citrico's. This was our 2nd time there and MR B was already excited about the prospect of seeing one of his personal heroes. Not Mickey, not Pluto- Ray, the waiter from our first trip.

Since we met Ray and were coddled in his tender care, Mr B could not stop talking about him. I think he made preliminary plans to feature the 2 of them together on our annual Christmas card. So Mr B's expectations were very high for Citrico's. Mine- not too high. Some people have test anxiety, I have ordering anxiety. Seriously- I can plan for weeks, pouring over disney forums and at the last minute I will choke and order the pureed weasel toes in Heinz 57 glaze and then have plate envy all night. Last time at Citrico's I had a whole lot of weasel toes, but hey, did I mention the waiter was great?

Citrico's is lovely, truly lovely. Our view was breathtaking. Seriously, I lost my ability to breathe normally as we were held under siege by the worst bunch of crumb-snatchers and their inattentive escorts. A 2 family horde of screaming, crayon throwing beasties! Featuring a kid standing on his chair screaming,'5,4,3,2,1 Blast-off and leaping toward other patrons as his siblings loudly scored his efforts. The parents were numbed to their antics and seemed to be enjoying their personal tour of wine country. The least they could have done is buy the other diners a few rounds.

Alas, Mr B and his Ray were not to be reunited. We had a different waiter and may I say, he was long-suffering. He acted as a human shield 3 times while crayons were thrown head level at our table and several others. It was so bad that managers were coming over to check on us. Politely making small talk about the 'children being our future'.

On to the food!

Mr B had the Arancini Crispy Risotto-

http://i576.photobucket.com/albums/ss201/mousebound04/disnov09/DSC06622.jpg

A fav that Ray (sigh) had suggested last time. Crispy, Creamy, Sausagey; what more could a person ask for in an appetizer.

I had the Seared tuna carpaccio (so far so good- no Heinz 57! )

http://i576.photobucket.com/albums/ss201/mousebound04/disnov09/DSC06623.jpg

I loved the edible flowers and the salty details- tres yummsie.

For entrees I had the Berkshire Pork 2 ways and loved the tenderloin potion more than the belly, but it was definitely nothing to complain about! The flavor combination was wonderful. I barely noticed the crayon striking my leg. Again.

http://i576.photobucket.com/albums/ss201/mousebound04/disnov09/DSC06625.jpg

Mr B once more returned to his last visit with the braised veal shank.

http://i576.photobucket.com/albums/ss201/mousebound04/disnov09/DSC06624.jpg

For dessert I had the gelato and it was gelato. I'm not complaining, I was just saving up for more exciting desserts ahead- eyes on the prize and all that. The F&W grazathon was scheduled for the next day.

http://i576.photobucket.com/albums/ss201/mousebound04/disnov09/DSC06627.jpg

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Mr B enjoye the lemon cheesecake while be both wondered where do those little wretches get their energy? There was no slowing of the activity at the next table- not even with 2 diaper changes right there at table side?!
So on the whole Citrico's food outweighed our live entertainment and now I have moved it up in my rating almost to where Mr B keeps it.

End of day 1. http://i576.photobucket.com/albums/ss201/mousebound04/disnov09/DSC06632.jpg

 

[prttynpnk]

Our 2nd day was casually planned- a light to-go breakfast from the cafeteria and a grazathon thru the F&W boothes before dinner at Boma. Mr b loves some Boma.
We wandered thru the Land and the Seas pavillions until looking at all those fish made Mr B hungry and off we went.
Actual transcripts of the swining are not available but it went somethign like this:

'Ok, get 2, I'll get a table' me
'Wheres mine?' me
' Oh, I thought the 2 were for me- you didn't like it last time' he
'Yes I did, ok, you go that way and I'll go that way' me
'Did you bring me one?' he
'Duck attack! He took the whole souvlaki right off the plate- it was scary!' me
'Sure. Ok, I'll let you try this in a minute' he
'It's gone.' me
'Oh, you wanted some? You should have said something' he
' you'll hate this- let me eat it for you' me
'nasty, I'm barely choking it down- don't worry, I won't offer you any' he
'what are you people staring at? Haven't you ever seen people lick at plate? Mind your business?!' he & me
And so it went around the globe.

 

[prttynpnk]

Ok folks- feel free to just jump in here and tell me how to get the pictuires to show up without links- I want pretty!!

 

[dancin Disney style]

Can't help with the photos but I'm lovin' the swine-a-thon. I think DH and I need to do a trip, sans kids, just to eat.

 

[prttynpnk]

We were at 9 Dragons a few years ago and a couple next to us gave us some great advise aboput the delux DDP and how great couples trips were for it- we have really been pleased with their suggestion!

 

[k&a&c'smom]

I'm not sure if it's the same with photobucket as glowfoto, but when you go to your photo on the hosting site, you click "share this". When the various lines of code appear, you want to highlight "BBCode" - not the html. It should begin and end with [img]...[/img] instead of http, if you see what I mean.

Good luck, I hope that was clearer than it sounds to me as I read it! Loving your dining report, your description of the "entertainment" at Citricos had me rolling.

 

[prttynpnk]

PLEASE- A NOTE- THIS NEXT SECTION IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART- THE IMAGES ARE DISTURBING TO SOME.......

On 11/6/09 the Disney Dining Management at AKL raised the Dining Terror Alert from 1 Dwarf to 7 in response to a preliminary look at the reservation book for that evening. Yes, the creature was back.

http://i576.photobucket.com/albums/ss201/mousebound04/disnov09/DSC02511.jpg

All carving station employees at Boma were issued mandatory carpal tunnel braces and the other stations were reinforced and grounded. Special extra long tongs to prevent human bites were brought out of storage.
But alas, as we have learned from most 50's movies, no amount of preperation can fully prepare a buffet for what the creature brought to the table. Literally.
Mothers hid their childrens faces as the remorseless eating machine descended on their tables- swiftly throwing impeding tables aside in it's instinctive need to gorge first at soup buffet, then at meat. Salads tables were rejected and overturned as unsuitable, carving station help were drug away dead and piled like rubble, wait staff fainted under the load of cleanly licked used plates and management reviewd their larders hoping against hope that 25 trips to the serving stations would sate the beast.
Alot of brave culinary workers gave their lives that evening and it was not unappreciated.
With a belch that was heard back in his home state, the beast became drowsy and I was able to lead him slowly, Fay Wray style back to POR to sleep it off.
Boma staff, we salute you.

 

[dancin Disney style]

We were at 9 Dragons a few years ago and a couple next to us gave us some great advise aboput the delux DDP and how great couples trips were for it- we have really been pleased with their suggestion!

What was the advise???

 

[johnsonet]

On 11/6/09 the Disney Dining Management at AKL raised the Dining Terror Alert from 1 Dwarf to 7 in response to a preliminary look at the reservation book for that evening. Yes, the creature was back...

Hilarious!

Thanks k&a&c'smom for turning me onto this awesome review

 

[Disney owl]

great reports thanks

 

[prttynpnk]

What was the advise???

It's tacky- they told us that signature restaurants had no chicken fingers, ergo, not too many kids.
I don't hate kids, I swear- they have lovely accesories and that Hannah Montana is very entertaining, we just would rather eat somewhere pretty and quiet.

 

[prttynpnk]

Day 3 started off as usual- danishes from the cafeteria and off to DS. Now except for early May/June Mr B is hardly interested in this park- a shocking lack of Storm Troopers is his feeling. I love this park- I am an old movie fan and love the schtick and the streetmosphere of it. So today was my pick for lunch. After fruitlessly attempting to get fastpasses for Toy Story Mania (what are they giving away kidneys in there?!) we were off to the Brown Derby so I could soak up golden age Hollywood vibes and admire the sheer amount of avocado lurking on the menu.
Not entirely to Mr B's taste- it's one more true display of his love for me- he puts up with me whipping my head around like Linda Blair and yelling,
'Look! Zazu Pitts! Nelson Eddy! Oh, there's Bill 'Bojangle' Robinson'! I tease Mr B that his favorite actor is the green screen so by the entree course he's ready to stick a fork in his ear.
For my appetizer I got a half portion of the cobb salad and before I get to far along, I will say that our waiter won an academy award for inattentiveness.
He didn't do the whole dog and pony show of mixing my salad- in fact, he probably had some remarkable frisbee skills- since that was his serving style. Sort of a fancy fling and run. Next time I'll bring a sheep dog in a bandana to leap up and catch the plate in midair to help him out.

http://i576.photobucket.com/albums

Mr B had the Seared Dayboat scallops with black bean corn pudding and he gave it a 9.
http://i576.photobucket.com/albums/...snov09/BrownDerby-SearedDayBoatSeaScallop.jpg

My entree was definitely amazing- Hijiki Crusted Ahi Tuna Cobb- but slightly confusing. There was just no way I was going to get Speedy Mcgettaway the waiter to stop long enough for me to ask him if the seeded note paper under my food was edible and I would have gotten too embarrased. At the rate that the viniagrette was melting it into the food, I hope so.

http://i576.photobucket.com/albums/...nov09/BrownDerby-HijikiCrusyedAhiTinaCobb.jpg Mmm...paper...nom nom nom.

Ok, I've lost track of Mr B's entree and he says I need to stop bothering him during the Puppy bowl, so assume he ate somethinge he really injoyed and just know that PETA did not approve.

Dessert was a poor ordering choice on my part (surprise, surprise- major foreshadowing for me) I should have gone with my gut- rapidly expanding gut- and gotten the creme brulee, but I was deluding myself that a seasonal fruit cobbler would make up for 4 days of 3 course meals. Oh, sure- and my diet coke and chocolate cake theory doesn't hold up either I suppose.

http://i576.photobucket.com/albums/ss201/mousebound04/disnov09/BrownDerby-SeasonalFruitCobbler.jpg

It was tasty, but it was not, not, not creme brulee. Folks, to thine own heart be true- get the creme brulee. Don't live a life of regret. See? 45 minutes in that restaurant and I'm a character from Mildred Pierce!

Behold: Mr b's creme brulee. Sigh.

http://i576.photobucket.com/albums/...nov09/BrownDerby-DoubleVanillaBeanCremeBr.jpg

Well, tomorrow is another day.

 

[dancin Disney style]

It's tacky- they told us that signature restaurants had no chicken fingers, ergo, not too many kids.
I don't hate kids, I swear- they have lovely accesories and that Hannah Montana is very entertaining, we just would rather eat somewhere pretty and quiet.

I have kids and I totally do not appreciate nasty, noisey brats in any situation. I guess because we would not permit our kids to be a bother to other people.

 

[prttynpnk]

I have kids and I totally do not appreciate nasty, noisey brats in any situation. I guess because we would not permit our kids to be a bother to other people.

Thats the thing- our friends feel as you do, so on vacation it's like a whole other world of evil brattiness is revealed to us!