A Salute To All Things Disney, But Mostly Food - A Feb 15 Dining Report - That's a Wrap 7/18

[kastoney]

Okay, first of all...I really should know better than to sit down and do some major catching up on your report while hungry.......

Caution, caution, pregnant girl trolling the food posts. Only massive cravings can be in her future.

Although I have to admit, I'm jealous of the amount of flexibility you have in making decisions for where you want to eat/which park to visit. Perhaps if our next trip is during an off-peak time I'd be willing to try some spontaneity!

I know spontaneity isn't for everyone and we almost always go during value season, so that definitely helps.

Oh my gosh this looks SO amazing right now!!! (I also couldn't help but think about the severe heartburn this would cause me right now in my 38-weeks-pregnant-and-about-to-pop state. Good thing it's 1,100 miles away and out of reach

Heartburn, yes, but oh so good. I had massive hooters wings cravings when I was pregnant. The end result was never fun, but they were oh so good going down.

This, however, would not cause me any pain and I want it right now!!! I wish I knew of a place around here where I could get something like it... Maybe some research is in order.

Cover a cream filled donut with some coconut perhaps? Or even better just sandwich a coconut donut between 2 cream filled ones and dig in.

Yay! Hub turf! I can't wait to see this in person! I'm having a hard time really envisioning what the area looks like now, even after seeing pictures. Does it feel very different?

It was only half open while we were there, but it makes a big difference and really opens it up. It was shocking to me how much space was actually there.

Oh my gosh I love everything about this! I really want to try that pretzel (like, right now) and I give five very enthusiastic thumbs up to the people mover...uh I mean the Pooper!

Those five thumbs up will almost ensure you will never forget it's really the Pooper at heart ; )

I melted into a puddle reading this. We aren't parade people right now but I suppose this is my future when we bring our little girl to Disney...

Little girls and disney are truly a match made in heaven. You'll see disney through a whole new lens

We ignore all parades, hopping on rides that tend to have shorter wait times during parades instead. I'm not sure I should let me kids know what exactly they are missing or not.

Stick with the ride thing. Now that I've let the parade thing out of the bag I know there is no getting it back in there

 

[Wood Nymph]

We've never been very good about waiting for parades or fireworks, either. And because of that, I had never really seen Wishes with a decent view. So when we were there last month I had gotten a fp for Wishes. It was great because we entered the fp area about five minutes before Celebrations started and had a great view. I think I going to do what you did for the parade and get a fp. That is the only way we're going to see it.

Casey looks adorable with her face paint. My granddaughter got her face painted at DHS and loved it. The funny thing is that they can't see what they look like but they love it anyway.

 

[kastoney]

We've never been very good about waiting for parades or fireworks, either. And because of that, I had never really seen Wishes with a decent view. So when we were there last month I had gotten a fp for Wishes. It was great because we entered the fp area about five minutes before Celebrations started and had a great view. I think I going to do what you did for the parade and get a fp. That is the only way we're going to see it.

Casey looks adorable with her face paint. My granddaughter got her face painted at DHS and loved it. The funny thing is that they can't see what they look like but they love it anyway.

We are definitely cut from the same cloth. We watch wishes from Fantasyland so there is no waiting involved. Plan on doing a fast pass for next trip just so we can see what it is supposed to look like.

Yeah, its amazing what a little face paint can do for a girl.

 

[Leshaface]

I had no idea we had a barista in our mist. Was the emphasis on the "bar" portion of ista?

And oh how I wish I was working for Starbucks when they decided to implement the 'bar' into their stores

Philharmagic, which despite seeing before Casey suddenly loved and insisted we do twice.

Ain't nothing wrong with that. Love Philharmagic!

So precious!

Our Polynesian bellies were becoming a little less full, but not ready for a meal we elected to embark on a family tradition: Pretzels on the Pooper ; ) Clearly this needs a little explanation, but on our first trip to the world w/Casey we tried the Cream Cheese Pretzel from the lunching pad and elected to eat it on the People Mover. Casey apparently misunderstood when we said People Mover and she thought it was called the Pooper. Not wanting to correct this clearly superior naming conventional (a la Ep-A-Cot), Pretzels on the Pooper was born.

Perfect story! But what's even cooler, is I had no idea food was allowed on!

Seriously the cream cheese pretzel is one of our favorite disney snacks as it is coated with butter and cinnamon on the outside and inside the oh so soft pretzel is a delicious layer of sweet cream cheese. It is delicious and tastes even better when whirling through Tomorrowland.

This is going to be a hard sell for DH He just adores the Jalapeno Pretzel.

What a cutie! They did a great job. What I want to know is, can adults get this done?? Cause it really is pretty!

I bet DD was just loving this moment!

 

[vettegirl]

All caught up!!

 

[kastoney]

Perfect story! But what's even cooler, is I had no idea food was allowed on!

Oh its not allowed. We oh so nonchalantly bring it aboard in our backpack. Shh, don't tell the authorities. Don't want to go to Pooper jail ; )

This is going to be a hard sell for DH He just adores the Jalapeno Pretzel.

I think everyone loves which ever they had first. For me its the cream cheese and I've never tried the Jalapeno. Maybe your DH and I can strike a bet to try the other ; )

What a cutie! They did a great job. What I want to know is, can adults get this done?? Cause it really is pretty!

Yepper, there was one getting her face done while we were there. May have to try that myself one of these days

All caught up!!

And I on your's!!!

 

[kastoney]

We'd just left MK and were headed for our "value" resort Animal Kingdom Lodge. In my warped mind it somehow offset the cost of WL if we moved to AKL for the last two days of our trip. Only I can justify a deluxe villa by "downgrading" to a standard deluxe ; ) #DisneyMath

We'd signed up for the text with direct to room, but never received anything. I was a little concerned that our room wouldn't be ready, but thankfully it was. Strange though they had no record of me checking in online (foreshadowing, this would come up again). But in fairly short order we were whisked off to our "standard" room and were shocked to find this outside our window...



As I understand there are some standard rooms with savannah views because they are over the people pens (aka where us mortals go in case of an emergency so we don't get eaten by the cute animals). I didn't know this before we left and was literally jumping with excitement. Casey on the other hand was more excited about this little bad boy...

We were also granted a bunk bed, which Casey thought was pure heaven. Here are a few more room pics.




We consulted our trusty AKL schedule of events and saw they had a musical instrument demonstration going on. We took Casey and had some fun learning to play African instruments. Then we explored the resort a bit and saw some wildlife in its "natural" habitat





Then we saw this most majestic beast in all of his glory.


And a blurry close-up

Ahh, the wonders of the savannah ; )

From there we swung by Mara for some provisions (aka some South African Pinotage for our nightcap) and then headed back to the room to get ready for dinner. Earlier in the day we knew we were tired and wanted to take it easy this evening so we were happy to score a 7pm reservation to one of our Disney favorites, Jiko.

We were seated very quickly and soon was presented with some bread.

The bread was pretty standard issue, but the Tandoori spiced butter was delicious. I'm curious why they call it Tandoori though, because as far as I know that is a cooking method, but I think they just incorporate the spices inherent in Tandoori Chicken. For me I picked mostly picked up curry and some ginger in the background. Either way it compliment the otherwise bland bread.

While we contemplated our food choices, Casey and I showed off our spokesmodel sides. Our pretty catalog look...

And the not so pretty Mad magazine centerfolds...


Having not had lunch we were hungry so some appetizers were in order. Jason ordered the Grilled Wild Boar Tenderloin

This was served with Mealie Pap, Chakalaka (South African vegetable relish, thank you google), Truffle Oil, and Micro Cilantro. This picture doesn't look all that good, but it was delicious. Wild boar as I understand has less fat than its domestic brethren which made this slightly tough, but it was cooked a perfect medium rare. The chakalaka added some nice spice and the pap (grit like substance) paired nicely with it. Only complaint is that neither Jason nor I could detect much truffle flavor.

I ordered the North African Carrot Soup with Sweet Potatoes, Ginger, Pink Lady Apples, and Black Garlic Ice Cream

This, hands down, was the best thing I ate in Disney all week and may very well be the best thing I've ever eaten at Disney. A deceptively simple soup, this was smooth and creamy and had a complexity of flavor to it that was simply amazing.. Carrots mixed with ginger and some cinnamon notes and a hint of sweetness, I literally could have bathed in this stuff would that not be frowned upon. The garlic "ice cream" added a subtle garlic flavor and some freshness to the soup. In case you can't tell I was in complete and utter soup love. If they ever take this off the menu I will personally lead the picket line ; )

For our entree's Jason decided to keep his pork-thing going and chose the Nigerian Spiced Berkshire Double-Cut Pork Chop with Braised Greens, Ancient Grain Risotto, and Apple Butter

Yes ladies and gentleman, this was as good as it looked. Hands down the best pork of the trip and his favorite entree. I'd never had a chop that big before and with the spiced char on the outside, it almost tasted like beef. It was tender and moist and the butter accompaniment added some sweetness. The risotto had a nice tomato flavor, though it wasn't as creamy as I like. The greens on the other hand were delicious. Well seasoned, with a slight spice the only issue was there wasn't enough of them ; )

Casey and I shared the Piri Piri Snapper

This is served with Truffled Mealie Pap, Cauliflower, Romanesca, and Roasted Tomato Beurre Monté. I know I'm really throwing down the superlatives tonight, but this was the single best fish dish I ever recall eating. The snapper itself was mild tasting, though a denser "meatier" fish and the beurre monte (an emulsified butter, thank you Chef Jason for the last minute assist) had a robust tomato flavor. Jason thinks they actually cooked the fish in the beurre monte to not just put the flavor on top, but deliver it throughout the fish. Unlike in Jason's appetizer, the pap had an amazing truffle flavor and I could have devoured a vat of the it alone. This was served with carrots and some green substance that I later deciphered was romanesca cauliflower. They were very good and complimented the fish nicely.

I didn't take any pictures, but for drinks (cause ya know those were flowing) I had some South African Sauvignon Blanc and Jason stared with a Tusker beer and then had a South African Pinotage, which taste very much like a Shiraz to me.

We elected to have dessert back in our room later and settled up the bill for what has become our legendary best Disney meal ever. From the service to the drinks to the appetizers and the entrees, each and every item built upon the next and it was a perfect evening. One that I'm not even sure could be topped, but we have Victoria and Albert's booked for our September trip so we'll see. With our Tables in Wonderland Card we saved $31.70.

After a long day, Casey was clearly tired so we retired to our room. As Casey slept in her bunk, Jason and I indulged in the Pinotage and zebra domes we'd picked up earlier at Mara in our bed.

I'd read about the legendary zebra domes for years and was excited to finally try them. They had a good chocolate mouse flavor and consistency to them, but they were a bit looser than I expected as I thought more cake was underneath the elusive dome. I'm also not a huge white chocolate fan, so these were not really for me. Of course that did not hinder me from eating my two ; )

Up next we yak it up in the Animal Kingdom, in only the best of ways....
​

 

[OasterP]

I love your reviews! Your daughter is adorable. I WISH that my family was more adventurous when it comes to eating. Unless I do all my meals alone, there is no time I'll get to eat at most of these places, so I will live vicariously through you! Can't wait to read more!

 

[KathyM2]

Black Garlic Ice Cream???? Wouldn't have sounded appetizing...but you made the whole dish sound fabulous. Cool view at AKL...and the room looks just like the room we had in March at WL! Not sure about your Disney Math lol...but glad it all worked out )

 

[AllyinWonderland]

Your room at AKL and dinner at Jiko both look amazing! It sounds like you had a great evening. I finally tried zebra domes last fall and I was not impressed. I had them at Boma and finished the one or two that I put on my plate, but I wouldn't go out of my way for them.

 

[Pfau]

Dude! That soup sounds fantastic. And OMG that beast on the balcony. Hahahahahaha! HA!

 

[vettegirl]

Love the AKL! We once booked a standard room and were surprised with a nice savannah view. They seem to do that a lot over there. If only they would upgrade us for free their CL Jiko looks incredible, we had a bad experience there about 5 years ago and I really need to give it another try. The soup looks and sounds like heaven in a bowl. You know zebra dombs are kind of a love hate dessert for me, I like them but only can have a bite of one.

 

[nco91590]

You just got me SUPER pumped for our first dinner at Jiko!

 

[Vernie822]

Everything looks delicious. Definitely some interesting flavors going on at Jiko. Yay for a savannah view and bunk beds!

 

[butiflfeet]

I just love Jiko. It's just so good! Glad you enjoyed it!

 

[ursalita]

As I understand there are some standard rooms with savannah views because they are over the people pens (aka where us mortals go in case of an emergency so we don't get eaten by the cute animals).

Oh, that's kind of cool. I wonder how often they need to use the people pens. Or if they could use them in the even of unruly guest behavior.

Then we saw this most majestic beast in all of his glory.

Earlier in the day we knew we were tired and wanted to take it easy this evening so we were happy to score a 7pm reservation to one of our Disney favorites, Jiko.

This one has been on my list for awhile but I haven't booked it because getting there seems like such a pain. Maybe I should stay at AKL just to go the restaurants.

Everything you got at Jiko looks amazing. Sounds like you had a great night.

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

Wow Kari, your meal at Jiko was near perfection! Must go back and try that soup.

Gotta say I was disappointed with the Zebra Domes, but they sure do look pretty.

 

[Adgie128]

I'm finally caught up! I really enjoyed your first report, and I am loving this one, too.

And I am totally down with the wine and dessert in bed on vacation. That's the way to do Disney.

 

[Leshaface]

Only I can justify a deluxe villa by "downgrading" to a standard deluxe ; ) #DisneyMath

For some reason, Disney Math will always work out in the end But the only people that will understand Disney equations is DIS'ers. Not those non-Disney people

Hello Savannah view, without the Savannah price!

Love this shot!

Then we saw this most majestic beast in all of his glory.


And a blurry close-up

You just never know what pops out on the Savannah around dinner time.

And the not so pretty Mad magazine centerfolds...

This was served with Mealie Pap, Chakalaka (South African vegetable relish, thank you google), Truffle Oil, and Micro Cilantro. This picture doesn't look all that good, but it was delicious. Wild boar as I understand has less fat than its domestic brethren which made this slightly tough, but it was cooked a perfect medium rare. The chakalaka added some nice spice and the pap (grit like substance) paired nicely with it. Only complaint is that neither Jason nor I could detect much truffle flavor.

Ooh this looks nice. Also I enjoy saying 'Chaklaka'.

I ordered the North African Carrot Soup with Sweet Potatoes, Ginger, Pink Lady Apples, and Black Garlic Ice Cream

This, hands down, was the best thing I ate in Disney all week and may very well be the best thing I've ever eaten at Disney. A deceptively simple soup, this was smooth and creamy and had a complexity of flavor to it that was simply amazing.. Carrots mixed with ginger and some cinnamon notes and a hint of sweetness, I literally could have bathed in this stuff would that not be frowned upon. The garlic "ice cream" added a subtle garlic flavor and some freshness to the soup. In case you can't tell I was in complete and utter soup love. If they ever take this off the menu I will personally lead the picket line

This sounds very interesting indeed. Probably not something I would choose, however your breakdown sold me.

We elected to have dessert back in our room later and settled up the bill for what has become our legendary best Disney meal ever. From the service to the drinks to the appetizers and the entrees, each and every item built upon the next and it was a perfect evening. One that I'm not even sure could be topped, but we have Victoria and Albert's booked for our September trip so we'll see. With our Tables in Wonderland Card we saved $31.70.

V&A's?! I'm SO looking forward to reading about your experience here. THis is something DH and I have been wanting to do for a long time.

And i'm very glad that Jiko ended up being your favorite meal! We do really love that place so much

I'd read about the legendary zebra domes for years and was excited to finally try them. They had a good chocolate mouse flavor and consistency to them, but they were a bit looser than I expected as I thought more cake was underneath the elusive dome. I'm also not a huge white chocolate fan, so these were not really for me. Of course that did not hinder me from eating my two ; )

Okay, I felt the same way when I first tried them back in 2012. I thought they were okay. I ended up eating one and a half (The half because I felt bad for wasting them) and throwing the rest away.

 

[kastoney]

I love your reviews! Your daughter is adorable. I WISH that my family was more adventurous when it comes to eating. Unless I do all my meals alone, there is no time I'll get to eat at most of these places, so I will live vicariously through you! Can't wait to read more!

We've definitely lucked out that Casey seems to have come out with an adventurous palate so you can feel free to join us anytime. I know a lot of these seem to feel unaccessible to some, but I think they do a good job of always having some "normal" options. Not that anyone in my family wants that ; )

Black Garlic Ice Cream???? Wouldn't have sounded appetizing...but you made the whole dish sound fabulous. Cool view at AKL...and the room looks just like the room we had in March at WL! Not sure about your Disney Math lol...but glad it all worked out )

Yeah, the ice cream nomenclature through me off too, but in the end it was really just frozen garlic cream. My math skills are definitely off, but at the time it seemed like a perfectly rational decision. Ah the things disney makes me do.

Your room at AKL and dinner at Jiko both look amazing! It sounds like you had a great evening. I finally tried zebra domes last fall and I was not impressed. I had them at Boma and finished the one or two that I put on my plate, but I wouldn't go out of my way for them.

Both AKL and Jiko were perfection. I hate that it is so far out from the other parks, if it was closer it would become my disney home without question.

Glad to know I'm not the only one without love for the zebra domes. Not sure what I expected, but the texture was definitely off.

Dude! That soup sounds fantastic. And OMG that beast on the balcony. Hahahahahaha! HA!

Dude, the soup was totally fantastic. Asked Jason to try and figure out how to make it for me, but no look as of yet. And yes that was definitely quite the beast.