Run Disney to Eat Disney - Glass Slipper/Dark Side Challenge Dining Report - Feb & Apr 2016 - 5/9

[Dis_Yoda]

Tutto Italia

After enjoying Test Track & Mission Space, we headed into the World Showcase to wander some shops and make it towards our lunch spot for our 11:30AM Reservation at Tutto Italia. 11:30AM is when they open for lunch so the restaurant was rather empty when we got there. We were sat in the front section of the restaurant so we could see the main area of the pavilion and people watch while we ate.

I went with a cocktail for my 1 Drink of the Day. It was just sour enough to really bring out the lemon notes in the drink without being overpowering! I really enjoyed this!

Italian Martini - Citrus Vodka, Limoncello, Triple Sec, Lemon Juice

For my appetizer, I got a standby option for here. The mozzarella is super fresh and tastes amazing with the light amount of salt on top. There is no better fresh mozzarella that I have found!

”Fior di Latte” Mozzarella - Roasted Sweet Peppers, Basil, Maldon Sea Salt, Extra Virgin Olive Oil

My husband had his standard caesar salad. He likes that their dressing is really light and there was a ton of lettuce for him to enjoy! He skipped eating the olives on it though.

Caesar Salad

The past few times I’ve eaten here, I’ve always gotten the same entree. I didn’t change this time either. The cheese ravioli are tossed with a nice cream sauce which chunks of chicken and pancetta (more pancetta than chicken) There is just enough on the plate to fill you up without over doing it!

Ravioli di Ricotta - Chicken, Pancetta, Parmesan Cream

As my husband is now vegetarian, he couldn’t get his standby here (the same dish as me) and selected the option that sounded the best to him of the available options. He was pleasantly surprised by this! The pesto was super fine and tossed throughout so that it made all the pasta green because of the sauce on it. The burrata was a nice touch to break up the pesto on the dish.

Fettuccini Campagnole - Arugula, Basil, Spinach, Burrata Cheese

We skipped getting dessert as when in EPCOT, we have my husband’s favorite place to get sweets at coming up! The server here was awesome and timely. She made sure our water was always filled as we were making sure we kept hydrated well today.​

 

[franandaj]

It's been years since we last ate at Tutto Italia, but I remember we really liked it. Your main sounds incredibly good. I'll have to figure out when to put this place back into the rotation. Was the fettuccine not spinach pasta and it was only green from the pesto?

 

[franandaj]

Some days you got to do what you got to do for yourself. If you want to lose weight that way before your next trip, go for it! Is it working?

Yes it is actually working. I woke up Tuesday morning the heaviest I've been in my life and said, "That's it!". As of this morning (Saturday) I'm down 9 lbs. I also cut my wine consumption, just reduced, not eliminated. I'm going to eat some sashimi tonight, but I don't think that will hurt any.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

It's been years since we last ate at Tutto Italia, but I remember we really liked it. Your main sounds incredibly good. I'll have to figure out when to put this place back into the rotation. Was the fettuccine not spinach pasta and it was only green from the pesto?

There was a time it wasn't in our rotation either despite liking it as well! Chicken, Parmesan and Pancetta with cheese ravioli is a great combination. The fettuccini was totally only green from the pesto! He was surprised at that too as he thought it was spinach pasta at first but when he bit in it was white and the sauce could be scrapped way.

Yes it is actually working. I woke up Tuesday morning the heaviest I've been in my life and said, "That's it!". As of this morning (Saturday) I'm down 9 lbs. I also cut my wine consumption, just reduced, not eliminated. I'm going to eat some sashimi tonight, but I don't think that will hurt any.

That is great you are down 9 lbs in 5 days! Keep up the awesome work!

 

[kastoney]

I 'm fashionably late but here!

So glad you all enjoyed skippers. Can't wait to try it in April. That pho looks pretty darn tasty. Especially as I sit in West Virginia and its 5 outside and the wind is 40 mph

So sorry your morimoto service was so bad. We plan on trying either morimoto or boathouse next trip and you just made the decision very easy

 

[Dis_Yoda]

I 'm fashionably late but here!

So glad you all enjoyed skippers. Can't wait to try it in April. That pho looks pretty darn tasty. Especially as I sit in West Virginia and its 5 outside and the wind is 40 mph

So sorry your morimoto service was so bad. We plan on trying either morimoto or boathouse next trip and you just made the decision very easy

Yay for being here! You should really enjoy it in April! The only thing that would have made it better would have been if they had rum beverages but that's not likely to happen with it being in Magic Kingdom! That sounds so cold - I do not miss living in an area of the country where snow is possible! That pho would totally warm you up!

You will love the Boathouse! Great fruity drinks and great manly drinks, for whichever hits your mood. That bread is like crack! Your husband may not be able to enjoy too many cocktails as he does kinda have that 13.1 mile run to worry about depending on the night you eat there! Plus for Casey, they serve the food in the cutest paper amphicars! It might be worth it for cutest factor even if she does usually share your plate.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

L’Artisan des Glaces

If you have followed any of my reports before, you know that that L’Artisan des Glaces is my husband’s favorite spot in EPCOT for something sweet. He went with his favorite option here with a single scoop of mint chocolate chip! He loves it. I went with something a little different than normal but I wasn’t in the mood for the other options I loved there. I went with a really simple scoop of French Vanilla. It was perfect for a French Vanilla ice cream - super creamy!

Single Scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream & Single Scoop of Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream​

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Popcorn Cart

On our way out of the park to relax and nap a little bit, I stopped by to pick up one of my favorite snacks in the park, the popcorn cart by Journey Into Imagination. I got the souvenir bucket of Cheddar Cheese Popcorn! I only ate a couple bites before sealing it up as I wanted to keep it for the drive home the next day. That lid helped keep it fresh for that drive home & for dinner that night after I had the rest of my Peking Duck!

Disney had changed to Pop Secret for their popcorn which gave the popcorn a more buttery taste than before. Still tasty though!

Cheddar Cheese Popcorn​

 

[2xcited2sleep]

I haven't been to Tutto Italia for years - before the renovation. Are the tables still uncomfortably close to eachother? That was my big turnoff before. They used to be so close you could practically eat from the next tables plates. I do enjoy Tutto Gusto though so perhaps time to give it another shot. The food looks yummy! I am in awe at your willpower to limit to one cocktail per day!!!

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

We haven't been back to Tutto in several trips because of our love for Via Napoli. Your meals looks great! May have to add it to our October plans!

 

[DnA2010]

Late to the party but yum! Everything you ordered at Tutto is right up my alley!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

I haven't been to Tutto Italia for years - before the renovation. Are the tables still uncomfortably close to eachother? That was my big turnoff before. They used to be so close you could practically eat from the next tables plates. I do enjoy Tutto Gusto though so perhaps time to give it another shot. The food looks yummy! I am in awe at your willpower to limit to one cocktail per day!!!

We didn't find the tables to be that close to one another anymore than any other Disney restaurant in the parks. I totally couldn't eat off my neighbor's plate at least! Tutto Gusto is also so nice! I don't get in there nearly as much as I would like to but I guess that's what happens when EPCOT has all the wonderful places in it! Too bad they don't have the EPCOT After Hours anymore as I really did like my Tutto Gusto one I went to!

That willpower is hard, especially in EPCOT. If the Hungover Jingle Jungle 5K wasn't in my recent memory, I might not be that wise but I also know its better for the whole running thing. Spoiler: My willpower breaks by dinner

We haven't been back to Tutto in several trips because of our love for Via Napoli. Your meals looks great! May have to add it to our October plans!

Via Napoli is still a great choice! We have skipped Via Napoli a lot over recent years - Naples in Disneyland is on our must do for that coast b/c it is perfect carb loading so we tend to skip Via Napoli on this coast since its pretty much the same. What else do you have planned for October? I'm holding off on my plans for Food & Wine Festival until the event schedules come out! Too many places, not enough time!

Late to the party but yum! Everything you ordered at Tutto is right up my alley!

Welcome! Tutto is a such a great choice! We've loved our food there every time we go! Glad others feel the same

 

[Dis_Yoda]

California Grill

We drove over to California Grill around 4:30PM and arrived in plenty of time for our 5:00PM reservation. We were led upstairs after checking in on the 2nd floor. It wasn’t long until we were brought to our table towards the back of the restaurant near the wine room but not exactly inside it. Our server felt like he was new to serving at California Grill but he was super nice and efficient which is what I really look for in a server!

I broke my 1 drink a day rule I have during race weekends but at least I went with something super light and refreshing! Can you feel healthy while drinking alcohol? That is how this drink tastes so I didn’t feel too bad about it I also had lots and lots of water!

Cucumber Fizz - Chopin Vodka, Limoncello and Cucumber Water w/ a splash of Sprite

For my appetizer, I went with my favorite salad in all of Disney World. It has evolved a lot over the years with the type of lettuce and fruits used and other toppings (I think I remember nuts at one time as well) but I love each of them! The shrimp was perfectly fried without being greasy. The bit of wasabi cream and soy reduction really work well with the combination of the shrimp, pears and lettuce! I totally cleaned off my plate.

Crispy Rock Shrimp Salad - Spicy Baby Greens, Subarashii Pears, Soy Reduction, Wasabi Cream

My husband isn’t as adventurous as me when it comes to salads. This was essentially his third Caesar salad in 2 days. He continues to enjoy them!

Artisan Romaine - Roasted Garlic Dressing, Sun-dried Tomatoes, Brioche Croutons

I went with meat for my dinner! I made sure I got lots of iron with my perfectly cooked medium rare bison strip loin. The demi-glace was really sweet so you only needed a tiny bit of it for each bite of meat. I was happy I went with this option!

Bison Strip Loin - Benziger Arbequina Olive Oil Potatoes, Brussels Sprouts, Cherrywood Bacon, Maderia-Fig Demi-glace

My husband actually went with an option he wasn’t expecting after a recommendation from our server when asking about the vegetarian options. He didn’t realize an entrée sized portion existed of this appetizer (which wasn’t a normal thing for him to order anyway) but he also was nervous about doing the Vegetarian Unplugged option that exists at California Grill as he didn’t want to get vegetables he doesn’t really eat. He loved this dish! The goat cheese wasn’t strong and when combined with that light broth, he was in heaven. The entrée portion is 2 raviolis instead of 1 which he found to be exactly enough to fill him for this meal!

Sonoma Goat Cheese Ravioli - Tomato-Fennel Broth, Crispy Mushrooms, Tiny Basil, Benziger Estate Olive Oil

We passed on dessert as we were ready to get back to the hotel for the night and settle in, despite it only being 5:45PM. This meal reminded us of the great meals we used to have in the ‘old’ California Grill. We had skipped it a lot since the change over as we had some not great experiences then. I’m glad it has improved a ton since our last visit! Totally back on the list for normal rotation now!

We were back to the hotel a little after 6 and settled in. He watched television on his computer while I played on my mine. I think we were asleep by 8PM, maybe earlier. Our alarm was set for 2:30AM as we had our half marathon the next morning!​

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

Via Napoli is still a great choice! We have skipped Via Napoli a lot over recent years - Naples in Disneyland is on our must do for that coast b/c it is perfect carb loading so we tend to skip Via Napoli on this coast since its pretty much the same. What else do you have planned for October? I'm holding off on my plans for Food & Wine Festival until the event schedules come out! Too many places, not enough time!

I am waiting on the event schedules as well. We are planning on the Swan & Dolphin Classic for sure but everything else is up in the air. One thing I want to do are more breakfasts. Traveling with teenagers there are many breakfast places that we have not tried. I can't completely blame DS though as I am really not a morning person but I will make an effort in October. For now, I am planning our May trip. Curious to see what new places may be open in Disney Springs in October!

Happy to read about your meal at Cali. We have been disappointed since the refurb. DS and I are not planning on eating there in May which is pretty sad for me. We'll see what October brings.

 

[franandaj]

I was not so impressed with CA Grill after the return also. That ravioli was very good though. I got the appetizer portion and did really enjoy it. Your bison looks good. I understand the need for iron. I'm kind of feeling it right now.

 

[kastoney]

Looks like a great meal at CG. I had the cucumber drink on our last trip too and it was definitely refreshing though mine had a very heavy hand of vodka. I had no idea they'd do entree sized portions of an appetizer. Do they do this for everything or just the ravioli?

 

[Dis_Yoda]

I am waiting on the event schedules as well. We are planning on the Swan & Dolphin Classic for sure but everything else is up in the air. One thing I want to do are more breakfasts. Traveling with teenagers there are many breakfast places that we have not tried. I can't completely blame DS though as I am really not a morning person but I will make an effort in October. For now, I am planning our May trip. Curious to see what new places may be open in Disney Springs in October!

Happy to read about your meal at Cali. We have been disappointed since the refurb. DS and I are not planning on eating there in May which is pretty sad for me. We'll see what October brings.

Can't wait until July when the event schedules come out! I really enjoyed the Swan & Dolphin Classic when I did that in 2014 with my mother! If all the places open up that are announced by October, I'm not sure I'm going to eat dinner any other place than Disney Springs in our November trip.

I think a lot of people that were pre-refurb regulars were disappointed after Refurb - it shouldn't have taken that long to work out all the kinks. Hopefully Flying Fish doesn't have the same pain when they reopen as that has grown to one of our favorites the past year years!

I was not so impressed with CA Grill after the return also. That ravioli was very good though. I got the appetizer portion and did really enjoy it. Your bison looks good. I understand the need for iron. I'm kind of feeling it right now.

Well, your lack of Iron is just a temporary measure at least! Is your plant based diet still working? The bison was so good! I love how lean and flavorful it can be.

Looks like a great meal at CG. I had the cucumber drink on our last trip too and it was definitely refreshing though mine had a very heavy hand of vodka. I had no idea they'd do entree sized portions of an appetizer. Do they do this for everything or just the ravioli?

I'm actually glad they weren't heavy handed on the vodka this time! (So not my normal MO, I know!) I think this is the only appetizer they do an entree portion of (which really was just double the appetizer for double the price) so I guess you could always make one an entree portion that way.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Half Marathon Pre & Post Race

The alarm at 2:30AM went off and I popped out of bed excited! I got dressed quickly and started making my breakfast. Looks very familiar doesn’t it? I think I'm going to end up repeating this for April as well as it is easy on the stomach but filling! I ate this as my husband got ready until the point he needed my help.

Toast!

Why did he need my help? Well, I had to put his hair on, tie his shoes for him (he had on nails & wasn’t efficient with them at all), and then do his make up. I was amazed at how much easier it is to put on eye liner on someone else than it is for yourself. And yes, I realize I’m talking about my husband here..

Presenting Mr. Dis_Yoda:

I wasn’t nearly as fun as him. I did get an outfit that complimented his and inspired by the same character:

We headed to the corrals and parted ways. He was in B while I was all the way back in N. He would be finished way before me so he had the job of getting the room packed up before I got back. I knew I wouldn’t have much time before check out.

I finished the race right around 10AM (I’m slow and ended in heavy pain) and I got through the finisher’s shoot as quickly as possible picking up my medals, drinks, bag, and food box/banana and waddling as quickly as possible to get back to the resort before 11AM.

Official Data

Mr. Dis_Yoda’s Official Data

Post Race Box

The banana was super tasty on that waddle! The bus was loading and I got on, except I really got to have the world’s worst bus driver. He took us out to Overpass Drive and turned towards Golden Oaks, then turned right towards Downtown Disney via the private Disney warehouses and then U-Turned and took us back towards Magic Kingdom where he was about to U-Turn again until I lost it. I and a few others on the bus yelled and told him no! To continue towards MK and turn at Seven Seas Way in front of Polynesian/TTC and get back to World Drive that way and follow the signs to Animal Kingdom Villas. We pulled up at Kidani at 10:55AM. I was happy Shaun was still in the room waiting for me as I made it to the room at 10:59AM and there was no way I wasn’t going to clean up. I dropped my items and was super glad to see that my husband had drawn a bath for me. I was able to clean up and get dressed and feel human again as we had lunch reservations to get to.​

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Sanaa

After getting our luggage to the car, we slowly got ourselves to Sanaa. Our reservation was at 11:50 but we arrived early and had zero issues getting sat almost immediately. We had eaten here in October during our 10 Night stay at Jambo House for lunch and found it to be a great option when staying at this resort.

As we were done with races and my husband would be the one driving home, I took advantage of this and got myself a cocktail. I knew I was dehydrated and two would pretty much be more than enough for me this day (as I totally fell asleep on the car ride home for a bit!) My first cocktail was the Coconut Cooler which was refreshing with the rum mixed with vanilla ice cream and orange juice! Not overly coconuty either!

Kande Coconut Cooler - Starr African Rum, Coconut, Vanilla Ice Cream & Orange Juice

We started with the Indian Style Bread Service picking a different third option than we did in October. Our server actually picked it out for us as he said it was his favorite. We really liked the Coriander Chutney he recommended and we knew we liked the Red Chili Sambel and the Cucumber Raita. The Paneer Paratha is totally the worst bread of the service so that got left on the plate but we enjoyed all the naan and I enjoyed the Onion Kucha!

Indian-Style Bread Service - Traditional Naan, Garlic-Ginger Naan, Spiced Naan, Onion Kucha, Paneer Paratha w/ Coriander Chutney, Red Chili Sambel, Cucumber Raita

My husband loved that they had a decent amount of options for his new diet. He went with the one that would let him have rice pilaf, something he loves but I never make as I don't like it. He also got to enjoy a lentil stew that was full of flavor and the paneer tikka which he wasn’t a fan of but he at least tried something new to his diet. He saved some of the red chili sambel to have on his rice as well.

Potjie Inspired - Five-Grain Pilaf w/ Lentil Dhal & Paneer Tikka

I went with something different than October as well with the Kenya Coffee Barbecue Pulled Pork. I ended up skipping eating the bread as we already had the bread service and I was bread'd out. The pulled pork was nicely cooked and sauce had a nice hint of coffee flavoring too it. It was totally what I was in the mood for!

Kenya Coffee Barbecue Sandwich - Pulled Pork w/ Warm Root Vegetable Slaw served on Naan Bun w/ Sanaa Chips & Pickle Spear

For my second drink, I got something that would work with dessert! The martini was nice and strong and exactly what I wanted

Banana-Spiced Rum Martini - Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum, Bols Creme de Banana, and RumChata Cream Liqueur

For dessert, my husband and I split the chocolate mousse. It was the perfect way to end this weekend at Disney! A light mousse with hints of sea salt and coffee and a sweet caramel sauce to temper the bitterness in the chocolate.

Tanzanian Chocolate Mousse - Kenya Coffee & Caramel

This was a great last meal for this trip! We slowly waddled back to the car to drive home. We knew it would only be 7 more weeks until we would be back!​

 

[DaisyDuckGirl]

Loved your reviews! Thank you!