cbg1027
Florida Girl
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2009
It was!
Do you recall the name of the program? I'd like to see if it's on You Tube or something.mmmmm, I'm in!
Thanks for joining in!
A Drinker and a Dessert Fiend Dine Around Disney - Completed 11/20!
- Thread starter cbg1027
- Start date
It was!
Do you recall the name of the program? I'd like to see if it's on You Tube or something.Thanks for joining in!
Disney owl
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 28, 2001
looking forward to reading more
cbg1027
Florida Girl
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2009
After our night at Bern's, we got up the next morning and drove 90 minutes to Disney. We checked in at AS Sports and got to Epcot around 1pm, just in time for a light lunch!
I had really been wanting to try La Cava del Tequila (or "The Ditch"), and they had a few appetizers, so we decided to see if we could get a seat and eat and drink there.
We made a beeline for the Mexico Pavilion, and to my surprise, when we got there, The Ditch was only half full! We were able to snag a two top table. There was a small menu on the table with all the drink selections and appetizers.
I don't remember our server's name, but he was just ok. Not bad, but didn't do anything special.
I knew I wanted one of their specialty margaritas, so I ordered a Pepino - El Mayor Blanco Tequila, Triple Sec liquor, caramelized pineapple juice, cucumber and agave nectar syrup, served on the rocks with a cactus-lemongrass salt rim.
This was hands down one of the best margaritas I've ever had. It was light, refreshing, slightly sweet but not too sugary, and had the perfect amount of tequila for my tastes. I could detect the tequila enough to know it was in there, no doubt about that, but not so much that it was overwhelming to me. It had some mint leaves and little pieces of cucumber in it. I especially loved the cactus-lemongrass salt on the rim. That stuff was very tasty! A wonderful drink for a hot day. It was December yes, but it was about 80 degrees out that day, so a cool refreshing beverage was very welcomed!
Mark went for a more direct approach and ordered a shot of Patron Anejo, along with a Dos Equis Amber Cerveza beer.
I didn't try either one of these things since I don't like beer and don't do shots. Mark certainly liked them though. He ordered a 2nd shot a little later. The shots are served with a lime wedge in a bed of coarse salt, and a shot of...I don't know what the red stuff is. I tasted that and it was kind of like a very mild liquid salsa. My Grandma said that's how they're served in Mexico, and that the red stuff is chaser, so I guess The Ditch is being authentic!
We also got an order of Tostadas de Tinga - Roasted tomato and chipotle pulled chicken tostadas, with avocado, black refried beans, Valentina sauce, topped with queso fresco and sour cream
These were excellent, and I could have eaten many more, but not with the hefty price tag of 9 bucks! I expect the liquor to be outrageous, but I thought 9 bucks for those 3 little tostadas was steep, even by Disney standards. Nonetheless, these were tasty and delicious! Kind of a glorified nacho, but so much more interesting. There was a hint of spice, but I certainly wouldn't call them spicy. Just wonderful!
After our Tostadas, we order the Guacamole with fried flour chicharron.
The chicharron were kind of like Funyuns without the onion flavor. Not much to them, they were more of vehicle for the guacamole so you're not just eating it with a spoon. I wish I had asked for tortilla chips instead, but wanted to try the chicharron. The Guacamole was some of the best I've ever had. It was very freshly made, and it tasted like it. There were chunks of avocade, onion, tomato, and jalepenos in it. It was quite a spicy quac, but I loved it! Filling, tasty, and perfect accompaniment for my Pepino margarita.
On my 1-10 Disney scale, I'd rate The Ditch an enthusiastic 8.5! A great respite from the World Showcase, and somewhere I hope to return to soon!
Coming up next: Restaurant Marrakesh
I had really been wanting to try La Cava del Tequila (or "The Ditch"), and they had a few appetizers, so we decided to see if we could get a seat and eat and drink there.
We made a beeline for the Mexico Pavilion, and to my surprise, when we got there, The Ditch was only half full! We were able to snag a two top table. There was a small menu on the table with all the drink selections and appetizers.
I don't remember our server's name, but he was just ok. Not bad, but didn't do anything special.
I knew I wanted one of their specialty margaritas, so I ordered a Pepino - El Mayor Blanco Tequila, Triple Sec liquor, caramelized pineapple juice, cucumber and agave nectar syrup, served on the rocks with a cactus-lemongrass salt rim.
This was hands down one of the best margaritas I've ever had. It was light, refreshing, slightly sweet but not too sugary, and had the perfect amount of tequila for my tastes. I could detect the tequila enough to know it was in there, no doubt about that, but not so much that it was overwhelming to me. It had some mint leaves and little pieces of cucumber in it. I especially loved the cactus-lemongrass salt on the rim. That stuff was very tasty! A wonderful drink for a hot day. It was December yes, but it was about 80 degrees out that day, so a cool refreshing beverage was very welcomed!
Mark went for a more direct approach and ordered a shot of Patron Anejo, along with a Dos Equis Amber Cerveza beer.
I didn't try either one of these things since I don't like beer and don't do shots. Mark certainly liked them though. He ordered a 2nd shot a little later. The shots are served with a lime wedge in a bed of coarse salt, and a shot of...I don't know what the red stuff is. I tasted that and it was kind of like a very mild liquid salsa. My Grandma said that's how they're served in Mexico, and that the red stuff is chaser, so I guess The Ditch is being authentic!
We also got an order of Tostadas de Tinga - Roasted tomato and chipotle pulled chicken tostadas, with avocado, black refried beans, Valentina sauce, topped with queso fresco and sour cream
These were excellent, and I could have eaten many more, but not with the hefty price tag of 9 bucks! I expect the liquor to be outrageous, but I thought 9 bucks for those 3 little tostadas was steep, even by Disney standards. Nonetheless, these were tasty and delicious! Kind of a glorified nacho, but so much more interesting. There was a hint of spice, but I certainly wouldn't call them spicy. Just wonderful!
After our Tostadas, we order the Guacamole with fried flour chicharron.
The chicharron were kind of like Funyuns without the onion flavor. Not much to them, they were more of vehicle for the guacamole so you're not just eating it with a spoon. I wish I had asked for tortilla chips instead, but wanted to try the chicharron. The Guacamole was some of the best I've ever had. It was very freshly made, and it tasted like it. There were chunks of avocade, onion, tomato, and jalepenos in it. It was quite a spicy quac, but I loved it! Filling, tasty, and perfect accompaniment for my Pepino margarita.
On my 1-10 Disney scale, I'd rate The Ditch an enthusiastic 8.5! A great respite from the World Showcase, and somewhere I hope to return to soon!
Coming up next: Restaurant Marrakesh
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2008
Count me in! Can't wait to get back to The Ditch next month!
I know! I'm excited to not be on the dining plan next trip so hopefully I get to try some more wonderful goodies at the Ditch other than just the drinks.
cbg1027
Florida Girl
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2009
Thanks for joining in. There certainly will be much, much more!
Count me in! Can't wait to get back to The Ditch next month!
Welcome to my DR!
onelilspark
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 23, 2008
I don't remember the name of the program 
It was something about America's best Steakhouses. And I'm pretty sure it was on the Travel Channel.
It was something about America's best Steakhouses. And I'm pretty sure it was on the Travel Channel.
woodleygrrl
Lawyer to the Stars
- Joined
- Aug 12, 2008
you know I thought I hated tequila (after an unfortunate occurrence in college), but after visiting the ditch in November, I am a convert.
I just thought the whole concept of the tequila bar was so well executed and really is a little oasis in Epcot. And I thought the food was tops, too!
Thanks for the review!
Jennifer
I just thought the whole concept of the tequila bar was so well executed and really is a little oasis in Epcot. And I thought the food was tops, too!
Thanks for the review!
Jennifer
cbg1027
Florida Girl
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2009
Great review of the Ditch ... it brings back such good memories.
Thanks! I'm so ready to go back and try a different margarita!
I don't remember the name of the program
It was something about America's best Steakhouses. And I'm pretty sure it was on the Travel Channel.
Thanks anyways. I bet I could find it knowing that info.
Can't wait to read more!
Glad you like my DR!
i'm jumping in!
Welcome and thanks for joining!
Haha, a lot of my friends hate Tequila but I think that's probably because they haven't taken the time to enjoy it for anything other than getting hammered.
The Ditch is such a cute little place, I can't wait to go back!
Thanks for reading, I'm glad you enjoyed it.
butiflfeet
I drink and I know things
- Joined
- Jul 29, 2008
I can't wait to try one (or 4) of the margaritas in Mexico!
cbg1027
Florida Girl
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2009
After our lunch at La Cava, we managed to tour, er...stumble, our way around the WS before our 5pm dinner ADR at Restaurant Marrakesh.
We checked in right at 5 and the host said "Yes, 2 for the Candlelight Processional package?"
For a brief moment I actually considered saying, why yes, that's us! But I definitely did NOT book that, just dinner! My conscience quickly took over and I said we just had dinner reservations. The host then INSISTED we had the CP package! I told him we did not book that, and didn't want to take someone else's spot. He looked at the computer again and finally found our real reservation.
We were shown to our table right away. The belly dancer was just finishing up a routine as we were seated so I was a bit dissapointed that we would miss the show.
According to the check, our server was Zakaria, but really, there seemed to be several of them throughout our meal. Team effort, I suppose? I will say that it worked, and we were never waiting for drinks to be filled, or having trouble getting anything we wanted. All of the CM's in the restaurant were very friendly and always smiling.
Mark, of course, had to have something with alchohol. So he ordered a glass of Moroccan Red Wine. I'm not sure what it was called as the receipt says "Amazir Mtir" and the wine list isn't available on the Disney website along with the menu.
They serve a pieces of foccacia-shaped bread in Restaurant Marrakesh. It looks like the same stuff they serve at the counter service, Tangierine Cafe. It's just a basic white bread...not much to it, nothing special.
Neither Mark or I felt like appetizers so we went straight to entrees.
I knew whatever I was going to order had to involve couscous, so I settled on the Roast Lamb Meshoui.
This was a large Lamb Shank served with couscous and assorted vegetables. There was some sort of sauce on the lamb, but I would have preferred more of it to mix with the couscous. The lamb itself had a nice flavor, but it was somewhat of a greasy meat (like dark meat chicken as opposed to white). I enjoyed it, but some people might not be in to that. The vegetables were cooked nicely, not over or underdone. A decent dish overall, but I would try something else next time.
Mark had a Lamb Shank dish that was a special, so I don't know the exact name.
The lamb and sauce was exactly what my dish was like. But the special came with an eggplant...goop. It was like a baba ganoush, but with a TON of raw garlic. I love garlic, but I couldn't eat more than few bites of this stuff. It was sooooo strong. I think it would have been really good if they cut back on the garlic some. Mark didn't even try it. All he looks at when ordering an entree is the meat. I don't think he even considers the accompaniments 95% of the time.
What can I say, he's definitely a meat and potatoes guy.
I knew I definitely wanted the Moroccan Symphony dessert, which is an assortment of baklavas. Mark agreed he would split it with me, so we ordered one of those, and Mark got another glass of the same wine to go with dessert.
I decided to try the Mint Tea for some reason. I don't drink a lot of tea because living in Florida, I don't feel like having hot beverages very often. But I was very glad I did, because it was fantastic! The presentation is entertaining too. They come out with a small glass on a saucer, with a few mint leaves in it. The server has a large silver tea pot and takes the glass and saucer in the other and pours the tea in to the glass. As he is pouring, he draws his hands farther and farther apart. Kinda cool.
The tea is described on the menu as a green tea, but it tasted a lot different than the green teas I've had before. It was very good though, and I liked this version better.
You can see Mark's wine in this photo of the tea:
I somehow missed getting a photo of our Baklava. There were 3, two-bite sized tiny pieces, and I thought it was quite skimpy for $6.95. It was good Baklava, but nothing special. Mark was definitely diggin' his wine more than the Baklava. He's not that big on really sweet stuff, and Baklava is like, half honey. Fortunate for me, though (see DR title!).
While we were having our dessert, the belly dancer came out for another set. The music is provided by a couple of live musicians. It seems she comes out about every 45 minutes, so you should catch her unless you eat really fast! Part of the time that she's not performing, the musicians are playing.
That was the view from my seat, but I had to turn completely around to see her.
The restaurant itself is really pretty. I love the tile mosaic work inside. If it weren't for all the tourists, it would really seem like you're in another country!
Overall, I thought Marrakesh was a decent eat. I would have no problem returning, but it's not on the top of my list. I want to try other places I haven't been to first. If you can't get in to Le Cellier, Restaurant Marrakesh is a decent second choice. I'm giving it a rating of 6.5.
Next installment: Breakfast in the End Zone Food Court at All Star Sports.
We checked in right at 5 and the host said "Yes, 2 for the Candlelight Processional package?"
For a brief moment I actually considered saying, why yes, that's us! But I definitely did NOT book that, just dinner! My conscience quickly took over and I said we just had dinner reservations. The host then INSISTED we had the CP package! I told him we did not book that, and didn't want to take someone else's spot. He looked at the computer again and finally found our real reservation.
We were shown to our table right away. The belly dancer was just finishing up a routine as we were seated so I was a bit dissapointed that we would miss the show.
According to the check, our server was Zakaria, but really, there seemed to be several of them throughout our meal. Team effort, I suppose? I will say that it worked, and we were never waiting for drinks to be filled, or having trouble getting anything we wanted. All of the CM's in the restaurant were very friendly and always smiling.
Mark, of course, had to have something with alchohol. So he ordered a glass of Moroccan Red Wine. I'm not sure what it was called as the receipt says "Amazir Mtir" and the wine list isn't available on the Disney website along with the menu.
They serve a pieces of foccacia-shaped bread in Restaurant Marrakesh. It looks like the same stuff they serve at the counter service, Tangierine Cafe. It's just a basic white bread...not much to it, nothing special.
Neither Mark or I felt like appetizers so we went straight to entrees.
I knew whatever I was going to order had to involve couscous, so I settled on the Roast Lamb Meshoui.
This was a large Lamb Shank served with couscous and assorted vegetables. There was some sort of sauce on the lamb, but I would have preferred more of it to mix with the couscous. The lamb itself had a nice flavor, but it was somewhat of a greasy meat (like dark meat chicken as opposed to white). I enjoyed it, but some people might not be in to that. The vegetables were cooked nicely, not over or underdone. A decent dish overall, but I would try something else next time.
Mark had a Lamb Shank dish that was a special, so I don't know the exact name.
The lamb and sauce was exactly what my dish was like. But the special came with an eggplant...goop. It was like a baba ganoush, but with a TON of raw garlic. I love garlic, but I couldn't eat more than few bites of this stuff. It was sooooo strong. I think it would have been really good if they cut back on the garlic some. Mark didn't even try it. All he looks at when ordering an entree is the meat. I don't think he even considers the accompaniments 95% of the time.
What can I say, he's definitely a meat and potatoes guy. I knew I definitely wanted the Moroccan Symphony dessert, which is an assortment of baklavas. Mark agreed he would split it with me, so we ordered one of those, and Mark got another glass of the same wine to go with dessert.
I decided to try the Mint Tea for some reason. I don't drink a lot of tea because living in Florida, I don't feel like having hot beverages very often. But I was very glad I did, because it was fantastic! The presentation is entertaining too. They come out with a small glass on a saucer, with a few mint leaves in it. The server has a large silver tea pot and takes the glass and saucer in the other and pours the tea in to the glass. As he is pouring, he draws his hands farther and farther apart. Kinda cool.
The tea is described on the menu as a green tea, but it tasted a lot different than the green teas I've had before. It was very good though, and I liked this version better. You can see Mark's wine in this photo of the tea:
I somehow missed getting a photo of our Baklava. There were 3, two-bite sized tiny pieces, and I thought it was quite skimpy for $6.95. It was good Baklava, but nothing special. Mark was definitely diggin' his wine more than the Baklava. He's not that big on really sweet stuff, and Baklava is like, half honey. Fortunate for me, though (see DR title!).
While we were having our dessert, the belly dancer came out for another set. The music is provided by a couple of live musicians. It seems she comes out about every 45 minutes, so you should catch her unless you eat really fast! Part of the time that she's not performing, the musicians are playing.
That was the view from my seat, but I had to turn completely around to see her.
The restaurant itself is really pretty. I love the tile mosaic work inside. If it weren't for all the tourists, it would really seem like you're in another country!
Overall, I thought Marrakesh was a decent eat. I would have no problem returning, but it's not on the top of my list. I want to try other places I haven't been to first. If you can't get in to Le Cellier, Restaurant Marrakesh is a decent second choice.
I'm giving it a rating of 6.5. Next installment: Breakfast in the End Zone Food Court at All Star Sports.
MiaBella05
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 7, 2006
joining in
cbg1027
Florida Girl
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2009
I think you'll like what I have to say for most of them! It was a very good trip in the food department!
Welcome to my DR! Thanks for joining!
goldielocksraj
Anxiously awaiting deluxe birthday trip!
- Joined
- Mar 29, 2006
Mmmmm, thanks for all the yummy reviews so far!
I am soooo jealous that you got to go to Bern's. I live closeby (Clearwater area) and I am a MAJOR carnivore and have not gone yet!
Looking forward to more dining reviews!!!!
Redwitch
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 19, 2006
I'm enjoying your Disney Reviews. I am so going to "The Ditch" in May. Please tell me they have some wine so I can keep DD quiet while I enjoy "one ta-kill-ya, two ta-kill-ya, three ta-kill-ya..."
As for Bern's Steakhouse - would it be weird to plan a trip around a restaurant? That looks like one of the most amazing places I've ever seen!
DD and I have already viewed and bookmarked their web site!
As for Bern's Steakhouse - would it be weird to plan a trip around a restaurant? That looks like one of the most amazing places I've ever seen!
DD and I have already viewed and bookmarked their web site!Share this page
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