A Signature a Day Keeps Reality Away: A Sep '15 Dining Report - Updated 4/11 x2

[kastoney]

Just read through all the food reviews to catch up and I'm so glad I did! There was also some stuff on your list that I missed out on during our trip a few weeks ago. I missed out on the avocado margarita, and I missed eating at Via Napoli, which I really wanted to try after reading your review last year. I did however, eat everything else but I guess I'll just have to go back and do it all over again...LOL.

Can't wait to see what you ended up having. And while we love Via Napoli, I'm sure you've got some pretty darn good pizza by you!

 

[kastoney]

From Ichabod to the Beast

This day was Jason's and my 8th anniversary, though we decided to put off our official celebration until the next day. So where to go on our anniversary? Magic Kingdom of Course!

We started off our day by taking a wild trek on a punny bote and then soared on a magic carpet with some of Agrabah's finest.


After that much adventure our bellies were rumbling so we headed to one of my favorite places: Sleepy Hollow

Behold your eyes on the Nutella and Fruit Waffle. Technically its called the fresh fruit waffle with chocolate hazelnut spread, but we all know there is some serious nutella going on in there. So in case you are wondering nutella, combined with a freshly made waffle, and some delicious fresh fruit is a winning combination. And per Casey's despite there being chocolate the fruit makes it a healthy choice

From there we barely avoided being the 1,000th haunts, spun in some cups, rode a flying dog's roller coaster, and did the pooper sans pretzel. And after all that, shocker we were hungry again

We'd planed on just doing counter service this day, but that morning I was able to snag an ADR for lunch at Be Our Guest. I'm not as enamored with this place as some are, but we've found lunch to be solid choice. Thankfully we had preordered, because this line would have awaited us had we not. No thank you.


Jason and I both decided to start with the french onion soup.

This is a vegetarian soup so its not made with the typical beef broth, but that didn't stop it from being delicious. The cheese was abundant, onions plentiful, and the bread inside had perfectly sopped up the soup. This is probably one of the better counter service items I've had.

For his entree, Jason chose the Quinoa salad.

This was a quinoa cake served aside a salad of Green Beans, Potatoes, Olives, Roasted Bell Peppers, Golden Beets and Tomatoes. While I may have mocked his choice of something "lighter" he said the quinoa cake had good flavor, but was a little too loose. However, he declared the salad (which appeared to be the same one from the tuna salad) as "meh." I elected to take a firm no healthy stance and not try this out.

Casey and I split the Carved Turkey Sandwich, which is served warm on a Baguette with Dijon Mayonnaise and Pommes Frites.

In typical disney fashion they had once again committed the too much bread sin, but the turkey was nicely carved and warm and clearly not your typical deli varietal. The arugula and mayo added good flavor and moisture. I ended up taking half the bread off and dunking it in my soup so the bread wasn't too overwhelming. The fries were piping hot and very good, though the quantity seems to have decreased from previous visits.

Overall this was another solid Be Our Guest lunch. While we didn't care for our one dinner there and I'll pass on the breakfast prices, I'm sure we'll be back for lunch again. Provided of course those same day ressies keep popping up

After lunch we took a couple of lovely family photos....






Before meeting a couple of Norwegian and Scottish princesses.






After a long afternoon we headed back to the Poly for some pool time, but not before Casey enjoyed her Haunted Mansion cotton candy a cast member was kind enough to gift her.



For all those inquiring minds apparently this was apple flavored.

That will do the first part of our official anniversary. Up next, Japanese food by way of California


​

 

[hokieinpa]

Another busy morning! You guys get so much done that I feel like we are slow slackers!

Does Casey handle the Haunted Mansion well? Nate flat out refuses anything "scary" or "spooky" so we've yet to take them on it despite my best effort to convince him the ghosts are actually happy.

Lunch seems to be the winner at BOG. All of your choices look great, especially the soup. And the breakfast prices are a little crazy for me to justify a meal there.

And free cotton candy?

 

[disneyAndi14]

We also find BOG a solid lunch, I enjoy the turkey sandwich! I saw the menu for breakfast and could not believe the breakfast price, craziness! Via Napoli is good with a teenager, we have been twice and our pizza and appetizer both times were yummy! In three weeks I will be in MK , getting excited for our trip! Love the reviews.

 

[OasterP]

From Ichabod to the Beast

This day was Jason's and my 8th anniversary, though we decided to put off our official celebration until the next day. So where to go on our anniversary? Magic Kingdom of Course!

We started off our day by taking a wild trek on a punny bote and then soared on a magic carpet with some of Agrabah's finest.


After that much adventure our bellies were rumbling so we headed to one of my favorite places: Sleepy Hollow

Behold your eyes on the Nutella and Fruit Waffle. Technically its called the fresh fruit waffle with chocolate hazelnut spread, but we all know there is some serious nutella going on in there. So in case you are wondering nutella, combined with a freshly made waffle, and some delicious fresh fruit is a winning combination. And per Casey's despite there being chocolate the fruit makes it a healthy choice

From there we barely avoided being the 1,000th haunts, spun in some cups, rode a flying dog's roller coaster, and did the pooper sans pretzel. And after all that, shocker we were hungry again

We'd planed on just doing counter service this day, but that morning I was able to snag an ADR for lunch at Be Our Guest. I'm not as enamored with this place as some are, but we've found lunch to be solid choice. Thankfully we had preordered, because this line would have awaited us had we not. No thank you.


Jason and I both decided to start with the french onion soup.

This is a vegetarian soup so its not made with the typical beef broth, but that didn't stop it from being delicious. The cheese was abundant, onions plentiful, and the bread inside had perfectly sopped up the soup. This is probably one of the better counter service items I've had.

For his entree, Jason chose the Quinoa salad.

This was a quinoa cake served aside a salad of Green Beans, Potatoes, Olives, Roasted Bell Peppers, Golden Beets and Tomatoes. While I may have mocked his choice of something "lighter" he said the quinoa cake had good flavor, but was a little too loose. However, he declared the salad (which appeared to be the same one from the tuna salad) as "meh." I elected to take a firm no healthy stance and not try this out.

Casey and I split the Carved Turkey Sandwich, which is served warm on a Baguette with Dijon Mayonnaise and Pommes Frites.

In typical disney fashion they had once again committed the too much bread sin, but the turkey was nicely carved and warm and clearly not your typical deli varietal. The arugula and mayo added good flavor and moisture. I ended up taking half the bread off and dunking it in my soup so the bread wasn't too overwhelming. The fries were piping hot and very good, though the quantity seems to have decreased from previous visits.

Overall this was another solid Be Our Guest lunch. While we didn't care for our one dinner there and I'll pass on the breakfast prices, I'm sure we'll be back for lunch again. Provided of course those same day ressies keep popping up

After lunch we took a couple of lovely family photos....






Before meeting a couple of Norwegian and Scottish princesses.






After a long afternoon we headed back to the Poly for some pool time, but not before Casey enjoyed her Haunted Mansion cotton candy a cast member was kind enough to gift her.



For all those inquiring minds apparently this was apple flavored.

That will do the first part of our official anniversary. Up next, Japanese food by way of California


​

Love the cotton candy smile! Too bad our trips don't overlap - she and Owen would get along so well!

 

[Wood Nymph]

I like the braised pork at BOG but DH has trouble finding anything he likes. At least he is willing to eat there once a year.

Where is Merida taking Cassie?

 

[momof3princes]

LOVE the Nutella waffle and fresh fruit=healthy
That is awesome you got into BOG last minute, is the craziness of trying to get in there finally dying down??
Apple flavored cotton candy..interesting!!!

 

[NJlauren]

Yum! That waffle! I could totally go for one right now I love that thing!

I haven't done BOG lunch yet but it's on my must do list!

 

[ariane37]

I'm putting that waffle on my list for November! That would be a good quick breakfast I've been wanting to try it but it gets passed over in favor of those gorgeous cinnamon rolls at Gaston's.......

I saw green HM popcorn in January and was wondering what flavor it was - bet it was apple!

As you know we love BOG dinner, and I LOVE the French fries. BUT, the last time we had them was Nov. and I saw in another dining report that, at least in Dec., they'd changed them out for steak fries I don't like steak fries, too much potato and not enough crunch. I'm going to have to research that before our next trip and if they did indeed change the fries at dinner, I'll have to check on the lunch fries, too

 

[blklotus]

I know I'm late to the party here but:
1) I live in Fairfax!
2) As a VT alum, I just have to say...Go Hokies!
3) I love your writing style and am excited to read along!
4) I seriously don't use this many exclamation marks in real life. The wonders of the Internet!

 

[vettegirl]

Glad to hear your BOG lunch was a hit! We love lunch as well, and I am a huge fan of the soup. Love the pictures!!

 

[Leshaface]

That is really cool!

For his entree, Jason chose the Quinoa salad.

Uh okay

While I may have mocked his choice of something "lighter"

Thank you for doing this! No way in heck would I have ordered that either

In typical disney fashion they had once again committed the too much bread sin

Hate that.

Agh so cute!

Whaa?! Very cool! And love that it's green too

 

[cinderkelly]

This day was Jason's and my 8th anniversary, though we decided to put off our official celebration until the next day. So where to go on our anniversary? Magic Kingdom of Course!

Can't think of a better place to spend an anniversary!

I was able to snag an ADR for lunch at Be Our Guest. I'm not as enamored with this place as some are, but we've found lunch to be solid choice. Thankfully we had preordered, because this line would have awaited us had we not. No thank you.

I really enjoyed BOG for lunch. The atmosphere is amazeballs, I thought. My DH thought it was "ok" and hesitates to go back since there are so many other places we haven't tried yet. That line though,

Behold your eyes on the Nutella and Fruit Waffle. T

I want it! Perfection in a waffle!

 

[kastoney]

Another busy morning! You guys get so much done that I feel like we are slow slackers!

Does Casey handle the Haunted Mansion well? Nate flat out refuses anything "scary" or "spooky" so we've yet to take them on it despite my best effort to convince him the ghosts are actually happy.

Lunch seems to be the winner at BOG. All of your choices look great, especially the soup. And the breakfast prices are a little crazy for me to justify a meal there.

And free cotton candy?

We aren't morning people at all and while we've never actually done a rope drop have found that getting there soon after opening can be quite productive. All Casey wants to do is ride things and meet people so its go, go, go for her

Yeah, Casey is good on Haunted Mansion. She was a little apprehensive the first time but we told her it was all just meant to be silly and she's been fine. Though I know that could change at any moment Maybe you can bribe Nate with some green cotton candy ; )

Lunch is definitely the BoG winner. As long as they keep having last minute reservations available we'll be there.

We also find BOG a solid lunch, I enjoy the turkey sandwich! I saw the menu for breakfast and could not believe the breakfast price, craziness! Via Napoli is good with a teenager, we have been twice and our pizza and appetizer both times were yummy! In three weeks I will be in MK , getting excited for our trip! Love the reviews.

I'm with you on the breakfast prices and they just raised them again. Really don't like this trend of fixed price meals.

Sounds like we'll just be a week behind you and of course eating at Via Napoli ; )

Love the cotton candy smile! Too bad our trips don't overlap - she and Owen would get along so well!

Forgive me if I asked already, but when are you all going? We've got our trip next month and then likely going again at the end of August. Casey would most definitely love to have a friend in Disney ; )

I like the braised pork at BOG but DH has trouble finding anything he likes. At least he is willing to eat there once a year.

Where is Merida taking Cassie?

I guess once a year is better than nothing. I like the pork too, but tend to only go that way on winter trips.

We were the first one after a break so Merida had met us at the beginning of the line and skipped with Casey over to the meet and greet area.

LOVE the Nutella waffle and fresh fruit=healthy
That is awesome you got into BOG last minute, is the craziness of trying to get in there finally dying down??
Apple flavored cotton candy..interesting!!!

Yep gotta love Casey's thinking. At least she realizes fruit is healthy, just the rest not so much ; )

I don't think the BoG craziness is dying down and I refuse to succumb to it, but you'd be surprised at how many of the "crazy' places get last minute cancellations

Yum! That waffle! I could totally go for one right now I love that thing!

I haven't done BOG lunch yet but it's on my must do list!

You and me both on the waffle. The protein bar I ate for breakfast is doing absolutely nothing for me.

We definitely prefer liberty tree and plaza for lunch, but BoG is a good one to add in if something is available at the last minute.

I'm putting that waffle on my list for November! That would be a good quick breakfast I've been wanting to try it but it gets passed over in favor of those gorgeous cinnamon rolls at Gaston's.......

I saw green HM popcorn in January and was wondering what flavor it was - bet it was apple!

As you know we love BOG dinner, and I LOVE the French fries. BUT, the last time we had them was Nov. and I saw in another dining report that, at least in Dec., they'd changed them out for steak fries I don't like steak fries, too much potato and not enough crunch. I'm going to have to research that before our next trip and if they did indeed change the fries at dinner, I'll have to check on the lunch fries, too

Definitely try the waffle. I'm still a bit heartbroken the savory ones are now gone at lunch time, but at least i'll have the nutella to drown my tears in. We're big Gaston's fans too. So that just means at least two mornings in MK ; )

I know I'm late to the party here but:
1) I live in Fairfax!
2) As a VT alum, I just have to say...Go Hokies!
3) I love your writing style and am excited to read along!
4) I seriously don't use this many exclamation marks in real life. The wonders of the Internet!

Welcome to the party fellow Hokie and NOVAite. I grew up in Burke and we are in Centreville now, so right around the corner ; ) Glad you are enjoying the report. I know I love eating and writing all about it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (was that too many exclamation points )

Glad to hear your BOG lunch was a hit! We love lunch as well, and I am a huge fan of the soup. Love the pictures!!

Yeah the soup was a great find this trip. Can't wait to have it again.

Thank you for doing this! No way in heck would I have ordered that either

Yes I find opportunities to mock poor Jason often, like just a little bit ago when he went to run with knee socks pulled up almost passed his knees. Oh so hot. So without question the quinoa just could not be avoided.

Whaa?! Very cool! And love that it's green too

Yeah I was buying some HM dish towels and the lady behind the counter just gave it to Casey along with a ton of HM stickers. She was in heaven.

I really enjoyed BOG for lunch. The atmosphere is amazeballs, I thought. My DH thought it was "ok" and hesitates to go back since there are so many other places we haven't tried yet. That line though,

I do like eating in the castle, just wish the beast would pay his lighting bill so it wasn't so dang dark in there

I want it! Perfection in a waffle!

You and me both!!!!!!

 

[suse66]

Everything looks great! I'm thinking of ideas for my upcoming solo trip in August ( I took the plunge last week and upgraded to an annual pass so am going to celebrate my upcoming 50th with a solo trip in August). Great opportunities to try out things I know my boys would not be interested in.

 

[kastoney]

Everything looks great! I'm thinking of ideas for my upcoming solo trip in August ( I took the plunge last week and upgraded to an annual pass so am going to celebrate my upcoming 50th with a solo trip in August). Great opportunities to try out things I know my boys would not be interested in.

That sounds like a wonderful idea. Happy almost birthday from one August baby to another. Having done 40 in the world I can attest its a great place to celebrate. Though my crew would never let me go solo ; ) Can't wait to hear what places you are gonna try.

 

[kastoney]

Signature Slushi

For dinner this night we all had one thing on our mind: SLUSHI (aka sushi to everyone but Casey). We figured we'd just stay in the hotel and hit up Kona, but were pleasantly surprised to find an open ADR at California Grill. So signature slushi it was!

We were seated very quickly and ordered a couple of drinks as we contemplated our slushi options.

I ordered the Cucumber Fizz which is Chopin Vodka, Limoncello, and Cucumber Water with a splash of Sprite. I'd never had a cucumber flavored drink before so the flavor threw me at first, but it was very refreshing and loaded with lots of vodka. Behind my drink is Jason's beer. I wrote down it was very tasty but have no idea what it as

We ultimately decided on sharing four slushi's which I'll highlight from least to most favorite. Up first we have the California Combo Roll.

This has one roll with what is advertised as Jumbo Lump Crab and one with Shrimp Tempura both of which are served with Avocado and Cucumber. We got this one so Casey had a non spicy option and while it was fine it was pretty unimaginative. I preferred the shrimp version as the crab was decidedly not jumbo or lump and more like flakes. Casey loved it though.


Coming in at #3 we have the Pork Belly Nigri Roll.

This is House-cured Pork, Bacon and Yuzu Rice, and Spicy Teriyaki. This had a very good flavor profile from the pork and bacon but at the end of the day I'm really not looking for my slushi to taste like bacon.

The runner up was the Spicy Kazan Roll which is Crab, Shrimp, Scallops, Tuna, and Fireball Sauce.

This was delicious as the fireball sauce was creamy and spicy and paired nicely with all the seafood. The only reason it fell it #2 was from a plating perspective. The sauce, scallops, and tempura were all concentrated in the middle of the dish which made it hard to get on every piece. In fact we were about half way through before we even found the scallops. They would be much better served to put all of this on top of the roll for ease of eating.

And the winner is.......

Dragon Roll: Spicy and Tataki Tuna, Shrimp Tempura, Avocado, Dragon Sauce, and Hijiki-Shirataki Salad. This had just the right fish to spice ratio and the cucumber and seaweed accompaniments were absolutely delicious. Jason was also a fan.


To drink with our slushi we knew we wanted wine but were a bit perplexed on a good pairing. We asked to speak to the sommelier who was a wonderfully friendly gentleman from named Andreay. He ultimately led us to a french bottle of Sauvignon Blanc from the Sancere region. Apparently they have lots of oysters in the soil in Sancere so it pairs well with seafood.

Andreay could not have been more spot on. I know next to nothing about French wine, but this was acidic and minerally and paired perfectly with the slushi. So when in wine doubt...Who ya gonna call? Sommelier-busters He ain't 'fraid of no pairings.

For dessert we went with one of our favorites, the warm homemade fritters.


These are Banana-stuffed, Cinnamon-dusted Fritters complemented with a Trio of Dipping Sauces (peanut butter, caramel, and chocolate). These are warm little bundles of wonderfulness that taste like fried banana bread. I love them with the caramel sauce, though Jason is a PB fan (I'm allergic so I can't attest to that one).

To go with our fritters we shared a wonderful glass of a 20 year old tawny port.


Casey wanted her own dessert and went with the cookies and cream.

She was one happy camper.


Overall this was another great California Grill meal. We'd never tried the slushi here before and while it was pretty price, it was very good. I'm not sure I'd do it again and give up some of their other deliciousness, but its a solid option I'm glad we tried. With our tables in wonderland card we saved $38.20.

Up next, a Floridian Breakfast....​

 

[pepperandchips]

Overall this was another great California Grill meal. We'd never tried the slushi here before and while it was pretty price, it was very good. I'm not sure I'd do it again and give up some of their other deliciousness, but its a solid option I'm glad we tried. With our tables in wonderland card we saved $38.20.

It's funny you say that as this is always my quandary as well - to choose a filet, bison strip, duck, etc or go with the Dragon Roll and Spicy Kazan as my entree?! I always get the Dragon as an appetizer even if I do go with a more traditional (non-slushi) entree. Glad to hear you enjoyed it as well. The price is so high I am trying to stay away from my beloved California Grill for a couple trips... But I am planning a holiday blowout and you better believe that California Grill sushi will be making a triumphant return!

 

[Mainemama]

Catching up! I have avoided the dining board unintentionally as I have been getting started planning our next trip! It will be just a Disney quickie, and I think the perfect opportunity to play ADR roulette, as inspired by you! I scored a same evening CG s(l)ushi fix in December. My very smart 8 year old picked your top sushi choice. It was sooo good. I think your number 2 looks good, too. Via Napoli was a hot mess for us a couple summers ago... Bad service, tough, almost burnt crust. I think we may need to give it another try, though, as 99% of people seem to love it! I wonder if they have any decent gluten free options. Surprisingly, Tutto Italia does.

 

[Leshaface]

but were pleasantly surprised to find an open ADR at California Grill.

Wow how does that happen, very cool!

This had a very good flavor profile from the pork and bacon but at the end of the day I'm really not looking for my slushi to taste like bacon.

Yikes too true. Very different thought!

The sauce, scallops, and tempura were all concentrated in the middle of the dish which made it hard to get on every piece. In fact we were about half way through before we even found the scallops. They would be much better served to put all of this on top of the roll for ease of eating.

Oh my gosh, you're so right! We got this back in 2012 and really enjoyed it but thinking about it, the plating is terribly off, even thought it looks pretty and different from the other rolls.

Dragon Roll

This sounds delicious! I can't remember if we've tried this or not. We usually do sushi as apps and share a roll and sashimi (mainly for me!) but we're definitely going to have to try this next time.

Apparently they have lots of oysters in the soil in Sancere so it pairs well with seafood.

Oooh great choice! Do you find when you use a sommelier, they choose more of the higher priced wines, or do you give them a price range and then they choose from there?

Who ya gonna call? Sommelier-busters