Food & Wine & Feeling Fine: An October 2015 Dining Report (COMPLETE!)

[DisneyCoasters]

For starters, I am drooling at EVERYTHING. $94 isn't terrible, especially considering all of the alcohol and four courses. However I don't think I'd eat for 24 hours afterwards haha. I have noticed (at Via Napoli anyways) that the service is quite slow, I think maybe that's the nature of an Italian meal!? Like it's supposed to be slow paced and relaxed? I'm not sure but I've always noticed that about Via Napoli. Everything you ate looks delicious and I love that you get small portions of each thing. I've always been nervous to book something like that because while I'm not picky there are certainly things I don't like so I'd be nervous if it were full portions. Thanks for an awesome review, we may have to try one of those sometime! We just stuck w/ a wine tasting this year and an Eat to the Beat dining package.

I totally agree! The price felt worth it to me and I think the small portions were really great. I am also a recovering picky eater, so it was nice to have so many things to try. It felt like I was guaranteed to like something from every course!

That's also a good point about the service pacing. I've never eaten at Via Napoli (yet!!!), but I've certainly had that experience at other restaurants. I'm somewhat of an impatient person and here in Boston we're pretty "go, go, go!" Probably good for me to have an opportunity to slow it down once in a while!

 

[DisneyCoasters]

Following along! The food and wine pairing is a fabulous girls' day out!

Glad you're here! And I agree that this made for a fabulous girls' day! At home we often do wine festivals and fancy dinners, so this was a natural addition for us.

 

[pumba]

fantastic reviews and photos...I am not much of a wine person...but the food options were beautiful...thanks for taking the time to FIRST take the photos and second show us as we all sit here drooling...

 

[DisneyCoasters]

fantastic reviews and photos...I am not much of a wine person...but the food options were beautiful...thanks for taking the time to FIRST take the photos and second show us as we all sit here drooling...

You are welcome, Pumba! Thank you all for reading along!

I am actually traveling to the airport for a quick Christmas time trip to WDW! I'll pick back up when I get home...and maybe I'll make this a two-trip dining review...

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

 

[pumba]

thanks again

 

[DisneyCoasters]

Hello again, Dis friends! I’ve been MIA because I took a quick trip to Orlando to celebrate Christmas at the World with Mel, Stacey, and Lindsey. We stayed at AKL and had a lot of great food including my favorite new experience of the trip, the Boma breakfast buffet! If I can get through our October trip before my time is up, maybe I’ll share the details of our December food adventures. For now, though, travel with me back in time to October…

When last we left off, the three girls had just finished an awesome Italian food and wine pairing at Tutto Gusto. We set off on our way around World Showcase heading for the Festival Center. It was a gorgeous day and Epcot was looking stunning as ever:

We were headed to our next F&W Festival event: the Delicato Family Vineyards Wine Tasting. I had never done a tasting at Disney before so wasn't sure what to expect. For $15 per person, we figured we didn’t have much to lose. We checked in at the Festival Center to get our tickets, and the cast member asked if we had a Chase Disney Visa (which would give us priority seating). I said I didn’t, but that I DID have a regular Chase Visa if that helped anything? The cast member said “What the heck? Why not?!” and gave us three priority tickets which got us into the very first row. Pixie dust!

This tasting was actually not very well-attended, especially when compared to the other one we attended later in the week. There were probably only four rows out of ten that were filled with people. (They pre-poured the wine, and I was very sad to see it go to waste! Didn’t think the CMs would be thrilled with us filling our water bottles from the unsupervised glasses, so we abstained.)

We arrived to our seats to find modest pours of three Delicato wines. Delicato is a California vineyard which was named California Winery of the Year award for 2014. I didn’t take notes, so I’m sorry to tell you that my descriptions are not going to be super helpful for wine connoisseurs. I believe we tried a chardonnay, a pinot noir, and a cabernet sauvignon.

The woman who led this presentation relied heavily on reading from a powerpoint presentation, so it was really not very engaging at all. Also, she seemed to be mispronouncing the name of the master winemaker for the first half of the presentation. His name is Ralf Holdenried (thank you, Google), but she called him “Raif” (rhymes with safe) until she showed a video where he introduced himself. After the video she called him Ralf. It was very bizarre.

Overall, this was a fine experience but next time I would consider spending the money on two cocktails in the World Showcase instead.

After the tasting, we spent some time on rides and wandering around the park. Eventually, we were ready for our first visits to the F&W booths. We are huge food and wine people, so to say we were excited is an understatement!

We decided to start at the entrance to the WS and head clockwise around. We shared some plates and ate some of our own, thereby allowing us to maximize our limited belly space and minimize expense while still trying a bunch of things. Our first booth was Farm Fresh where I tried the loaded mac n’ cheese with Nueske’s® pepper bacon, cheddar cheese, peppers and green onions for $4.25.

This. Was. Awesome. I mean, I will happily eat most kinds of mac and cheese, from the fanciest to the humble box of Annie’s. The mac and cheese base was good, but the bacon, peppers, and scallions took it to another level. This may not be particularly high-brow, but it was delicious. This was a very strong starting point to the festival for me. Be advised: you will see this again over the next few days!

Next we tried the beef empanada from the Patagonia marketplace for $4.75. This was fried well and nicely crispy on the outside, but I thought the filling was not very flavorful. Though the texture was nice, it was nothing to write home about. Doesn’t make a stunning photo, either:

Next we tried the Chilaquiles de pollo: Corn chips layered with seasoned chicken, queso fresco, sour cream and cilantro for $5.00. Except I HATE cilantro with a passion that burns like 1,000 suns, so:

Seriously, this should be a tagline for my life.

The safely cilantro-free dish was cheesy and creamy, but not super flavorful. I think it would have benefitted from a hit of some spicy salsa or some other acid-y ingredient to add a counterpoint to the rich and creamy dish.

At this point it was starting to get dark. Hello, beautiful sunset over the World Showcase:

Next, I took a gamble and ordered the Vegan Korean Barbecue with Steamed Rice and Cucumber Kimchi for $4.75. Now clearly, I am not a vegan. But I do eat a lot of tofu and seitan in my real life, so I figured why not give this a shot? I appreciate the opportunity to eat something that doesn’t have meat in it at Disney, but…

This was not good. The flavor was fine, but I did not enjoy the texture of the vegan BBQ. I am glad it exists as an option for vegetarians and vegans, but seriously...there are SO MANY naturally vegetarian or vegan foods that could be made for this booth. Why insist on pretend meat?

By this time we wanted to stake out a spot for Illuminations, so we headed over to an open (!!!) picnic table in front of the Germany pavillion. I took the opportunity to try the Schöfferhofer Grapefruit beer that I’ve heard so much about from the German beer & pretzel cart. I thought this beer was relatively tasty, but be warned that it’s QUITE fruity. I think I’d prefer something with a citrus note in the background but still tasting predominantly like beer. Note that for this photo I stole Stacey’s “Germany” card which came with her riesling flight.

Interested in one last food treat from the festival to wipe the faux BBQ from my memory, I headed to Poland for the kielbasa and potato pierogi with caramelized onions and sour cream for $5.50.

I love kielbasa and pierogis, but I have to say that this seemed way overpriced compared to some of the other options around WS. I got three slivers of salty, delicious kielbasa and two small pierogis for $5.50. Womp, womp. It was tasty, though, and got me a Poland stamp in my passport.

On my way back to the picnic table, I grabbed my favorite Disney treat to share with the girls:

We had an amazing view and really enjoyed Illuminations, as always. It’s definitely a favorite! It was delightful to have a seat while waiting, and once the show started we could still see really well:

All in all, this was an excellent day and a great introduction to the 2015 F&W Festival!

Coming up next: Join me for a simple breakfast and then we’ll head to Hollywood Studios for our introduction to lunch at Hollywood Brown Derby!

 

[Vernie822]

Loooooove Boma breakfast!!! I hope you enjoyed it!

We did a wine event too, it was fun and like you said for $15 what the heck - could've used larger pours though! We tried many of the same F&W options and had pretty much the same feeling towards them haha.. that mac and cheese was so good!

 

[DisneyCoasters]

Loooooove Boma breakfast!!! I hope you enjoyed it!

We did a wine event too, it was fun and like you said for $15 what the heck - could've used larger pours though! We tried many of the same F&W options and had pretty much the same feeling towards them haha.. that mac and cheese was so good!

Boma was awesome! I loved having all of the traditional breakfast options in addition to some of the more unique African-inspired foods. I thought the carved ham, the pap, and the African corn beef hash were awesome. Plus anytime I can eat unlimited grilled asparagus I am VERY happy. Even though it's a trek from the other resorts, I would love to go back for breakfast again sometime!

Totally agree about the pours...they were not the tiniest, but definitely not the most generous either. And glad to know I'm not the only one who was in love with the mac and cheese!

 

[momabaarjo]

I am following along...headed back to F&W this year...so looking for ideas and suggestions.

 

[carolnog]

Following along, a bit late but catching up! Your food descriptions are great, they made me hungry and homesick for WDW!

 

[kastoney]

Not sure how I missed your reviews until today, but I'm here now. Your experience at Tutto looks completely amazing. Italian wine and food, yes please. But sorry the wine tasting was a bust. At least you made up for it with the F&W booths. Can't wait to read more.

 

[buteraa]

Following along. I am really enjoying your reviews, can't wait to hear more.

 

[DisneyCoasters]

Hello all! Hope everyone had an amazing Christmas and New Year! I've been on a staycation without work for the last week and a half, and it's been amazing. Thought I'd get more done on this report, but...whoops! Anyway, back to it now. But first, a few hellos!

momabaarjo: Lots more F&W to come! October is my favorite time to visit by far. Not sure I'm going to be able to make it for 2016 F&W and I'm already bummed about it!

carolnog: Welcome! I find I can't read dining descriptions when I'm too hungry or else I'm practically licking the screen!

kastoney: Thanks for joining in! I am not a frequent commenter, but I've been loving your reviews as well. I now find myself thinking of the park as "Ep-A-Cot." Tutto was definitely a high point of the trip for us this year!

buteraa: Welcome and thanks for reading along!

 

[vettegirl]

Boma has an amazing breakfast for sure. I forgot to try that loaded mac and cheese at the festival, hopefully they bring it back. We tried the empanada, hubby liked it, however he doesn't like a lot of spice. Thanks for sharing your F&W treats, makes me look forward to the fact I will be returning this year to the festival.

 

[DisneyCoasters]

Happy New Year, friends! Hoping that everyone is having a great start to 2016!

Looking back to October, our second full day dawned beautifully over at the BoardWalk Inn. I got ready quickly and left Stacey and Lindsey in the room. They’d decided to take it easy this morning and head to the pool, but I’m not really good at taking it easy while at Disney! I headed down to the Belle Vue Lounge for a quick breakfast before heading to the Magic Kingdom for a few hours of solo touring. I decided on a simple bagel with cream cheese and an apple I’d brought from home. Nothing too fancy, but totally serviceable. Got a few ice waters to fill up my bottle, and only spent $2.99 for an easy and quick breakfast. I’d give this a solid 3 stars for convenience.

I took the bus to MK and didn’t quite make rope drop, but was still there pretty early. The park was decked out for Halloween and looked beautiful as ever.

I spent a bunch of time in Tomorrowland riding Space Mountain, Buzz, and taking several solo turns on the Peoplemover. The ride was totally deserted and it’s one of my favorites!

While in the dark section of the ride, I got a chance to show off my glow in the dark magic band skin. (In case anyone’s curious, I got this from magicyourband.com after hearing about them on the Dis podcast. Highly recommend if you want a fancy magic band! I think this one cost $7.)

I wandered around and did some more rides (Little Mermaid, Thunder Mountain), and then heard from the girls that they were headed for Hollywood Studios for our 1:15pm ADR at the Hollywood Brown Derby. I walked over to the Contemporary and waited for a bus to take me to HS. I was feeling so happy to just be at Disney!

After a short wait for the bus and a quick trip across the resort, I met up with the girls at HBD. None of us had been there and we were excited to give it a try. We were seated relatively quickly and started with the bread service. The rolls were warm and tasty and we definitely got seconds as the meal progressed. I also got an iced tea which you can see in the background below.

I wasn’t feeling the heaviness of a big entree (or price... I mean a $49 entree for lunch?!), so I decided to go with the “Famous Cobb Salad” minus the egg and with the dressing on the side. I got the entree portion which I believe was about $15, though it’s not showing up on the MDE app as a lunch option?

I thought this salad was decently tasty, but I guess it didn’t quite live up to the hype for me. Maybe it’s because I’m not really a fan of hard boiled eggs...perhaps taking them away threw off some perfectly magical salad balance? I thought the veggies were fresh and the lettuce was very crisp. I liked the smokiness of the bacon and the creamy avocado. The cheese was quite a pungent bleu and I ended up taking some off because it was a lot on the palate. I finished this meal feeling well nourished with the balance of veggies, protein, healthy fat, and carbs from the rolls. It was nice and light and left me ready for a hot afternoon of playing in the park. Can’t say that for a lot of meals you can get at WDW, I suppose!

For dessert, the girls and I each wanted to try the famous grapefruit cake. We ordered a mini dessert sampler with three portions of the cake.

I thought this was nice and moist and had a really strong grapefruit flavor. I love grapefruit, so that’s what I was hoping for! I enjoyed the cake and loved to have just a few bites in the mini-portion. That’s the perfect amount of dessert for me, especially at lunch. I loved the dried grapefruit garnish; I thought it made for a nice presentation and the grapefruit bits were tasty. (Not sure I was supposed to eat it...but I did!)

Overall, I thought the meal was decent at HBD but it didn’t blow me away. I would give the experience a 3 and wouldn’t be in a huge hurry to go back. I think next time I would want to try dinner or maybe share an entree with a friend to try something different. For the salad, ice tea, and cake, I ended up paying about $30 after using the Tables in Wonderland discount (including tax and tip). On the total bill, we saved $31 (including a few alcoholic drinks as well).

We spent the rest of the afternoon doing lots of favorites at HS including Toy Story, Tower, Rockin Rollercoaster, Muppets, and watching Beauty and the Beast. We also stayed to watch Fantasmic! for the first time in years. What an amazing show!

Up next, we get a little hangry and have to figure out dinner on the fly!

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

Looks like you had a fantastic trip! Great reviews so far. Love reading about F&W from this year. Can't wait to read more!

 

[DisneyCoasters]

Boma has an amazing breakfast for sure. I forgot to try that loaded mac and cheese at the festival, hopefully they bring it back. We tried the empanada, hubby liked it, however he doesn't like a lot of spice. Thanks for sharing your F&W treats, makes me look forward to the fact I will be returning this year to the festival.

I HIGHLY recommend the mac and cheese. I would be shocked if it didn't come back next year, so fingers crossed. I think between the four of us we got got like 9 portions of it over our trip!

Also, saw in your sig that you're headed to DLR for the Star Wars half...so fun! I spent yesterday afternoon with a good friend of mine who is also going, and she was telling me all about her costume plans. I'm not much of a runner, but it really sounds like Disney puts on some awesome races.

Looks like you had a fantastic trip! Great reviews so far. Love reading about F&W from this year. Can't wait to read more!

Thanks for joining! I'm not much of a commenter, but I've been enjoying your reviews too!

 

[DisneyCoasters]

After catching Fantasmic! we were all pretty hungry for dinner. Our casual plan for this Thursday evening was to head over to Epcot for some more F&W treats and to enjoy the evening extra magic hours. We strolled leisurely from HS along the water, past the (crowded!) BoardWalk, and in through the International Gateway. Especially in the evening when the sun isn't beating down, I just love this walk!

We entered the park and it. was. NUTS! It was a Thursday evening so we weren’t expecting the weekend crush to be on, but for whatever reason it was just so crowded. (Just occurring to me now that it was probably because this was a MNSSHP night at the MK!) People were already lined up several rows deep for Illuminations, so we assumed we’d just eat and maybe catch glimpses of the show from farther back. We got to France, waited in a pretty long line, and finally got our treats. I went with the Boeuf Bouguignon (braised short ribs in cabernet with mashed potatoes) and a glass (thimble?) of Cabernet Sauvignon.

I enjoyed the beef here quite a bit! I sometimes find that short ribs can be so fatty, but the portion that I got was very meaty and tender. The sauce was delicious and I was tempted to lick my plate clean, but did try to refrain. The potatoes had a bit of a skin on them like they’d been sitting under a heat lamp too long, but they served satisfactorily as a way to get more delicious sauce into my mouth. The wine was nice and I thought the sharpness of the cab offered a good balance to the rich meat and sauce.

After we finished our French treats, we really weren’t sure what to do next. We were all hungry and tired and the thought of fighting through giant crowds just didn’t sound very appealing. We used the MDE app to try to find a last minute reservation somewhere at Epcot or in the EP resort area, but nothing was available. At this point, I think we all started to veer into hanger!

Either Stacey or Lindsey had the idea to walk back over to the BoardWalk to see if we could get in somewhere. I was dubious, but agreed to give it a shot. To my surprise, we were able to walk right into Trattoria al Forno! We checked in at the hostess stand and were called for a table immediately after we sat down on a bench to wait.

There were a number of other parties seated around us, but there were many empty tables as well. Good to know for future unplanned dinner needs! We got a great waiter who brought us bread, olive oil, and water very quickly. Helpful to ward of the hanger!

We decided to order a pitcher of red sangria to split and I am very sorry to say I forgot to take a photo. It was your standard red sangria with fruit - I’m sure you can imagine what that looked like. Relatively tasty and a good value since we each got a couple of glasses from the pitcher.

We decided to split a few dishes and went with the recommendation from our server to try a few dishes with homemade pasta. First we got the Braised Beef “Bolognese” with House-made Cavatelli for $21.99.

This dish was really good! The pasta tasted fresh and was cooked to a nice al dente. The meat in the bolognese was a tender beef short rib. It was very flavorful and melded nicely with the acid from the tomatoes and the creamy melted cheese on top. I would definitely recommend this dish!

Our other choice - which appears to no longer be on the menu - was the Campanelle with Green Beans, Roasted Potatoes, and Genovese Pesto for $18.99. The pasta was again well-cooked and had the perfect textural bite. I loved the freshness of the pesto, though I tend to be very pro-pesto in general, so take that for what it’s worth. I liked the fresh green beans and loved having the option of a flavorful vegetarian dish. The potatoes didn’t add much to the dish, but overall I loved this!

For the two pasta dishes and the pitcher of sangria, our total after TiW was $71 (saving $13.79). I may be getting too used to Disney prices, but this seemed like a pretty reasonable price for a lot of food!

I think back on this meal very fondly and would give it a 4/5 stars! Of course, I also try to remember that “hunger is the best sauce” and I might be bumping the score due to my extreme hunger. Either way, I would definitely recommend this restaurant and would eat here again. I didn’t feel too excited when I heard that Kouzzina was being replaced with an (other) Italian place, but I was very pleasantly surprised by my experience at Trattoria al Forno!

Up next: Quick breakfast at Belle Vue and lunch at Sanaa!

 

[vettegirl]

Thanks for the review! I have a friend who loves this place. I will have to give it a try!

 

[DisneyJo]

Great reviews, thanks