Not 1, Not 2, But 3 AMAZING!! trips

[Niki Andiokno]

Here is the fabulous martini

 

[Niki Andiokno]

Friday we went to the Tequila Lunch at La Hacienda.


We stayed out with a classic Margarita. Loved this. Really good. I wish I had a bigger one.


Our table was already set with some things to assist in treating, as well as cleansing the nose. Cinnamon sticks, coffee beans and lime zest. We also had some shots of tequila.



The Tequila rep was very nice and told us about each tequila. This brand was owned by famous guitarist Carlos Santana. There was a Blanco, clear and unaged. I found this a bit harsh. It was served with a Flautas Carnitas. I don't have a photo, but here is the menu description.


Next was a reposado paired with the best soup. This was beautiful and treated wonderful.



We also have a little Mezcal and Coffee flavored tequila.

 

[Niki Andiokno]

Finally we had the main course. Here is the menu, but it was so good I forgot to take a photo. This was paired with the anejo tequila. The steak and fish were perfect.


Unfortunately, I don't remember dessert, nor do I have a picture of it. To much tequila I guess.

Overall this was good, but I was not a fan of the Tequila. Let's just say Carlos Santana may have Sammy Hagar beat in the guitar contest, Sammy ' s Cabo Wabo beats Carlos in the Tequila round. I found them all pretty harsh. I enjoyed our meal much more than the Tequila, so I will come back for dinner but not the Tequila Lunch.

 

[Niki Andiokno]

Found my Carnitas pic.

 

[Niki Andiokno]

Having bucket troubles again, so guess where our last Trip 2 meal was from? Chefs de France. This is the wonderful sorbet and strawberry cake. Threes are two of my favorite desserts at Disney.

Sally and Mike had the lobster bisque. Mike loved it, Sally not so much. Too creamy. I had the onion soup. Loved it as always.


For entrees Dally got the quiche. She loved it. I thought it had a bit too much Nutmeg, but it is all about taste. She really liked the salad too.


Mile and I both had the macaroni au gratin. This was super cheesy mac n' cheese. Mike loved this. I liked it, but I had to save room for dessert. I took the leftovers home to my Mom, who declared this the best mac n' cheese ever.


On to dessert. I love the sorbet here.

 

[Niki Andiokno]

This was my Snack to take home. So many m&ms.

 

[Niki Andiokno]

TRIP 3

This wasspeed to be a non park trip. We flew in to MCO and took Magical Express for the first time. Not the easiest experience because Southwest arrives at the opposite end of the airport. By the time we made it to the Boardwalk, we were toed and needed an alcoholic boost. We had the best room ever! !!!
First floor, right near the main pool bar.

This is where I had one of many drinks. The first was a pins Clara type drink with blue curacau arc. I have no pics, and don't recall the name, but it was great.

That night we ate dinner at Il Mulino with Barb (jabead) and her dear hubby. I don't have any photos, but I am certain Barb will get there on her report. She took pics for me. Mike and I had the Calimari, pork chop and mushroom pays. Not really different than my other trips there.

I will again mention the Antibodies Toscana. I can't explain how much I love this wine. Oh, and the limoncello.

 

[Niki Andiokno]

The next morning we met jabead and DH at a new place for me, Captain's Grill at the Yacht Club. We took a nice walk over from BWV, then we're ready for a nice breakfast and great company.

Everyone had the buffet but me. Odd man out, I had been dying to try thelobster omelet. I am a hide omelet fan. That is my favorite breakfast. That being said, there are two types of omelets and
Omelet people. I like fluffy omelets wroth the stuff cooked right in the eggs. My dear hubby likes the thin egg omelet wroth the stuffing folded between the thin layers. This was more like what Mine prefers.



Isn't this beautiful? Those silky crepe thin layers of egg were filled with buttery pieces of lobster, asparagus and a creamy but light cheese. It was topped with a spur cream and chive sauce that was smooth and heavenly. The asparagus had a bit of a bite to it, so it wasn't mushy. The finale was an entire butter poached located claw right on top. Even though this was not a fluffy omelet, I liked it. The lobster and asparagus were very good.

Everyone enjoyed the buffet. I will let Barb do her far superior review on that.

I look forward to going back for breakfast. Maybe to try the buffet. Maybe to try the dark chocolate waffles. Maybe another lobster omelet. I don't know, but I will definately be back.

 

[Niki Andiokno]

Here is a little Snack I picked up at the Staring Rolls Bakery. The brownie was great as always, but the topping m&m's were old and discolored. I just took off the bad ones and enjoyed the brownie.

 

[Niki Andiokno]

Big River Grill & Brewing Works

This is one of our stops every trip. This is never planned, we just seem to end up here. They brew their own beer, and it is all pretty good. Mike and I always share the sampler. We usually each then get our favorite for a glass.



I almost always get the blackened Mahi Mahi sandwich , substituting fries for mashed potatoes. This place had the best mashed spuds, a little bit of skin and a touch of garlic make these a cut above your average mashed potatoes. This time I branched out, but Mike couldn't resist the fish. I usually eat the fish without bread, as it is almost as good as a signature fish steak. Yummy.



I tried a house specialty Hazelnut Crusted Chicken, served with sun dried cherry sauce. Of course I had the awesome mashed potatoes and the vegetables of carrots and green beans. It was a bit suprising that the sauce was white, as the picture from allears.net was a reddish sauce. It was very good. The chicken was crispy and you could taste the hazelnuts. The sauce was pretty good for a white sauce. The Chicken itself was very moist. I would probably go back to my Mahi next time, but I am glad I branched out. It tasted good and the portion was very filling.



Or maybe Mike and I will try the meatloaf and share. It looked really good, and the portion was humongous! !

This is a great, inexpensive place to go.

 

[kastoney]

Playing catch up on your last couple of reviews. Think we share the same CG loves: sushi, flatbreads, and fireworks. Perfection!

Your tequila tasting meal looks amazing. Not sure I could handle that much tequila but it would certainly be fun trying.

So jealous you and Barb got to meet and have not one, but two meals together!!!! Captains Grill looks like a great breakfast spot. We were going to stay at beach club for our next trip, but ended up moving to Wilderness Lodge. So not sure we'll get there this time but definitely sometime in the future

 

[Niki Andiokno]

Kari,

I wouldn't try the Tequila luncheon of I had to do it all over again. Barb did it last year, and tried to warn against it. I am a tequila lover, but this was not as good as expected.

Cali Grill on the other hand. A mutual love. Thanks for reading.

 

[Niki Andiokno]

The next night was the entire reason for this little weekend excursion, the Swan & Dolphin Food & Wine Festival. This is like a SwolphinClassic version of Party of the Senses. There are many booths of wine and food from every chef at those two resorts. There is a little beer, liquor and sake. This year they had food trucks in a circle. There is also a beer tent, for an extra cost. Bands played throughout the night. We were lucky enough to me Barb (jabead) and hubby for the second year.

Here is what we had. I loved every dish but one.


Don't remember what this was but it was fish and great.
Two years ago several desserts ran out before we got there, so this was my second spot. Isn't this beautiful?

The all chocolate choux, Lime pistachio dome – pistachio daquoise, Carrot cake – pineapple comfit, cream cheese panacotta, Strawberry vanilla sundae, lemon madeleine, caramelized almonds, whipped cream




Again I Don't recall what this was, but it was great.

Fish ‘n’ Chips: Beer Battered Sustainable Bass, Sarson’s Malt Vinegar Chips, Tartar Foam — Garden Grove. Fantastic

Salt Roasted Prime New York Strip Loin, Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Sauce Bordelaise — Shula’s . Love this. I ate a couple of those.

This was the one thing I didn't like. It tasted like jerky with no flavor.

Gotta take the dogs out. I will finish tomorrow.

 

[Niki Andiokno]

Back to the yummy Food & Wine Classic food. Here you have Kimono ' s Dragon Roll – Crispy Shrimp, Tuna, Avocado, Japanese Mayonnaise. Yum.

 

[Niki Andiokno]

Ok. Let's try to finish the Fest.

 

[Niki Andiokno]

The popcorn in the above post was awesome. It was freeze died with dry ice and had a kettle corn sweetness. That and the mac n cheese were from the food trucks. They also had corn dogs, but can't find my photo.

 

[Niki Andiokno]

 

[Niki Andiokno]

 

[Niki Andiokno]

And here are the cool, funny guys cooking that delightful fish. I chatted them up quite a bit. Crazy awesome.







Funnel cake with chocolate

 

[Niki Andiokno]

Here I am with my favorite chef, Todd English. So hot, and such a great creative chef.



If you haven't tried Bluezoo you need to.

Those are my pics. Except for Cib's , I loved everything. I even snuck a chocolate almond dessert back to the room for breakfast the next morning. BTW I think I put the wrong picture with Cib's brisket.

I drank lots of wine, but didn't get any bottle pics this year. There were many good wines, especially from Argentina.

For a hundred bucks, this is the best event IMHO. There is great food, endless Shula ' s steak, plenty to drink and great fun. Again, we had a great time wroth Barb and her DH. Read her report though. I am certain she remembers much more about what we ate and drank than I do,.