Day 3 - Snack: La Cava de Tequila
I drink, but am not a big drinker. The most I ever imbided was during my studies abroad in France where it was criminal NOT to drink. Since then, I've have the occasional glass of wine with dinner or a Corona here and there. The SO doesn't like alcohol at all. With that in mind, why did we head to La Cava de Tequila for pre-dinner drinks?
First of all, it's a new World Showcase locale (always reason to celebrate) that isn't classified as a sit-down restaurant, counter service restaurant or even as the typical Disney bar. It's this inbetween mystery that I was unable to figure out online. No ADRs? Never really a line for tables? Even at peak visiting times?
Second, it's in my favorite pavilion (who doesn't love eternal dusk?) And anything has to be better than those lousy drinks they pass up as margaritas outside the pyramid.
Third? AVOCADO MARGARITAS (Aguacate). How spectacularly unexpected is that? That's all I needed to know. Now, there's a Mexican restaurant I visit quite frequently in New York called Cafe Frida. Ironically, I've also been to a restaurant in Vegas called Diego. So, it's kind of a continental Mexican love affair. I spent the majority of my teenage years obsessed to no end with Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, so later when the Salma Hayek movie came out, it was like, overload. Anyway, despite my love for Mexico at Epcot, Frida has never appeared ANYWHERE. Sure, there's that one place on El Rio del Donald where I always point out the one doll who looks closest to her. But otherwise, nowhere. Foreshadowing people, foreshadowing.
We walk into Mexico and seek out the tequila cave. I get in line for drinks and send the SO in to snag a table. I didn't really take a peek inside, so I was unaware of whether the place was crowded. Right when I got to the bar, a girl who seemed to have had one too many said "you've got to try the avocado". I told her that's what I was there for, and the bartender slid over TWO sample shots. Um, how fabulous is that? Heaven. I'd never had anything like it before. I'm not much of a frozen-drink fan, but I can't imagine how this would work any other way. It'd just be guacamole sludge. But this was perfect. So, I placed my drink order (a water for the SO), and an order of chips and salsa (in the most stylish little cone-shaped holder thingamajig, with side compartments for the salsa). I turned around to see Frida's face painted on a chair facing the wall. The place was packed, save for one or two tables at the rear, and a cushioned sitting area near the center of the room. Was this fate? It must have been, because the SO didn't even notice when he sat down.
You can only imagine. Here I am, in my Frida Kahlo backed chair, feeling a million miles away from Orlando. The drink was perfect (it was served with an red-tinged salt rim made of hibiscus), the crowd was cool, the bartenders and waitstaff were giving free samples and smiles out to everyone. That really makes all the difference, you know? And it felt like a Cava de Tequila. Almost like a New York bar, but with Disney magic. Why hasn't this happened sooner? Four stars, people. Four stars. And the SO (that's his nickname) enjoyed his nasty Florida water. Oh, and the chips were great, too. If this hadn't been such a theme-park commando trip, I would have loved to spend an hour or more there just relaxing. Perfect for a June afternoon. I wish I could go there now.
Anyway, I felt a little guilty since the SO doesn't drink, but he noted what a great change of pace La Cava is, and said he also forgot where he was for a bit. Not that Disney World is a place you want to escape from, but the only thing I could compare it to would be portions of the Animal Kingdom trails, Tom Sawyer Island, etc. where you are transported entirely to another place.
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I'd had many a rice cream in my time, it may be my favorite dessert in the whole wide world. Sugar cookies are different, those are prerequisites. But rice cream? That's a special "singing choir ahhh" experience. But I'd never had dinner at Kringla Bakeri og Cafe, and I was intent on trying some of the other delicacies offered.
I ended up ordered the Potato, Goat Cheese and Vegetable Tort (because how bad could THAT be?
) and the School Bread. I have read about the school bread on the internets for over a decade, and it was high time I tried the darned thing myself. The SO decided on the Norwegian Club sandwich and fruit.
Oh, dear sweet Norway. Norway who has given us Maelstrom, Rice Cream, Rose Nylund and the Veiled Maiden. The glorious dearly departed pre-princess Akershus. And all the happy gorgeous scandinavians who have served us over the years.
Oh Norway.
I award Kringla Bakeri og Cafe with
of complementary SWILL.
The Tort was like a freeze-dried, freezerburned, defrosted, reconstituted lump of hockey puck. But let me tell you how I really feel. EWWWWWWWW. Aside from the pizza I was forced into eating later in the trip, this has to be the single-worst thing I've ever eaten at Disney. I didn't taste potato, goat cheese or vegetables. I tasted week-old sourdough starter rescued from the compost heap.
The school bread didn't fare much better. I didn't realize it was a donut. I'm not much a creme-filled donut fan. Okay, I'm not a fan at all. This was a donut. It wasn't bread.
But at least I tried it.
The SO's sandwich was satisfactory. Though in the days that followed, I learned that he hated it. Too dry, and it felt like it'd been sitting in a cooler all day. Which it had.
I've had better food at Ikea, people. Granted, that's Sweden, but hey, I'm part-Danish, so it's all in the family. But don't tell that to the Danes.
I should probably be writing a trip report proper. Is it too late now to switch over to the regular trip report board? I don't know, I feel like I never finish trip reports. At least with food as my anchor, I know the likelihood of finishing is... more uh, likely.
Does that look like a bride to you? It seems more like something from Star Wars Weekends.
