A Birthday Weekend Trip - July 2014 - Outer Rim/Contempo Cafe/The Wave 7/26

[Ron from Michigan]

Olaf says "Thank You" another please. Thanks for the reviews. Looking forward to reading more.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Olaf looks very happy with his Sangria

I think so too

Olaf says "Thank You" another please. Thanks for the reviews. Looking forward to reading more.

How else is he supposed to enjoy his summer?
Thank you for reading along & posting!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

L’Artisan Des Glaces

My husband loves Ice Cream. I think if it was in our freezer, he would eat it almost every day. On vacation, we are more lax on our eating. L’Artisan Des Glaces has been one of our favorite additions with the new options that have opened in the past year or so. It is a must do for us now!

Vanilla Macaron Sandwich

I was excited to see there was a new option for the macaron sandwich! I always would rather have vanilla ice cream over chocolate should I knew this would be the sandwich for me. It was! I also find it cute how its made like the French Flag. The red side of the sandwich was not a properly cooked macaron cookie though - they either overfolded the dough or overcooked it as the crisp outer shell didn’t give way to a soft center but rather was stiff. The blue side was done right! (The red side was still better by a long shot than that awful macaron cookie from Writer’s Shoppe we had in December)

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

My husband went with his favorite option! He branched out once before but he does love this option!

​

 

[Linda67]

I am on mission to get the mint chocolate chip ice cream in October - I will not be distracted by other flavors again!

 

[vettegirl]

Never been to Via Napoli, I heard it's the same company as Naples pizza at DT Disneyland and we didn't like it

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[Dis_Yoda]

I am on mission to get the mint chocolate chip ice cream in October - I will not be distracted by other flavors again!

What dates are you there in October?

Mint Chocolate Chip is the best according to my husband I enjoy the Salted Caramel and the Macarons more but at least with 16 different choices, hopefully someone can find something they enjoy!

Never been to Via Napoli, I heard it's the same company as Naples pizza at DT Disneyland and we didn't like it

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It is the same company as the Disneyland Naples. I know not everyone likes that type of pizza, but, when I compare it to normal Disney pizza with their awful sauce, I'll take Via Napoli any day.

We probably won't be back until sometime in late 2015 as we have enough other favorites to keep in our loop.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Citricos

While at Paradiso 37 the night before, there was a possibility that the other couple we were hanging out with would be joining us for dinner & they didn’t have park tickets. This caused me to cancel my dinner at Le Cellier to avoid the $20 charge. When I got the text in the morning that they would not be joining us for dinner but rather afterwards., my husband and I discussed the options open around 5:30PM. We picked Citricos as it was on the original plan for this trip, just on a different day. This also worked well for when our friends would join us for a Drink Around The Monorail as their shuttle dropped off at TTC.

We arrived right on time for our ADR, we were quickly seated in the front area of the restaurant next to the windows.

As we reviewed the menu, we ordered our drinks.

Unibroue Trois Pistoles

My husband’s selection as he hadn’t tried this type of Unibroue before. He enjoyed this dark style ale!

Grand Cosmo

As I knew we would be drinking around the monorail, I went with liquor as I knew I would most likely be picking that for many of the bars we would be visiting. I love their cosmos!

Amuse Bouche - Homemade Lavosh, Hummus & Harissa Sauce

We were served an amuse bouche here. I usually don’t like hummus, but to be fair, I’ve only been exposed to the grocery store type hummus people serve at potlucks or parties. This hummus had a bit of flavor especially when mixed with the harissa sauce. I’ll totally eat Citrico hummus again.

Florida Heirloom Melon Salad - Mesclun Greens, Balsamic Vinegar, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Spicy Almonds, Grilled Hearts of Palm & Mascarpone Creme

My meal this time around was very similar to my meal I had in early May. I started with the Melon Salad. This was a little different than May as it included another type of melon as well & there was no crostini for the mascarpone creme. The pistachios were also switched for almonds. I found it refreshing and light, despite having a lot in the salad. My husband stole most of the almonds from me as they are his favorite nut.

Slow Roasted Berkshire Pork Belly w/ Sweet Onion Habanero Jam

For my main meal, I went with another appetizer.

In May, this was served with a Peach and Wild Ramp Marmalade. It has been updated to a sweet onion habanero jam. I loved this update to the sauce to match the pork belly! The pork was just a tender as I expected it to be.

Grand Margarita

When I finished my first cocktail, our waiter asked if I would like another. I told him to surprise me with a cocktail that would pair with my pork belly. He decided to go with the Margarita. It worked but I wondered if he stayed away from whiskey or bourbon as I did go sweet on my first cocktail as Margaritas are a ‘safe’ option.

Ashley Farms Lemon Chicken Breast w/ Red Pepper Polenta Cake

My husband went with the Lemon Chicken, which is the same main course I had in May as well. He loved his chicken as it was cooked perfectly. He quickly devoured the skin as well, which amused me as he always passes on the skin at home. I stole some bites of the polenta cake & found it to compliment my pork belly really well.

Tiramisu
For dessert, I went with the Tiramisu. I never actually had this before at Citricos as I usually went with the Warm Chocolate Banana Torte so I’m glad to switch it up. It was refreshing and light. It was the right choice for me especially as we would have a night of drinking ahead.

Warm Chocolate Banana Torte

My husband decided to branch out from his usual cheesecake selections & go for the warm chocolate banana torte. This is when we learned from our server that the chocolate gate is a representation of the gates to the restaurant & that it is their most photographed dish online.

Overall, this was a great meal. Our server was very personable as he has been a waiter at Disney for years. We don’t go here nearly as often as we should but we’ll be back during one of our fall trips, thats for sure!

​

 

[Mich123]

Great trip report--your pictures are fantastic!

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

Love the Fulton's pictures. Those ribs look awesome!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Great trip report--your pictures are fantastic!

Thank you! I just pretty much used my iPhone this trip except for Via Napoli &
L’Artisan Des Glaces when I actually had my DSLR with me.

Love the Fulton's pictures. Those ribs look awesome!

We love Fulton's! It's one of my husband's favorites. The ribs were a nice surprise. I wasn't expecting to enjoy them so much!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Mizner’s

As we were finishing up our meal at Citricos, I was texting with my friend about their arrival to the Grand Floridian. We had just enough time to finish our meal & grab us a table at Mizner’s when they were arriving from the monorail.

Irish Coffee & Miller Lite

I went with an Irish Coffee as I needed some caffeine to not die off before we made it fully around the monorail. It was a tasty coffee with just the right amount of Jameson.

My husband went with one of his standby beers, as it isn’t strong enough to mean much.

Having enjoyed our drinks & the lovely GF atmosphere, we still have a few more bars to go to so we finished up & paid and walked over to the Polynesian to either get a cocktail at Tambu Lounge or get dessert at Kona Cafe for our friends as I may have mentioned the Kona Kone & a drink for the rest of us.

​

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Tambu Lounge

We were sadden by the amount of construction throughout the Polynesian. As we walked through the side of the Polynesian & up the stairs towards the lounge, it just didn’t feel the same with all the walls up.

We ended up deciding against Kona on the walk up as my friend’s boyfriend just wanted to drink instead.

Thanks to the amount of construction going on in the Polynesian, the Tambu Lounge was overcrowded and not as enjoyable as it has been in the past.

Angry Orchard

My husband’s selection. He was sticking with light options as he wanted to be able to enjoy a drink at all the bars.

Lapu Lapu

I went with a traditional Polynesian Drink. It was nice as it always is. The drink didn’t seem as strong as I wanted it to be but thats fine. I probably didn’t need it to be too strong

We didn't stay long as Tambu wasn't an enjoyable experience this time around.

We headed to the monorail to head towards the Contemporary for our last two choices for the evening.

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[Dis_Yoda]

Contempo Cafe/Outer Rim

When we first got to the Contemporary, the 4 of us all needed some food if we wanted much hope of continuing to drink & being respectful adults. I crave sweets when drinking & my husband’s favorite foods are always sweets. Luckily, the Contempo Cafe has wonderful cupcake choices. We stopped by there first before heading to get a seat at Outer Rim for a drink.

Frozen Cupcake

I had this in early May & enjoyed it so of the options they had this evening, it was no choice to what I was going to get. The caramel with the buttercream and the chocolate work well together! It wasn’t stale.

Red Velvet Cupcake

I’m going to assume my husband enjoyed this as it was there when I walked up to the bar to get my drink and when I came back a few moments later, it was gone.

Glowtini

I’ve loved the glowtini since it was first created for the Year of the Million Dreams campaign. It is really sweet but that worked out well with my Frozen cupcake.

The service at Outer Rim wasn’t the best. It was clear they were ready to be done as it was close to the 10PM closing time. We headed downstairs to The Wave to finish our Drink Around The Monorail as they would be open until midnight.

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[Dis_Yoda]

The Wave

Our Final Stop was The Wave.

Our bartender was super friendly and allowed me to try a couple different beers to pick out what I wanted.

Local Brews on Tap

Victory Golden Monkey

My husband’s final choice. Its a Belgian style beer that he was happy with! I need to pick some up from Total Wine for him sometime in the next week or so.

Orange Blossom Pilsner

After trying the Orlando Brewing Blonde Ale, I decided just to go with the same drink I started this long weekend with. The Orange Blossom Pilsner! Its refreshing with decent flavor that isn’t heavy.

Overall, we had a nice drink around the monorail. We called it a night after that & headed back the monorail to get our car from the Grand Floridian & our friends would leave us at the TTC to get their shuttle back to their hotel.
​

 

[Linda67]

Just caught up
I've yet to try Citricos, we were going to do it on our last trip but ended up switching
Another place I've never tried is the Outer Rim Bar - it's always struck me as not having the best atmosphere when we've wandered past. Do you like it in there?
Oh and I never responded to your question about October, we will be in WDW for the last week .... Can't wait!!

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

Love your Olaf picture at Via Napoli!

Your monorail drinking excursion looks like a lot of fun. I agree about the construction at Poly. It's just not the same in there right now with those horrid walls up all over the place.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Just caught up
I've yet to try Citricos, we were going to do it on our last trip but ended up switching
Another place I've never tried is the Outer Rim Bar - it's always struck me as not having the best atmosphere when we've wandered past. Do you like it in there?
Oh and I never responded to your question about October, we will be in WDW for the last week .... Can't wait!!

I've really enjoyed our meals at Citricos but always tend to forget about it when initially planning a trip. When it first came out, I remember my mother being upset about them taking away Flagler's. We are planning a meal there on November 1st for the two of us. I feel its going to be in our rotation more now as the new California Grill just doesn't interest us enough anymore and Narcoossee's has exceeded the cost value. Flying Fish, Yachtsman & Citricos are now are top Signatures!

I'm not sure I'll go back to the Outer Rim. The Wave is a more enjoyable bar experience than Outer Rim but I think until Trader Sam's opens at the Polynesian, Mizner's is my favorite choice for a drink. The service has been lovely & the big band is playing outside the doors giving it a wonderful atmosphere.

My mother & I will be in Disney October 30th to November 2nd. My husband & I have trips planned Sept 18th to 21st then Sept 30th to Oct 5th.

Love your Olaf picture at Via Napoli!

Your monorail drinking excursion looks like a lot of fun. I agree about the construction at Poly. It's just not the same in there right now with those horrid walls up all over the place.

The monorail drinking was a lot of fun! We should have really done it more on previous trips when we've stay at BLT. Its a lot less drinking than doing a Drink Around the World in EPCOT which is better for my head & purse pocket. As our next two trips we're staying at EPCOT resorts, we probably will enjoy enjoy the selections in EPCOT or the bars around the lake.

 

[Couchy]

Citricos is so good but I always overlook it as well. I need to make it a priority

 

[vettegirl]

all caught up

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[Linda67]

Happy to hear that Flying Fish is one of your top picks as we are going to be dining there in October
Our last (and only) time eating there wasn't so great but the vast majority of reviews are excellent so time for a re-visit
I don't think we will make Citricos again next trip. Too much to eat and drink at Food & Wine