A Little F&W, Dessert Party and some Celebrations...10.8-10.13 now completed.

[slk537]

With DS raring to go, we decided to head back to Epcot as originally planned for F&W, Take II. This time we went counter clockwise and were able to hit a few more kiosks.

We started in Puerto Rico where we ordered two items. First, I had to try the arroz con pollo (chicken with rice):

I absolutely loved this. The rice had the greatest flavor, the chicken was good (there was some hidden under the rice, I promise!) and the addition of capers and green olives was genius. However, I practically keep a salt lick in my purse so I would probably put green olives on my cereal. Just kidding. Maybe....) The portion for a "taste" was huge. DH had three bites, DS tried one (that included a caper...yayy for sneaking him new things!) and I had about 5-6 bites. This was just really good. Not beef skewer with garlic chimichurri good, but almost.

The other item? Well, let's just say this little Miss had purposely NOT taken any cold meds today so I was able to indulge in the much lauded Dragon Berry Colada:

I have absolutely no idea what a dragon berry is and I don't care. Not one bit. This was sweet and creamy and cold and I almost turned around and bought another one when I saw DH's face after he tried it. We both loved it. I should say that we both love lava coladas too (pina colada mixed with raspberry daiquiri) and this was that kind of love. DS...er....probably would have thought it was "okay" with a bit of a "funny" (ie: rum) taste if I would have let him try it but...uh...he's underage so of course I would never do that.



It was a decent size to go along with tastings and even after hitting the cold meds for days, this was so gentle there was surprisingly no buzz whatsoever.

We walked next a very short distance to the kiosk I had been waiting for: Greece. Here is where DS decided to be the Team Photographer. So I show you his first attempt. Sadly, the CM was posing for this photograph and...well...here's what DS got:

Bright side? You can see how the food was set out! He did improve much in the rest of his photography endeavors, seen next:

The spanikopita - not a family favorite - forgot a photo of this, but you can see it in the above photo. DS did NOT like this, DH said it sucked all the moisture out of his mouth and I thought it was pretty good. It wasn't anything special, but it wasn't bad at all.

The next item up was the Greek Salad

This had SO much potential. The veggies were fresh and chopped up neatly, there was plenty of (salty! yayy!!) feta and the dressing was very good. However, as you can see in the above artistic shot by DS, all the food was sitting out and the heat was not kind to the cold salad. DH and I decided that had this been fresh and cold, it would have been fantastic!

Next up: Chicken Souvlaki:

Such a simple, simple thing. Pita, seasoned chicken, and tzaziki. But such a delicious combination of flavors! This was really, really good. DH was even surprised how much he liked it. DS enjoyed the plain pita (sigh) and overall, this was a hit with us.

At this point, we were getting incredibly full. We'd been downing Dasani's with just about every stop and the idea of eating more wasn't as attractive as it had been. However, we persevered...

to New Zealand!

I wanted to try the lamb slider. I had heard varying reports and wanted to see for myself. I really like lamb - my mom used to make lamb patties when I was younger and I loved them. (not surprisingly, I remember them being saltier than beef patties/hamburgers. Wow. I do have a salt problem!). DH opted out of this, but DS gave it a try.

The verdict? I liked it. I thought it tasted very much like a spaghetti and meatball sauce on a bun. That is the description that got DS to try it. Imagine this conversation:

Me: Do you want to try a little?
DS: No, thank you
Me: It tastes just like a meatball.
DS: Is it better or worse than Macaroni Grill meatballs?
Me: Better
DS: Okay. But just part of the meatball

Note: at this point the "slider" became a "meatball". But he tried it, so call it whatever he wants. And MG meatballs are the standard by which all others are measured in our house

DS: (tries it). This IS better than a Macaroni Grill meatball!
DH: Do you know what it's made of?
DS: What?
DH: Baaaaaaaaaaaaa!
DS: Ew! This is gross.
Me: *&&^%$*_) !!!!

In the end, I convinced him that lamb is just as tasty as cow, pig and chicken. Sigh.........

Next up, France!

Here I wanted to try the Parisien Cosmo Slush but when I saw the size, I was underwhelmed in comparison to the price. So I settled on just the milk chocolate creme brulee.

I think it's that nauseating flesh like color that has always made this less than appealing to me when I see photos. But I love creme brulee, DH was getting interested in creme brulee on this trip and I knew DS would love it. And color notwithstanding, it was delicious!! At least the two bites I had were, because I had to hand it over to DH while I waited in line for the next item on the list....

The Exciting...the Exotic...the Complicated....

PRETZEL BREAD STICK!

Thanks to Le Cellier, this was the only thing DS had to have. HAD to have. We promised and by God, I was going to do a risky thing like leave the best darn "chocolate pudding plussed" ever with my beloved husband while I got my little guy his pretzel.

Good news? I got his pretzel breadsticks. One with cheese, one without.

Bad news? The creme brulee was gone gone GONE when I came back.

Fortunately DH and DS really did enjoy it, I was too full for more than a bite of pretzel and cheese and all was well.

And what about the pretzel and cheese? DH and I thought it was good and DS chomped and smiled his way across the lagoon, through Future World and onward and upward to more rides and attractions.

DH and I admitted the F&W kiosks had beaten us. We would never make it all the way around and we would have to have several things we wanted go untried. But at the end of the day, what we did sample from F&W was really impressive and really, very good...!

 

[slk537]

I have just a few more to go, but unfortunately I haven't uploaded all my DR shots and I am (ahem) not at home right now. The workday is coming to a close and I was hoping to get this report done today.

Ah well...I can relive the vacation a little longer I guess!

 

[dizneeat]

I have just a few more to go, but unfortunately I haven't uploaded all my DR shots and I am (ahem) not at home right now. The workday is coming to a close and I was hoping to get this report done today.

Ah well...I can relive the vacation a little longer I guess!

At least your workday is coming to an end! I so envy you that you get to go to F&W! But at least I get "a taste" of it by reading your reviews!

 

[mcarthur205]

Just catching up with your reviews. Wow, you did get a lot of candy at the Halloween Party! My kids will be in seventh heaven with that lot lol!

The Turf Club sounds good, seems like its worth going there for the desserts alone, that cheesecake looks delicious and if apple pie is on the menu my DH just has to have it!

And I just have to try the Dragon Berry Colada!

 

[MickeyNicki]

I am so glad you enjoyed the calamari! When I was 18 I was introduced to it by my uncle and I said "No Thanks" and he told me I should never say I dont like something until I tried it and then I tried it and ate the entire platter of it!

I have stayed away from the "non" ring variety of calamari for so long but the curly cue suckers are the best ever, I wish I was dining with you so I could eat them up!

Give me calamari any which way and I am happy but give me anything FRIED and I am in HEAVEN!

 

[lynn46356]

Loving the reviews!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't wait until our trip in November. I've always thought that calamari looks good but have never tried it. Maybe you've convinced me differently now. Especially if DS says it tastes like nothing. What's not to like about that. LOL. I hope we have a better day when we eat breakfast at Kona than you did. I have to agree that your pictures look much better from a preivous trip. Strange isn't it. Thanks for sharing with everyone. Oh, and the dessert party pics look to die for. Another thing I still need to check on.

 

[Ciciwoowoo]

I really have enjoyed your review so far!

 

[slk537]

Our anniversary dinner was at YSH - DH's favorite and our usual "date night" place. This time we decided to bring DS with us and a new love for him was discovered. We waited for our table in the lounge and enjoyed a few sodas, a riesling and a pineapple mojito. The riesling? Good. The mojito? Eh. The pineapple was extraneous.

First up was one of the reasons DH loves YSH so much. The sourdough rolls, onion pullaparts, butter with sea salt and balsamic and (cue angels singing) roaste garlic cloves:

Delicious!

DS picked chicken noodle soup for his starter and DH and I opted for caesar salads. These were absolutely wonderful! I know the whole leaf is aesthetic, but I do like it better when you don't have to cut up your own salads. However, it was very good...! And the toasted bread had parmesan cheese and was fantastic with a little of the roasted garlic. This was a great start to our meal.

DS picked the children's steak, carrots and mashed potatoes for his entree (medium rare). The photo is how it was served, before we cut it for him. He absolutely loved the steak and carrots and was okay with the potatoes. The portion of the steak for children was just huge and he was very happy with it.

DH opted for the porterhouse (medium rare) with hand cut fries. This is his usual entree here and it didn't disappoint:

I ordered the prime NY Strip (medium rare) with au gratin potatoes. I have had this a few times here. The first time it was divine...the second was not. This time the steak was fantastic. The accompanying peppercorn sauce was perfect. The potatoes were not the best but I was definitely too full to eat them.

For dessert, DH ordered the Yachtsman Sundae. This is like a banana split on steroids.

I picked a banana dessert and I can't remember what it was called. From left to right: A banana flavored cheesecake, very light and I enjoyed it. Carmelized banana slices that I ate with the cheesecake. Then a banana white chocolate napoleon that was beautiful, but very difficult to eat with any decorum. I enjoyed most of this, but was really very full.

We also received this for our anniversary:

The jellys (gelees?) were very tart, citrussy and had a very strange texture. The chocolates were rich and delicious.

And now - the dessert that DS was looking forward to for the whole trip:

A Mickey white chocolate puzzle, a cupcake, a brownie and three edible paints for the puzzle - he had a blast with this and enjoyed eating the cupcake (the brownie, not so much). The completed puzzle, pre paint:

This was a wonderful meal and we all had a great time. Now YSH is on DS's must do list and is already booked for our next trip.

 

[KatMark]

Yachtsman Steakhouse looks wonderful. We've never done it and looks like we are going to have to fit it in somewhere on one of our next trips.

 

[mcarthur205]

I love Yachtsman Steakhouse! The food looks delicious, particularly your banana desserts.

 

[slk537]

Yachtsman Steakhouse looks wonderful. We've never done it and looks like we are going to have to fit it in somewhere on one of our next trips.

It's really fantastic - a nice upscale type restaurant, but still very casual.

I love Yachtsman Steakhouse! The food looks delicious, particularly your banana desserts.

It was extremely pretty and very good too!

 

[slk537]

Sunday night, DS realized we had yet to make it to DAK this trip and it was decided we would hit it Monday morning for our last day. We knew from the get go where lunch would be: Flame Tree Barbecue. This was the first place we ever had a real WDW meal about 7 years ago and DH has loved it ever since. We have even replicated the rub at home for our own smoker.

DH and DS both wanted pulled pork so sandwiches it was:

(yes, we used an "adult" CS credit for DS...*blush*...but it was what he wanted to eat) They were both very happy with these. DH enjoyed the sandwich and DS ate it sans bun.

I wanted something a lot lighter (still hot out!) so I got the BBQ chicken salad. I've had this many times and I still really love it. The dressing is tangy and light and it always tastes fresh, cold and refreshing.

For dessert, DS opted for the Halloween sprinkled chocolate cake and loved it:

DH and I both had key lime pie. We LOVE this dessert - very tangy and creamy with a good crust and whipped cream:

This will always be a must do for us - and hopefully next time we can get the ribs again (always better in cooler temps!)

 

[slk537]

Later in the afternoon we had to do all our last day shopping at DTD, so after making our purchases we stopped at Wolfgang Puck Express for a snack to use one of our last few CS credits. We got the rotisserie chicken with mashed potatoes and creme brulee.

This was wonderful and HUGE! We all enjoyed it very much and left happy and no longer hungry.

 

[slk537]

Previously I mentioned a caramel apple blossom we bought from BC Marketplace on Day One after Cape May Cafe...we ate it a few days later and it was still delicious. And now, I have the photo:

 

[slk537]

Up next - Olivia's and WPE for breakfast to finalize the report!

 

[lynn46356]

Oh these photos are making me drool this morning! I can't wait to try Yachtsman (it can't get here soon enough). We love meat!!!!! I'll have to admit although I don't like bananas, that banana dessert looks really good. I'm guessing I'm going to have to take pictures of our food when we go so I can "try" to do a dining report. Thanks for sharing your reviews with all of us!!!!!!

 

[slk537]

Oh these photos are making me drool this morning! I can't wait to try Yachtsman (it can't get here soon enough). We love meat!!!!! I'll have to admit although I don't like bananas, that banana dessert looks really good. I'm guessing I'm going to have to take pictures of our food when we go so I can "try" to do a dining report. Thanks for sharing your reviews with all of us!!!!!!

I would LOVE to see a dining report by you!!! And I'll be the first to sign up

 

[slk537]

Monday night we hadn't really had anything planned for dinner...we tend to do DTD and a WPE CS meal for our last night. But we had an extra TS credit from a cancelled lunch earlier in the trip and after having such a great experience at the Turf Club, we decided to pick something low key and later so we could enjoy the pool in the late afternoon/early evening. We debated between Captain's Grille (haven't been there since it was the YC Galley and that visit was 6 years ago?), The Wave or Olivia's. In retrospect I wish we had picked The Wave, but we hadn't been to Olivia's since 2003 and it sounded homey and nice.

We got right in and were seated in a small and almost empty dining room. Seriously, there were four tables total with guests (including ours). The atmosphere was very laid back and nice, but it also felt a little lonely and not very Disney, likely due to so few people. In the middle of our meal, they brought out balloons and made a fuss over a family being the "family of the day" or some such and there were so few of us there it felt odd. Like a restaurant on Christmas Eve night, late.

So what about the food?

DS started with a chicken noodle soup that he enjoyed very much:

We were also served a loaf of coconut bread and butter. This was okay.

DS ordered the pasta with meat sauce and took this photo after mixing it all in. He hasn't master to flash on the camera yet

DH and I each ordered the prime rib again, medium rare served with au gratin type house potatoes. I totally forgot to take a photo, probably because the entrees showed up about 4 minutes after we ordered them. It was odd having them so soon and ordinarily I would be less than thrilled, imagining that they had been sitting out but in this case I imagine all the chef would have to do is slice the roast and plate the food so it was fine. It did lead me to feel as thought Olivia's was kindof like a late night at Perkins thought and that was weird.

**for the record, DH thinks my Perkins comparison is hilarious and doesn't see it. But now, everytime we pass a Perkins he has to point out "oh look! It's Olivia's!" smart***.

The potatoes were very greasy and heavy to me, but DH really liked them. The prime rib itself was very nice, but boring. It didn't have the same flavor and wow that the Turf Club had.

For dessert, DS picked the fruit cup to go so he could have it for breakfast (he didn't). DH selected the key lime pie, which was very good:

I chose the bananas foster bread pudding. I wasn't hungry anymore and didn't really care, but I love banana foster and I love bread pudding so I thought I'd give it a whirl.

VERY disappointing. The sauce hardened on the ice cream and was not very tasty with that roof of the mouth coating texture. The outside of the bread pudding was crispy and while everything tasted fine, it didn't appeal to me. I have to say...when there is another place on property that makes a dessert like this so incredibly amazing ('Ohana), this really compares poorly.

So will we eat at Olivia's again? Actually we could. Just not late. I would imagine that earlier in the evening it is probably a wonderful and laid back place. Would I recommend it? Yes, but only if you're staying at one of the DTD resorts or really want to get away from the WDW hustle and bustle and use your TS credits.

It's a beautiful and relaxing resort, but not a destination restaurant.

 

[slk537]

We used our leftover snack credits at Goofy's the night before on fudge to take home for family and friends and used our last TS credits at Olivia's. We had six CS credits left for breakfast and to go lunch on our last day, and didn't have to be at the airport until 11:30. We checked our luggage and got our boarding passes at SSR and DH suggested Artist Palette - and DS was on board as he loves it there. I had seen breakfast photos from WPE in Karin's (Dizneeat) reports and we hadn't really been there this trip for more than a snack so I suggested it and everyone was game.

SOOOO glad we did!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This meal truly sent us off on a great foot and we will definitely do breakfast here again. DH wanted to try the breakfast pizza and I was curious about the french toast. DS wanted fruit loops. We all liked the idea of a Belgian waffle. Choices......

We decided to go with all three and get some fruit loops for DS. I wasn't sure my room charge still worked, so I had cash for the cereal. The cashier waved it away and told me not to worry about it. Very nice!!

At WPE, breakfasts include either two drinks or a drink and a fruit cup. Having no idea of the size of breakfast, we decided on fruit cups:

This was very fresh, cold and light. DS and I enjoyed ours and we packed DH's for the plane.

DS's cereal and milk - I had ordered milk as his drink so he could put it on his cereal, but she threw a milk in too so he ended up with two of them (he loves milk...this was great!)

Then came the overwhelming entrees...

The breakfast pizza:

This was amazing....I thought the ranch sauce would be really weird, but it was perfect with the bacon, scrambled eggs, crust and tomato. I only had one piece, but it was excellent! DH loved this too.

And now for some pretty food:

This waffle, besides coming with fresh whipped cream and huge pieces of fruit, was crispy and tender with a light vanilla flavor. It was just delicious! We didn't even crack into the syrup - the melted whipped cream was perfect. It was also huge...we probably left more than half

And speaking of huge AND pretty...

Cornflake french toast!

This was regular french toast, coated in crunchy corn flakes and fried...then sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. Oh yes, and tons of fruit. We dipped this in the syrup and it was fantastic. In the end, we had way too much food and ended up filling one of the empty fruit cups with the blueberries and strawberries to eat on the plane. We also took 1 1/2 pieces of the french toast, which made it home nicely.

The worst part? Not discovering this amazing CS breakfast until our last day. We are SO planning to head back at least once on our next trip. Already a lunch and dinner gem, WPE is now an all day destination! We have a few WPE's up here in the twin cities and we hope to enjoy breakfast there soon.

After breakfast we wandered over to EOS and ordered an Original (roast beef, cheddar, horseradish), a Veggie - (Feta cheese, lettuce, roma tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, roasted red peppers and Mediterrean Dressing) and something I don't see on allears that had turkey, ham, tomato, cheese and mustard, along with three drinks for the road and three brownies. We packed it all up and had a very nice lunch later on the plane.

And so ends our trip. And other snack credits not mentioned were used on Mickey ice cream sandwiches and smart water. We also accumulated those items for no credit or cash, due to DS's birthday button and his Chicago Cubs jersey and hat (the CM was a student at DH's alma mater SIU and said our snacks were "on Mickey" for being Cub fans). In the end, despite the humidity, heat, and flu, we had some amazing food, amazing times and are very busy planning our next foray down to WDW in just under 4 months.

I already have my ADR's booked.................

 

[lynn46356]

I'm so sad as its the end of your dining report!!!! Why can't those pictures and reports go on forever. Have to love the part where DS got special recognition due to his Cubs jersey!!!!!!! I guess we should bring ours down too. I think we need to add more days to our trip so we can eat everywhere I want to now (I don't think there's many places I don't want to eat). I know I'm going to gain 10 pounds from eating. Can't wait for the next dining report! Happy Halloween!!!!