A (Not So) Low Carb Food & Wine Trip Report

[Dancind]

The next post contains a pre-trip report I wrote before we left on our F&W trip. Great intentions that were not exactly met, some photo ops missed because we were too busy eating and drinking. But reviews will follow, some with pictures!

 

[Dancind]

I know, that’s an oxymoron, Low Carb and Food & Wine. Let’s just say that I will attempt to keep it low carb, how’s that?

This will be our 20-something trip to WDW, and my 5th time at F&W, 3rd time for DH. I’m Diana and he is Kevin. We are very much old enough to drink, and yes, we are DVC members. Using our points to stay at BCV for this trip. This will be the first time we will go to PFTS or any special event, for that matter. More information on what we’ve booked below.

After attending the F&W solo in very early October last year, and being absolutely miserable in the record heat, I opted for a later date this year. If any of the ladies I met on that trip last year are reading, I’d like to apologize for being such a crabby pants party pooper. I really felt rotten. More on some things that were going on in a minute.

Anyway, we were all set to be at the World from Oct. 21-29, complete with F&W events starting on the 22nd and PFTS Wine room on the 23rd. Then things got complicated. Our only daughter announced that her only performance for the year would be on the 22nd & 23rd. It’s a long story, but we really needed to be here to support her. She isn’t going on the trip, she’s 19 and in college and needs to babysit the cat!

So changing the reservation was relatively simple with Southwest and DVC. I was even able to get a 1 BR at BCV for the 29th and 30th, though DH is still coming home as scheduled to teach scuba on the 30th. I know, scuba in NM? Yes, there is.

Two last problems, the Family and Friends luncheon on the 22nd, and making it to PFTS on the 23rd. Found some local friends to go to the luncheon (WDW actually told me we could do this), and we are praying we make the PFTS the next night. Our flight gets in at 3:45. It’s a cliffhanger.

OK, Low Carb. At the beginning of this year, I was overweight enough and old enough to develop Type II Diabetes, just like my Dad and Brother. I realized it when I watched the Oprah show in February, isn’t that always the way? Definitely explained the problems I had been having and why I had such a problem with the heat last October. Well, it was REALLY hot. So I started eating low carb, pretty much whatever I wanted as long there was no sugar and minimum carbs. Except of course, for wine. Lots of lean meats, fish, veggies and the occasional bacon. I lost 35 pounds pretty easily. I have about 15 to go, who knows if that will ever happen, but I’m feeling pretty normal these days. I just know I can’t go back to eating whatever I want carb-wise, ever. Lucky for me, DH is always willing to take a crack at any carbs I leave on a plate.

So this food report will have some really pretty pictures (DH is a semi-pro photographer), at least until he goes home. And I will let you know how much success I have or don’t have with the whole food choices thing, and how enjoyable it was. Since we are eating at a couple of Italian places it could get difficult, and I don’t know how badly the sweet tooth will hit after ten months with no sugar. At least we are not going to Chefs de France this trip, I can never resist their rolls. I figure having to write about what I eat will keep things more in check. Oh, and there might be a comment on some wine here and there along the lines of “Yummy” or “never drink this”. I don’t know if we will make it to our new favorite place from our last trip - La Cava. No such thing as a low carb Margarita though it is the item I am “most likely to go off plan for”.

We are using TIW, as usual. We like Signature dining but have been known to share an entree, or just several appetizers, usually share dessert, and we always order wine. So it works better than the Dining Plan for us.

So here is where we will eat. Very splurgy, don’t know what got in to me. I think I may have been hungry when I made these plans.



Sat Oct. 23
Party for the Senses

Sun 24
French Regional lunch Bordeaux
MNSSHP with dinner somewhere in MK

Mon 25
Booth Hopping
1 pm Culinary demo
2pm Purple Wine tasting
4pm La Crema tasting
dinner La Hacienda

Tues 26
lunch at AK
dinner Flying Fish
Jelly Rolls (1st time, hope we don’t poop out!)

Wed 27
Lunch Brown Derby
F&W Signature dinner Portobello

Th 28
Universal Studios & Harry Potter (lunch at Mythos)
late dinner Il Mulino

Fri 29
more Booth Hopping
determined to see AI finale show so no dinner plans


sat-30
1 pm culinary demo
2pm Mezz.wine tasting
3pm culinary demo
6pm Sageland wine tasting
dinner Flying Fish

 

[Dancind]

Oct. 23: Party of the Senses

Well, we made it. With seconds to spare. I was a mess by the time I got there, which is my excuse for my later behavior. Some of you may have seen me at the party, I was the one being held up by my husband by the end of the evening. But we really did have fun! But the big camera did not make it to the party, sorry.

We had booked a flight through Houston to arrive in Orlando an hour earlier than our direct flight. This did not work, we arrived at MCO almost an hour late. Our town car driver was nowhere to be found. I called the town car company, and they said that since we were late they had left (what, they don't have the internet?), but to go out by the taxis and they would pick us up. I was freaking out by this time, but did as we were told. We waited fifteen minutes and decided to take a taxi. I did call the company, but had to leave a message. The taxi driver did a great job of getting us to the Beach Club, and we gave him a nice tip. We had online check-in and this went smoothly, got our room and went to change into clothes from our carryons. Headed for Epcot. DH went ahead, since I had to pick up my annual pass renewal. Of course, there was a line. Made it the Party gate at precisely 5:45, and no one knew where the Wine View Lounge entrance was, not even the Canadian CMs in the area. A group walked up being led by a CM with a flashlight, so I followed them. Made it inside in time to grab a glass of champagne, find DH, and be ushered into the Party.

We had a nice table, pretty close to front and center, and a nice waitress that kept refilling our water. We headed for food right away since we were famished. It was a very long way back to our table from the pods, so we would most often eat at a standing table and then go for more food and drink. We probably had three plates and pours before the rest of the crowd came in, at that point we went back to our table for a bit. I could not tell you most of what we ate and drank, but we really liked about 90% of it! I was doing pretty well with avoiding pasta, potatoes etc at this point.

By the time we tried everything that interested us we were getting pretty full. We did not try the cheese in the WVL, but did get a couple of glasses of wine from the bar there. I remember a Coppola Merlot and a Mirassou Pinot Noir that were good. A very notable but tiny pour of Altamira Malbec from Achaval Ferrer stands out. I'd really like to find some more of that wine!

We sat at the table for the Cirque performance, but we were close enough to the front that our view was blocked by people standing in front of the WVL. At that point, we didn't really care. Off for some desserts, something chocolate and caramel in a shot glass called for seconds, and this is about the time that I noticed that Banfi had a station. DH says it was like Dug and the squirrel, I kept swerving to get another glass of Rosa Regale. I blame my dessert eating on this. But I only had the two shot glasses! We took some chocolates back to the room with us.

There were gift bags when we left the WVL, as others have said. We had Stella bottle openers, a large container of Twining tea, small bottles of Grand Marnier and Red Stag, a couple of boxes of Werther's chocolate covered caramels, the infamous signed picture, and some pastries that DH devoured the next morning. One bag had more stuff than the other.

Getting back to BCV was an adventure, thank goodness it was a short walk. DH claims but for him, I would still be in the bushes. We hit the hot tub when we got back, and had some long conversations with other DVC members. I don't remember what about, but they probably remember me! I also unpacked sometime during the evening which made finding my stuff interesting later on.

Pretty sure we will do the Party again, but maybe not the WVL. Not enough bang for the extra $90, though it was nice. We got our set of big fancy glasses with "WVL" etched on, and that's all we have room for in our cabinet anyway.

Next up, a review of the French Regional Bordeaux lunch, with pictures!

 

[SM101]

Kudos to you for following what is really the only way to control your blood sugars through diet! Would that the ADA could figure that one out as well as they keep the blinders on...

I low carb as well so am looking forward to reading this...the side dishes are easy enough to pass on, but when I'm on vacation, it's dessert that calls to me.

 

[Dancind]

Well, I did not do very well on this trip. Threw caution to the wind, so to speak. The weight loss has helped, but I did notice some symptoms returning by the end of the week. I have not learned to check my blood sugar regularly so can't report on that. This will probably be more of a cautionary tale!

 

[Dancind]

Oct. 24 French Regional Lunch

Slow morning. But we did make it to Epcot in time for the French Regional Luncheon at Le Bistro at noon. We lined up outside, got checked in, and made our way up the stairs. Meanwhile, we chatted with a nice Floridian couple in line behind us. Since we were next to each other in line, we wound up seated at the same table, along with a WDW CM and his partner. Wonderful table companions, and as an extra bonus, we discovered we had several of the same events booked as the FL couple.

This luncheon featured Bordeaux wines from Barton & Gustier, and our speaker was Alexandra Marshall. As others have said, the speaker didn’t have much to say. So our three hour luncheon lasted about an hour and a half, but it was really OK. We had good food, lots of wine, and fun conversation, so we were quite happy!

First course, Amuse Bouche and B&G Bordeaux. This was a salmon mousse, I believe, with a side of creme. Very nice.

Second course, Duck Pate with pistachios and truffles, and Medoc wine. This was in a puff pastry with a wine sauce and a sort of salad on the side. Not a fan of duck, but this was good!

Pictures taken with my little Nikon Coopix.

I need to say here, the waiters were very generous with the pours and refills. The room kept getting louder and louder. I would say everyone was having a good time.

Third course, Venison medallion Grand Veneur, caramelized apple with cranberries, celery puree and chestnuts with Saint Emilion wine. And wine sauce, of course. Delicious.

Dessert course, Saint-honore, raspberry sorbet and cream Chantilly with Sauternes. So, so good. Maybe the best dessert of the week.

We are not huge French wine fans, but we really enjoyed the luncheon and will definitely do it again. I’d love to go to the Champagne luncheon. Our tablemates were telling us about other luncheons with an escargot course, and a cheese course, and humorous presenters, so there are things to look forward to! As we were leaving, DH saw this set up for the WDW photographer:

I’m sure if we made a habit of drinking expensive wines, French wines have some amazing tastes to offer. But our usual bottle is between $5-$15, so we prefer US or Australia wines with the occasional NZ or Argentian bottle for variety. No Chateaus for us.

After finishing lunch, we staggered a bit back to our room and napped. Mid-day wine tends to do that to you. We put on our orange t-shirts for the Halloween party and caught the bus, arriving at MK around 6pm. We did a few rides, then waited for the first parade, waited for the fireworks, waited for the second parade. Good photo ops don’t you know. Didn’t mind though, I think the Halloween parade is the best. There seemed to be even more dancers this year, with more intricate choreography. Dancing with the Stars is influencing the parades? Anyway, I loved it.

Taken with the Monster camera, Nikon D700:

So far, so good. No return of diabetes symptoms in spite of eating everything offered, even some wonderful French bread.

Up next, some Culinary demos and dinner at La Hacienda. Hope someone is reading!

 

[jabead]

Taken with the Monster camera, Nikon D700:

Up next, some Culinary demos and dinner at La Hacienda. Hope someone is reading!

OMG, I love this picture! Oh, and I'm reading .

 

[Schoolbread]

LOVE the pics and glad to hear that you found a food formula to get rid of those symptoms! FAB!

 

[mquinn01]

I can't even believe that you took the castle pic! AMAZING!

Cheers

 

[Dancind]

Not me, DH took the castle picture. Hard to believe that until about five years ago, I was the photographer in the family. Now I don't know how to use a camera.

Camera story time. The next day, DH's shoulders were hurting from hauling the Monster camera all over MK. So while munching booth fare at World Showcase, he ordered a new camera from Amazon for next day delivery to BC. He'd been thinking about it anyway, this was a good excuse. No more big backpack for the rest of the trip!

He bought the Canon S95. Lots of research went into that decision, and I have to say I love it too. We had it by noon the next day.