A week of eating, snacking and dining, lots of PICS! COMPLETED!

[MickeyNicki]

Thanks for the great review and pictures. I will have to try some of the fish and chips when we go.

Make sure you do! When I think of how good they were and all the times I didnt try them I could kick myself! Mental note, when there is a long line for something, jump in it..all those people must know something I dont!

 

[MickeyNicki]

Ok here's the stupid question of the day.

What's Tonga Toast?

It is amazing but very sweet. It is thick sourdough bread stuffed with bananas, rolled in cinnamon sugar and grilled. They now serve it with strawberry sauce on the side, it is identical to the strawberry soup at 1900 Park Faire and it is amazing on Tonga Toast. You can also order it at the CS in the Poly, Captn Cooks.

 

[IcePrincess467]

subbing

 

[MickeyNicki]

USA The BBQ rib with cole slaw was out of this world, we ate it many times on this trip. It was a huge very tender rib, the bone pulled right out of it clean, no meat sticking to it and there wasnt any fat at all. The cole slaw was nice and cold and creamy...awesome!

The lobster roll was disgusting. The meat was very tough and chewy and there was so much pickle in it, that overpowered the flavor of the lobster. The roll was soft and doughy...being from Boston I am not used to this type of lobster roll. We usually eat them on toasted or grilled split top hot dog buns and the meat is lightly dressed in mayo, seasonings and a bit of celery...NOT PICKLE!

Turkey The pistachio baklava was very small, hard and tough to bite into..it was ok...I am used to baklava as being light and flaky but this one was heavy...

The Manti, spiced beef ravioli with yogurt and paprika butter was awesome and we had it a few times on this trip. The beef was not spicy to me, the yogurt and butter sauce is very light and gives it a great flavor.

Poland The pierogi with sauteed onions and kielbasa was very good. The pierogi was cooked perfectly, the onions were nice and sweet and the sausage was not greasy or salty. Another item that we had a few times on this trip.

Morocco Bastilla, chicken in a pastry. THis was disgusting. The shell part was hard and dry and covered in powdered sugar and cinnamon. The inside was very dry shredded chicken with an awful flavor.

 

[wilma-bride]

Really enjoyed reading your reviews - I am sooooo determined to get to Kona for breakfast on our next visit.

 

[MeLady]

Thank you for the wonderful pictures and the details!! Wonderful job! Hungry and so ready for the World!

 

[FirstMagic]

Thanks for the great idea for making Rice Cream! Great reviews and pictures, thanks for letting us know the good, the bad, and the tasty!

 

[MickeyNicki]

Mexico Chilaquiles, baked torillas with chicken and cheese. This was AWESOME! DH got one and after one bite I got in line for my own. We ate this several times on our trip. The portion is very large and sooo tasty.

Dominican Republic/Peru area. Right across from the Peru stand there is a little village. In there, a stand with daquiries awaits you. There are passion fruit, banana and mango. We ordered mango, but the CM gave us banana...it was horribly bitter and we noticed people asking for to exchange it...bad flavor. She gave us the mango and omigod this was the nectar of the Gods. It tasted like a fresh ripe pureed mango with a rum chaser...we had many of these....

Ireland Boxty Potato Pancake with bacon chips and kerrygold garlic and herb butter. This was just ok for my but DH did not like it at all. The butter pat was frozen solid and the pancake was not hot enough to melt it. Would not get that again.

India Coconut rice pudding. This was GOD AWFUL! DH tried it first, made a face and I said how is it? He said you try and let me know...I had to spit it out. It had this horrible sour bitter taste, like it had gone or something.

Greece These 2 items were out of this world good. DH and I ordered 2 of each many times during our trip. The spanokoppitta was large and crammed full of spinach and cheese, super flaky phillo dough...so good. The Greek salad was a good size, loved the little pita slice, the dressing was great, the olives had a nice kick to them but the best part about it was the super creamy and flavorful feta cheese...omigod I could eat a bowl of this stuff.

 

[kimsuenew]

Goodness... I am hungry now! Some of those pictures looked really yummy!

 

[MickeyNicki]

Germany Spaetzel with mushrooms and a sausage with kraut on a pretzel roll. We ate here a few times on our trip. The first time the sausage was dry and the roll hard with the salt falling off. The spaetzel was very hard and crunchy but ok when mixed with the mushroom sauce. The other 2 times (yes we ate this 3 times, DH is 100% German after all!) it was perfect. The apple strudel is my all time favorite dessert, I could lick the vanilla sauce gone! Wonderful food!

France Escargot in brioche and a trio of sorbets, white chocolate, raspberry and champagne. On this trip DH and I vowed to try different things and escargot was one of them...we were a bit nervous about it but so glad that we tried it because they are SLAP YO MAMMA GOOD! Omigod, they are wonderful with the butter garlic flavor and earthiness of the snail...to us it tastes like wild mushrooms...yummy!! The sorbet was ok, the white chocolate part had ice crystals through it, not smooth texture at all. The raspberry was very sweet and tart but if you mix it with the champagne part it was much better.

England Ice tea from Twinnings. We are huge ice tea lovers and we tried three flavors, the Indian Chai, the Lady Grey and the Honeybush Orange...they are all fantastic and we bought a box of each to take home. They all look the same so here is one picture.

 

[MickeyNicki]

Thanks for the great idea for making Rice Cream! Great reviews and pictures, thanks for letting us know the good, the bad, and the tasty!

You are so welcome. As soon as DH tasted the rice cream he said, Nic you can make this at home. When we got home I hit the grocery store and we had it for dessert that night...it is identical and oh so good!

 

[MickeyNicki]

Dominican Republic Coconut Flan. This was super good and very coconutty, very creamy and not rich at all. Only complaint was it was tiny so I had to get it a few times that week!

Chile Tomatican con Manchego, tomato corn and gabanzo bean stew. The portion was huge and the flavor was very very good. This is a filling sample, we enjoyed it very much.

Argentina Spicy beef empanadas. This was not spicy to us but it was very good, another one that we had more than once this time.

Africa Durban spiced chicken on a skewer. THis was awesome! It was served on a grit cake and the put a more sauce all over it...wow it was so great! We had this a few times. Very tender all white meat chicken!

 

[MickeyNicki]

Well guys, that is all she wrote...until the next trip, hopefully in the Spring.

DH and I had so much fun snacking the countries throughout our trip. There is no way you can sample all that you want in just a weekend or, dare I say it, one day. A week in October is the perfect time to go and pig out!

We have come across some new favorite places, meals and snacks and have tried new foods that we have never eaten before and are excited to go back and try more.

Now I know why some people on the dining plan say they cannot eat that much...we are not on the plan and shared most lunches, dinners and snacks and we still stuffed to the gills.

I have learned so much helpful info and tips on this board....everytime someone made a comment about a place, meal, snack or anything that could be useful I wrote it down and before our vacation I made a little checklist of things to do and try otherwise I would forget it all! That checklist was a great thing to go back to.

Hope my reviews helped you out and if you have any questions at all just fire away!

Thanks so much for reading and all your kind comments!

 

[Angelrose]

Thanks for the beautiful pictures and the review. I enjoyed your comments.

 

[DLo]

Thanks for your detailed reviews and pics. The last time we were at the F & W festival it was sooo crowded we didn't enjoy all the offerings. We will have to plan better next time after seeing your pics. (the good and the bad)

 

[MOTHERGOOSE3]

AWESOME

 

[momtolittlered]

GREAT POST!!

 

[MadamMim]

The review was great but more importantly... I grew up in Naples! Woo hoo! Go Naples! I'm a nerd, I know. But I'm living in Scotland now doing my postgrad work and I'm homesick as all get-out so I got real excited when I saw where you're from. And the review really was great.

 

[MickeyNicki]

The review was great but more importantly... I grew up in Naples! Woo hoo! Go Naples! I'm a nerd, I know. But I'm living in Scotland now doing my postgrad work and I'm homesick as all get-out so I got real excited when I saw where you're from. And the review really was great.

Thanks! Have you been to Naples lately? I have been here for 17 years and miss the way it used to be...it is so commercialized and overgrown....I think there are 25 Starbucks in town..but none close to my house.

 

[MadamMim]

Thanks! Have you been to Naples lately? I have been here for 17 years and miss the way it used to be...it is so commercialized and overgrown....I think there are 25 Starbucks in town..but none close to my house.

I haven't been back in a couple years, but it's grown so much since I was a kid. I couldn't believe the new elementary school behind Barron... like there needs to be more traffic in and out of there every morning. I remember when Pine Ridge Road was lined with actual pines *sigh* those were the days. When I tell people about where I was brought up I mention that the news reports aren't like in other cities with murder and crime but much more along the lines of 'a new bank opened today.' And that there's a Publix and a Mobil station on every corner.