So! When I left off we had just finished at Beaches & Cream and were spending the day at Animal Kingdom. We spent about 5 hours there, where my parents rode Everest for the first time and then spent AWHILE lounging at the Dawa Bar sipping rum runners. I love these babies. When we were there in September they were off (too sweet and too much pulp) - and I could hardly finish one, nevermind more than one. This time, the recipe was perfect again! So fabulous. Unfortunately, I didn't think to get a picture of them. We were all just relaxing and listening to the drummers and enjoying our drinks that it never entered my mind that you all would like seeing them. But trust me! Next time you are in the AK, head to the Dawa Bar and get one of these - they will not disappoint!!!
Okay, on to dinner! After an excrutiatingly long bus ride back to the Boardwalk, we had an ADR at Spoodles. I haven't eaten here since I was about 14 (and I hated it back then), so I decided to give it another chance.
I went for a glass of Sangria to start:
Now, we all know what Sangria is. The menu describes it as 'blend of red wine, brandy, triple sec, orange juice and fresh citrus fruit -- Glass $7.50'. I hate red wine. If I drink even one sip I will have a massive headache the next day. Why did I think I would LIKE this!?! I don't know - they just describe it so well, it sounds so YUMMY. So I thought, 'Disney waters down their drinks, I'm sure this won't taste so much like red wine, but more like the fruit juices.' Negative. All you could taste was the wine, and it dried out my mouth with every sip. I could only manage to finish about half the glass. Normal people who like red wine will love this! Me - not so much.
We were going to get an appetizer, but our server, Jason (who was excellent, by the way), told us about the bread he was bringing out, so we decided against it.
This was fabulous! I'm glad we didn't order another appetizer, because we all only wanted to eat this. The bread was Rosemary Focaccia, and it was big and fluffy and served cold. The dipping sauce was olive oil with olive tapenade in it. I believe there was cut up olives (duh!), carrots, celery, garlic and something else. It was very savory and a little sweet, with a hot 'finish'. Just wonderful! We even had Jason bring us out a second dish of it because we were going through it so fast.
Now, the entrees. Both my step dad and I had the
Wood-grilled Pork Chop[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
- with white bean cassolet and tarragon-chive pistou $22.99 [/FONT]
I thought this was alright. The pork chop was HUGE and very dry, so add to that my dry mouth from the sangria and I could hardly swallow - I must have gone through three glasses of water. I love cassoulet, too, and this wasn't bad, but surprisingly, I make a MUCH better version (from Weight Watchers no less!) at home. My stepfather, on the other hand, loved the dish and polished the whole thing off. To each his own!
My mom got the
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
Pan-Fried Chicken Cutlet - served with shaved Serrano ham, fennel, and arugula salad with lemon-white balsamic vinaigrette $17.99[/FONT]
I don't think she liked this. She said it had no flavor at all, and I even watched her dump salt and pepper on it four separate times. My mother NEVER uses salt, and usually yells at people who put it on their food (like it affects her somehow), so I know it definitely must have been bland to warrant all of that seasoning from her. She only ate about half of it.
DH had the
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
Oak-fired Steak Kabobs - with multigrain pilaf, balsamic red onions and harissa $22.99[/FONT]
Here is your first review from DH! He is a man of very little words, which you will see throughout this report. He thought the steak was 'really good and tender.' I tasted a bite and noted there was a VERY strong cumin taste - I like cumin so I didn't mind, but if you don't like it, this is NOT the meal for you! He also said that the rice was 'ok - not good, not bad' and that he thought it was just plain rice.
LOL
We opted not to order dessert because DH and I had checked into our room just before dinner and he surprised me with having a cake delivered for my birthday!
So we were all dying to get back to that cake. He ordered yellow cake with vanilla icing (I hate chocolate).
It was delicious. They even brought it with a candle and matches so you can sing happy birthday for the person. I thought that was a cute touch, because not many hotels outside of Disney do that. Anyway, I do have to note that there was A LOT of icing, and it was VERY sweet - almost too much. Now, I love lots and lots of SWEET icing on my cakes and cupcakes, so it must be very sweet to almost turn me off. But still, an excellent dessert, and I definitely wasn't sorry we had this instead of a dessert at Spoodles.
All in all I thought Spoodles was alright. I don't think we'll be returning anytime soon because there are so many other restaurants on property that we LOVE and so many we still want to try, but it's not on my 'never again!' list. My parents treated us to this dinner, too, so unfortunately I don't have the total cost, but I can tell you that we used our DDE card for 20% off the entire meal (alcohol too. Woohoo!!!).
Up next - our day at Epcot and 'eating around the world'...
sounds like a plan to me!
I am so disappointed in myself! 
I do remember thinking it was a bit on the greasy side, though. DH had gotten himself a Ham & Cheese Croissant, which he said was very good. I saw that it was a white cheese (not American) melted all over it, but since my stomach was being stupid, I didn't get to taste any, so I'm not sure exactly what kind it was. It did look delicious, though. 
Not just better, but perfect, as if nothing was ever wrong with me. Which was a relief, cause it was almost time to for dinner with our friends at Chefs de France. Got to love that British cider!!! 
There is nothing like a margarita first thing in the morning! LOL
