Dessert before Dinner: a trifecta of dining reports? Update 9/22 LTT COMPLETE!

[SweetSerenity]

Well, I'm in.

 

[Jenny Sanders]

But after taking a sip of Steve's I marched right back up to the counter and got myself one!

That a girl!

he lubed me up with his lotion and massaged me:

Oh my! And how did Steve feel about this??? HAHA!!

complete with a piece of popcorn left for us on the couch

This made me chuckle!

 

[buzzrelly]

I’m so mad I can’t quote on my phone! I am cracking up at your face in the pic with your Norwegian boyfriend! And he looks like a super-villain in a movie!

Your food at the festival looks pretty gross, thank goodness you had that big breakfast platter before you went!

 

[ariane37]

@DonnaBeeGood how did we miss this??? Would have been fun to do this! Oh well, next time!! Glad you got to do this @ariane37 !

Darn, I did see the living statues, but I forgot about the mural! Vacation brain mush!

See this is why I actually made a plan for this trip lol! Last year I had one single night at the festival and really had no idea what all they had there; this time I wanted to be sure and experience at least a handful of what was there.

Looking forward to trying this in May. We have EMM booked at HS and MK for our March trip.

I will definitely do any and all DAH they have during our May trip! We did EMM at HS last Nov. (which you might remember ) and really enjoyed it.

I love Hell's kitchen sorry this wasn't good.

Ugh, such a disappointment after seeing it time after time on the show. I'm sure if Gordon Ramsey had made it, it would've been delicious!

Lucky I'd like a handsome Swede to lotion my hands

You can be sure I'll be checking Norway for him on every future trip

Well, I'm in.

Yay!

Oh my! And how did Steve feel about this??? HAHA!!

Well he did watch and take pictures..............

I am cracking up at your face in the pic with your Norwegian boyfriend! And he looks like a super-villain in a movie!

Right, I didn't even try to hide my excitement

Your food at the festival looks pretty gross,

You pretty much hit the nail on the head! Total disappointment all around, but our dinner that night more than made up for it

 

[Tracy161]

We are just ALWAYS in sync with each other

So true

OMG that's a show I'd watch!

Me too!

This was probably the best thing we had at the festival, but we still would only rate it like a 6 or 7 out of 10

Gordon Ramsey would NOT be impressed

Hello my Norge friend

How awesome! What a great experience. I love me some Laila too

 

[KathyM2]

See this is why I actually made a plan for this trip lol! Last year I had one single night at the festival and really had no idea what all they had there; this time I wanted to be sure and experience at least a handful of what was there.

I had a plan with regards to what foods I wanted to try lol but didn't think to plan out anything else! That's why it takes practice..I guess I will have to try again next year!

 

[evre13]

I'm in - headed to Disney next month, so I can't wait to read your report!

You guys may have seen this in my TR or on my facebook like, 3x, because this is called "The most awesome Bloody Mary ever, anywhere". A.K.A:
Glazed Pork Belly Bloody Mary:
Classic Bloody Mary with Absolut Vodka garnished with Maple IPA, Glazed Pork Belly, Pickled Carrots, Celery, Stuffed Olives and a Cherry Tomato
I don't usually do Bloody Mary's, I've had a few, so at first I wasn't interested in this. But after taking a sip of Steve's I marched right back up to the counter and got myself one!

This actually makes me really sad I can't have a Bloody Mary (allergic to tomatoes!), but I just texted this description to my BF (who loves a good Bloody Mary), and his response was "I want to go to there."

 

[Finkerfell]

Loving your report! Thank you for sharing !!

 

[ariane37]

Trifecta Trip #2 (but really #1)
Day 2 Comes to an End with an Awesome Dinner
​

Wow, I'm pretty proud of myself I'm updating this report way faster than I did with my not quite finished TR! Go me!! I really should be getting the invites ready for my faux DIL's baby shower because I'm old school - read "old" - and am not doing E-vites or anything like that, but I rather do this with you guys.


Getting back to our 2nd day/first full day; we left the disappointing festival fare behind, checked in to Beach Club, and readied ourselves for dinner. We were going back to a signature restaurant we'd dined at many times before and had fallen in love with after our very first visit: Citricos over at the Grand Floridian. It's not the most talked about or most popular, there's no spectacular view of fireworks or anything, but the food has never disappointed and they have the best server in all of WDW there; our friend Rony!

As was the theme of our trip we "Lyft"ed over to the GF and arrived just in time for our reservation. Going back to the best server ever; on our very first visit we had Rony and he was beyond awesome. After that time we began requesting Rony's section when eating there, and he actually remembered us as we came back Other than a visit with the uber popular family Stone @kastoney when we had a less than stellar server and another time when he was out of the country visiting family we've always been lucky enough to get Rony and tonight was no different. We did end up waiting about 25 minutes to be seated in his section but believe me it is totally worth it.

I don't know if they do this everywhere, but they do let Rony (I assume all their servers) know when someone requests them, so as we were being walked to our table Rony came up and gave us both hugs. This was followed by our complimentary champagne which Rony has been giving us since our 2nd visit:



Steve doesn't really like champagne but takes a few sips because he doesn't want to seem ungrateful, and then we artfully pour his into my glass When Rony delivered the champagne he noted that I was wearing black pants, so he swapped my white napkin out for a black one. He always checks this and it's one of the things I love best about him AND the restaurant! As a sidenote, when we ate at Yachtsman in Feb. our server did not check for this. We conversed with Rony a bit; told him we'd missed him in Sept. when he was away and talked about his trip; he asked, as always, about our boys. He chats with us more than normal but not enough that he ignores his other tables; we can usually hear him with other customers and he's as attentive with them as he always is with us. So without further ado, heeeeeeeeeeere's Rony!



Great picture of him, horrific but typical picture of me #bangsrebelling. We love this man!!!

I cannot believe I failed to take a picture of the bread, because it's my absolute favorite bread on property! Sea salt and kalamata olive bread, mmmm. I limited myself to 2 pieces because I knew I'd be eating lots.
For our apps we both went with something new to us here. Steve:

Florida Shrimp
House-made Gnocchetti Sardi Pasta, Spicy Puttanesca Sauce, Baby Spinach, Parmesan




I shouldn't say this was totally new as he's gotten the Florida shrimp here before, but the dish is always different. I do like that they change their menu often but it's always delicious. The shrimp were big and there were 6 in there ( he grabbed one before I got the picture)`and while the sauce had a nice little kick it wasn't overpowering.

I was super excited for what I was getting which I saw on the menu prior to arriving. Especially given the untimely and unsettling demise of Artist Point (RIP Artist Point ) which had an absolutely amazing version of this, which is still available at Territory Lounge but still, I was psyched to try it here:

Wild Mushroom and Chestnut Bisque
Salted Pork, Matsutake Mushrooms, Roasted Chestnut




This was out of this WORLD!! OMG I wanted another bowl!! I give the AP/Territory Lounge mushroom bisque a solid 15 on a scale of 1-10 and this was a 14.99999, the difference being the AP soup is a bit thicker and saltier which is my preference. Here you could really taste the chestnut flavor which I appreciated. Neither soup has an overly mushroomy flavor which is why I liked it in the first place; I don't like actual mushrooms. This was a huge bowl too so yay, Citricos! This is one thing I hope stays on the menu.

Oohh let me back up! To go with our champagne we got more drinks. Steve went with a special mule they make that he's had before:

Strawberry Basil Mule
Russian Standard Vodka, Strawberry Purée, Fresh Basil Leaf, and Fever Tree Ginger Beer
and I tried something I've seen on menus but never tried:
Rekorderlig Premium Pear Cider



Steve really enjoys this mule, he likes any mule made with vodka. I wasn't a huge fan of the rekorderlig, it was actually too sweet for me. Sweeter than the Magner's pear cider in the U.K. I still drank it though after my 2 champagnes

Next came our main courses! These were also familiar to us although like the shrimp, Steve's was a different spin on the familiar dish:

Maine Lobster Risotto
Black Truffle, Parsnip, Pine Nuts, Lobster Emulsion, Carnaroli Risotto




Steve has had this before with scallops and thought it was the best thing ever........until this. I don't eat seafood but he said the lobster was divine and plentiful. He almost licked the bowl clean.

I went with my normal:
Oak-grilled Beef Filet
Potato Purée, Dragon Carrots, Cipollini Jam, Bordelaise




There is only one filet that even comes close to this in the World and that's the one at Narcoossee's. This piece of meat is so incredibly tender, so melt in your mouth, so flavorful I can't even stop describing it. And the potato puree is always creamy and smooth as anything, it's all I can do to eat all the meat before I eat all of this.

However tonight was a bit different because they had a special on the menu we wanted to try: truffle fries!



The only other place we've had these on property is territory lounge and while they were delicious there, these were less greasy which made them better. The downside? Between these, our main dish and my potato puree neither of us had room for dessert this go 'round.

I know Citricos doesn't get talked about often and when it does, people will say they prefer a different signature over it. But if you've read my previous reviews you'll know we always have wonderful meals here and I highly, highly recommend it. As an aside, you can actually see the high HEA fireworks from some tables there too if that matters and the restaurant itself is gorgeous. And Mizner's Lounge is next door for a drink before or after.......

Our night was not over yet! An awesome DIS friend of mine had graciously waited over at the aforementioned Territory Lounge at the Wilderness Lodge for us while we ate dinner so we could hang out a bit; we grabbed a Lyft and in no time at all were having a drink with Mr & Mrs @pepperandchips ! No picture of the menfolk but after we sat in the lounge for awhile we took a pretty picture in the lobby to prove it happened:



This was our 2nd time meeting and I can't wait to meet up with Melinda again on our EPIC girls trip in May xoxo!

Before we left Melinda had the best idea she's probably ever had; to go to Roaring Fork and get the best snack in the World. Behold one full and one half-eaten Magic Bar:



All I can say is, if you're on a diet this is 100% worth breaking down for.

With our Magic Bars (and bands) in hand we Lyfted once again and returned to the BC for the night. Hate to say my Pop food court breakfast was better than what we ate at the festival, but our Citricos dinner fully made up for that!

 

[ariane37]

How awesome! What a great experience. I love me some Laila too

Perfume of champions

I had a plan with regards to what foods I wanted to try lol but didn't think to plan out anything else! That's why it takes practice..I guess I will have to try again next year!

I normally don't put thought into our trips unless the kids are with us lol so this was way different for me, but I'd read about so much that went on and we normally aren't there in Jan/Feb so I don't know when we'll get there for this festival again

I'm in - headed to Disney next month, so I can't wait to read your report!

and thank you for joining in! And yay for a trip so soon!!!

This actually makes me really sad I can't have a Bloody Mary (allergic to tomatoes!), but I just texted this description to my BF (who loves a good Bloody Mary), and his response was "I want to go to there."

Well that stinks, yup a Bloody Mary is completely out for you lol. Maybe you can find something else for him he's equally excited about that you can share so you don't have to watch him with envy

Loving your report! Thank you for sharing !!

Hi there, so glad to have you along!!!

 

[Jenny Sanders]

All I can say is, if you're on a diet this is 100% worth breaking down for.

Umm, I will be partaking of this in May. Hands down!

I can't wait to meet up with Melinda again on our EPIC girls trip in May xoxo!

Couldn't agree more!!!!

 

[KathyM2]

YUM! All that food looked divine. I have to agree with you on anything mushroom...I don't like it. But you made the soup sound so good I might actually try it lol

 

[disneyAndi14]

I’m glad we only tried the pop tart thing and a chocolate chip cookie at the Festival of Arts, the food didn’t get very good reviews!

I’m always jealous of the delicious food I see at your Citricos dining adventures. It is nice to see! How fun to have your favorite waiter again.

I’m on the Magic Bar bandwagon with you and Melinda, very good!

 

[Tracy161]

Sounds like another wonderful meal/experience at Citricos! Whenever I make it there, I will be sure to request Rony

 

[missjackiemcg]

We were going back to a signature restaurant we'd dined at many times before and had fallen in love with after our very first visit: Citricos over at the Grand Floridian.

We ate there for the first time on our Highway in the Sky monorail dine around, and it was really delicious! We didn't get to choose our meal, but it everything was perfectly prepared...all I remember is it was meat and fish LOL and the potato puree was amazing. We sat in a private-ish wine room with glass doors. I really enjoyed it, and wished we'd had more time to spend there.

 

[TeresaNJ]

Yippee, I actually made it here, read, and caught up before your DR was finished! I'm getting better, lol. As I mentioned on your TR, we were at WDW the same time as you, and I was so bummed when I found out after the fact! I love reading your DRs, as well as @pepperandchips (you, too, @kastoney ), and to miss a chance to meet DIS DR royalty, well, I was very sad. Anyway, your reports are always so humorous! I'm constantly LOL at them. By the way, I love your gigantor photos. The bigger, the better, I say. Too bad the food at the FOTAs wasn't very good. Makes me feel so much better because we virtually didn't have an opportunity to try any of it due to our traveling companions. This happened to me once before on a F&G trip two years ago. I was on a trip with my sister, and my BFF, and while we've all known each other for 30+ years, and all get along very well, at home, the combo on a trip was not a good one. My sister and my BFF have two entirely different vacationing styles, and I was caught in the middle. I should have known better, as I should have known on this past January trip. I always learn my lessons the hard way. I really thought my sister and my BFF were going to come to fisticuffs! I really too many period romance novels, fisticuffs.Let's just say I had to beg my sister not to get on a plane and go home. When the trip was over, and I got home, my husband wanted to know about all the awesome F&G food booths food I ate. I said I only had one dish, the seared scallops. He was like . I told him my sister speedwalked through the entire World Showcase because she was so angry, and I could barely keep up with her. It was the first trip where I hardly have any photos at all, because she wouldn't stop long enough for me to take any. I would have to stop, take a pic, and then run to catch up with her. The BFF wasn't with us at that time because when we got to Epcot that morning, which was the first full day of our trip, we barely made it past the butterfly garden when her knee pain was so bad she couldn't walk anymore. She knew her knee had been bothering her before we left, and my sister kept saying to me how does she think she's going to walk WDW, and I was like I don't know. The BFF mentioned one of us pushing her in a wheelchair! I thought my sister was going to blow a gasket! I start panicking, run to Mouse Gears to get the BFF some aspirin, as she can't take ibuprofen due to having only one kidney, hoping that will help. Yea, it didn't. We went to the right upon entering WS, get almost to Canada, when the BFF tells me she feels sick, she's sweating and her face is bright red, she feels dizzy, OMG, is she having a heart attack!!! We sit her down, I go into my ER nurse mode and start triaging her. Do you have chest pain, does your arm or jaw hurt, are you short of breath??? Her answers are no, no, no. We get her some water, she rests for a while, and we figure it may have been the aspirin on an empty stomach, and the degree of knee pain. It was also very hot and humid, as it was in May. After a bit BFF decides she needs to go back to the room. I offer to go back with her, but she insists she is fine to go back by herself. I feel super guilty, but let her go. Hence my sister's World Showcase speedwalk, because now she's really riled up as to why didn't BFF realize she wouldn't be able to walk, why did she come, why didn't she get a scooter, she better get a scooter for the rest of the trip, now we're going to have the bus/scooter ordeal, and on and on. I just gazed longingly at all the beautiful floral displays and food as I raced after her. We did stop at Morocco for some food from Tangerine Cafe, as we were starving, and as we ate, my sister ranted some more. Can I just say we are of full Italian descent, and she is the fiery one out of the both of us? At that point, our mood was pretty much ruined, and we both felt bad that we let BFF go back to the room by herself, so after we ate, we left. I was also a little nervous about BFF getting back to the room by herself. She's not much for paying attention to details, and I explained to her that where we got dropped off would not be where our resort pick up was. We were staying in a studio at SSR. I really should have written a TR for this trip, but thinking back on it, it was pretty hilarious. Needless to say, we got back to SSR only a few minutes after BFF did, because she did walk the wrong way to the bus stop, and had to go back and walk all the way down to the other end. The first thing we did was call & order a scooter to be delivered the next morning. That was not the end of the drama, though, unfortunately. Going back for the F&G Festival two weeks from today with my sister, but no BFF, and the husbands are flying in a few days later. I've done WDW with my sis before, and since she's my sister, I know her vacationing style, and I'm very adaptable. I've also gone with just the BFF, and that trip was fun, too. They just can't go together!

Sis & BFF when they were still friends, waiting for the bus to Epcot that first morning! JK, they're still friends, just not "taking a WDW trip together friends"!

BFF after her quickie scooter lesson!

Oh, Ariane, I loved the expression on your face when you were getting lubed up, uh, I mean "lotioned" up, by Geir! Haha, you have a slightly naughty expression! We've never tried Citrico's, but after reading your reports, I really really want to eat there. It just seems out of the way, and there never seems to be enough time. This upcoming trip schedule is kind of already set in stone, but hopefully when it's just my husband & I on our F&W trip in the fall, we'll be able to fit it in.

 

[FSU Girl]

This was out of this WORLD!! OMG I wanted another bowl!! I give the AP/Territory Lounge mushroom bisque a solid 15 on a scale of 1-10 and this was a 14.99999, the difference being the AP soup is a bit thicker and saltier which is my preference. Here you could really taste the chestnut flavor which I appreciated. Neither soup has an overly mushroomy flavor which is why I liked it in the first place; I don't like actual mushrooms. This was a huge bowl too so yay, Citricos! This is one thing I hope stays on the menu.

This looks delicious! I loved the mushroom soup at AP and was sad it was being removed from the menu. This makes me want to book a dinner at Citricos now. Wish I had room for it when I go this weekend.

Steve has had this before with scallops and thought it was the best thing ever........until this. I don't eat seafood but he said the lobster was divine and plentiful. He almost licked the bowl clean.

That is a lot of lobster!

Truffle fries are the best!

 

[evre13]

to go to Roaring Fork and get the best snack in the World

I'm staying at WL my first night, and I definitely think I'm going to have to stock up. This would be a good pre-half marathon breakfast, right?

 

[Lesley Wake]

I SO wish I could remember their name because they were so awesome! Best band since Off Kilter. We actually went up to them afterwards to tell them how much we enjoyed them and found out sadly that they were only there for 3 weeks but would be back during F&W. I'll be down there for work in Oct. and am really hoping to catch them again!

I think we got to see them the last day they were there. My mom noticed them saying they'd be heading back to Canada the next day (though I guess there were weather issues and it got postponed by a couple days, so they were still there 2 days later!). I forgot their name too!

A tad different than our room the previous night at AS Movies, complete with a piece of popcorn left for us on the couch......really we loved the room and it was very close to the elevator on the 3rd floor. We unpacked a bit, chilled for a bit, and eventually got ready for dinner at one of our favorite signatures.

Nice room! Was this a standard? Trying to figure out if we could request it for May (seems big enough for 3 adults)!

 

[ariane37]

Umm, I will be partaking of this in May. Hands down!

You and me both! Just about every night after we drink at GP lol

I have to agree with you on anything mushroom...I don't like it. But you made the soup sound so good I might actually try it lol

I don't think I've actually eaten a mushroom since I was a kid but the taste I like; just not the texture. I was hesitant when I tried the mushroom bisque over at Territory Lounge but everyone hyped it up so much I had do! And OMG it was perfection.

I’m glad we only tried the pop tart thing and a chocolate chip cookie at the Festival of Arts, the food didn’t get very good reviews!

It was really disappointing! But at least I'll have my F&G food soon, and you too even sooner

I’m on the Magic Bar bandwagon with you and Melinda, very good!

I'm so happy you love it too!!

Sounds like another wonderful meal/experience at Citricos! Whenever I make it there, I will be sure to request Rony

You should definitely try fitting it in to a trip, you won't be disappointed. And of course ask for Rony because he'll make it even more special!

We ate there for the first time on our Highway in the Sky monorail dine around, and it was really delicious! We didn't get to choose our meal, but it everything was perfectly prepared.

As always I wish more people would figure out how wonderful it is, I'm always nervous it'll suffer the same fate as Artist Point (RIP Artist Point) because it's not one of the more popular signatures.

We sat in a private-ish wine room with glass doors.

Yes that's the private party room and for wine tastings, and apparently for Highway in the Sky lol.