Dining Review - September/October 2023

[Noreen411]

Monday 10/2/23
We drove to the Riviera for our breakfast reservation at Topolino’s Terrace.


Scott had a Cappuccino and I had an Iced Caramel Cappuccino


They started off the meal by bringing a bucket filled with pastries; there were two of each item. The pastries were croissant, chocolate chip muffin, and an apple crumb type pastry. We both liked the apple pastry the best. There are little ramekins with butter, jam, and Nutella.



Scott had the Quiche Gruyère: House made pancetta, roasted potatoes, Gruyère, field greens, lemon vinaigrette. Scott had sausage with his quiche. He enjoyed his food and raved about the salad with the lemon vinaigrette.


I had the Sour Cream Waffle: Roasted apple, chantilly, orange-maple syrup, choice of smoked bacon, ham, or sausage, or plant-based sausage. I asked for well done bacon. This was a good waffle and I enjoyed it, but it’s just a waffle and didn’t really taste that different than any other waffles I’ve had. I would probably order something different if we came back for breakfast.



We had so much fun at breakfast. It’s definitely distracting waiting for the characters to come around but they were all fun and interactive. Scott kept laughing at me since he said I was like a kid not eating my food just keeping track of where the characters were and when they would get to our table.




This picture makes me laugh; Scott didn’t realize Minnie was behind him and didn’t know what I was taking a picture of.



It would be great if they had a photopass photographer going around with each character since all our pictures were either me or Scott but none of us together. We took tons of pictures with all the characters when they stopped by. We each have pictures with everyone (Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Daisy).

We would definitely come back for this breakfast; we both really enjoyed it.

 

[Noreen411]

Monday 10/2/23 Continued
We stopped at Primo Piatto at the Riviera (the quick service place) and picked up one of the Riviera Cookies. We didn’t try this until we were back home in New Jersey; it was packed up to come home with us. It was OK, but a bit too salty. I like the salty/sweet combination normally, but it was a bit too salty.


Later that night we drove to the Boardwalk for dinner at Trattoria Al Forno. We went early to have a pre-dinner cocktail at Abracadabar.

Scott had Bombay Sapphire straight, stirred, with 3 olives. I had the Hoodunit‘s Punch: Captain Morgan, Orange juice, Pineapple juice, coconut. This is one of my favorite cocktails of the trip.


We were seated on time in the main room today; it wasn’t as crowded as our last visit.


We started with the off-menu Bianca pizza (a white pizza) that the people we sat near our last visit had. This pizza was delicious, we both enjoyed it. Since it was off-menu I don’t have a formal description but it had mozzarella and ricotta; the things that look like balls are ricotta cheese dollops.


We had the Lasagna al Forno: Blended Italian cheeses, beef, veal, pork, herbed ricotta. This is very good. I like the non traditional shape which gives you more of those crispy yummy edges.


We had the truffle gnocchi: Parmesan, Fontina, Truffle cream. This gnocchi was pretty good, but on the heavier side.


We had too much food, we probably should have just ordered one entree after eating the pizza.

We skipped dessert at Trattoria Al Forno; we had another dessert in mind.

We went to Saltgrass Steakhouse for the Pumpkin Cheesecake. We are really enjoying this cheesecake and our time at Saltgrass.

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

That looks like a good food day! Glad you got to try the special pizza

 

[Noreen411]

That looks like a good food day! Glad you got to try the special pizza E

That looks like a good food day! Glad you got to try the special pizza

Exactly - that pizza was delicious. Scott is going to try to make it at home (or something similar)

 

[Noreen411]

Tuesday 10/3/23
We started the day at Hollywood Studios.

Scott has been talking about wanting a hot dog so we got him a foot long hot dog, fries, and soda from Rosie’s. I had an end of the hot dog and some of the fries. This was good, we both enjoyed it.


Later that night we drove to the Yacht Club for dinner at Yachtsman’s Steakhouse.

We went a little early to have pre-dinner cocktails at Crews Cup Lounge. Scott had a Martini and I had a Raspberry Mojito.


We were seated on time.


We were brought a basket with sourdough rolls and onion pull apart rolls. In addition to butter with sea salt they also brought roasted garlic that you can spread on the rolls. These onion pull apart rolls are delicious.



We shared our food as we often do

We started with the Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail: Poached, house-made cocktail sauce. This was a very good shrimp cocktail, the shrimp are a nice size, but it’s the cocktail sauce that makes it stand out.


For an entree we ordered the Red Wine-Braised Short Rib: mashed potato, sautéed root spinach, roasted Parisian carrots, stone fruit compote. This was great; we both enjoyed it. Sometimes short rib can be too fatty, but this was perfect. Scott, who doesn’t normally like mashed potatoes much even said they were really good, it goes well with the short rib.


We ordered two different sides to go with the entree.

Truffle Macaroni and cheese. This was a decent macaroni and cheese. I liked the pasta shape they used.


Hot Honey-bourbon Brussels sprouts. We weren’t thrilled with the Brussels sprouts. Nothing was wrong with them, but they were the weakest item of everything we ordered.


For dessert we had the Brulee Cheesecake: Citrus cheesecake, blonde chocolate ganache, blood orange curd, milk chocolate mousse, pomegranate gelee. The waiter recommended this dessert as something different and it was a great choice. We both enjoyed it. It’s very artistic.

 

[Noreen411]

Wednesday 10/4/23
We started the day at Epcot.

From one of the food and wine festival booths, Bubbles & Brine, we ordered the Jonah Crab Claw (no mustard) for Scott. He thought this was very good. I’m surprised that we’ve been at Disney for almost 2 weeks already and this is the first item we tried from the food and wine booths.


We walked around World Showcase and picked up various snacks to pack and bring back home with us. There were a lot of things we wanted to try, but not enough time to eat them all while we were at Disney.

In France - Les Halles (the pastry shop) we picked up a few things.

The almond croissant. This came home to New Jersey with us and was still really good when we ate it.


I’m not sure the official name but this was a powdered donut filled with a Nutella type cream inside. We tried this at the resort later and didn’t like it.


Macarons. These came home to New Jersey with us. We’ve bought these on prior trips too. They are packed well and made the trip home safely. Unfortunately, we put them in the refrigerator and forgot about them. We gave them a try mid November but by then they were stale and crumbly. That was totally our fault for waiting too long; we know how good these normally are.


In Germany in the Caramel store we picked up a few items

Gingerbread cookie. This came home to New Jersey with us and we shared it for dessert one night. It was still fresh and tasty; Scott thought it was great. I thought it was OK.



Apple Cookie. This came home to New Jersey with us and we shared this for dessert one night. This was really good; I would definitely get it again. Scott thought this one was OK.

 

[Noreen411]

Wednesday 10/4/23 Continued
We continued walking around World Showcase and picked up a few more snacks…

In the bakery in Norway we purchased a few items

Epelcake (an apple type cake). This came home to New Jersey and we shared it for dessert one night. It was good, but not something I’d go out of my way for.



School Bread. I know many people love this. We tried it the next morning at the resort and neither of us liked it. There wasn’t anything wrong with it, we just weren’t thrilled with the flavor of the cream Inside.




I don’t know the name of this item, but it was a chocolatey pretzel looking cookie. This came home to New Jersey with us. it was OK but a bit on the dry side.

 

[Noreen411]

Wednesday 10/4/23 Continued
Later that night we drove to the Riviera for our dinner reservation at Topolino’s Terrace. We went a little early to have a pre-dinner cocktail at their bar.

I had a French Rose: Ketel One Citron Vodka, Combier Crème de Pamplemousse Rose Liqueur, Raspberry, Agave, Leon, Soda Water. Scott had Tanquerey 10 straight with olives.


We were seated on time


The bread is cute but a little hard, it was still very tasty.


We shared everything we ordered

One appetizer was the Grilled Octopus: Poblano Romesco, black garlic aioli, harissa, spiced potatoes. The octopus was fantastic, probably the best grilled octopus we’ve ever had. We both really enjoyed it.


The other appetizer was the Gnocchi: braised lamb shoulder, mushroom, red wine jus, carrots. The gnocchi was OK, but we wouldn’t get it again. Nothing was wrong with it, but it paled in comparison to the octopus


One entree was the Classic Sole Meuniere: sea beans, capers, baby squash, asparagus, petite potatoes. We ordered this on the waiter’s recommendation as their signature dish. We weren’t thrilled with it. The sauce was on the watery side and just tasted like lemon. The fish itself was flaky and very light. There wasn’t anything wrong with the dish, it just wasn’t something we really liked.


The other entree was the Filet Mignon: pommes fondants, asparagus, carrot purée, morels, bordelaise. The filet was delicious and the better of the two entrees.


We also ordered the enhancement of Seared Scallops: black truffle jam. The scallops were delicious. I’m not normally a big scallop fan but these were great.


For dessert we ordered the vanilla and citrus crème brûlée: Morello cherry compote, strawberry foam, sugared beignets, chocolate meringues. This was very good and very artistic.


Scott often gets a Grand Marnier and a double espresso after dinner. I don’t usually take a picture of it, since it’s not something unique to the restaurant, but I thought this shot was very artistic how you can read the restaurant name on the cocktail napkin through the drink.


We enjoyed our meal at Topolinos Terrace with certain items being true standouts.

 

[Noreen411]

Real Life Update - Can we make Pineapple Bread Pudding?
We always have family over for Christmas Eve as well as other nights around the holidays. Scott enjoys cooking and baking so goes all out for the holidays.

This year we were chatting about desserts and the different things to bake and we started talking about trying to re-create the Pineapple Bread pudding from O’Hana/Tambu Lounge. Even though it wasn’t as good during this trip as it was in the past, we wanted to try the one that we always talk about and compare others to. If we’re going to try something new, we don’t want the first attempt to be for company so we’ll usually do a practice one for us to try.

We searched the internet for a recipe, found a few, printed them out, picked an evening and started to make it. We realized we were missing some of the ingredients for the caramel sauce so improvised with the Ghirardelli squirt one we had in the refrigerator. We made sure to have vanilla ice cream on hand. The first attempt was pretty good, but the caramel sauce didn’t work. The glass pan we used wasn’t right since even after we took it out of the oven it held the heat and dried it out a bit. We each had a piece and talked about what to do differently for the next batch. We put the leftovers in the refrigerator and continued to pick on it and it was better after it was cold.

Below is the first attempt:




Ready to try again for guests we realized we couldn’t find the recipe we printed. Back to the internet and we’re looking and couldn’t find the same one. So we used a different one. We also had the ingredients to make the caramel sauce this time. Instead of the glass pan we had metal disposable pans to use. We got the bread pudding together and into the oven; it’s surprisingly easy. We started to make the caramel sauce, following the instructions, and burnt it; it wasn’t edible. So we tried again and the second attempt came out good. We learned that if you put the caramel in the refrigerator it separates and gets hard so you need to microwave it to warm it up and stir it when ready to serve it.

Burnt Caramel that we tossed:


Better caramel that we used:


Finished product:

Another angle:



We were so excited that we got rave reviews for our Pineapple Bread pudding from guests. Even those that originally said they don’t like bread pudding gave it a try to humor us and then asked for more.

 

[mickey916]

Real Life Update - Can we make Pineapple Bread Pudding?
We always have family over for Christmas Eve as well as other nights around the holidays. Scott enjoys cooking and baking so goes all out for the holidays.

This year we were chatting about desserts and the different things to bake and we started talking about trying to re-create the Pineapple Bread pudding from O’Hana/Tambu Lounge. Even though it wasn’t as good during this trip as it was in the past, we wanted to try the one that we always talk about and compare others to. If we’re going to try something new, we don’t want the first attempt to be for company so we’ll usually do a practice one for us to try.

We searched the internet for a recipe, found a few, printed them out, picked an evening and started to make it. We realized we were missing some of the ingredients for the caramel sauce so improvised with the Ghirardelli squirt one we had in the refrigerator. We made sure to have vanilla ice cream on hand. The first attempt was pretty good, but the caramel sauce didn’t work. The glass pan we used wasn’t right since even after we took it out of the oven it held the heat and dried it out a bit. We each had a piece and talked about what to do differently for the next batch. We put the leftovers in the refrigerator and continued to pick on it and it was better after it was cold.

Below is the first attempt:
View attachment 820518
View attachment 820525View attachment 820523
View attachment 820519

Ready to try again for guests we realized we couldn’t find the recipe we printed. Back to the internet and we’re looking and couldn’t find the same one. So we used a different one. We also had the ingredients to make the caramel sauce this time. Instead of the glass pan we had metal disposable pans to use. We got the bread pudding together and into the oven; it’s surprisingly easy. We started to make the caramel sauce, following the instructions, and burnt it; it wasn’t edible. So we tried again and the second attempt came out good. We learned that if you put the caramel in the refrigerator it separates and gets hard so you need to microwave it to warm it up and stir it when ready to serve it.
View attachment 820520
Burnt Caramel that we tossed:
View attachment 820521

Better caramel that we used:
View attachment 820522

Finished product:
View attachment 820524
Another angle:
View attachment 820529


We were so excited that we got rave reviews for our Pineapple Bread pudding from guests. Even those that originally said they don’t like bread pudding gave it a try to humor us and then asked for more.

Looks delicious!

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

Wow that bread pudding looks great! Glad your guests enjoyed it

 

[Noreen411]

Looks delicious!

It was so good. It’s not quite the same as sitting in Tambu Lounge eating it but we really enjoyed it.

 

[Noreen411]

Wow that bread pudding looks great! Glad your guests enjoyed it

I’m so proud of us (really Scott) since it came out great.

 

[Noreen411]

Thursday 10/5/23
We started the day at Magic Kingdom.

Scott wanted a hot dog from Casey’s so we ordered a foot long hot dog, fries, and soda for lunch. I had a bite of the hot dog and some of the fries. This was very good.


Before we left the park we stopped at the confectionary (candy store on Main Street near the entrance) to get a few more snacks to take home.

Scott loved the Mickey cookie he had earlier in the trip so wanted to get another one to bring home. It made it home and was just as good as the first one.


We also got a dipped pretzel rod which came home with us. This reminded me of the days at the candy shop at Disney Springs where you used to be able to order things like pretzel rods and pick what type of chocolate to dip (milk, dark, or white), what toppings (like crushed oreos, nuts, mini M&Ms, etc) and what to drizzle with (different chocolates) and they would make it right in front of you while you watched. I used to enjoy getting those made to order treats. This wasn’t quite the same, but it was still very good.

 

[Noreen411]

Thursday 10/5/23 Continued
Later that night we drove to the Contemporary for our dinner reservation at California Grill.

We went a little early and when we checked in asked about having pre-dinner cocktails at the bar. They checked and there were two seats available at the bar so we were able to go up. It seemed like you need to reserve the bar stools and some people have dinner at the bar. I didn’t see that available in the app but maybe you need to just do it in person. We would totally do that. They had a bar menu or you could order from the pre-fixe dinner menu.

I had a San Francisco Mai Tai: Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum, Orgeat (Almond), Orange and Pineapple juices, and a float of Goslings Black Seal rum. Scott had Monkey 47 Gin. Scott enjoyed his gin and the bartender did a great job explaining the backstory of the gin to him. My drink was OK.


We were seated on time.


Since it’s a pre-fixe meal where we each get an appetizer, entree, and dessert we made sure to order different things so we can share/try each others.

The sourdough bread was warm and served with a dipping sauce made with olive oil, tomato, garlic, and chive. The bread and dip were great. We had to remind ourselves not to fill up on bread since we had a lot of food coming.


For the appetizers
Scott ordered the Rainbow Roll: tuna, salmon, hamachi, avocado, mango, pickled watermelon radish. While the pieces were on the smaller side, they were super fresh and tasty. I liked the sushi more than Scott did so I ate most of this.


I ordered the Stone Fruit and Burrata Pizza: California Stone fruit, prosciutto di Parma, salted pistachio, mozzarella, pickled hot peppers (I asked for no hot peppers). The pizza was good. Scott enjoyed this more so he ate most of the pizza. He even ended up putting some of the dipping sauce for the bread on the pizza.


For the entrees
Scott ordered the San Francisco Cioppino: Black Grouper, Clams, Mussels, Pink Shrimp, casarecce pasta, uni toast. He thought it was OK, but not his favorite. I ended up not trying it; not because anything was wrong but there was so much food, I just forgot.


I ordered the Wagyu Strip Loin: Kimchi fried rice, steamed dumplings, bok chop, crispy lotus root. I was originally going to order the filet, but we just had filet last night so I tried the Wagyu. It was very good, but I prefer a regular filet. The fried rice was a bit too spicy for me. The dumplings were good. The crispy lotus root was surprisingly cute and tasty.


For dessert
I ordered the White Chocolate Cherry Crème Brûlée: Almond chiffon, dark chocolate cremeux, almond crunch, morello cherry gel, black plums. This was fantastic. Probably the best crème brûlée either of us have ever had.


Scott had the Chiffon Cake: Chèvre Whip, meringue, blueberry foam, blueberry gel. This was good but paled in comparison to the crème brûlée.


Scott like the creme brûlée so much he ordered an extra one ala carte to go. This came home to NJ with us and was still just as delicious a few days later.


We really enjoyed our meal at California Grill and will come back

 

[2xcited2sleep]

I believe the bar seats at California Grill are walk-up only. To be honest, I'd kind of written California Grill off due to the prixe fix menu, but you're making me think we should at least give it a try. Love that you made the bread pudding at home -- it looks scrumptious! Anything else you're looking to recreate at home?

 

[flowergirl45]

I love that you guys made the bread pudding at home!

Like you, I don’t like my food to touch, and sauces are better on the side.

 

[Noreen411]

I believe the bar seats at California Grill are walk-up only. To be honest, I'd kind of written California Grill off due to the prixe fix menu, but you're making me think we should at least give it a try. Love that you made the bread pudding at home -- it looks scrumptious! Anything else you're looking to recreate at home?

We will look into the bar seats at California Grill next trip; walk up is fine since that’s easier at a bar. We sort of wrote it off too. When we tried California Grill when the Prixe Fix menu started we weren’t that thrilled with our experience. We were also there the same trip right before the Prixe Fix when it was an ala carte menu and really enjoyed it. I’m glad we gave it another try since this experience was very good.

We really enjoyed the bread pudding we made. We made it again for some friends. But we have to be careful not to make it too often since I want it to still be special.

What else to re-create…maybe the Hoodunit Punch will be the next try

 

[Noreen411]

I love that you guys made the bread pudding at home!

Like you, I don’t like my food to touch, and sauces are better on the side.

I was very proud of us doing that too - I had my doubts that we would do it justice, but it was surprisingly good.

LOL - one of my favorite little stocking stuffer gifts I received is a bunch of plates with compartments so the food doesn’t touch. It’s probably meant for kids but I love it. And I have little ramekins for sauce since that can’t even be on the plate, has to be on the side for dipping purposes. Although I did put the caramel sauce on the bread pudding; guess there are some exceptions here and there.

 

[Noreen411]

Friday 10/6/23
We left about 5:30am to start our drive home.

We drove into Virginia before we stopped for the night.

We went to Applebees for dinner and sat at the bar

Scott had Bourbon. I had a White Peach Sangria: Barefoot Moscato, Peach Schnapps and fruit juices. Look at the size of this sangria, it’s huge.


For an appetizer we shared the chicken quesadilla: Grilled quesadilla loaded with chipotle lime chicken, pico de gallo and a blend of melted cheddar cheeses. Served with chipotle lime salsa and sour cream. This was tasty. And I like that the sauces are all on the side to dip.


For dinner I ordered the Prime Rib Dipper with fries: sliced prime rib topped with grilled onions and melted American cheese. Served on a toasted cheddar roll with house-made herb mayo and French onion au jus for dipping. I asked for no mayo. This was good but a bit salty; I only ate half.


Scott had a cheeseburger and fries. He enjoyed this and ate it all


We ordered a blondie dessert to go but I don’t have a picture of it. It ended up coming back to New Jersey with us and was good a few days later.

This was a solid meal from Applebees. Sometimes simple comfort food is just what you want.