Epicuriouser & Curiouser: A Dining Review ~ 10/19-10/28/07

As I have really been enjoying your reviews, I would like your opinion. I'm not a very adventureous eater--nothing too fancy, absolutely no mushrooms. If I can't find anything I want to try on a menu, I usually end up with a filet, hoping there is some special sauce on it. If you had to choose between Cali. Grill (I usually order the filet) and Narcoossee's (never been), which one would you pick? We are staying at WDW for ten nights. My DH said he can't eat a big dinner ten nights in a row so I'm trying to shorten my list of restaurants.
 
As I have really been enjoying your reviews, I would like your opinion. I'm not a very adventureous eater--nothing too fancy, absolutely no mushrooms. If I can't find anything I want to try on a menu, I usually end up with a filet, hoping there is some special sauce on it. If you had to choose between Cali. Grill (I usually order the filet) and Narcoossee's (never been), which one would you pick? We are staying at WDW for ten nights. My DH said he can't eat a big dinner ten nights in a row so I'm trying to shorten my list of restaurants.

I can see where your DH is coming from. Even though I like to think we can eat big every day of our vacation, we ended up skipping a few ADRs at the end of our October trip because we were tired, and the thrill of a 3 or 4 course meal had worn off a little bit.

If it were me, I'd go back to Cali Grill. This decision takes my DGF into account, as this is her favorite restaurant at WDW. But if you want to try something new, Narcoossee's is a very romantic restaurant with less cuisiney food. The surf and turf was terrific. A very good sauce on the steak and not a mushroom in sight!
 
I'm really enjoying your dining report so far. I love reading the "adults only" trip reports since I'm smack dab in the middle of chicken nuggets and mac&cheese with two 6 year olds in the house. I can only dream of sangria followed by a beer flight and 4 course dinners. Luckily, Boma has a great children's pod, so my dh and I get to sample some good stuff and the kids are happy with zebra PB&Js and the aforementioned mac & cheese.

Have a good trip in Jan. We're leaving for our annual pilgrimage next Friday.
 

I'm really enjoying your dining report so far. I love reading the "adults only" trip reports since I'm smack dab in the middle of chicken nuggets and mac&cheese with two 6 year olds in the house. I can only dream of sangria followed by a beer flight and 4 course dinners. Luckily, Boma has a great children's pod, so my dh and I get to sample some good stuff and the kids are happy with zebra PB&Js and the aforementioned mac & cheese.

Have a good trip in Jan. We're leaving for our annual pilgrimage next Friday.

Hey, PB&J and chicken nuggets are a good place to be, too. I can't wait until my neices are big enough to be indoctrinated into WDW fandom. We will be character dining with the best of them!

Have a great time on your trip! We're leaving late next Sunday night for the 9 hour trek to Orlando. Let's cross our fingers for nice weather and low crowds!
 
Still here and still reading - Ca Grill looks fantastic but, I fear, out of our reach while DS is still at the 'eating with his fingers' stage :rotfl:
 
OMGoodness!! I am so excited about CA Grill!

We will be doing the DxDP on our January '09 trip and Cali Grill is tops on the list. I am so glad my kids have my genes and are truely foodies. My 10 y/o (will be 11 on the trip) and my 9 y/o LOVE to try anything and everything NOT chicken nuggets and PB & J.

Both my kids want sushi (they just about died when they saw your sushi plate.."Mom!! Mom!! Did you see al that beautiful sushi?!?") and with my older DD on the Adult DxDP, she said she would "throw the younger one a bone or two from the "adult" menu..."God bless her :rotfl2:

Youngest DD wants to be on the adult plan, but I told her with all the food my oldest DD is getting, she can have a taste of some of the things my older DD is getting. ;)

Thanks again for the wonderful reviews!! Can't wait for more. popcorn:: DD's can't wait for more either ;)
 
Breakfast in the Bomuda Triangle was paranormally good as always. Our coffee only disappeared in the conventional sense this time, but there was still an air of mystery surrounding the French press. The first cup was eerily light in color and lacked that grab you by the boo-boos quality that I’ve come to expect from Kenyan coffee. After much scientific inquiry, we discovered that the waiter did not let the brew brew long enough. Party foul! The waiter brought us another pot, and this time we did the pressing thank you very much. Brioche French toast and bacon still get :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 from me, though.

Here is a Boma breakfast replay:
IMG_1612.jpg

All this may be yours, if you dare....

If I remember correctly, we went back upstairs after breakfast and read trashy tabloid magazines in bed all afternoon. ** Reasons why vacation rules #153: guilt-free perusal of US Weekly and In Touch while digesting guilt-free 1,000 calorie buffet breakfast.**

Luckily we were slated for an early dinner at Rose & Crown because all of that drunken celebrity debauchery sure put me in the mood for some beer.

IMG_2367.jpg

If this picture appears blurry, you too may have come down with a case of the Lindsay Lohans.

We arrived at WS a little early for our reservation, so we grabbed a couple of Lady Grey iced teas from the booth behind the Tea shop and caught an act of the Soggy Bottom Boys:
IMG_2253.jpg

Err, I mean the British Invasion. :rockband: I like to sing along with the smooth stylings for which I am deeply sorry.

After a rousing rendition of “Get Back” (I say Loretta’s got it coming), We checked-in to R&C behind what appeared to be a lovely group of British guests and were seated outside next to them in one of the much coveted patio seats with a view of the lake.

IMG_1640.jpg

Of course, at 4:30 in the afternoon, no one’s lining up for Illuminations quite yet…

But with enough of these bad boys, I think we could have waited it out. :drinking1
IMG_1636.jpg


Cheesy bread always tastes better with golf ball-shaped butter. Or maybe I’m just easy.
IMG_1637.jpg


The hops and yeast course was moving along swimmingly when suddenly things started to turn u-g-l-y! It seems that Disney booked Jerry Springer to host one of the food and wine pairings this year and the lovely British families sitting next to us were his first guests. Don’t get me wrong. I am a total anglophile. I love the BBC and cream tea, and I’ve always had a secret crush on Fergie (the Duchess not the Black Eyed Pea), even pre-Weight Watchers (I like a little meat on my women). I got my Master’s in 19th century English literature for crimanies sake! But these Brits had anger management issues. The two women actually had a yelling match in the middle of Rose & Crown. We were waiting for the chairs to start flying!

This was all fun and games until the scarier of the two screaming women realized that she was in a busy restaurant at Disney World and started looking around at her fellow R&C patrons like something out of the movie Taxi Driver.

No ma’am we are not talking to you. We are merely enjoying the view….
IMG_1641.jpg


The barmaids broke it up before anyone lost their weave, and with the floorshow disbanded, there was nothing left to do but order appetizers.

We shared an order of the roasted mushrooms, cooked with cream and garlic and served on a puff pastry.
IMG_1639.jpg

We are big fans of the fungus, which was made even better by puffy pastry and cream. This tasted like really good cream of mushroom soup. Campbell’s eat your heart out.

We also sampled the fruit and cheese plate.
IMG_1638.jpg

The R&C cheese plate includes Irish cheddar, mushroom brie, and Stilton pastry with some apple slices and red grapes, some nuts, a piece of matza (at least that’s what it looked like to me), and some onion jelly in a little white jar. We enjoyed all of these selections and their accompaniments. Onion jelly is suspect, but not too bad on matza with a little brie. Who knew?

What’s a trip to ye olde English pub without fish and chips? So we both got ‘em!
IMG_1642.jpg

That is one big, Freudian piece of fried fish. Very flakey and tender. I like the chips at Raglan better, but these were good too.

For dessert, we took the advice of our excellent server and diffuser of rows. :worship: She suggested the Frozen Vanilla Custard, so we decided to share one.
IMG_1643.jpg

Bingo! I inherited a love of frozen custard from my mother who grew up on the Jersey shore. I pshaw regular old ice cream. Frozen custard is the goods! This preparation was a bit unconventional. It had a raspberry coulis on top, but it hit the spot. Light and refreshing and not too sweet.

After a most righteous dinner, we hopped a monorail over to MK and the MNSSHP. But first, we fortified ourselves with a couple of frozen fruity rum drinks brought to us by the Latin American faction of the F&W fest. Brain freeze aside, quite tasty and alcoholic, the latter of which is a pre-requisite for maximum enjoyment of hard ticket events at the MK.

Still to come: Day 6 ~ Fun with Food & Wine, plus Bistro de Paris!
 
Still here and still reading - Ca Grill looks fantastic but, I fear, out of our reach while DS is still at the 'eating with his fingers' stage :rotfl:

There were lots of little guys at CG. Go. Enjoy. You’re at WDW!

OMGoodness!! I am so excited about CA Grill!

We will be doing the DxDP on our January '09 trip and Cali Grill is tops on the list. I am so glad my kids have my genes and are truely foodies. My 10 y/o (will be 11 on the trip) and my 9 y/o LOVE to try anything and everything NOT chicken nuggets and PB & J.

Both my kids want sushi (they just about died when they saw your sushi plate.."Mom!! Mom!! Did you see al that beautiful sushi?!?") and with my older DD on the Adult DxDP, she said she would "throw the younger one a bone or two from the "adult" menu..."God bless her :rotfl2:

Youngest DD wants to be on the adult plan, but I told her with all the food my oldest DD is getting, she can have a taste of some of the things my older DD is getting. ;)

Thanks again for the wonderful reviews!! Can't wait for more. popcorn:: DD's can't wait for more either ;)

Oooooh…DxDP! That will be fun! Good of older DD to throw younger sis a bone! :lmao: That’s probably more than I would’ve done for my DS at that age! :laughing:

If they like sushi, CG is the place to get it!

Thanks for reading, guys!

Oh WOW! A girl after my own heart :thumbsup2 That's my motto!

I'm in :teeth:

Glad you’re here! :wave: I’ve been enjoying your dining trippie, too!
 
Wow that was one huge piece of fish. I just noticed you're leaving in 3 days, lucky you!!!!:woohoo:
 
Wow that was one huge piece of fish. I just noticed you're leaving in 3 days, lucky you!!!!:woohoo:

It was big. Neither of us could finish it!

Yep, we are leaving Sunday night, and I have nothing ready! :laundy: But we are excited! It'll be one of those trips where getting there is a blur and all of a sudden we realize we are there! :cheer2:
 
I am really enjoying your reviews. Your and you dgf seem like the same kind of vacationers dbf and I are...lots of adult beverages.
 
We have a WDW tradition. One day of every trip is reserved exclusively for shopping, eating, and drinking our way around the World Showcase at Epcot. Because WS doesn’t open till 11am, this tradition usually takes place following a late night so we can sleep in. Since we attended MNSSHP the night before, Day 6 seemed like a logical choice.

It’s the Food & Wine Festival – bonus! :woohoo:
IMG_2517.jpg


Another important part of our WS day tradition is getting drunk before noon. That means arriving at WS precisely at 11am and procuring alcoholic beverages as quickly as possible. Sometimes this takes the form of margaritas from the Mexico pavilion. During the F&W Festival, it’s Moet & Chandon Nectar Imperial Rose.

Champagne and truffles – the breakfast of champions.
IMG_1688.jpg

Now, I’ve had better truffles, but the champagne was fabulous - not too sweet, not too dry, just right - and buzz-inducing, especially after the second glass.

From my very favorite F&W booth of all, we set off clockwise around World Showcase lagoon in search of munchies. Argentina was up first. Here we ordered a Spicy Beef Empanada and the Grilled Beef Sirloin with Chimichurri Sauce.
IMG_1689.jpg

These were two of the best offerings overall. The empanada was rich and indeed spicy, and the sirloin reminded me of the delicious lemony pot roast that DGF makes for me if I beg profusely.

Mexico was our next stop for a Quesadilla con Chorizo and Chilaquiles. That’s “chee-lah-KEE-lace” to you and me.
IMG_1691.jpg

We both love Mexican food, and this was pretty good, but we can make better at home. ;)

To round out our Hispanic feast, we visited Spain and tried the Papas con Chorizo. If you really like chorizo, then this is the dish for you.
IMG_1692.jpg

This had a good spice, but the chorizo overpowered everything and made it too salty. DGF thought it tasted like chili. I thought it would be better over rice.

The Guinness was calling my name at the Ireland booth, so we picked up a Frozen Bailey’s Irish coffee, Boxty with Bacon Chips and Kerrygold Butter, and an Irish Cheese Plate to go along with my beer.
IMG_1693.jpg

Where I’m from Irish coffee has whisky in it, and I don’t think this did, but it was pretty darn good nonetheless. I think they should make this a morning selection at Starbucks. My students would like me soo much better. If you read my review of Raglan Road, you know how I feel about potato pancakes; this Boxty was essentially a potato pancake and I found it to be just meh. But the butter on top was another story. This butter recurred on the cheese plate, and all I can say is it’s a good thing that butter doesn’t taste like this in America.

China was the next stop. Here we sampled the Pork Pot Stickers and both got a Green Tea Plum Wine Cooler, which is one of our favorite things from past F&W fests.
IMG_1697.jpg

The pot stickers were decent. I liked the vinegar-based sauce they were served with, but word to the wise: do not go to the “Joy of Tea” stand that they have set up in China all year round and expect to get this delicious wine cooler. They serve a wildly disgusting green tea plum wine slushy that mocks the fruity yumminess of this F&W exclusive. Save your hard earned Disney dollars for the Citron slushies in France!

Just to clarify, we stopped and checked stuff out as we ate. We also shared most things. Well not so much the beverages, but the food definitely. This is the key to optimum samplage. Otherwise you’ve peaked after the third booth.

After China, we visited Germany where DGF bought a very expensive Engel-Puppen doll to add to her Alice in Wonderland collection. Cha-ching! All that charging made me hungry, so we got a Debrinzer Sausage with Sauerkraut in a Pretzel Roll, Spaetzle with Creamy Mushroom Ragout, and a glass of S.A. Prum Blue Slate Riesling.
IMG_1700.jpg

Ooompapa was that sausage tasty, especially the roll. We also liked the spaetzle, which were yummy little dumplings in mushroom gravy. Not too salty. The Riesling was medium dry and had a touch of sweetness. Quite enjoyable. I’ll take the whole bottle, please sir.

I think I remember samosas from the India booth, but no pictorial evidence, so let’s skip ahead, shall we, to Poland where we each got the Kielbasa and Potato Pierogies with a glass of Nalewka Babuni Raspberry Wine.
IMG_1701.jpg

DGF is polish, so this is comfort food just like her Grandpa used to make, and she wouldn’t share. I’m glad we did this booth in reverse, though. I enjoyed every bite of my own kielbasa and pierogies, but I couldn’t have finished that raspberry wine on my own. We had to take turns shooting it like cough medicine. Wayyy tooo sweeeet!

That concludes our Food & Wine Festival tastings for the most part. We never make it to all of them. Year 3 was no exception. We sure gave it the college try, though!

Day 6, Part 2 – Bistro de Paris on the way…
 
I just watched the weather, and it looks like we are getting snow in NC on Saturday and then freezing temps on Sunday, so no melting!

This means we are hitting the road a lot sooner than we planned because I'm not getting stuck at home when we should be at WDW.

Before I start cleaning and laundering and packing in anticipation of a Saturday AM departure for Florida, I just wanted to say farewell to all of my dining review friends. I'll be back on the 29th to finish the job!

Thanks for reading!
 
Have a safe journey and a wonderful trip. Oh, and some good food and drink, don't forget that. :goodvibes
 





New Posts










Save Up to 30% on Rooms at Walt Disney World!

Save up to 30% on rooms at select Disney Resorts Collection hotels when you stay 5 consecutive nights or longer in late summer and early fall. Plus, enjoy other savings for shorter stays.This offer is valid for stays most nights from August 1 to October 11, 2025.
CLICK HERE













DIS Facebook DIS youtube DIS Instagram DIS Pinterest

Back
Top