christygobar
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2005
I was at WDW this past weekend Thurs-Sun night traveling solo on Free Dining. I also had booked 3 F&W special events. All were great experiences - some just better than others.
Thursday (It wasn't at WDW, but I thought I'd include it anyways):
Dinner@ Bubba Gumps at CityWalk (Universal Studios):
Entree: "I'm Stuffed" Stuffed Shrimp. Stuffed with crab & breadcrumbs and tons of monterrey jack cheese with jasmine rice.
Drink: Lava Flow
Yum! I have eaten here before at the location in Miami. It is not a bad chain seafood restaurant. Fun atmosphere and the food has been great both times I've been. The shrimp was very good and the drink was excellent. It was super rich though. And very overpriced (which I know they can do considering the location). I spent $30 on the entree, drink and tip for one person.
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Friday! First day at WDW and POFQ:
Breakfast: Garden Grove Cafe at the Swan Resort (this is BEFORE I checked in to POFQ )
This was a simple breakfast buffet and when I went down there around 7:30 there were only about 3 tables of people. I grabbed your normal b-fast buffet fare (fruit, bacon, some casserole and cinnamon roll along with coffee and juice) and sat down with my newspaper. The food was good, warm and what I expected. The service was good as well. I think the whole thing was around $12.00 but off the top of my head I'm not sure.
Lunch @ Olivia's Cafe at Old Key West:
I had never been to this resort and I thought it was beautiful! The food was excellent and the server was great also.
Appetizer: Crab Cakes - possibly some of the BEST crab cakes I have ever had. My favorites are at Pappadeaux and I think these might have just given those a run for the money The sauces that complement them are wonderful (key lime mustard and a passion fruit jam) were sooo good.
Entree: Penne Pasta with Shrimp with Asiago Cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, asparagus, olive oil and garlic - This was really good. I expected a cream sauce, but when it came out I saw it was actually lightly coated in the garlic/oil and covered in shredded asagio cheese. I actually enjoyed that a LOT. It was a nice change from your typical cream sauce.
(FYI - the menu says spinach but they have substituted asparagus at the moment)
Dessert: Chocolate Cake - eh, this was fine. The icing was good, but the cake a bit dry. I ate the icing-ed edges and was done. I've had better desserts before.
"Dinner" - Many Leagues Under the Coral Reef Food & Wine Pairing/Tasting
This was the first of three F&W Special Events I purchased ahead of time. We were in a waiting room outside of the Coral Reef and offered sparkling cider prior to 3:00. At 3:00 on the dot, the chef and sommelier came in to talk about what our tastings were going to be and then we were ushered into the restaurant.
The wines were 3 Reislings and from a German vineyard. I loved all 3 of the wines!
Course #1 - Sterling Salmon Mousse wrapped with Grilled Jumbo Asparagus surrounded by Horseradish Cream Sauce & Crispy Capers
- Paired with the Johannishof "Charta" Riesling
Meh. I wasn't a fan of the food on this course. I am not a fan of cold seafood. It was very rich and had a great texture but I just wasn't loving it.
Course #2 - Tilapia Confit with Brunoise Mirepoix (it's a way of doing carrots & celery in case you were wondering) and Forest Mushroom Duxelles.
- Paired with the Johannisberg "V" Riesling Kabinett
This was much better. The tilapia was very good and so were the veggies around it.
Course #3 - Cheese Sampler with Tillamook Cheddar Strips, Herbed Sage something-or-other (not written in my menu) and curried goat cheese with dried apricots and tomato raisins
- Paired with the Johannisberger Klaus Riesling Spatlese
YUM. I love cheese. However, the curried goat cheese was SUPER spicy. It had great flavor but wow. I knew to expect spice (the chef had warned us ahead of time) but it was a shock to the system! But it was all superb.
My one complaint about this F&W pairing is the NOISE! The noise level in the restaurant is insane. I didn't realize we were going to be placed in the main dining room. The chef & wine rep walked around to all the tables during each course but it would be nice if this was taken to a standalone room for the pairing. It would seem more intimate.
I heard a lot of people the next day discussing the Le Cellier pairing (held at the same time the Coral Reef was) and they said it was wonderful. I might try that one next time instead of Coral Reef. But I had never been inside this restaurant and I enjoyed the atmosphere for the most part.
After the pairing I headed to MK for MNSSHP. I didn't grab any food here - only a chocolate croissant from the Main Street Bakery. That was a nice late treat for the parade
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I just looked at how long this got, so I will reply later on my other two days of reviews!
Thursday (It wasn't at WDW, but I thought I'd include it anyways):
Dinner@ Bubba Gumps at CityWalk (Universal Studios):
Entree: "I'm Stuffed" Stuffed Shrimp. Stuffed with crab & breadcrumbs and tons of monterrey jack cheese with jasmine rice.
Drink: Lava Flow
Yum! I have eaten here before at the location in Miami. It is not a bad chain seafood restaurant. Fun atmosphere and the food has been great both times I've been. The shrimp was very good and the drink was excellent. It was super rich though. And very overpriced (which I know they can do considering the location). I spent $30 on the entree, drink and tip for one person.
_____________
Friday! First day at WDW and POFQ:
Breakfast: Garden Grove Cafe at the Swan Resort (this is BEFORE I checked in to POFQ )
This was a simple breakfast buffet and when I went down there around 7:30 there were only about 3 tables of people. I grabbed your normal b-fast buffet fare (fruit, bacon, some casserole and cinnamon roll along with coffee and juice) and sat down with my newspaper. The food was good, warm and what I expected. The service was good as well. I think the whole thing was around $12.00 but off the top of my head I'm not sure.
Lunch @ Olivia's Cafe at Old Key West:
I had never been to this resort and I thought it was beautiful! The food was excellent and the server was great also.
Appetizer: Crab Cakes - possibly some of the BEST crab cakes I have ever had. My favorites are at Pappadeaux and I think these might have just given those a run for the money The sauces that complement them are wonderful (key lime mustard and a passion fruit jam) were sooo good.
Entree: Penne Pasta with Shrimp with Asiago Cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, asparagus, olive oil and garlic - This was really good. I expected a cream sauce, but when it came out I saw it was actually lightly coated in the garlic/oil and covered in shredded asagio cheese. I actually enjoyed that a LOT. It was a nice change from your typical cream sauce.
(FYI - the menu says spinach but they have substituted asparagus at the moment)
Dessert: Chocolate Cake - eh, this was fine. The icing was good, but the cake a bit dry. I ate the icing-ed edges and was done. I've had better desserts before.
"Dinner" - Many Leagues Under the Coral Reef Food & Wine Pairing/Tasting
This was the first of three F&W Special Events I purchased ahead of time. We were in a waiting room outside of the Coral Reef and offered sparkling cider prior to 3:00. At 3:00 on the dot, the chef and sommelier came in to talk about what our tastings were going to be and then we were ushered into the restaurant.
The wines were 3 Reislings and from a German vineyard. I loved all 3 of the wines!
Course #1 - Sterling Salmon Mousse wrapped with Grilled Jumbo Asparagus surrounded by Horseradish Cream Sauce & Crispy Capers
- Paired with the Johannishof "Charta" Riesling
Meh. I wasn't a fan of the food on this course. I am not a fan of cold seafood. It was very rich and had a great texture but I just wasn't loving it.
Course #2 - Tilapia Confit with Brunoise Mirepoix (it's a way of doing carrots & celery in case you were wondering) and Forest Mushroom Duxelles.
- Paired with the Johannisberg "V" Riesling Kabinett
This was much better. The tilapia was very good and so were the veggies around it.
Course #3 - Cheese Sampler with Tillamook Cheddar Strips, Herbed Sage something-or-other (not written in my menu) and curried goat cheese with dried apricots and tomato raisins
- Paired with the Johannisberger Klaus Riesling Spatlese
YUM. I love cheese. However, the curried goat cheese was SUPER spicy. It had great flavor but wow. I knew to expect spice (the chef had warned us ahead of time) but it was a shock to the system! But it was all superb.
My one complaint about this F&W pairing is the NOISE! The noise level in the restaurant is insane. I didn't realize we were going to be placed in the main dining room. The chef & wine rep walked around to all the tables during each course but it would be nice if this was taken to a standalone room for the pairing. It would seem more intimate.
I heard a lot of people the next day discussing the Le Cellier pairing (held at the same time the Coral Reef was) and they said it was wonderful. I might try that one next time instead of Coral Reef. But I had never been inside this restaurant and I enjoyed the atmosphere for the most part.
After the pairing I headed to MK for MNSSHP. I didn't grab any food here - only a chocolate croissant from the Main Street Bakery. That was a nice late treat for the parade
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I just looked at how long this got, so I will reply later on my other two days of reviews!