Friends, Family, and a Solo: Will I survive? Oct 5 - Oct 17

[mickeystoontown]

Looking forward to reading your reviews.

 

[jedijill]

to all my new readers and those who have been waiting for me to get started! Time to get started. Warning....I forgot to take some pictures I also include some non-dining trip details so fair warning!

Wednesday, October 5

I planned today as a work from home day. I finally logged off the computer about noon and headed out to drop the dog at the kennel and then to the airport while taking calls.

After finally getting to the airport about 2 I stopped in to the Rock Bottom Brewery for lunch. I had a salad and a glass of wine. Sorry no pics for this one. Good salad and wine helped me relax from a busy morning of work!

I arrived at Pop Century at about 11:30pm. I headed over to Everything Pop for a quick bite before heading to the room. I ordered the chicken nuggets and fries along with a refillable mug. I used my TIW discount here which is good on the mug as well.

Nuggets were good and meaty...I could recognize actual chicken!! Not something I would eat everyday but it hit the spot after a long day of working and traveling.

This little guy was waiting for me in my window.

Luckily I had remembered to pack my pj's and a change of clothes in my carry on since I arrived too late for my luggage to get delivered.

Jill in CO

 

[Disneybrenda]

looking forward to your reviews.

 

[jedijill]

Thursday, October 6

Today was my first full day in the World! Weather was nice and warm (a bit humid for my Colorado self!). I texted my friend LeeAnn and made arrangements for her to pick me up at Pop so we could go to breakfast at Kouzzina.

Kouzzina

I really enjoy the breakfast here. I ate here with LeeAnn and Jim last year and was excited to join them again.

I ordered the French Toast Baklava - Grilled Fig and Anise country bread with honey, walnuts and cinnamon with your choice of Bacon or Chicken Sausage $11.99. OMG, this was good. The honey and figs were wonderful together and didn't make the dish too sweet. It was very rich and I could only eat about half. The chicken sausage was a nice addition as well.

My dining companions graciously allowed me to photograph their dishes as well for your food porn pleasure!

Stacked Kouzzina Breakfast - Two Poached Eggs, Kalamata Olive Toast, Artichoke Spread, and Sweet Potato Hash with choice of Bacon or Chicken Sausage $11.99

American - Two Eggs with Breakfast Potatoes and choice of Bacon or Chicken Sausage $11.99 LeeAnn had feta cheese mixed into the eggs.

Stacked Kouzzina Breakfast - Two Poached Eggs, Kalamata Olive Toast, Artichoke Spread, and Sweet Potato Hash with choice of Bacon or Chicken Sausage $11.99

Everyone loved their choices. LeeAnn's brother polished off all the extras. The boys shared a press pot of coffee and thought it was good but only held about 3 cups of coffee.

I will definitely be back to Kouzzina for breakfast again.

After breakfast we split up and LeeAnn and her husband Jim and I headed to Epcot to check out the Food and Wine Festival. They had already picked up the F&W passports from the Festival Center. These are a great, free souvenir and works well to track what you've tried and what you haven't gotten to yet.

First stop was Morocco. We picked up a Kefta Pocket. This was good but I wouldn't get it again.

We also tried the Lamb Slider in New Zealand. This was really tasty although I could have done without the tomato chutney. I forgot to take a picture of this.

We passed by Japan just getting a stamp in our passports.

Next stop was Singapore. We got the Beef Rendang. It was tasty and spicy. We skipped the nasty Singapore Sling that we tried last year. I've heard they cut back on the alcohol this year and its better.

Continued.

Jill in CO

 

[nutz2notz]

Great report so far. Looking forward to more.

 

[mousegear]

Enjoying your review so far! I keep reading how great Kouzzina breakfast is.... gotta try sometime!!!

Glad to see some photos of F&W festival. The line was too long and it was just too hot to stand on line that long so we skipped.

 

[Tracerr00]

Great reviews so far!! I had an ADR for Kouzzina breakfast on my last trip and had to cancel due to flight timing. I'm so bummed because it looks fabulous!! Looking forward to more of your reviews!

 

[KatMark]

Jill, great start. I love your review of Kouzzina as Mark and I have been looking at that one for awhile.

 

[TanzUnited99]

Yay, you started!

Kouzzina breakfast looks yummy! Can't wait to read more about the F&W booths.

 

[basketlacey]

Your trip sounds great! Can't wait to see more reviews!

 

[jedijill]

I'm so sorry for my absence. I've had a bit of fall out with my SIL regarding the trip and I just haven't felt like posting. But I figured I needed to get out of my funk and get posting again. I also need to start planning another trip!

Another update coming up soon.

Jill in CO

 

[jedijill]

Next up on our tour of F&W was Hops and Barley. I'm not a big seafood or beer fan but they had a Pumpkin Mousse with Craisins that we wanted to try. OMG. This was delicious. It was sweet, creamy, and pumpkiny without being too much of anything. The craisins really added a bit of punch. Delicious but no picture.

We skipped by Fife and Drum as we didn't really feel like the Red Stag Lemonade by Jim Beam. We also skipped Italy. I love Italian food but the F&W stand is always a disappointment.

Poland was next and we hit pay dirt here. We tried both the Kielbasa and Potato pierogie and the Golabki (Pork Stuff Cabbage).

I like pierogies but don't make them at home. The Kielbasa was nicely flavored and not too greasy. I really like the Golabki. The cabbage was well cooked and didn't taste too cabbagey. The pork was delicious and nicely seasoned.

Next stop was Germany. We hit the caramel shop and just missed out on fresh caramel corn which I'd been looking forward too. I managed to drown my sorrows with a caramel covered peanut butter cookie and the salted chocolate covered caramel.

My friend LeeAnn loved the cookie and I thought the caramel was gratuitous but I LOVED the salted caramel. It was lucious and I loved the play of the salty and sweet. Wish they would use kosher salt instead of the tiny grains of table salt. LeeAnn didn't love it but that meant more for me! Sorry, forgot to get a picture until we had already started digging in!

I believe that Jim got a Nurenberger sausage at the F&W stand but no picture. It was good but I"m spoiled by all the real sausage I ate when I lived in Germany!

Jim hit the Brewer's Collection for a couple of beers which he ended up not liking much. Not sure what they were.

I stopped by the Cheese stand instead and got the Artisan Cheese Selection. These were really tasty. Again, no picture.

Next stop, South Africa! This was another winner. We tried the Seared Filet of Beef with smashed Sweet Potatoes and the Bunny Chow. The filet was amazing..and I could eat the smashed sweet potatoes everyday! The Bunny Chow was really a vegetable curry. Not my favorite but LeeAnn and Jim really enjoyed it.

Over the bridge to South Korea. We tried the Lettuce Wrap with Roast pork and Kimchi slaw and the Boolgogi BBQ beef with rice and kimchi. The roast pork in the lettuce wrap was tasty. The real winner was the Boolgogi. Yum! The kimchi was VERY spicy though. We all enjoyed this. The Boolgogi recipe is in the cookbook and its on my list to make soon.

We were all getting full by now and I was planning on attending the MNSSHP that night so we decided to start wrapping it up knowing we would be back the next day. We skipped China as a lot of the choices were repeats of last year. We did try the rice pudding in Scandinavia which I was disappointed in. It needed a bit more sweetness in the pudding and some of the rice was hard. Not enough strawberries on it either. No pic.

We skipped Mexico as we planned on eating dinner at La Hacienda the next night.

We stopped by the Caribbean booth where I discovered my new love, the Dragon Berry Colada. OMG, these are very tasty. They are expensive but oh well. We also tried the Ropa Vieja (braised beef) with rice. This was like a slighty spicy pot roast. Very good!

Last stop for the day was Argentina. We enjoyed this booth last year and this year was the same. We had the Grilled Beef Skewer with Chimichuri and the Beef Empanada. Both were excellent.

Jim and LeeAnn were nice enough to take me to Pop Century so I could change into my Halloween shirt and then drop me off at the TTC. They needed to check Lost and Found and it saved me a ton of time since I didn't have to take a bus!

MNSSHP up next!

Jill in CO

 

[KatMark]

Jill, everything looks so good (we really need to hit F&W one of these days). Mark is reading over my shoulder and drooling over the Potato pierogie.

 

[SweetSpot]

We did try the rice pudding in Scandinavia which I was disappointed in. It needed a bit more sweetness in the pudding and some of the rice was hard. Not enough strawberries on it either. No pic.
Jill in CO

I thought I was the only one. I've seen many reviews and everyone seemed to like the rice pudding so I thought it was suppose to taste like this. The one I tried had no sweetness in the pudding or the strawberries. Maybe we had it at off times.