Get me out of the cold! 13 days of sunshine and good eats!

[Avery&Todd]

LOVE the reviews and SO jealous that you're there RIGHT NOW!!!

 

[vettegirl]

BOG looks great for lunch. We will never return for dinner, it was a flop for us!

 

[PrincessTiannaLove]

I'm in!
Love your descriptions!

 

[TeresaNJ]

You've made me really hungry, & anxious for our trip in two months!

 

[roxysmum123]

Yesterday was moving day, leaving Saratoga Springs behind for Old Key West. I loved Saratoga so much that I'm honestly a little disappointed with Old Key West....but to be honest we haven't given it that much of a walkaround so I'm sure it'll grow on me!

We spent the afternoon checking out Downtown Disney, mid-day is definitely the best time to head over there! Low crowds, except for when we got to our lunch destination of Earl of Sandwich. I don't think I've ever been there without a line! Rest assured, if you have never been there before, the line really does move quickly and you'll have your food in no time.

We each got a sandwich and a tomato soup. Mine (pictured with the soup) is the Full Montague and his is the Cannonballs





Their tomato soup is so great, and the croutons in it just make it even better. We will likely go back a few times this trip just for more soup, lol. The sandwiches were good, for the life of me I can't remember which sandwich it is that I REALLY love from here and I thought it was this one (it wasn't). That just means we have to go back for research right?

Up next, Trattoria al Forno!

 

[roxysmum123]

Trattoria al Forno was fabulous! The layout is a little weird, but I've never been to Kouzzina so I'm not sure if that's carried over from its former life? We loved our meal, service wasn't bad but it wasn't great either, and we felt the pricing was pretty fair (Disney shocker right!?).

For our appetizer we shared the Thin Sliced Italian Cured Meats, we also added some fresh mozzarella which is apparently made in house



This was a fantastic starter, perfectly salty and the mozzarella was a great addition.

For our mains, I got the Semolina Tagliatelle alla Carbonara, and he got the Campanelle. Mine will be the first photo, his second.





This was declared by the boy "best meal yet". I still think Turf Club holds that title but this was a VERY good meal. It was also nice to have a protein-free main for once. I would highly recommend trying their pastas. The only thing that irritated me was the server kept suggesting we add chicken or meat of some form to the pasta, yet neglected to tell us the price of the addition nor was it listed on the menu. We declined and were happy with our choices.

Shock of shocks came when the bf ordered dessert too! I ordered the house speciality which is Italian donuts and gelato, and he got the gelato spaghetti and meatballs.





I think these might be the most fairly priced and properly portioned desserts on Disney property. A great sweet couple of bites before heading out the door.

Definitely recommend checking this place out if it's not on your list yet, it was a great meal!

Todays plans are Afternoon Tea at the Grand Floridian and dinner at The Plaza at Magic Kingdom. I will also be FINALLY getting some snacks today....I'm thinking a Presidential Sweet from Sleepy Hollow is in order for today!

 

[kastoney]

Catching up on the last couple of days. First, congrats on the engagement, you kept that one under wraps for a few days ; )

I'm with you on BoG, lunch is good but dinner just doesn't interest me.

Your apps at Narcossees look fabulous. Glad I enjoyed the oh so american grits. The trick is lots and lots of butter, otherwise they are pretty bland. Sorry you didn't enjoy the lobster. I'm with ya though, a little goes a long way,

Wow, trattoria looks awesome. You had me at fresh mozzarella but brought it home with that amazing looking pasta. And desert too, will have to give that place a try.

 

[roxysmum123]

Catching up on the last couple of days. First, congrats on the engagement, you kept that one under wraps for a few days ; )

I'm with you on BoG, lunch is good but dinner just doesn't interest me.

Your apps at Narcossees look fabulous. Glad I enjoyed the oh so american grits. The trick is lots and lots of butter, otherwise they are pretty bland. Sorry you didn't enjoy the lobster. I'm with ya though, a little goes a long way,

Wow, trattoria looks awesome. You had me at fresh mozzarella but brought it home with that amazing looking pasta. And desert too, will have to give that place a try.

Thanks for the congratulations , we're pretty excited about it! We're meeting with DFTW on Thursday to see if maybe a Disney wedding is in our future. And I'm glad I'm not alone on BOG dinner, I felt like I was committing a Disney Sin when I cancelled that reservation lol.


Lunch yesterday was Tea at The Grand Floridian. It was good, the tea itself was fabulous and the food was good, but I think I prefer the tea closer to home. If anyones ever in Southwestern Ontario, high tea at Langdon Hall is incredible!

I got the three course tea, as did the bf, but as I don't like fish generally I subbed out the salmon sandwich for something of the ladys choice. She was wearing a pin that said "Tea Master" so I figured she knew what she was doing.



The tea I got was the Princess Blend (I think!). It was a vanilla and strawberry flavor. I quite liked it, no need for sugar or milk, but a lump of sugar did kick it up a bit. The sandwiches were (starting from the top and moving like a clock) a golden beet, curry chicken, cucumber and watercress, and egg salad. The little tart was a caramelized onion tart. The chicken and the tart were my favourite.

Second course was a jam tart and fresh scone



The scone was soft and warm, which is something I've never seen before. Usually I get the dry ones at Starbucks lol. In the little tray was lemon curd, Devonshire cream, and strawberry preserves. If you ever go, the curd is amazing, but the cream AND preserves together is fabulous. Also, the jam tart kinda tasted like a PopTart to me.....which is fine by me because I do love those things.

Final course you get the choice between pastries, strawberries and cream, and english triffle (which today was a cranberry one). I chose the strawberries and cream and he chose the trifle.....only a picture of one because to be hoenst they looked the same lol



It was exactly as advertised, strawberries under a layer of whipped cream. It was a really nice and light way to finish the meal. We didn't have long before dinner reservations so it was best to go with this choice for me.

Up next, dinner at The Plaza!

 

[roxysmum123]

Lunch last night was at The Plaza. I'd never been here before, but would certainly come back. On first impression I was not impressed, it was dirty and tired looking really. But the food was great and you really can't beat the price. If you are on the dining plan this is the WORST use of a TS credit, I saw two families do it and I wanted to leap across the table and tell them not to. This was the cheapest meal we've had all trip, and likely it will remain that way to the end. Maybe 5$ mroe than a CS meal would have cost us.

We each got sandwiches, which appeared to be the main attraction on the menu. I had a Reuben and he had a Plaza Club





The fries were great! Second only to the fries you can get at Liberty Tree Tavern lunch. I really liked the sandwich I had, I've never had a Reuben before and will definitely get one again. The Plaza Club was HUGE, and very good as well. I feel like this is a good "middle of vacation destination" as it's easier on the stomach than a lot of other choices out there.

For dessert we split the brownie sundae because we heard it comes with two brownies.



This thing was the size of your head. We hardly made a dent in it, but we put forth a valiant effort. The icecream was great, and we really liked the brownies too. I saw a banana split come out as we were leaving, that's another monstrosity that would probably benefit from 2 or 3 spoons.

Todays food plans are lunch at Via Napoli and dinner at Garden Grill!

 

[goofy4wdw2]

I love your reviews...thank you! We're trying several of the same places you are reviewing so this is getting me even more excited for our trip!

 

[kastoney]

Your tea looks like a fun experience. I can't wait till my daughter gets a little bigger and I can take her.p

Think we may try the plaza for lunch next trip. We are a little tired of the quick service options and want to try something different.

Via napoli is one of my favs. Hope you enjoy

 

[disneyAndi14]

I am joining in, really enjoy your "live" reviews. So nice to see a review on the new place on the boardwalk, looked great. Excited to read more. We have thought about trying the Plaza but never have, may need to for a change of pace. We are going to try Garden Grill for the first time in April.

 

[vettegirl]

The plaza sounds and looks so good! We normally are on the dining plan so you are correct in the fact it's not a good deal on the plan.

 

[roxysmum123]

Your tea looks like a fun experience. I can't wait till my daughter gets a little bigger and I can take her.p

They have a kids tea! It has pb and j, ham and cheese, and tuna salad sandwiches, as well as "special tea" which is just chocolate milk in a teapot! I thought it looked like a cute idea!


Via Napoli was a great lunch yesterday. It had the potential to be a cheap lunch, but then I kept seeing menu items I wanted. Worse things have happened right?

I started with the white sangria and had to take a picture because I just love how sangria's look



We each got our own appetizer. I'll include the full menu description for those among us that don't speak Italian like myself

I had the: Fritto di Verdura - crisp fried vegetables, marinara piccante


This was very good. It wasn't as heavy as it had the potential to be, and once I figured out a few 'mystery veggies' I really enjoyed it. The sauce was good too, I was expecting spicy for some reason, but it really wasn't.

He had the: Peperoni Arrostiti - roasted peppers, tomato, onion, garlic



He thought he ordered arancini....I told him he didn't but there was disbelief until this came out. I was shocked that he ate it, and cleared the plate at that! I tried a bite and I think the best description is it's similar to red pepper bruschetta.

For lunch we shared an INDIVIDUAL sized pizza. For those of you who haven't been here, some size context, a personal pizza here is roughly the same size as a frozen pizza from the supermarket. For lunch, splitting one was more than enough. We got the pepperoni.



It's a great pizza, we really like it! I know someone who went recently and said the bottom was "soggy" and it was gross, but honestly we've never had that experience.

Lastly I ordered the Zeppole



I'd avoided these before because I thought they would be heavy, but they really aren't! They're a great dessert, would definitely order again.

UP next, Garden Grill!

 

[roxysmum123]

Dinner last night was at the Garden Grill. This is the only place we've visited every trip together, along with Sanaa. We love the meal here, the characters are great, and it's just a good easy meal in Epcot. Price-wise this was a little more expensive than the last time we were here, but it's not a big deal!

For the meal you get a great salad, bread and butter, roast beef, turkey, tilapia, mashed potatoes, veggies, and stuffing. Also the appropriate sauces. Topping it off is a seasonal dessert which yesterday was a raspberry, strawberry, and blueberry crumble with fresh whipped cream on top. Remember how I said the bf doesn't eat dessert? He cleaned the plate, that's how good it was. Here's the pics!









A great meal as always!

Up today, breakfast at Olivias which I am currently late for, and dinner at 50's Prime Time!

 

[KathyM2]

Loving reading along...and getting hungry!! Can't wait to hear more!

 

[RebeccaUC]

Enjoying all your reviews! Several we've never been to, so it's nice to hear an honest review.

 

[roxysmum123]

Brief non-food-related rant: Yesterday at one of the parks there was a woman with a few children with her. They all seemed relatively well behaved, if a little burnt out. She had a few strollers, and in one of them - resting unsecured on the top - was an infant car seat. While she was tending to the other children, she had her back COMPLETELY turned from the infant seat for at least 10, probably closer to 15, minutes. She probably never even realized she was doing it, but I certainly did because I'm a worrier. Disney is NOT the land of fairytales and butterflies and there are people EVERYWHERE that would take advantage of that situation. Please, for the love of all things precious, keep those young ones you love within arms reach and eyes sight here.

Sigh.

Back to the food...

Breakfast yesterday was at Olivia's at the Old Key West resort. We booked this because we are staying here and we wanted to try something at every hotel we're at.

To start, both of us got the Strawberries and Cream



This is as ridiculous as it looks. It's huge, and SO good. And what does a mound of whipped cream neat? SUGAR!

For our mains, he got the Sombrero Omelette and I had the Crab Cake Eggs Benedict





His was the winner here. The Pico de Gallo made the omelette taste really fresh and great. One of my eggs was overcooked, and as luxurious as crab cakes for breakfast sounds - it's a little weird. My fave breakfast remains Kona Cafe, but if you're in the area this is a great spot. I will admit the Key Lime Hollandaise was a winner though.

Up next, dinner at 50's Prime Time

 

[roxysmum123]

Dinner was at 50's Prime Time. Not many antics from our server, who to be honest I think was having a bit of a brain fart all meal - she forgot stuff constantly for all her tables - but it was a good dinner! I started with the PB and J milkshake and it was great, but be warned that you may not get through all your dinner if you start with dessert!

For an appetizer I had the Fried Cheese. It was really good! The grapes it came with may be some of the best I've ever had. I would have liked just ONE more piece of toast with it, but otherwise this was a great starter....probably better to share, but I'm not much for sharing cheese.



For our mains, he got the Meatloaf and I got the Potroast on our servers recommendation.





He never finishes a meal, but he CLEARED his plate. So I'll take that as admission of a great meal! Mine was also very good, I didn't clear my plate but I didn't leave much behind either.

Tonight is....NOTHING!! We have no ADR's today, but we do have the Tomorrowland Terrace Wishes Dessert Party booked. I'll update with some MK snacks tomorrow morning and desserts!

 

[gardengirl628]

Loving your reviews! Thanks so much for sharing.