Gluttoberfest: Food and Wine 2009 - Updated 12/24 (Review is complete!)
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BriarRosie
<font color=blue>Creator of Tag Fairy Haiku:<br>Cl
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It was the margarita...
Aye.
Yes, I had a nice time meeting you at various stages of your inebriation.
Ok, Lori -
I love your adventures, I love your reviews - but YOU PIMPED OUT JASPER FFORDE TO BENDY?!?!?!
I might have a certain affinity for his works
Jaime
I inadvertently pimped out Jasper Fforde at the Adventurers Club, too. A friend of mine knew I read his books, and when the third book in the series came out, a friend gave that to me at the Club for my birthday. One of the Club "regulars" asked about it and became a fan. I think that had to be 7 years ago, if I'm doing my birthday math correctly.
I'm not normally one for champagne, but I did enjoy the pairing at the Flying Fish dinner. If I do any sparkling wines, it's usually a glass of Rosa Regale at the Italy pavilion with chocolates.
BriarRosie
<font color=blue>Creator of Tag Fairy Haiku:<br>Cl
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Friday, October 16th continued...
I got my days mixed up. I did not get my one and only ride on the Haunted Mansion until Saturday morning. I got my days mixed up. I was not in any park but Epcot yet again.
But that's irrelevant, since I'm ready to talk about the next adventure in festival dining...
Todd English's bluezoo Signature Dinner.
For $185 per person, you can get a dinner with Mr. Muppet Jerky himself, Todd English. The dinner was paired with Ruffino wines from Italy. My friends told me that was the same winery that paired with his dinner last year.
Strike One, Mr. English. Seriously. I guess you have a relationship with the vintner, but that seems pretty lame.
There was a long line of people waiting to get into the dinner, and soon we were checked in and sent to the bar for the pre-dinner wine and hoover doovers. I did manage to try a couple items. One was a pork belly thing I don't remember much about, and the other was some sushi. Here's the photo of the fish since it's the only one that didn't come out blurry.
This was actually pretty good. They really can't mess up sushi. This gets a good.
I only wish I was able to eat more of the hoover doovers. More foreshadowing!
My friend told me to follow her up to the bar area to experience a death-defying adventure. So I got up there and found this:
The bartenders had a container of metal skewers, which they loaded with a lobster hoover doover thing. You eat it directly from the skewer if you're bold enough to look like a sword swallower. I was. Once you eat it, the bartender removes the skewer and replaces it with a new one. I give this an Excellent just for the presentation alone.
I found out that they were mixing their signature drink, the Zooberry martini, for anyone who wanted one. Since I like that drink, I got one...and then wore a bit of it as I tried to make it back to my friends. A woman accidentally bumped me, causing me to pour a bit of it down my shirt.
Zooberry: You never sense the disaster
After the initial hello, that's COLD! shock, I checked the damage. My shirt was indestructible! I did find that my bra picked up a bit of that berry color, though. Heheh. I did not get upset at the woman, but I appreciated the apology she gave me. I was happy that I didn't stain my blouse.
Soon we were seated at our table. I wanted to take a picture of Ellen, the Goddess of Food Porn.
That camera is serious business. She's ehagerty, and she took the most amazing photos of the food we ate. I'm giving her a Gluttony rating for her food porn.
I knew Brenda was there with other DIS people, but they were hidden in another room with the winery reps. I introduced myself to webray, dizneykid, and redzinner, as they were all sitting together.
I felt bad because Tony (tony67) had been alone at his table for half the meal. It would have been nice if they could have found a way to include him with our party. I know I wouldn't have wanted to eat alone.
And now we start with our e.e.cummings menu. I guess todd english doesn't believe in capitalizing his menu items.
amuse:
apple.....cider, celery
ruffino orvieto classico, orvieto
I'd like some shaving cream on my cider, please. Again with the foam food trend! We were given spoons to give us the option of spooning the cider with celery, mixing the foam into it, or doing it as a shooter. I did the spoon thing, mixing it halfway when I was done. The little apple chip and ball thingie were ok. I give this a Good.
1st:
scallop.....
lobster jus, littleneck clam, iberico ham broth, sorrel
ruffino "libaio" chardonnay, toscana
Todd came out, schmoozed with the diners via Mr. Microphone, and proceeded to playfully mock the Ruffino wine guy's Italian accent. He was actually saying he enjoys speaking in the accent, and that really had nothing to do with the dinner. To say Todd was "out there" would be an understatement.
And here's the other fine dining trend. Skid marks. I called it the "slip n' slide" when I reviewed my regular dinner (non-festival, I mean) here last year. I see chefs on the Food Network do that sauce sliding thing a lot.
So we got a nice scallop, a littleneck clam, a couple cubes of pork belly, and those orange sauces that were actually gelatinous. I could have picked them up like gumdrops. The scallop was tasty, but I felt that we didn't get served anything that special. This gets a Good.
2nd:
porcini papardelle.....
fall mushrooms, ricotta salata, focaccia breadcrumbs
santedame estate romitorio di santedame, toscana
They forgot to list the first ingredient in this dish.
SALT
This is the infamous Dead Sea Pasta. Now, I like salt, but I knew this dish was over-seasoned. Everyone at the table knew. I kept eating it because I hoped it was just too much on top. It wasn't. It was salty all the way through. When I talked to other DISers, we all believed that they ruined this dish. I would have given the dish an Ok rating because I ate it. But I can't ignore the fact that someone in the kitchen screwed up and allowed this dish to make its way into the dining room. This is getting a King Hubert rating for that.
That was Strike Two.
3rd:
vitello tonnato
sweetbreads, toro, lemon, garlic chip
ruffino riserva ducale oro chianti classico riserva, toscana
What's with the jumbo plates with tiny food? It only makes it seem so insignificant to eat that. It's a good thing the sweetbreads were good. Speaking of which, this counts as the second in my trifecta of being served sweetbreads. Since Disney refuses to allow foie gras (damn them!) being served, they have no problem letting chefs use sweetbreads. Go figure. The toro (fatty tuna; insert bull or lawn mower joke here) was on the fishy side, but pretty good. I'll give this a Good.
4th:
wagyu.....shortrib, cauliflower, petite vegetables
tenuta greppone mazzi brunello di montalcino, toscana
Since it's difficult to see, here's a closer view:
I just wanted to show the close up shot after showing you another big honkin' plate with small food on it. There's a wafer-thin wagyu carpaccio draped artistically over the cooked wagyu beef. You know what's sad? The most interesting part of the dish was the even more wafer-thin slice of pickled cauliflower. And the petite veggies were so petite, they were hiding behind the left side of the beef. I thought the quality and taste earned this an Excellent. At least I didn't have to shout, "Where's the BEEF?" to see it on my plate. This ended up being my favorite dish.
5th:
humboldt fog.....
chestnut, maple, brioche, nitro raisin
ruffino modus "super tuscan", toscana
...and this explains Todd's behavior. Check out the pseudo-marijuana leaf on the plate. He must have been smoking more of those in the kitchen. He came out again at one point, started talking, and I completely tuned him out. Why?
Because I had been drinking too much freaking wine and not enough food to go with it! Apparently Muppet Jerky was being pretty free with some naughty words, too. But I didn't hear it because at this point, he was sounding like Charlie Brown's teacher. "Waaah waaah wahhh...waaaahh wahhh waaaahhh..."
Wait, I still have to review this. It's Humboldt Fog goat cheese, made by Cypress Grove. I can pick that up any time at Whole Foods, and I find it tasty. Can't really screw up someone else's product. And the sawdust looking stuff on the plate is the "nitro raisin". Apparently you can flash freeze stuff in liquid nitrogen and pulverize it. Tasted like raisins. I wanted to get a picture of the servers coming around with the pan of it, but I was not quick enough. But I was most amused by betterlatethannever, sitting at the table next to us. I overheard him make a comment like, "Oh yeah. Nitro raisins. Like I have that every day." It was snarky and sarcastic, and I loved that. This gets an Excellent because I like the cheese.
I made a pit stop to the bathroom around this time, and I was highly amused by the level of intoxication among the three ladies I walked past who were shooting the breeze in the entrance area. There was not a sober lady among them, myself included. I was able to hear their entire discussion about sex and marriage. As I was leaving, I tossed in a comment to their conversation, and one of the ladies did a girls' version of "I love you, man!" to me. I don't remember her comment, but she told me she was happy to meet me or something.
6th:
pear and caramel millefeuille.....
tonka bean ice cream
ruffino serelle vin santo del chianti, Toscana (wow, a capital letter on the menu!)
I liked the decorative pear shaped cookie thing, but I don't remember much about how the rest of it tasted. I ate it, thought it was good, I guess. So this gets a Good.
So I was now fairly drunk because I drank too much wine, not enough food. I got up to talk to the DISers in the wine room and missed my photo op with Muppet Jerky. That's probably a blessing in disguise, because I'm sure I would have asked him why he allowed the Dead Sea Pasta to be served. Many people I talked to thought the beef was the best dish and the pasta was the worst. And many loved that little picked cauliflower. That was an unexpected highlight.
Unfortunately, seeing as I paid $50 more for this dinner than the wonderful dinner I had at Flying Fish the night before, it paled by comparison. And I didn't leave Flying Fish drunk.
Strike Three, Muppet Jerky. I won't be booking another signature dinner at your restaurant again. But I will eat there again since I have had a terrific meal there before. I just won't pay extra for a festival dinner that doesn't wow me. And for that, the total meal gets a King Hubert.
I got my days mixed up. I did not get my one and only ride on the Haunted Mansion until Saturday morning. I got my days mixed up. I was not in any park but Epcot yet again.
But that's irrelevant, since I'm ready to talk about the next adventure in festival dining...
Todd English's bluezoo Signature Dinner.
For $185 per person, you can get a dinner with Mr. Muppet Jerky himself, Todd English. The dinner was paired with Ruffino wines from Italy. My friends told me that was the same winery that paired with his dinner last year.
Strike One, Mr. English. Seriously. I guess you have a relationship with the vintner, but that seems pretty lame.
There was a long line of people waiting to get into the dinner, and soon we were checked in and sent to the bar for the pre-dinner wine and hoover doovers. I did manage to try a couple items. One was a pork belly thing I don't remember much about, and the other was some sushi. Here's the photo of the fish since it's the only one that didn't come out blurry.
This was actually pretty good. They really can't mess up sushi. This gets a good.
I only wish I was able to eat more of the hoover doovers. More foreshadowing!
My friend told me to follow her up to the bar area to experience a death-defying adventure. So I got up there and found this:
The bartenders had a container of metal skewers, which they loaded with a lobster hoover doover thing. You eat it directly from the skewer if you're bold enough to look like a sword swallower. I was. Once you eat it, the bartender removes the skewer and replaces it with a new one. I give this an Excellent just for the presentation alone.
I found out that they were mixing their signature drink, the Zooberry martini, for anyone who wanted one. Since I like that drink, I got one...and then wore a bit of it as I tried to make it back to my friends. A woman accidentally bumped me, causing me to pour a bit of it down my shirt.
Zooberry: You never sense the disaster
After the initial hello, that's COLD! shock, I checked the damage. My shirt was indestructible! I did find that my bra picked up a bit of that berry color, though. Heheh. I did not get upset at the woman, but I appreciated the apology she gave me. I was happy that I didn't stain my blouse.
Soon we were seated at our table. I wanted to take a picture of Ellen, the Goddess of Food Porn.
That camera is serious business. She's ehagerty, and she took the most amazing photos of the food we ate. I'm giving her a Gluttony rating for her food porn.
I knew Brenda was there with other DIS people, but they were hidden in another room with the winery reps. I introduced myself to webray, dizneykid, and redzinner, as they were all sitting together.
I felt bad because Tony (tony67) had been alone at his table for half the meal. It would have been nice if they could have found a way to include him with our party. I know I wouldn't have wanted to eat alone.
And now we start with our e.e.cummings menu. I guess todd english doesn't believe in capitalizing his menu items.
amuse:
apple.....cider, celery
ruffino orvieto classico, orvieto
I'd like some shaving cream on my cider, please. Again with the foam food trend! We were given spoons to give us the option of spooning the cider with celery, mixing the foam into it, or doing it as a shooter. I did the spoon thing, mixing it halfway when I was done. The little apple chip and ball thingie were ok. I give this a Good.
1st:
scallop.....
lobster jus, littleneck clam, iberico ham broth, sorrel
ruffino "libaio" chardonnay, toscana
Todd came out, schmoozed with the diners via Mr. Microphone, and proceeded to playfully mock the Ruffino wine guy's Italian accent. He was actually saying he enjoys speaking in the accent, and that really had nothing to do with the dinner. To say Todd was "out there" would be an understatement.
And here's the other fine dining trend. Skid marks. I called it the "slip n' slide" when I reviewed my regular dinner (non-festival, I mean) here last year. I see chefs on the Food Network do that sauce sliding thing a lot.
So we got a nice scallop, a littleneck clam, a couple cubes of pork belly, and those orange sauces that were actually gelatinous. I could have picked them up like gumdrops. The scallop was tasty, but I felt that we didn't get served anything that special. This gets a Good.
2nd:
porcini papardelle.....
fall mushrooms, ricotta salata, focaccia breadcrumbs
santedame estate romitorio di santedame, toscana
They forgot to list the first ingredient in this dish.
SALT
This is the infamous Dead Sea Pasta. Now, I like salt, but I knew this dish was over-seasoned. Everyone at the table knew. I kept eating it because I hoped it was just too much on top. It wasn't. It was salty all the way through. When I talked to other DISers, we all believed that they ruined this dish. I would have given the dish an Ok rating because I ate it. But I can't ignore the fact that someone in the kitchen screwed up and allowed this dish to make its way into the dining room. This is getting a King Hubert rating for that.
That was Strike Two.
3rd:
vitello tonnato
sweetbreads, toro, lemon, garlic chip
ruffino riserva ducale oro chianti classico riserva, toscana
What's with the jumbo plates with tiny food? It only makes it seem so insignificant to eat that. It's a good thing the sweetbreads were good. Speaking of which, this counts as the second in my trifecta of being served sweetbreads. Since Disney refuses to allow foie gras (damn them!) being served, they have no problem letting chefs use sweetbreads. Go figure. The toro (fatty tuna; insert bull or lawn mower joke here) was on the fishy side, but pretty good. I'll give this a Good.
4th:
wagyu.....shortrib, cauliflower, petite vegetables
tenuta greppone mazzi brunello di montalcino, toscana
Since it's difficult to see, here's a closer view:
I just wanted to show the close up shot after showing you another big honkin' plate with small food on it. There's a wafer-thin wagyu carpaccio draped artistically over the cooked wagyu beef. You know what's sad? The most interesting part of the dish was the even more wafer-thin slice of pickled cauliflower. And the petite veggies were so petite, they were hiding behind the left side of the beef. I thought the quality and taste earned this an Excellent. At least I didn't have to shout, "Where's the BEEF?" to see it on my plate. This ended up being my favorite dish.
5th:
humboldt fog.....
chestnut, maple, brioche, nitro raisin
ruffino modus "super tuscan", toscana
...and this explains Todd's behavior. Check out the pseudo-marijuana leaf on the plate. He must have been smoking more of those in the kitchen. He came out again at one point, started talking, and I completely tuned him out. Why?
Because I had been drinking too much freaking wine and not enough food to go with it! Apparently Muppet Jerky was being pretty free with some naughty words, too. But I didn't hear it because at this point, he was sounding like Charlie Brown's teacher. "Waaah waaah wahhh...waaaahh wahhh waaaahhh..."
Wait, I still have to review this. It's Humboldt Fog goat cheese, made by Cypress Grove. I can pick that up any time at Whole Foods, and I find it tasty. Can't really screw up someone else's product. And the sawdust looking stuff on the plate is the "nitro raisin". Apparently you can flash freeze stuff in liquid nitrogen and pulverize it. Tasted like raisins. I wanted to get a picture of the servers coming around with the pan of it, but I was not quick enough. But I was most amused by betterlatethannever, sitting at the table next to us. I overheard him make a comment like, "Oh yeah. Nitro raisins. Like I have that every day." It was snarky and sarcastic, and I loved that. This gets an Excellent because I like the cheese.
I made a pit stop to the bathroom around this time, and I was highly amused by the level of intoxication among the three ladies I walked past who were shooting the breeze in the entrance area. There was not a sober lady among them, myself included. I was able to hear their entire discussion about sex and marriage. As I was leaving, I tossed in a comment to their conversation, and one of the ladies did a girls' version of "I love you, man!" to me. I don't remember her comment, but she told me she was happy to meet me or something.
6th:
pear and caramel millefeuille.....
tonka bean ice cream
ruffino serelle vin santo del chianti, Toscana (wow, a capital letter on the menu!)
I liked the decorative pear shaped cookie thing, but I don't remember much about how the rest of it tasted. I ate it, thought it was good, I guess. So this gets a Good.
So I was now fairly drunk because I drank too much wine, not enough food. I got up to talk to the DISers in the wine room and missed my photo op with Muppet Jerky. That's probably a blessing in disguise, because I'm sure I would have asked him why he allowed the Dead Sea Pasta to be served. Many people I talked to thought the beef was the best dish and the pasta was the worst. And many loved that little picked cauliflower. That was an unexpected highlight.
Unfortunately, seeing as I paid $50 more for this dinner than the wonderful dinner I had at Flying Fish the night before, it paled by comparison. And I didn't leave Flying Fish drunk.
Strike Three, Muppet Jerky. I won't be booking another signature dinner at your restaurant again. But I will eat there again since I have had a terrific meal there before. I just won't pay extra for a festival dinner that doesn't wow me. And for that, the total meal gets a King Hubert.
BriarRosie
<font color=blue>Creator of Tag Fairy Haiku:<br>Cl
- Joined
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- Messages
- 11,164
oybolshoi
DIS Legend
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2004
- Messages
- 11,879
Great review, Lori! It's rare that you attend one of these F&W events and then find such universal agreement about the overall quality of the meal regardless of whom you speak with.
The eight of us at our table pretty much agreed with your assessment (and Catherine's and Ellen's from their reviews). There were a couple of things that were amazing but most of the meal was just OK and that's completely unacceptable for the pricetag. I was also a little surprised that Ruffino was the winery - I have nothing against their wines; they're tasty - but for the price charged per person to attend I expected something a bit more upscale when it came to the wine.
Oh well, it was a fun evening but as you said ... next time we're skipping the muppet's signature meal and just enjoying a regular meal there instead, which we have now done twice with great success.
The eight of us at our table pretty much agreed with your assessment (and Catherine's and Ellen's from their reviews). There were a couple of things that were amazing but most of the meal was just OK and that's completely unacceptable for the pricetag. I was also a little surprised that Ruffino was the winery - I have nothing against their wines; they're tasty - but for the price charged per person to attend I expected something a bit more upscale when it came to the wine.
Oh well, it was a fun evening but as you said ... next time we're skipping the muppet's signature meal and just enjoying a regular meal there instead, which we have now done twice with great success.
BriarRosie
<font color=blue>Creator of Tag Fairy Haiku:<br>Cl
- Joined
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Lori - amazing photos! Everything "looks" wonderful - I am still sorry we missed it because of the company - NOT the food!
I think you dodged a pricey bullet!
I think we all would have enjoyed having you endure it with us.
Lori - I enjoyed the jerk... I mean bluezoo review. Too bad you didn't enjoy the food.
It's not that I didn't enjoy some of the food. I thought the beef course was the best part of the meal. But the signature dinners should "wow" me. I've done a few of them now, and this one just didn't meet the level I expect in these dinners.
Great review, Lori! It's rare that you attend one of these F&W events and then find such universal agreement about the overall quality of the meal regardless of whom you speak with.
The eight of us at our table pretty much agreed with your assessment (and Catherine's and Ellen's from their reviews). There were a couple of things that were amazing but most of the meal was just OK and that's completely unacceptable for the pricetag. I was also a little surprised that Ruffino was the winery - I have nothing against their wines; they're tasty - but for the price charged per person to attend I expected something a bit more upscale when it came to the wine.
Oh well, it was a fun evening but as you said ... next time we're skipping the muppet's signature meal and just enjoying a regular meal there instead, which we have now done twice with great success.
I couldn't help comparing it to the dinner I had the night before, and it came up lacking. I will definitely go back for a regular meal but never return for a festival signature meal again. I'm planning on giving feedback to them when I go in December.
oybolshoi
DIS Legend
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2004
- Messages
- 11,879
I couldn't help comparing it to your Flying Fish dinner and we weren't even there!
I also couldn't help comparing it to the Wolfgang Puck and Raglan Road dinners that I heard so many wonderful things about ... just goes to show ya.
BriarRosie
<font color=blue>Creator of Tag Fairy Haiku:<br>Cl
- Joined
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I couldn't help comparing it to your Flying Fish dinner and we weren't even there!
I also couldn't help comparing it to the Wolfgang Puck and Raglan Road dinners that I heard so many wonderful things about ... just goes to show ya.
But I bet this meal might have been favorably compared to the Jiko dinner that both of us didn't attend!
oybolshoi
DIS Legend
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- Aug 16, 2004
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- 11,879
But I bet this meal might have been favorably compared to the Jiko dinner that both of us didn't attend!
True dat! It also compared more favorably to the Irvine event we attended last year.
BriarRosie
<font color=blue>Creator of Tag Fairy Haiku:<br>Cl
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True dat! It also compared more favorably to the Irvine event we attended last year.
Oh I have to agree with you there!
PNO4TE
I used to be the DIS Musician and a Jamborini...
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I agree with you completely. These are supposed to be showcases and it seems that this time, at least, he failed. Too bad.
Great review Lori, but I'm sorry to hear that the dinner was not great. I have always drooled over yours and Brenda's bluezoo reviews before. I wonder if his cooking and attitude were affected by the media coverage of the cancelled nuptials? Neither he nor his ex-fiance came out of that smelling like roses.....
ChelleinNC
Say "Hi" to Art the Greeter for me!
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Wow. I really don't know what to say about that meal 
Glad the company was so good can't believe the food was such a disappointment 
Glad the company was so good can't believe the food was such a disappointment Bleah. It just sucks when you shell out big moohlah for something, based on personal experience that it should be good, and then it tanks at the bottom of the Dead Sea? WAH!
(I'm trying to do the math - how many meals this trip? Over/under on yummy/retched? Dollars spent to pleasure received? [the friends do tend to make it priceless, though...])
BAD MUPPET!
Jaime
(I'm trying to do the math - how many meals this trip? Over/under on yummy/retched? Dollars spent to pleasure received? [the friends do tend to make it priceless, though...])
BAD MUPPET!
Jaime
BriarRosie
<font color=blue>Creator of Tag Fairy Haiku:<br>Cl
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You know, I had to wonder how much of that affected him. I know that we were sort of joking around about how much we were glad we were not the one left at the altar to foot the bill!
I wonder if I would have been uncouth enough to take cheap shots like that while under the influence of the wine! It is fortunate we'll never have to find out. Wow. I really don't know what to say about that meal
Yes, I enjoyed the company very much. That's a huge part of the enjoyment for me at these dinners.
LOL Jaime. Now I want to shout BAD MUPPET! at him.
I booked 4 meals this trip. Two of them were festival dinners, and the other
two were dinners at Bistro de Paris and Victoria and Albert's. The rest of it was pretty much festival booth noshing. As you can see!
I'm heading to Las Vegas in a couple days to celebrate my birthday, so I won't be doing any updates until sometime next week.
and have a great time, Lori!!-
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