Has anyWine seen my Poutine? A friendly January 2020 dining report * The Plaza Part 2 4/24**

[buzzrelly]

Doesn't quite make up for the lack of a Refreshment Port BM

I haven't broken that news to him yet

You'll have to get him the BM from Dawa Bar in AK to make up for it.

Good idea! That'll soften the blow!

 

[kastoney]

Tonight is all about catching up on Real Housewives of the Jersey Shore

Just watched the reunion last night!!! Real Housewives, Wine, and Disney are my 3 favorite vices

'd love to do a signature with them but rather stick with in park dining other than Bon Voyage and probably a meal at either WCC or in DS on arrival day depending on what time our flight gets in

Good call. When Casey was her age and we went we'd attempted to do some signatures and realized eating in the park was just so much easier. Plus by the time you add in naps it really helps to maximize time in the parks

I need to share this because I'm not sure *** with my face:

Wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of that look

I cannot remember what kind of bread this was but OMG was it good! Seriously it rivals the kalamata olive bread at Citricos that I dream about

If I remember right it has seaweed in it. So good!!!

Wisconsin Burrata
Pear, Marcona Almonds, Blueberry-White Balsamic Vinaigrette

Oh I've died and gone to buratta heaven. One of my all time fav foods. Though do I spy some green stuff in there?

We went out the other night and I had a Italian quesadilla like thing with buratta, prosciutto, and your favorite arugula and it was so good.

Angus Filet Mignon
Asparagus, Sweet Onion Risotto, Truffle Sauce

Wow, that is some amazing praise coming from you. Not sure I could ever tear myself away from seafood at Flying Fish but think I could totally convince Jason to order this so I could try it

All my pretty blonde friends

Don't forget the best brunette one too

 

[NJlauren]

NO IDEA who i missed you started this report! But here i am better late then never!

The pretty green drink is mine and it was a seasonal offering inspired by Frozen 2: called "worth melting for":
vodka and blue curaçao, pineapple juice, sour, and tropical-flavored syrup.

This looks pretty, but was it way sweet? it sounds WAY sweet!

I wish I'd taken a better photo of the actual burger but I was hangry ad my hands were cold, but Steve thought this burger was amazing. The garlic aoli was used on the burger and also for his fries. I kind of wanted to try it but also kind of didn't because I like to stay with regular meats In the end I declined even though he said you really couldn't tell it was bison.
We loved our meal as always and spent a bit of time relaxing, taking in the super duper non-Florida getting colder by the minute weather. Huey Duck had hung around throughout our meal and when our server started clearing away our dishes he finally realized he wasn't getting jack. Since ducks can't flip you off, he left us with this instead:

Can you stick to magic bar photos going forward?

I chose this one because it shows the layout well. This is the bedroom and there are 2 queen beds. That hallway leads to the living area which is to the left and there's a couch on one side, 2 chairs and a table on the other. There's also a little wet bar/sink on the right side as you walk to the living room.
Then down the other hallway is the bathroom and there's another entrance from the other direction.

SO NICE! I love it!

Usually we only see the bears out here so I was excited to see Br'er Rabbit. We met him YEARS ago at AK.

So cool! We have never meet them! But i think Dillon would love it!

did a bit of unpacking back in the room but basically just crashed! Wait, not before biting into one of these:

I feel like we need a counter on how many photos of Magic Bars we get is this 3 or 4?

Beef Brisket Poutine
French Fries with Beef Brisket, Beer-Cheese Sauce and Poutine Gravy topped with Crispy Onions

Lobster Chips: House-made Chips, Lobster, Lobster Bisque Cheese Sauce, Pickled Jalapeños and Citrus Cream

These both look so good!

Now the taste was good; spicy but not as good as the regular Refreshment Port BM. The problem here was those pieces of cracker floating around in there like you'd put in a bowl of soup - hence the name of the drink. First they kept getting in the way every time I took a sip which was just annoying but after about 10 minutes or so Jenny and I both agree the sogginess was off-putting. I only drank about half of this and trashed the rest which is not normal for me.

When we went to F.ARTS a few weeks ago we really didn't get to hit up to many food booths but i did get this bloody Mary, the trick was to DRINK IT REALLY FAST then it didn't have time to get soggy and you could just eat them as a cracker.

Tonight is all about catching up on Real Housewives of the Jersey Shore And while doing so I'm trying to figure out dining for our September trip with our DGD and it's soooooo hard!! I'm not used to thinking much about dining reservations ahead of time but I am used to suggesting dining for first timers and people with small kids, so I don't know why I'm drawing blanks My DIL wants BOG lunch and San Angel Inn along with just about every MK snack she sees on Pinterest but otherwise she's leaving it all up to me! I know we are NOT doing CRT; probably Akershus and I'm seriously considering Bon Voyage since I want the food but don't want to do the characters just Steve and I and the boys flat out refuse. We are doing 5 parks days with MK twice; I'd love to do a signature with them but rather stick with in park dining other than Bon Voyage and probably a meal at either WCC or in DS on arrival day depending on what time our flight gets in. My DIL is so excited since it's her first trip too and that makes me so happy!!!

OH HOW FUN! I am sure she will love it and you will plan an amazing trip! Cant wait to hear about it! We tend to do less meals outside the parks with the girls, but usually fit in 1 or 2 depending on the trip and how they seem to be doing

@Mollydolly334 me, @pepperandchips and @Jenny Sanders

CUTE! So nice you got to spend a good amount of time with these ladies on your trip!

 

[ariane37]

Hello hello! Sorry it's been a bit since I updated, work is a bit nuts right now and I also wanted to get my TR finished. But here I am, moving on to our 2nd full January day!

After our wonderful Nomad/FF night we got to sleep in just a bit. We had breakfast reservations with our buds Jenny and Joe around 9? 9:30? Some time that wasn't ridiculously early. Steve can't sleep in ever though so he went out for a walk and coffee while I got ready and took this gorgeous picture of a perfect WL morning:



We were going to HS today and with all the ROTR stuff going on and the fact that it was drawing crazy crowds, we had pretty much decided we were only going to use our FP's there so we didn't need to arrive early. Therefore it was a good day to return to a restaurant Steve and I hadn't eaten at since 2010:




I wish I took a few pictures but I didn't. We stayed at OKW on our first onsite stay with the boys back in 2007 and we ate at Olivia's 3 or 4x. Every meal was delicious and the resort is really pretty although spread out. It was great for us back then although we've never had the desire to stay there again, but I always remembered enjoying our food at Olivia's.

I got a cappuccino to start but I"ll spare you the picture; it's cappuccino. Steve had coffee and ordered some Mickey waffles which surprised me:

Waffle and Eggs
Waffles with Two Eggs-Any Style with choice of Bacon or Sausage and Maple Syrup or Mixed Berry Sauce




I realize that's ham and not bacon or sausage; I believe Steve asked for turkey sausage and our server offered ham so he took our server up on it. Speaking of our server she was training a young girl there on the DCP and guess what her name was?
OLIVIA!
I told her there really wasn't any other place for them to put here and she smiled like it was the first time she'd heard that Anyway Steve liked his breakfast well enough, the waffles were crispy but not burned and he said the ham had good taste and wasn't fatty at all. Being a pretty normal breakfast I don't think he expected anything more than it was.

I was debating getting the banana bread french toast and kind of wish I had; instead I got

Olivia's Breakfast
Two Eggs-Any Style, Olivia's Breakfast Potatoes, and Buttermilk Biscuit with choice of Bacon or Sausage



And it was good! Those potatoes were nice and creamy-cheesy and the biscuit soft and flaky. I enjoyed it, just wished I'd gone a bit off the beaten path.

I can't remember exactly what Jenny and Joe got but I know Joe started with a huge bowl of grits and practically licked the bowl, which to this northern gal was pretty yucky (waits to hear from everyone south of Maryland now...........)
At some point Jenny and I decided to channel our inner Handmaids:

And after a bit more morning chit chat we boarded our Joemobile over to HS! I liked breakfast even though our choices really weren't anything we couldn't get elsewhere and I'd like to go back for that banana bread french toast. I feel like it's out of the way enough to be something different yet worth it.

Fast forward to a few hours of HS time which included the best ride in the world:



Check out the little guy in the back trying to sink into the seat and then miss "I look like my ears are on too tight" in the front lol. OK keep fast forwarding through the Frozen Sing Along to us being ready to leave the park. We'd separated from the J's because they had different FP's and Joe needed to ride ROTR. Our original plan was to take the SKyliner for Steve's first ride over to either CBR or the Riviera to eat and then chill at the resort a bit, but we ended up leaving the park about an hour later than we thought we would so instead just went back to WL and grabbed a quick lunch at Roaring Fork.

Roaring Fork is what I consider the weakest food option at the Lodge. I enjoy their breakfast but otherwise think the food is just OK. It was cold outside so between that and having eating lunch already once at GP we figured it would do and it did.

Steve went light with a salad:

Wilderness Salad with Chicken
Chilled Chicken Breast on Mixed Greens tossed with Candied Walnuts, Sliced Apples, Focaccia Croutons, and Shredded Cheddar served with Apple Vinaigrette




This was a huge winner for Steve. Everything was fresh and the chicken cooked well; I don't eat much grilled chicken because 1. it's too healthy for me and 2. I find it's often rubbery. This was not. I did steal an apple slice as it's one of the few fruits I enjoy.

I went healthy as well and got a burger:

Bacon Cheeseburger
1/3 lb Grilled Angus Burger topped with Bacon and American on a Brioche Bun served with French Fries




This is a weird up-close picture but the other one I had barely showed the burger so I went with this one. It was surprisingly good for a QS burger, I've been burned a few times by QS burgers and shy away from ordering them but was just in the mood today. However being at Roaring Fork I did what anyone with the same avatar as I have would do and didn't eat the bun, had a handful of fries and about 2/3 of the burger because I couldn't leave without getting another one of these:




I even took a bit out before taking the picture just to make it different Lunch done and munching my magic we took a look in the store and then went back to our room to relax a bit and I had to do some work. It was already close to 3 and we were meeting back up with Jenny,Joe,and a few other DIS friends in a few hours! Continuing that in the next post............

 

[suse66]

We were all having a wonderful time talking and laughing (and drinking) as we always do, waiting for our entrees. Little did I know I was about to taste what would, and this is hard for me to admit, replace the Citricos filet as my Disney favorite:

It looks amazing!

Steve had the swordfish and for some reason I don't have a pic so google will stand in:

I would love that swordfish...must get to FF soon!

All my pretty blonde friends

And the pretty brunette!

And then it was on to the ice cream! It was someone's first time at Ample Hills - jenny? - and everyone partook here. No pictures other than my double scoop:

Yum! Love Ample Hills...we are definitely heading there next week in NYC!

 

[suse66]

And after a bit more morning chit chat we boarded our Joemobile over to HS! I liked breakfast even though our choices really weren't anything we couldn't get elsewhere and I'd like to go back for that banana bread french toast. I feel like it's out of the way enough to be something different yet worth it.

Mmmm, I would be all over that banana bread french toast!

Chilled Chicken Breast on Mixed Greens tossed with Candied Walnuts, Sliced Apples, Focaccia Croutons, and Shredded Cheddar served with Apple Vinaigrette

Steve's salad sounds great too minus the walnuts.

I even took a bit out before taking the picture just to make it different Lunch done and munching my magic we took a look in the store and then went back to our room to relax a bit and I had to do some work. It was already close to 3 and we were meeting back up with Jenny,Joe,and a few other DIS friends in a few hours! Continuing that in the next post............

Magic bars are an essential lunch item!

 

[ariane37]

After a few hours of rest and some work for me, we grabbed a REAL Uber (well a Lyft) to Disney Springs. We were a bit behind or ahead of Jenny and Joe plus we all wanted to do a little shopping before eating but at different stores so decided we'd just meet up.
We went first to the Co-Op and picked up a couple things:
A little something for me first-




And then a little something for Ricky AND me:




This is pretty much my favorite place in DS and the boys love it too and it's hard to find things Ricky likes, but he gave the when I sent a picture. It also serves as the perfect segway into our group evening destination because it was none other than Jock Lindsay's!
I don't have any group photos but we met up with Joe and @Jenny Sanders , Melinda @pepperandchips and her DH, and then Caroline @disneyAndi14 and Molly @Mollydolly334 came. A bit later on Su-lynn and her Steve @chunkymonkey also joined us. It was much easier getting a table here than at Nomad the night before!
My drink of choice tonight is one I discovered when last here in August with some DIS friends:

Anything Goes
byejoe dragon fire spirit, fresh Lime Juice, Passion Fruit, and Pineapple Juice




This is so good and has a little spicy kick from the dragon fire spirit. A few of these made the night nice and relaxing
To go with this Steve and I got the queso to share:

Doctor Astorga's Queso Fundido
A Skillet of Melted Soft Cheeses topped with Fresh Pico de Gallo and Cilantro served with Corn Tortilla Chips





We got this twice before and LOVED it; tonight it was still good and hit the spot but a little something was missing. Not sure if they changed chips or toned down the queso? We still managed to finish it though!

I can't remember what Steve had to drink and for some reason don't have a picture, but I do have a picture of the pretzel that gives the everything pretzel at Crew's Cup a run for it's money:

Air Pirate's Pretzel
A Jumbo Everything Pretzel with Spicy German Mustard and Beer-Cheese Fondue




Not the best picture and you can't really see the mustard on the other side. It also looks like everyone abandoned me and I'm not sure where they all went! I know I ate this with everyone present although I don't think Su-Lynn and Steve had arrived yet and that's her seat waiting Surprisingly I'd never had the pretzel here and it was SO good. Soft and covered in "everything", and both the mustard and beer cheese were delicious. I think I left a very small piece and that was it.

Steve got one of their flatbreads that he'd had before:
Margherita
Roasted Heirloom Tomatoes, Fresh Mozzarella, Basil, and Balsamic Glaze





These flatbreads are legions above the theme park flatbreads and while this was a basic Margherita he enjoys it. I also got a flatbread but I forgot to take a picture and I'm so mad because it was amazing! I wanted to get it last time but hesitated; I think I forgot the picture due to the Anything Goes total at this point lol. What I got was the

Medjoul Date and Manchego Cheese
with Frisee and Crispy Prosciutto, Red Onion, and Balsamic Glaze



Courtesy of GOOGLE thanks! This was as I said, amazing. The dates and manchego cheese? Perfect! I did shake off a bit of the nasty green stuff, was going to mail it to Kari @kastoney but it got stuck to some gum in my purse This is why I left a piece of pretzel, I had to eat all of this!
We stopped with the 4 dishes we got (we were hungry what do you want???) and drank and talked a bit more. Back to my pretzel here's the bottom of the stand it comes on:



Disney theming on point! We didn't stay out too late tonight as some of us had an early tour call in the morning. It was another great DIS get together and as always Jock's food and drinks did not disappoint. I still need to try Wine Bar George and from what I hear it may be a hard 2nd to Jock's, we'll see!

I know I have some replies to do and will do them tomorrow!

 

[ariane37]

When Casey was her age and we went we'd attempted to do some signatures and realized eating in the park was just so much easier.

Yes other than Bon Voyage and now STK- we're going to stick to the parks. Again quite different for us but it'll be worth it

Wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of that look

NO idea what was up unless I heard someone say they don't like magic bars.................

f I remember right it has seaweed in it. So good!!!

Well you made me want to vomit but then I remembered how delicious the bread was so I'm just going to forget you said that.

We went out the other night and I had a Italian quesadilla like thing with buratta, prosciutto, and your favorite arugula and it was so good.

OMG THAT sounds amazing!

Don't forget the best brunette one too

Well duh

NO IDEA who i missed you started this report! But here i am better late then never!

Yay! I'm just glad you found me now and welcome!!!

This looks pretty, but was it way sweet? it sounds WAY sweet!

Actually it wasn't too sweet, more tart! I used to only like sweet drinks and Moscato but now I've moved on to Reisling lol and drinks that have a little less sugar in them.

Can you stick to magic bar photos going forward?

I feel like we need a counter on how many photos of Magic Bars we get is this 3 or 4?

Well I just added another in my last update and I think that's 3 or 4!
And we ain't done yet

When we went to F.ARTS a few weeks ago we really didn't get to hit up to many food booths but i did get this bloody Mary, the trick was to DRINK IT REALLY FAST then it didn't have time to get soggy and you could just eat them as a cracker.

See I get that; unfortunately I was also stuffing my face with that poutine so couldn't down the drink the way it should have been done lol

And the pretty brunette!

I don't know how I could forget all my wonderful brunette friends considering I am (was? Should be? ) a brunette!

um! Love Ample Hills...we are definitely heading there next week in NYC!

Can't wait to hear how it is! We've never been to that one. I actually can't wait to see/hear all about your NYC trip

 

[missjackiemcg]

Check out the little guy in the back trying to sink into the seat and then miss "I look like my ears are on too tight" in the front lol.

That girl is the first one I noticed in this picture!!! I was also confused when I didn't see Jenny and Joe because I didn't realize you had split up yet. LOL

Disney theming on point!

It was another great DIS get together and as always Jock's food and drinks did not disappoint.

Every time I read people's posts about Jock Lindsay's I think "we are totally going there on the next trip!" and yet, we still haven't been!!! Definitely need to make my way over there.

 

[kittylady1972]

Mmmm...your Jock Lindsey's food looks pretty good. I've only been there once...and this was the only thing I ordered:



I don't know what it was, but I do recall it was pretty good. I may have to return for the food. Maybe the girls and I will drop in there tomorrow for a bit...just can't sit at the bar this time.

I'm so looking forward to having 3 nights at Wilderness Lodge next week. I'm really dreaming about this sandwich though:



I really hope it's still there as that is going to be my late night dinner on arrival next week!

Ok weird I don't see it on the Roarking Fork menu any more, but I think it's similar to this one on the Geyser Point menu:

Steak Sandwich
Lemon Balsamic Arugula, Caramelized Onions, Red Peppers and Gruyere Cheese

$16.00

Finger crossed it's still there!

 

[pepperandchips]

We weren't totally on our own though, because as we've done so often over the last couple years we met up with lots of DIS friends who have become REAL friends

A month later after your TR starts and one of your friends finally finds time to show up to comment I’m looking forward to catching up! Thank you for tagging me to nudge me in this direction... your report is probably over by now but that’s okay, maybe I can be in another one later this year

 

[pepperandchips]

The pretty green drink is mine and it was a seasonal offering inspired by Frozen 2: called "worth melting for":
vodka and blue curaçao, pineapple juice, sour, and tropical-flavored syrup.

Steve's looks like water, tasted like vodka! Huckleberry vodka to be exact.

That blue frozen themed drink does look like poison control should be alerted, as Kari said! Steve found my favorite offering at GP. I like it in lemonade!!

because I like to stay with regular meats

Yes we know, you’ve been blissfully wed how long?

 

[pepperandchips]

Unfortunately our wonderful Rony was off tonight

Nooooooo who let him have some time with his real family?!

For an app I went totally rogue and ordered a SALAD. Yes Kelly @buzzrelly I ordered like you and got

Who is this and what did you do with my friend?!

You can kind of see the potato puree peeking out from under the filet, the filet I had called the best on property including this baby here. The title ended up going to another filet this trip but for this night I was completely happy with my #1.

Ahhhh

I have a suspicion I know who unseated the king filet and I can say they are both divine! My favorite is probably whichever is in front of me at the time...

When we went in Sept. 2019 (with our good friend @pepperandchips and we were lucky enough to introduce her to Rony then

Looooooved him! And thanks for the shout out. You can forward my fan mail now, I know it’s been a real hardship holding on to it for me while I dilly-dallied getting over here

So, who is familiar with Disney's F.ARTS?

I am! I am!

Ooooh... festival of the arts.... ummm never mind then

we visited space Jesus

Yes ma’am! Gotta get those last selfies in just in case the “upgrades” upgrade my beloved mural

Tomato Soup Can Bloody Mary

It was an adorable presentation!

Okay I had not seen this and it’s stinking adorable!

spicy but not as good as the regular Refreshment Port BM

Speaking of f.arts and duck poop, now you’re posting about regular BMs?

(Yes, I’m a 12 year old boy.)

Out of all 4 festivals I think the food options are weakest at the Arts but so far they were better than the previous year and I do really enjoy all the other activities and entertainment the festival brings.

Agreed!!!

Having fun reading about what you did before our rendezvous

 

[pepperandchips]

We are doing 5 parks days with MK twice; I'd love to do a signature with them but rather stick with in park dining other than Bon Voyage and probably a meal at either WCC or in DS on arrival day depending on what time our flight gets in. My DIL is so excited since it's her first trip too and that makes me so happy!!!

So I learned last month that it’s kind of good to be flexible about finding ADRs on the fly when needed. My cousin’s husband was about to melt down from over stimulation, too many people touching him, just general crowd fatigue on our MK day so we had a great and relaxing dinner at Kona. They weren’t planning on TS but that one was necessary!

We found it by Steve honing in on a chair when he noticed a family getting ready to leave and sat there talking to them about Starbucks lol. Hey it did the trick!

Well that’s a nice sweet summary. Really Steve went over and introduced himself and sat right down and they became new best friends I think! Then the rest of us peeled our eyes and slowly but surely stole one chair at a time to accommodate the rapidly growing number of rear ends in our wild bunch! I’m pretty sure those CMs were happy to see us leave afterward

as he was busy chatting about dinosaurs with Mr. pepperandchips:

Melinda had some type of bourbon with soda and an orange??

Story of my life. I think we were drinking basil haydens at Nomad but I wouldn’t swear to it my receipt says angels envy which I know it was not!!!

I cannot remember what kind of bread this was but OMG was it good! Seriously it rivals the kalamata olive bread at Citricos that I dream about

I think it is nori bread maybe? Like a sushi wrapper, the flavor is very subtle, just savory and a bit salty. Perfect with that butter or mussels broth!

 

[pepperandchips]

This is too cute!!!

I think he even got R to sing

 

[pepperandchips]

Little did I know I was about to taste what would, and this is hard for me to admit, replace the Citricos filet as my Disney favorite

It’s okay to have two favorites! This one was SO good. What a redemption!!

I am dying to go back and have this same meal again before Disney does what it does best and removes either or from their menu.

Now I am starving. You think I can get uber eats to bring me one to Atlanta?

I know you're like, "yeah it's ice cream" just proving it happened!

If anyone thinks that, he or she has not been to Ample Hills!!! Drooool...

Umm, not anymore.
1 gorgeous redhead.
2 beautiful blonds
and Ursula...

I am missing a story that I very much need to be filled in on!!!

 

[Jenny Sanders]

It’s okay to have two favorites! This one was SO good. What a redemption!!


Now I am starving. You think I can get uber eats to bring me one to Atlanta?


If anyone thinks that, he or she has not been to Ample Hills!!! Drooool...


I am missing a story that I very much need to be filled in on!!!

Yes!!!!! Long story short, my hair was dyed to look like the villains. Not by choice!!!!!! Miss u.

 

[pepperandchips]

Oh good, I wasn’t too far behind! I hope you enjoy all my 900,000,000 comments. I lost my quotes from these last couple of posts but my main takeaways are 1.) gorgeous sunrise photo 2.) you ordered wrong at Olivia’s that banana bread French toast is amazing and Joe was right about the heavenly creamy grits! And 3.) Roaring Fork looks much improved.

Wish we were sitting at Jock’s enjoying nice weather and a beverage now!!!

All caught up

 

[buzzrelly]

We stayed at OKW on our first onsite stay with the boys back in 2007 and we ate at Olivia's 3 or 4x.

Check out the little guy in the back trying to sink into the seat

Poor guy! I know that feeling!

It was cold outside so between that and having eating lunch already once at GP we figured it would do and it did.

I was wondering why you wouldn't have gone to GP. Makes sense now

I couldn't leave without getting another one of these:

Some sort of law, or something

A little something for me first-

I love the hot pink

It also serves as the perfect segway into our group evening destination because it was none other than Jock Lindsay's!

So I got a call yesterday that they are cancelling my ADR at The Edison on 3/21 for a "private party." I'm kind of miffed because we were planning on going there after Cirque. So now I'm thinking maybe we'll just go here or Wine Bar George instead, although I made a new reservation at Maria and Enzo's. I just don't know if we'll want a full dinner. And now I still need to figure out when we're going to go to The Edison and try to get a last minute ADR…grrrr.

 

[Tracy161]

lol! I like people to think "wait IS this one of Ariane's reports???"

What a wonderful evening at Jock's - the food looked AMAZING!