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

[lvcourtneyy]

He laughed and said it was too much but that night he thanked me for making his birthday as special as it could be and gave me a huge hug

Aww

This is so good! The brie isn't soupy but not too thick that it isn't easily scoopable with the bread. And for once the bread to cheese ratio is on point!

Oo I had this last year! I really liked it too but made a terrible mess eating it

Rigatoni con Funghi
Rigatoni with Wild Mushrooms, Spicy Cherry Peppers, Garlic and Truffle Oil

Oo that sounds delicious

 

[Jenny Sanders]

We're still waiting to try Joe's @Jenny Sanders moms homemade arancini but in the meantime this is a fantastic sub!

She made it for us in March and it was soooo good!!!

 

[missjackiemcg]

He laughed and said it was too much but that night he thanked me for making his birthday as special as it could be and gave me a huge hug

I'm sure it meant so much to him, and it was a memorable Bday for sure!!

Rigatoni with Wild Mushrooms, Spicy Cherry Peppers, Garlic and Truffle Oil

Mushrooms aside for you haters this is so good.

LOL You beat me to what I was going to say when I quoted the initial description!!!! Sounds delish....please hold the mushrooms!

Everything you guys had at Il Mulino sounds/looks delicious!! That's another we've not tried before, but looks like we would definitely enjoy!

Easter was definitely different this year. My parents dropped off baskets on our porch, and we did a couple of Zoom gatherings with our cousins. While we shared a lot of laughs and it was good to see their faces, I missed hugging them all!! Hoping this curve is flattening, so we can get out of the house again soon!!!! Hope your Easter was a happy one!

 

[Wood Nymph]

I could go either way with decorating eggs but he asks every year. I'll take it as long as he wants to do it!

Your Easter eggs are beautiful. It is nice that Chris likes this tradition. My mom loved to decorate Easter eggs and our kids would always go to her house to decorate. I went years without having to do it at my house.

I highly, highly suggest giving Il Mulino a try;

The food looks really good.

 

[kastoney]

He laughed and said it was too much but that night he thanked me for making his birthday as special as it could be and gave me a huge hug

❤❤❤

BM. First we watched a bit of the FARTS

Should BM and FARTS ever be this close in a sentence?????

This is so good! The brie isn't soupy but not too thick that it isn't easily scoopable with the bread. And for once the bread to cheese ratio is on point! The only problem with eating this on a freezing cold January Florida day is that the brie doesn't stay warm long.

I still could kick my husband for not wanting to try this last year. Bread and cheese in a bowl, together, how could anyone not like that? Apparently it was a little to basic for Mr. Chef. But I know Ms. Carb would have been all over it

We're still waiting to try Joe's @Jenny Sanders moms homemade arancini but in the meantime this is a fantastic sub!

Now that I gotta try. I can do lots of Italian but frying this is one thing I cannot do

Jumbo Shrimp Egg Battered and Sautéed served with White Wine Lemon Sauce

Oh this is so what I would get too. I'm in the shrimp boat with Forrest and Steve.

Aren't you proud I didn't make a single vegetable that shall not be named comment?

Not only was the food outrageously wonderful but so was the company ❤ I highly, highly suggest giving Il Mulino a try; it's usually not hard at all to get last minute reservations but be aware it's not on the dining plan if you utilize that.

What about Melinda? Should we give her a try too? Is she hard to get a last minute reservation with?

 

[Tracy161]

He laughed and said it was too much but that night he thanked me for making his birthday as special as it could be and gave me a huge hug

What a sweet young man you have

She'll stand on her porch and we'll do the distance thing, better to see her the day before Easter than not at all.

I did the same porch thing with my mom on Monday

First we watched a bit of the FARTS entertainment

Ahhh, I love some good FARTS entertainment

Yeah it was definitely at least me. I again went for the same dessert I'd had last time we were here:

Torta di Cioccolati
Flourless Chocolate Cake served with Whipped Cream and Zabaglione

This would 100% have been what I selected too. And I have convinced myself that anything "flourless" doesn't count in terms of dessert or calories. So did you actually even have dessert?

 

[ariane37]

Aw looks like you went all out to celebrate the birthday boy! Love all the signs

Thanks! Under normal circumstances he would not have appreciated the signs so much lol but I needed to do something "different" - since the whole day was different.

can’t believe how artistic you guys are with the egg painting! I used to love doing that as a kid and on Easter Sunday we always went for a family picnic (no matter what the weather was like -sun or snow - it didn’t matter). We'd roll our eggs down the biggest hill we could find and whoever’s made it the furthest without cracking was the winner! Then my sister and I made my brother eat all the hard boiled eggs as we didn’t actually like eating them, only painting themThanks for bringing back some happy childhood memories

Well full disclosure it was a kit from WalMart! I usually only get the plain old kit but saw this right before the lock down and grabbed it. I'm glad he still enjoys doing this with me!
And your Easter egg story from when you were younger sounds wonderful, thank you for sharing

Il Mulino looks great. Funny it’s one of those places I always forget about even though we’ve stayed at that area several times. The last few times we’ve had free dining ( I know, I know, it’s not really free ) and I think that’s probably been why but

Sometimes it's hard to pass up the free dining! And I think that's why many don't go to Il Mulino, not on the plan as well as not being in a park or at a true Disney resort. But next time you go without the plan give it a try, truly above the other Italian restaurants there. But we do enjoy Via Napoli and Tutto Italia as well.

Oo I had this last year! I really liked it too but made a terrible mess eating it

It did get messy when I started ripping the bowl apart and the cheese dripped down! But worth it lol

LOL You beat me to what I was going to say when I quoted the initial description!!!! Sounds delish....please hold the mushrooms!

you and Kari! I bet they could make it without the 'shrooms but it would lose some taste. I simply push them aside so I get the taste but not the texture

Everything you guys had at Il Mulino sounds/looks delicious!! That's another we've not tried before, but looks like we would definitely enjoy!

You should go - when you don't have the dining plan lol. The boys love it also so it's fine for kids, you msut be used to really good Italian out there in Chicago. It's hard for us to enjoy Italian in Florida even though the restaurants in Epcot are good; but Il Mulino really blows them away.

oping this curve is flattening, so we can get out of the house again soon!!!! Hope your Easter was a happy one!

It was good For what it had to be. I went to the chiropractor today and then drove around and extra 30 minutes with the radio blasting just to stay outside the house. Fingers are crossed tightly that we don't get extended again after 5/15 which is our current!

Your Easter eggs are beautiful. It is nice that Chris likes this tradition. My mom loved to decorate Easter eggs and our kids would always go to her house to decorate.

Thank you! I don't mind doing it and will do it as long as someone will help!

Should BM and FARTS ever be this close in a sentence?????

Well one usually does follow the other............

I still could kick my husband for not wanting to try this last year. Bread and cheese in a bowl, together, how could anyone not like that? Apparently it was a little to basic for Mr. Chef. But I know Ms. Carb would have been all over it

Ha! That's probably why Steve had no interest in it, but I've tried just about every cheese-in-a-bread-bowl festival concoction they have!
Plus there's an Eiffel Tower on this one so you know, it's "extra"

Aren't you proud I didn't make a single vegetable that shall not be named comment?

Shocked beyone belief, but proud.

What about Melinda? Should we give her a try too? Is she hard to get a last minute reservation with?

She's ALWAYS booked!
Or filled to capacity? @pepperandchips which way do you prefer?

did the same porch thing with my mom on Monday

We did it again today because Steve actually found hand sanitizer for her! But this time she came to us to get out of her house and take a ride. She did stand about a foot closer to the doorway than she did the last time which was nice but I really just want to hug her Chris even left his room sans shirt to say hello to her lol

What a sweet young man you have

He'll definitely be a good catch someday! And then there's Chris.......

This would 100% have been what I selected too. And I have convinced myself that anything "flourless" doesn't count in terms of dessert or calories. So did you actually even have dessert?

First of all, for awhile I stayed away from flourless desserts because I assumed the lack of flour would effect the taste Once I realized that was absolutely not the case I have jumped at any chance to eat a flourless dessert especially if it's chocolate and I tell you this one is decadent beyond belief.

Also since I am relatively new to the flourless life thank you for pointing out that it doesn't count as real dessert!! Learn something new every day

 

[TeresaNJ]

Well, the quarantine is good for one thing, finally catching up on DRs! I'm drooling thinking about that mushroom soup at TL, and the rigatoni at Il Mulino! I woke up at 4am today to make dining reservations for our October trip, and what a bust, lol. Our original reservation is for a 2BR at OKW with me, my husband, my sister and her husband. Both of us are celebrating our 20th wedding anniversaries this year, so it's a special anniversary trip. My sister always likes to go a few days ahead of time, just her and I, so we booked All Star Music yesterday. Thank God we booked OKW when we did, last month at the 7 month window, because there is virtually nothing left room wise for DVC in October. For our girls portion of the trip, the only rooms that weren't over $350 night were the All Stars, so we took it, and hoping some kind of discount comes out soon for the fall, but I seriously doubt it. Anyway, I thought since our DR window opened up for the All Star reservation this morning, it would carry right through to the OKW one since they are back to back, but it didn't, and my sole reason for making sure I was up and awake this morning was to book California Grill Brunch, and I couldn't even book yet! Ugh! Oh well, I'll just have to do this all over again Monday morning!

 

[ariane37]

Boy, I do NOT want to end this dining report It gives me something to do and I love looking back at our trip which seems so long ago but was only this January. Just keep following me here and on my PTR, and we'll all look forward to lost of new reports of all kinds starting up again when the parks are open
Before I get to our last day I want to share with you some magic - Magic Bar recipes! I told @luvpoohandcompany I'd post them I think in my PTR but since this is a dining report I'll put them here.
I've tried 2: one that a co-worker posted and one another co-worker found. The first one is this:



Excuse the chopped off part! As you see our logo is there and I needed to get out as much as I could lol. Also the person who did this clearly doesn't know that WILDERNESS LODGE is the home of the magic bar but I forgave her.
So this is the first recipe I used. They came out delicious! But - it's a lot of butter and they were rather greasy. What we did after spraying the pan was to mix the melted butter and graham crackers crumbs together into a doughy paste and then spread on the bottom and that worked well. We did put pecans in even though I do not recall ever seeing evidence of any nuts in magic bars but as I previously told Susan @suse66 I felt there was some kind of nut in there. So we used them. We also used sprinkles just to try following to a "T" and as you see from my avatar there is something colored on the top. I swore they were mini m&m's so we got those also and put those on. As I said these were good but a bit too buttery! Also the sprinkles felt weird and I did taste the nuts which I didn't mind but made them a little different than usual. Overall they were a bit sweeter than at the WL. Also I felt the coconut should be the last thing to go on before the m&m's so you could see it after it baked.
My friend and fellow TA Cathy tried it and hers were swimming in butter more than mine so she searched and found this recipe:



Note 1/3 cup butter here vs. TWO cups in the first! Also the picture here does not look like our Disney Magic Bars so what I did was not use nuts this time at all, or sprinkles. This also mentioned peanut butter chips and while I LOVE PB I don't think I've tasted it in magic bars so I stuck with butterscotch. I also meant to put the coconut on top but since Steve wasn't home and I really should cook or bake without him, I didn't.



1st batch:



The first batch (2nd picture) definitely looks more like them but I think the 2nd recipe is better, the one with less butter. That one tasted better and wasn't as greasy so the only thing I'll change next time is remembering to put the coconut on right before the m&m's, which is really just for the look. And that's about all the baking advice you'll ever get from me But lmk if you try it!
​

Our lovely Il Mulino dinner with special friends led to our last park day, January 22nd. This also happened to be the coldest day of our trip and this is how we looked at MK that morning:



And they even had salt down on the walkway into Adventureland! For those of you unfamiliar with snow and ice, this is what we put down to break that ice up. That means it was COLD IN FLORIDA!!!!



I don't remember what we did for breakfast but I know we rode BTMRR, then Buzz where Steve became a Galactic Hero for the first time, and then braved the Astro Orbiter where that "we're cold" picture was taken.
Eventually it was time for our lunch reservation but not before meeting up with one of my very first DIS friends, Whitney!



She's @Whit64130 here on the boards but hasn't been on in ages. She's a L&D nurse in Alabama and so although she won't see this, I'm giving her a huge for all she's doing now.
Our lunch was at a MK favorite of which we really only have two: Skipper Canteen and the Plaza! Ricky loves the bottomless milkshakes, all the guys love the burgers and everything else they've tried, and I go for the delicious fried green tomato sandwich. You do not see fried green tomato anything on menus in the northeast! We were seated just about on time and given menus to browse even though I knew what I wanted:




Ummm....do you see what I don't see? Or do you not see what I wanted to see? There is no mention of a fried green tomato sandwich anywhere on this menu! I politely and nervously asked our server who politely and nervously told me we had chosen to eat here on the 2nd day of their menu debut, which did NOT include the fried green tomato sandwich any longer. She also said all day the day before she'd been asked about it and suggested we let management know we missed it So much for my perfect last meal in Disney!
At least they still had the delicious sangria I'd had before, so that's what my freezing self started with:

Sangria
Kunde Sauvignon Blanc with Pineapple Juice, Spice, and Fruit

​

I don't know what it is about this sangria but besides Skippers Canteen I find it the best on property. Might be the pineapple which I'm partial to? Either way it went down well and made up for the sandwich I wasn't getting. But like I've said it was cold; and Florida cold goes right to your bones. So between having been out in it for a few hours plus the sangria I needed something warm and went with an app, the soup of the day:



There's no description other than "seasonal soup" but this was a tomato bisque and it was delightful. I lapped it up along with the crunchy tasty croutons and it warmed me up for about 10 seconds.

I'm at my picture limit again! So with that I'll save the rest of the Plaza and our Disney exit for my next post. Don't forget to let me know if you make magic bars!!! Stay well

 

[ariane37]

Well, the quarantine is good for one thing, finally catching up on DRs!

Yay glad you're here!! And yup lol, no excuse for falling behind now I even started a PTR just to keep having more to do here!

I'm drooling thinking about that mushroom soup at TL, and the rigatoni at Il Mulino!

I got a recipe for the mushroom soup, just need to get the stuff to try it. So far the couple Disney recipes we've tried have been 50/50 so I don't have high hopes but again, definitely got the time to try it!

I woke up at 4am today to make dining reservations for our October trip, and what a bust, lol.

Ugh that stinks! Yeah, it's always 10 days from your check in day so that's why; I hope you get the brunch! I want to do it again so bad and have recently been thinking about adding it for July. I haven't looked at availability yet though and highly doublt it'll be there.

 

[missjackiemcg]

But like I've said it was cold; and Florida cold goes right to your bones.

Florida cold is NO JOKE! On our coldest trip in January 2018 when I ran the runDisney 5K and 10K, it was beautiful the first few days of our trip and we were in shorts and tank tops making fun of all the locals who were bundling up in North Face fleeces and stocking caps.

By the end of the week, when I was wearing layers of literally every piece of clothing in my suitcase, I felt like such a jerk LOL I mean, Chicago winters are no joke, but I felt like such a baby at how cold I was!

 

[Jenny Sanders]

I would give anything to be in Florida when it was cold BECAUSE it's better than not being there at all. Sigh. I miss it sooooooooooo much!!!!! At least Sebastian Maniscalco made me laugh tonight! Great recommendation!

 

[quietly]

Oh my gosh we got stuck with the menu change at The Plaza too! Was so disappointed as I’d never had a fried green tomato sandwich and was looking forward to trying it! Hope they bring it back it’s clearly missed!

I want to try the magic bars but I’ve no clue where we’d get butterscotch chips in Australia. Will have to do some searching! And if you end up trying the mushroom soup recipe please let us know how it goes!

 

[TeresaNJ]

I'll have to let my sister know about The Plaza Sangria! I'm waffling between booking that and BOG for early dinner the night we do MNSSHP. I so wanted to try that fried green tomato sandwich! Bummer that it's no longer on the menu. Maybe I can ask for the lobster fried green tomato app, and request two slices of toasted bread and make my own!

 

[buzzrelly]

The first batch (2nd picture) definitely looks more like them but I think the 2nd recipe is better, the one with less butter. That one tasted better and wasn't as greasy so the only thing I'll change next time is remembering to put the coconut on right before the m&m's, which is really just for the look.

Yikes…2 CUPS of butter??? No wonder they were greasy! The second recipe sounds much better. I'm going to have to try to make them soon. I have leftover coconut from Easter but pretty much none of the other ingredients so it'll have to wait for a trip to the store.

and then braved the Astro Orbiter

Maybe the only ride at MK I've still never been on.

Or do you not see what I wanted to see? There is no mention of a fried green tomato sandwich anywhere on this menu! I politely and nervously asked our server who politely and nervously told me we had chosen to eat here on the 2nd day of their menu debut, which did NOT include the fried green tomato sandwich any longer.

Nooooo…say it isn't so! Oh well, I guess I'll go back to my old stand-by, The Plaza Club

 

[kastoney]

Boy, I do NOT want to end this dining report It gives me something to do and I love looking back at our trip which seems so long ago but was only this January.

Now I know there were a few trips where you didn't do dining reports so let's bring them out of the archives and keep me entertained!!!

The first batch (2nd picture) definitely looks more like them but I think the 2nd recipe is better, the one with less butter. That one tasted better and wasn't as greasy so the only thing I'll change next time is remembering to put the coconut on right before the m&m's, which is really just for the look. And that's about all the baking advice you'll ever get from me But lmk if you try it!

Yum!!! I'll have to try these. Like you I do not bake (Casey and I recently screwed up boxed cupcakes) so we will do so under the watchful eye of our in residence chef

And they even had salt down on the walkway into Adventureland! For those of you unfamiliar with snow and ice, this is what we put down to break that ice up. That means it was COLD IN FLORIDA!!!!

Now that is just not right!!! Though I'll take even some frozen tundra Disney right about now

I politely and nervously asked our server who politely and nervously told me we had chosen to eat here on the 2nd day of their menu debut, which did NOT include the fried green tomato sandwich any longer.

Ugh. I hate this. The Plaza is good because The Plaza is consistent and simple. What the heck are they trying to do with lobster fried green tomatoes? Or Bangers and Mash. Did I miss the memo when they turned into Rose and Crown? Looks like its all Skippers and Liberty Tree for us for a while

There's no description other than "seasonal soup" but this was a tomato bisque and it was delightful. I lapped it up along with the crunchy tasty croutons and it warmed me up for about 10 seconds.

Or maybe not cause I forgot how much I like their tomato soup. Isn't it always their seasonal one though? Give ms some soup and a grilled cheese sandwich and I'm a happy girl

 

[disneyAndi14]

I’m going to try the magic bars, minus coconut and nuts because I don’t have either in the house!
The soup from the Plaza looks good!
I will never understand why Disney removes popular items, they have tons of social media CM’s so they must know what people like, geesh!!
That day was freezing, my day ended by 2pm as far as outside activities go!

 

[Wood Nymph]

Thanks for posting the recipes for Magic Bars. I wouldn't have guessed that they use butterscotch chips. It looks like the first recipe should be two sticks of butter, not two cups. Just about every cookie recipe calls for two sticks (1 cup) of butter, and that is what would make sense to me.

And they even had salt down on the walkway into Adventureland! For those of you unfamiliar with snow and ice, this is what we put down to break that ice up. That means it was COLD IN FLORIDA!!!!

I'm surprised to see that they had salt for the sidewalks in WDW. They probably don't need it too often. But that is proof that it was cold when you were there.

There is no mention of a fried green tomato sandwich anywhere on this menu! I politely and nervously asked our server who politely and nervously told me we had chosen to eat here on the 2nd day of their menu debut, which did NOT include the fried green tomato sandwich any longer. She also said all day the day before she'd been asked about it and suggested we let management know we missed it So much for my perfect last meal in Disney!

I hate when Disney changes their menus. I was disappointed when Geyser Point took the salmon sandwich off the menu. It was so good.

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Thanks to these boards I’m gathering a new supply of recipes to try out. Thanks for posting your recipes. Nice to have a little magic at home

 

[ariane37]

By the end of the week, when I was wearing layers of literally every piece of clothing in my suitcase, I felt like such a jerk LOL I mean, Chicago winters are no joke, but I felt like such a baby at how cold I was!

I felt like a jerk too lmao being from NY! But like you said that cold is SERIOUS. With the humidity it goes right to your bones!

I would give anything to be in Florida when it was cold BECAUSE it's better than not being there at all. Sigh. I miss it sooooooooooo much!!!!! At least Sebastian Maniscalco made me laugh tonight! Great recommendation!

Right? And I'm glad you enjoyed Sebastian he's great! Funny, you know how he's not really a dirty comedian? When we saw him last month he was D-I-R-T-Y in the best way possible. We were pleasantly shocked

Oh my gosh we got stuck with the menu change at The Plaza too! Was so disappointed as I’d never had a fried green tomato sandwich and was looking forward to trying it! Hope they bring it back it’s clearly missed!

It was so disappointing especially since we don't have them on menus here in NY! I have to keep checking the menu to see if they bring it back.

I want to try the magic bars but I’ve no clue where we’d get butterscotch chips in Australia. Will have to do some searching! And if you end up trying the mushroom soup recipe please let us know how it goes!

You can try with peanut butter chips instead if you like peanut butter and those are easier to find? It won't taste quite the same but peanut butter isn't bad I'd be happy to send you butterscotch chips though if you want!

I'll have to let my sister know about The Plaza Sangria! I'm waffling between booking that and BOG for early dinner the night we do MNSSHP. I so wanted to try that fried green tomato sandwich! Bummer that it's no longer on the menu. Maybe I can ask for the lobster fried green tomato app, and request two slices of toasted bread and make my own!

Hmm, either one is good. If the Plaza menu still looks good to you I'd do that though! LOL on making your own sandwich, I did consider for a minute getting the lobster fried green tomato app minus the lobster!

Yikes…2 CUPS of butter??? No wonder they were greasy! The second recipe sounds much better. I'm going to have to try to make them soon. I have leftover coconut from Easter but pretty much none of the other ingredients so it'll have to wait for a trip to the store.

Yes!! It made me rethink how many I eat when I'm in Disney

Maybe the only ride at MK I've still never been on.

I've been on it 3x? After the first time I said never again but then went on with the kids who also said never again! We did it in January because there was no line and Steve wanted to ride. It wasn't as bad as I remembered but as usual I said I don't need to ride anytime soon. You aren't really missing anything other than nice views.

Now I know there were a few trips where you didn't do dining reports so let's bring them out of the archives and keep me entertained!!!

Not a bad idea! I'm sure everyone who is patiently waiting for me to stop having an active report is cursing you right now lol
Yum!!! I'll have to try these. Like you I do not bake (Casey and I recently screwed up boxed cupcakes)
[/QUOTE]
Ah I routinely burn those pre-cut cookies so......and my DIL sent over these delectable almond dessert bars yesterday which are now gone. I told Ricky I'd get the recipe and try making them and he yelled "NO MOM! DO NOT RUIN THEM FOR ME!"

Or maybe not cause I forgot how much I like their tomato soup. Isn't it always their seasonal one though? Give ms some soup and a grilled cheese sandwich and I'm a happy girl

Yup it was seasonal, the least they could do now that they removed the FGT sandwich is make this soup permanent