I spend too much on Food&Wine -DxDP/F&W/CL Fun - Last Day!

[BriarRosie]

I'm looking forward to the Sweet Sundays and V&A reviews!

 

[oybolshoi]

I'm looking forward to the Sweet Sundays and V&A reviews!

Ditto!

 

[Sandy321]

RATS - a cliff hanger!!

if I’m not too happy from the wine pairings…

I'll wait!!

 

[DLo]

enjoying your reviews. we will be there next week

 

[klacey1]

Subscribing!! Enjoy your trip!!

 

[TYMAN]

could you get a pic of the chix and rice in San Juan? I would greatly appreciate. Love you review so far!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

I'm looking forward to the Sweet Sundays and V&A reviews!

Ditto!

RATS - a cliff hanger!!

I'll wait!!

Coming along soon! At least half of it

enjoying your reviews. we will be there next week

Awesome! Have a great trip

Subscribing!! Enjoy your trip!!

Thanks. We are having a great time here.

could you get a pic of the chix and rice in San Juan? I would greatly appreciate. Love you review so far!

I'll try sometime during the week to do so

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Day 2 – Part 2

Sweet Sundays

We arrived at EPCOT around 9:35am and decided to just head straight to the festival center. I checked in and got our table card (Chives!) and we looked around the festival center. I couldn’t find the Tokyo bag that was posted in the main F&W Thread.

The table set up this year is a lot better than last. By using rectangular tables, rather than the big circle ones – everyone could see the presentation.

Pam Smith was a delightful host however Rick Griggs from Abacus in Dallas, TX left a lot to be desired for a presenter. He had a low dull monotone voice that made it hard to really engage with him.

The event was also off with the timing of the event. Rick didn’t start his presentation until about 10:45am and by 11:30 we had only had one dessert to taste. Comments from my table were a bit shocked at the pace. We got our second dessert around 11:45am and it was after 12 by the time we got our third. I’m not sure if it was the presenter that messed up the pace or the Disney Event Kitchen. Because of the dull presentation and the lack of engagement, neither my husband or myself felt it was acceptable for this event to run past its allotted time.

Table Placing

We had our toast of the Martini & Rossi Prosecco and began letting tables to the buffet to get some food.

I did not get a lot from the buffet as we had eaten earlier at Ohana. The baked Sweet Potato Donut Bite was good along with the Roasted Red Potatos w/ Leeks & Onions.

After breakfast Rick was introduced and he began the demonstration for the Caramel Popcorn w/ Nutella Crunch

This was really good. Both the popcorn and the Crunch. The Crunch is made of a hazelnut milk chocolate and nutella mixed with crushed Feuilletine flakes. My husband is still talking about it today and I believe its now going to be on our Thanksgiving for 2 Menu this year. (He works retail and our families are far away and unable to visit us too so we’ll be on our own again this year)

Our second demonstration was for Velrhona Chocolate Souffle Cake

Also very good but really rich. The serving was almost too large for how rich it was as it seemed more like a full dessert than a tasting. This isn’t really a bad thing though.

We finished with Citrus-Coconut Panna Cotta w/ Yuzu Granita

I was not a fan of this. The granita was ok but the Panna Cotta was not. Then again, I haven’t had much Panna Cotta in my lifetime so it could just be that I don’t like that style of desserts. This had a very asian taste to it with coconut, lemongrass and yuzu.

Overall, it was a decent event. I think some of the issues stemmed from being the first weekend of the event. Even with the guest host change, I still liked my desserts.

We had paid for the 1pm Culinary/Wine Demo. We ended up skipping this as my husband was not overly impressed with the Sweet Sundays and wanted to do a bit more of the parks as we had been in Disney for over 28 hours at this point and only done 3 rides. Knowing when to pick my battles, we went on our way to do more of EPCOT.

Food & Wine Festival Offerings

Ireland!
Kerrygold Cheese Selection: Aged-Irish Cheddar, Dubliner and Ivernia Cheese with Apple Chutney and Brown Bread $3.75
Bunratty Meade $4.25
Evian Water

You know, I really would like to tell you how the Meade tasted but as you can see in this photo the glass is empty. Its actually was spilled on top of the trashcan which you can also see. I'm a klutz.

The cheese was good. I actually eat this cheese at home a lot so I knew exactly what I was getting before I got it.

23 snack credits remain

France
Cabernet Short Ribs with Mashed Potatoes $4.50
Parisien Cosmo Slush $8.50

No picture as once we got this from the kiosk – it started pouring so I didn’t bring my camera out in the rain.

The short ribs tasted exactly like the short ribs I cook at home. This isn’t a bad thing but more so – disappointing as I already eat it on a regular enough basis that I wished it tasted somewhat different.

The cosmo slush is now in a competition with the Citron Slush on which is my favorite drink in EPCOT.

22 snack credits remain

To come - V&A and Day 3

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Day 2 – Part 3 – Victoria and Albert’s

That evening we had dinner reservations for Victoria & Albert’s at 5:45pm. We drove and valet the car (as it is free with dinner at V&A – just need to tip the guy that brings you your car) and walked up. We were greeted by the familiar face of the hostess and were brought to our table under the dome in front of the doorway to the kitchen. The dome is a little louder than the outer seats as the acoustics kinda echo in there but it was ok with us.

They also have this awesome device that allows you to hang your purse off the table. I need to find one to carry in my purse.

I apoligize for the quality of the pictures but we did not use the flash while dining here.

I decided to go with the wine pairing as my husband went with the fine beverage of Sprite

They brought out a glass of Pommery Royale Brut NV to start the evening and shortly were given our Amuse Bouche

It consisted of: – Celebration of Summer Tomato
- Caprese salad, Buffalo mozzarella, Heirloom cherry tomatoes
- Roasted Tomato and Fennel Custard Served in an Eggshell
- Roma Tomato Sorbet with Olive Oil Powder
- Heirloom Tomato Paper with Olive Oil Poached Octopus

The tomato sorbet reminded me of homemade tomato sauce. The octopus was good. This was the first time I ever had octopus and was shocked that I enjoyed it. My husband didn’t touch the octo until I had let him know I was enjoying it and was also pleasantly surprised. The salad was also a nice tasting. I was not a fan of the custard in the egg shell but in the many times I’ve been at V&A – I often have not been a fan of any of the custards or foams served in the egg shell so I kinda expect not to enjoy it.

Cold Appetizer Course
I went with Prosciutto Wrapped Gulf Shrimp w/ Florida Melons and Jamon Iberico This was paired with Maximin Grunhause Riesling Kabinett Abtsberg, Mosel 2007

It was very good.

My husband went with Sesame Crusted Big Eye Tuna w/ Tat Soi Salad and Tamri Honey Foam

My husband’s comment about this dish that all he could really taste was the sesame seeds but it was good.

Fish Course

I decided to go for the upgrade and got Monterey Abalone w/ Toasted Capers and Meyer Lemon Paired w/ Bisson Biancheeta, Golfo de Tigullio Genova 2007

I’m still craving more of this dish today as the taste is still lingering in my mouth. Each piece of the Abalone melted in my mouth with the lemon sauce.

My husband went with Halibut w/ Zellwood Corn and Bamboo Rice Ragout

My husband had stated before this that he does not like white fish. This dish has now completely changed his opinion on that.

Hot Appetizer

I went with the Duck Breast, Sausage and Confit and Salsify, Cherry Sauce paired w/ Acaia “Winery Lake Vineyard” Pinot Noir, Carneros 2006

This dish is a repeat from our Chef Table’s meal from earlier this year. The duck was great and paired nicely with the wine.

My husband went with Poulet Rouge w/ Mushroom-Truffle Ragout, English Peas and Yellow Chanterelles

My husband stated he enjoyed this dish and didn’t go into much more detail than that.

Entrée
We both decided to upgrade and go for the Australian “Kobe” Beef Tenderloin w/ Smoked Garlic Potato Puree This was paired with Benziger “Tribute” Sonoma Moutain 2005

Well worth the $35 for the upgrade. The meat melts once it enters your mouth and is some of nicest tasting meat one can have. The oxtail sauce works well with the meat. The shortribs ontop of the Smoked Garlic Potato Puree have been my favorite shortribs for the past 2 years.

White Chocolate Gelato w/ Tableside Shavings
This was paired with Paolo Saracco Moscato D’Asti, Piedmont 2006

Dessert
I went w/ Caramelized Banana Gateau

My husband went w/ Hawaiian Kona Chocolate Souffle

Overall, V&A continues to deliver the quality and service well worth it for the cost of the meal. Our bill ended up being $430ish after our TIW discount (which more than paid for itself in this one meal) Our servers were on top of things. Our female server was relaxed and had a good time – as I think she remembers us from previous visits. My husband got a kicked from her asking how his Sprite Pairing went w/ his meal

The Chef’s Table is returning to 180 days when everything else does so I will definitely be back on the phone to try for it for our next joint vacation in 4.5 months.

 

[kangaand2roos]

subbing

 

[TiggerCL]

Thanks for posting! I'm enjoying reading your trip report, especially the F&W reviews! We'll be at F&W on Thursday!

 

[BriarRosie]

Aww, I wish you used flash with the V&A photos! I had absolutely no problem taking flash pictures in there. I did appreciate the commentary when I couldn't tell what you were eating.

 

[Me&3]

Joining in can't wait for more.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

subbing

Joining in can't wait for more.

THanks for joining in all!

Thanks for posting! I'm enjoying reading your trip report, especially the F&W reviews! We'll be at F&W on Thursday!

Oh have a great trip! Thursday should be a good day too for the kiosks. Yesterday when I was going to a wine demo - none of hte booths seemed to have much a line. Then again, most of the parks don't seem to. We were at MK today and Splash Mountain at 11am had a 5 minute wait still, even with Big Thunder Mountain down.

Aww, I wish you used flash with the V&A photos! I had absolutely no problem taking flash pictures in there. I did appreciate the commentary when I couldn't tell what you were eating.

I wished I did too but at least I got some pictures despite them not coming out well. My husband felt flash pictures are rude in a place like V&A if you aren't at the Chef's Table as they annoy him so he figures it annoys others and didn't want me to do it. I also discovered as we were at California Grill last night - I had my settings wrong anyway for the camera as I usually use it for work stuff which is much different than trying to take food ones.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Day 3 - Part 1 - Club Level Offerings and Brown Derby

Club Level Offerings

This morning we decided to take advantage of the offerings in the lounge.

I picked up some pieces of cantaloupe and half a wheat bagel w/ peanut butter. My husband had a whole bagel.

Rather standard basic quick breakfast and it was enough to get us started for our day at Disney's Hollywood Studios.

Brown Derby

After enjoying ourselves on Toy Story Mania and the other thrill rides at HS, we checked into the Brown Derby at 11:30am to enjoy our lunch. Once we were seated and looked at the menu, I discovered they had changed from a lunch/dinner menu to an all day menu. I was disappointed as I didn't want as much food as I would have at dinner and because they got rid of my Coconut Shrimp Appetizer! Oh how I've loved that since 2006 when I had first had it. My husband and I debated on leaving but we realized the other options we could have for lunch wouldn't really make us happy either so we decided to stay.

We ended up getting the Cobb Salad for Two: $15

We got it without the bleu cheese, tomato and egg. It was enjoyable as always. I had originally planned onhaving it for my entree for lunch, but the menu change kinda forced me into this as there was nothing else my husband and I would really order for an appetizer.

For my entree I got [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Herb-Marinated Spit-Roasted Half Chicken $24

The saffron rice was not ready yet as apparently it takes a while to cook. Our server asked if there was another side I would like instead and I just went with the potatoes as I figured I wasn't going to eat much of the side anyway. I was right that I didn't. The chicken was good but a lot for a lunch meal. I felt kinda bad only eating about half but I refuse to overstuff myself.

My husband went with: [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Char-grilled 12 oz Rib-Eye Steak $36

He enjoyed his rib eye and potatoes. Proud member of the clean plate club with this meal! He did feel weird eating that much steak at lunch though.

For desserts, I went with [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Double Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee $7

A basic creme brulee. It was enough to satisfy my sweet tooth and not enough to make it feel heavy on my stomach.

My husband went with [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Flourless Chocolate Cake - with red wine sauce and sel gris caramel ice cream $8[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]He only ate about half as it is extremely rich. We laughed now about the salted caramel as it was the 3rd place we had eaten at that somehow had that on the menu.

Overall Brown Derby was an enjoyable meal. However, until they go back to seperate menus for lunch and dinner, I do not think we will be returning for lunch. It simply is way too heavy of a meal for a theme park sit down lunch.
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[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]30 meal credits remain
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[Dis_Yoda]

Day 3 - Part 2 - F&W Kiosk & Wine Demo

Cork, Ireland
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Warm Chocolate Lava Cake with Bailey's Ganache[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] $2.75[/FONT]
Evian Water $3.25

This may end up becoming my favorite item from the festival. The sauce on the cake makes you want to like the plate its that good. The warm chocolate cake is

20 snack credits remain

Wine Demo - S.A. Prum Mosel River Valley, Germany

I had prepaid for this event when it was opened up on-line. I was first introduced to SA Prum in 2006 at a Party of Senses and I greatly enjoyed their rieslings.

It was presented by Raimund Prum and his wife. They were a great presenting couple. He told stories about their vineyards, about his family, about how his family will not buy into trends in the industry, and invites you to visit him on his vineyard if you really want to learn more about his production.

We were given 3 samples of wines:

The first was the SA Prum Essence Riesling. It was an Old World Riesling.

The second was the Schloss Rheinhartshausen Old Vines Riesling. Its taken from vines up to 25 years old and is a small production in comparison to some of their other wines and is a dry riesling.

The third was SA Prum Riesling Graacher Himmelreich Spatlese. This is a late picking wine that makes it a bit sweeter and smoother than the other wines we tried.

His presentations skills examplified everything that was wrong with the Sweet Sunday's presenter. Raimund Prum kept you engaged, laughing, and wanting to know more. I would have stuck around for his bottle signing and to talk to him had I not needed to get back to the room to get ready for our dinner at California Grill.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Day 3 - Part 3 - California Grill

That evening we had our dinner planned for 6:00pm at California Grill. We ended up checking in around 5:30 and were shortly seated at a table next to the window near the backside of the restaurant. The blinds were partly down to block out the glaring sun which was helpful with allowing us to enjoy the view.

I began with a glass of Selbach Riesling. My husband got a Sprite. Nevermind that I tell him to order the alcohol I know he wants to order but for some reason he won't. Although after my purchase today at DTD w/ a piece of artwork - I discovered he's going to hit me up for a large purchase when we get home since he was good at Disney. Silly men.

We received our drinks and the sourdough bread. Excellent as usual.

For our first course, I went with the Crispy Rock Shrimp w/ Wasabi Cream $16

This was just the right amount of spice. There were two sauces - the wasabi and a sweeter one. These worked well to keep the balance right. The salad in the middle was a decent mixture of greens with more wasabi flavors throughout.

My husband enjoyed [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Triple Cheese Flatbread - Pecorino, Asiago, and Provolone with Sun-dried Tomato and Arugula Pesto $11.00 with no sun-dried tomato.

This was also very good - although too big for an appetizer for a single person.

For our entrees, I went with [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Seared Ostrich Filet - with buttery potato puree, wild mushrooms, globe carrots, fig and honeyed port reduction $36

I've had ostrich a many times in my life and this one is up there with the most flavorful filets I've had. Cooked medium rare, it still retained all its natural flavors without being tough, which gamey meat has a tendancy to do when overcooked.

My husband was boring and went with the[/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Oak-fired [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Filet of Beef - with sour cream mashed potatoes and okra and teriyaki barbecue sauce $44[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT]

Also a very tender enjoyable cut of beef.



Before ordering desserts, I decided to get a glass of the Mission Hill Riesling Icewine - $23.

For my dessert I got the [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Valrhona Chocolate Cake - Warm chocolate cake with molten center, homemade salted caramel ice cream and pineapple $12[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT]

I've always liked the chocolate cake even when I haven't liked the ice cream it comes with. The salted caramel ice cream was very good but well - it seems to be the trendy food of the moment so if many more restuarants have it after this meal, I may just cry from the lack of originality.



My husband enjoyed the [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Lemon Cheesecake - $11[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]

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[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]We'll keep California Grill on our rotation for meals to enjoy while at Disney. As I'm thinking about our Feb Trip - I think I'm going to end up with too many restaurants and not enough nights!
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26 meal credits remain

 

[BriarRosie]

Wow, you had some wonderful food there!

I knew I wanted that festival lava cake before, but your picture sealed the deal!

I loved the California Grill review, too. The shrimp dish looked great, and I alraedy know I love the flatbreads. I order that for sharing. And I like the Valrhona cake, and the salted caramel ice cream sounds great to me.

I had to chuckle because I saw your thread about the salted caramel trend. My friend thought she'd scream if she saw another creme brulee, so I understand the frustration.

 

[oybolshoi]

the last time I had the chocolate lava cake at CA Grill I wasn't impressed but if they're still offering it with the caramel ice cream I may just have to bite. I understand your annoyance with it seemingly showing up on all the dessert menus, that would drive me buggy, but in this instance it looks tasty.

I also like the looks of your hubby's flatbread.

 

[Me&3]

Everything looks sooooooo good at CG. They used to have a firecracker shrimp flatbread that was so good. I wish I could taste the food if I just licked the computer.