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

[Me&3]

I haven't been to FF since our honeymoon. I'm ready to go back we did enjoy it back then. This month will be 12 yrs since DH and I ate there.

 

[mimi'sgirl]

Loving your review! Can you tell me if the Italian margarita had a bit of a kick to it. I would like to try it on our next trip at the end of the month. Maybe I should just go the the Cave?

 

[Dis_Yoda]

I have never had ice wines before.

Flying fish sounded very delish and I may have to try it sometime.

Icewines are good! They are some of the few wines my husband is starting to enjoy as they are on the sweeter/smooth side of the wine spectrum.

So happy to hear you enjoyed FF! It's a fave of mine and I can't wait to go back in two weeks!

Mmmm, I'm jealous you get to have it in two weeks! I'll have to wait to Feb to have it again, unless I decide to rearrange my Dec Trip which I've been debating about (but I'll start that thread about this one)

I haven't been to FF since our honeymoon. I'm ready to go back we did enjoy it back then. This month will be 12 yrs since DH and I ate there.

Oh you should definately go back! Has the Boardwalk really been open for 12 years now? This is our first stay at he Boardwalk together. Initially I stayed at the Boardwalk when it first opened and I remember being less than impressed way back then, but now I'm in love Depending on when we buy into DVC, we'll most likely stay here next year if we arent staying w/ our points somewhere.

Loving your review! Can you tell me if the Italian margarita had a bit of a kick to it. I would like to try it on our next trip at the end of the month. Maybe I should just go the the Cave?

It has a kick - but not a tequila kick. Its actually grappa and lemoncello. So wonderful

http://allears.net/din/rec_itmar.htm

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Day 6 - Part 1 - Room Service Breakfast

We had ADRs this morning for Boma but when we woke up we weren't really feeling like driving over to AKL before driving over to Animal Kingdom. So we decided to split a room service breakfast.

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Buttermilk Pancakes - with your choice of Smoked Bacon, Country Sausage Patties, or Fresh Fruit $12.99

We got it with bacon and apparently they thought we were thirsty and needed three drinks: Orange, Pineapple, Earl Grey Tea

Its a lot of food for 1 person's worth of points for breakfast. I'm glad we split this meal. Everything was very fresh and wonderful.
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10 meal credits remain

 

[cdtommie]

Glad you liked FF - definitely one of the best signature restaurants. I had the ice wine flight too last month - well worth the money.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Day 6 - Part 2 - Yak and Yeti

After a morning of a barely crowded Animal Kingdom, we headed to lunch at the Yak and Yeti.

I wanted an adult beverage and got an alcoholic shaved ice drink cherry flavored:

Absolutely great! Cooled you off and wasn't too strong or too weak.

For our appetizers, we decided to go for

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Prawn Flavored Crisps - peanut sauce $4.99[/FONT]​

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Wok-Fried Green Beans - battered green beans, sweet Thai chili dipping sauce $6.99[/FONT]


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The Green Beans tasted like Onion Rings which was good. I love prawn crisps so I'm glad I got those. My husband on the otherhand was not a fan.



[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]For our entrees, I went crazy and orderd something 'awful' for the plan:[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Wonton Soup - pork wontons, clear chicken broth and vegetables $4.99[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The server asked me if I was sure when I ordered this. I told him I couldn't be more sure as its exactly what I felt like having. The wontons were good along with the fresh 'crunchies' that went in.
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[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]My husband went with
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[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Stir-Fried Beef and Broccoli - flank steak, broccoli, brown sauce $17.99[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Enjoyable but I think I started hearing him moo at this point...[/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]For our dessert we split:[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Chocolate Brownie Sundae for Two - chunks of brownie, vanilla ice cream, chocolate and caramel sauces, fresh whipped cream $9.99[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]This was huge! Could have easily been split among 4 people. Rather basic dessert though but satisfied our sweet tooth.
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8 meal credits remain

 

[Me&3]

Everything looks soooooooooooo good yum. I really want that drink and the ice cream. Room service looked good too. I love Boma for dinner never had it for breakfast maybe this trip coming we'll see. How the weather is it hot or did a cool front make it? I'm just less then 4 hrs south of WDW and it is still very hot here.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Glad you liked FF - definitely one of the best signature restaurants. I had the ice wine flight too last month - well worth the money.

It is! I was expecting their wine flights to be much more, considering how much I spent at California Grill for my dessert wine...

Everything looks soooooooooooo good yum. I really want that drink and the ice cream. Room service looked good too. I love Boma for dinner never had it for breakfast maybe this trip coming we'll see. How the weather is it hot or did a cool front make it? I'm just less then 4 hrs south of WDW and it is still very hot here.

Oh that drink was amazing. Only $7.50 too I think.

I've never had Boma for breakfast either - I've had ADRs a few times but I never actually made it to the place. I should try to fix that sometime.

The weather wasn't too bad. Some days were rather hot and humid but Wednesday and Thursday were very nice. We live a few hours north so we're used to the hot humid weather already so spending time outside there really didn't affect us much.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Day 6 - Part 3 - Kiosk and Spirit Seminar!

After our lunch at Yak & Yeti, we returned to the resort to relax. Around 3pm, I headed back into EPCOT to go to the Maker's Mark Whiskey Seminar and stopped by one stand along the way.

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Buenos Aires, Argentina[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]• Beef Empanada with Tomato Salsa $4.25
[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]• Grilled Beef Skewer with Chimichurri Sauce and Boniato Puree $4.75[/FONT]

The beef skewer was nice. Rather tender for meat on a skewer cooked in a booth.

The Beef Empanada reminded me of a dry taco - neither bad or great but needed some more moisture to it.


8 snack credits remain

Maker's Mark Seminar

Again, like the SA Prum Seminar - the owner was everything Rigg Griggs lacked. He told stories about the bourbon and how his family makes it and the politics of the US that aided the bourbon industry. He wasn't refined and cursed a few times which added to his charming character.

It was a shot of whiskey, a Manhatten, and an Old Fashion.

The whiskey had a bite to it but then he taught us the right way of tasting whiskey and we diluted it with water and the flavors came out much better. The Manhatten had a great drinkability and we learned the secret of Cherry Bitters. The Old Fashion was great - its orange, cherries muddled together with the whiskey and soda water.

 

[oybolshoi]

The Maker's Mark seminar looked great! I think that's what guests should get when they pay to attend something like this - a decent representation of the product rather than an eyedropper of beverage that barely moistens the mouth.

And you got a manhattan ... one of my all-time favorite drinks!

 

[MomsOf2boys]

Day 6 - Part 2 - Yak and Yeti

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]For our dessert we split:[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Chocolate Brownie Sundae for Two - chunks of brownie, vanilla ice cream, chocolate and caramel sauces, fresh whipped cream $9.99[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]This was huge! Could have easily been split among 4 people. Rather basic dessert though but satisfied our sweet tooth.
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8 meal credits remain

I would have called this dinner for one.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

The Maker's Mark seminar looked great! I think that's what guests should get when they pay to attend something like this - a decent representation of the product rather than an eyedropper of beverage that barely moistens the mouth.

And you got a manhattan ... one of my all-time favorite drinks!

It does! I felt this demo was well worth my $5 in advance, even wouldn't have been upset spending $8 at the door. It wasn't full - probably had about 20 seats empty in this talk.

I would have called this dinner for one.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Day 6 - Part 4 - F&W Jiko's Signature Dinner

The event was scheduled to begin at 6:30pm when we pulled into the AKL - Jumbo House to valet our car. First the valet, who was sitting around the front desk doing nothing walked over and had my husband roll down his window on the passenger side to speak with him. This annoyed me as I always believed it was the driver was the one that should be talking to the valet not the male inside the vehicle (well if my husband was driving it would be one thing but you know what I mean). I tried to speak with the valet as the car as I have one of those RFIDs and was letting him know where the key was but he wouldn't listen to me.

We went down to where the check in desk for Jiko's is and were then told to go upstairs near the Resort Airline Check-In for our dinner. The location we were given was wrong as it was the DCL desk that was the location of the check-in but we figured it out. In line for check-in, the computer system crashed and they just let us out to the overlook for some wine and appetizers.

We were served the following passed appetizers:

• Lamb Tikka, Chapati, Mint Yougurt
• Shrimp Pakorias, Preserved Lemon
• Aloo Ki Tikki Tamarind-Raisin Chutney

The wine for this initial portion of the event was Neil Ellis Sauvignon Blanc Groenekloof 2008

The shrimp was It was similar to a crab cake but with shrimp and in a little ball served on the cutest little fork that I can't for the life of me find a picture of on google: And had I know it was going to be the best course of the night, I would have loaded up on those babies

The lamb tikka was served on a small cracker and also was lovely.

The Aloo Ki Tikki Tamarind-Raisin Chutney was a fried sweet potato bite for the best way of describing it. Served on spoons similar to this

Around 7:15pm, we were finally led down near Arusha Rock where our tables were set up. During the cocktail hour, I met veroliz and wanting to sit togethr for the main meal, we ended up at the same table as the Wine Importer and the Wine Supplier for Disney and their wives. This made for great conversations throughout the evening about wine and other things.

Looking at the menu, I noticed not a single mention of Suvir Saran from Devi who was supposed to be the co-host of this dinner. The organizer went on to talk about the event and I was kinda annoyed she wouldn't mention that he cancelled. We ended up finding out b/c veroliz went up and asked her where he was and discovered he had cancelled less than 2 days in advance.

We were soon poured a glass of Southern Right Sauvignon Blanc 2008 and served a dish prepared by Brett Hill - Warm Lentil Dahl, Grilled Paneer, House-made Pickles, Roasted Garlic Naan Bread

When served, the paneer was not yet ready and it was brought out after we had began eating the lentil dahl and the pickles. The Naan and the Paneer were the only two parts of this dish I enjoyed. The warm lentil dahl was ok - but I would have rather had more bread to eat it on as on its own something was missing. The pickles - well I dont like pickles except soaked in my chicken from Chick-f-la Oh...I shouldn't have let that secret out should w/ how they get that wonderful taste

For our next course we were served a glass of Savanna Dry Cider. This was served with John Clark's Chickpea, Tomato and Cucumber Salad

Thats fried okra with it too. This was ok but still lacked a WOW factor I was expecting from this meal. My server also spilled some of the cider while serving our table and it ended up down my back and hair but he was kind and brought out another napkin so that I could dry myself off.

The next course was the one that really upset me. We wer poured a glass of Boekenhoutskloof Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 with the Chef's Sundowner - Cured Beef, Dried Fruit, Spiced Nuts.

I do not think anyone at my table actually liked the beef. My husband whispered in my ear about spending $300 to be served average trail mix. I think he was trying to tell me if I'm gonig to spend that much money on dinner again it needs to be V&A quality...

Our next course was given Hamilton Russel Chardonnay 2007 for Brett Hill's/Mace Maison's Tandoori Marinated Quail, Vegetable Dum Biryani, Charred Tomato Sauce.

Finally! A dish worth something of what the event needed to be
The quail was cooked to perfection.
Our wine expert table mates had a bottle of the Chardonnay that hadn't had some heat damage and was served at proper temperature and let us all pour a sample if we wanted from his personal bottle. The difference in taste from the climate controlled bottle and the wine AKL served us was amazing. Granted, I'm not going to fault AKL for the slight heat damage to the Chardonnay as there bottles probably went through a lot more handlers than that guys...

Our last protein course was poured a glass of Hamilton Russell Pinot Noir 2007. We were served Brett Hill's Spiced Crusted Surmai, Mustard Seed Crushed Potatoes, Lime and Coconut Curry

Too spicy. The outer spices on this dish almost rendered the fish inediable. I ended up picking inside as best I could to avoid the insane amount of heat from that spice. I love spicy things but even this was too much. The potatoes were alright.

To finish up our evening we were poured a glass of The Chocolate Block 2007 for the Jiko Chef's Orange-Sesame Cake, Mango Kulfi, Chai Cream.

Again, a dish that was of a level I would want from a meal like this. The cake was moist and flavorful. The mango kulfi was

As the evening was drawing to a close, the person with a dot on their chair ended up winning a bottle of wine. I was that lucky person for our table - it was a bottle of Fairvalley Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 Haven't tried it yet as its sitting now on my wine rack at home.

Overall, I was left disheartened by this event. I felt that for the $300 it should have been more. The wines were great but when only 2 of the 6 plated courses felt like they were something that would really belong at a dinner like this, its well yeah. The atmosphere was great. Our servers were on the ball. Its was really just the food that disappointed me. The lack of acknowledgment about the guest chef canceling disappointed me. I'm not sure I will do a F&W Signature Dinner again at Jiko's and I don't think I'm going to be able to convince my husband about going to any F&W Signature Dinners again until I have a good one some place else unless we are scheduled for our trip the same time as V&A's dinner. I know for sure we'll do a Party of the Senses next year - but otherwise, we'll just wait until the rest of the schedule is announced.

 

[Tatania]

Our paths must have crossed as we just got back on Wed. evening, so I love reading your impressions of the restaurants and Food and Wine Festival. I agree that the Creme Brulee and cheescake on every dessert menu is getting a little uncreative.

Jiko has a new chef as Brian Piasecki has gone to Contemporaty Grill. Do you know if John Hill or Brett is the new head chef at Jiko? (BTW, Chef Jens from CA is now head of Food and Bev at Epcot. We ran into him at Epcot and he gave me his card). Also, in case you pass there again, I'm trying to get the name of the fabulous appetizer we had - it was filled tubes that stood vertically when served and I had requested the recipe. The standard response now is to leave your Email and they'll mail it (which doesn't happen) but I may try a follow-up Email.

In case anyone feels like sharing any of the recipes from the events (we were given handouts at the Culinary demo) the recipe exchange: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1575103&page=185 would be extremely happy. I'll be posting all the recipes I got as soon as I have a moment to transcribe them.

 

[BriarRosie]

I did one of the Jiko monthly wine dinners last year, and I thought it was fabulous. But then Brian was still the executive chef there, but the other chefs that work there create some great stuff, too. I'm sorry that you didn't have a meal that lived up to expectations.

I have two F&WF signature dinners in less than two weeks from now. I figure Todd English's should live up to the hype.

 

[MomsOf2boys]

I'm going to have to say that I am a bit of a lightweight drinker and I would not have noticed much of any of the food after the 2nd or 3rd glass of wine.

 

[oybolshoi]

Thanks for taking the time to post such a detailed review of the Jiko signature dinner. I'm so sorry it didn't meet your expectations - I would have been disappointed in those circumstances, too. I know my hubby and I expect a lot when we book these special F&W events and to have them come in under the bar is really disheartening considering the amount of money you pay in advance.

It sounds like the rest of your trip was really good (except for that upset tummy day) and your pictures / reviews have been really helpful for me since we leave in 10 days. So, thanks again!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Our paths must have crossed as we just got back on Wed. evening, so I love reading your impressions of the restaurants and Food and Wine Festival. I agree that the Creme Brulee and cheescake on every dessert menu is getting a little uncreative.

Jiko has a new chef as Brian Piasecki has gone to Contemporaty Grill. Do you know if John Hill or Brett is the new head chef at Jiko? (BTW, Chef Jens from CA is now head of Food and Bev at Epcot. We ran into him at Epcot and he gave me his card). Also, in case you pass there again, I'm trying to get the name of the fabulous appetizer we had - it was filled tubes that stood vertically when served and I had requested the recipe. The standard response now is to leave your Email and they'll mail it (which doesn't happen) but I may try a follow-up Email.

In case anyone feels like sharing any of the recipes from the events (we were given handouts at the Culinary demo) the recipe exchange: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1575103&page=185 would be extremely happy. I'll be posting all the recipes I got as soon as I have a moment to transcribe them.

Brett Hill is the new Head Chef I believe.

Was the appetizer the Crispy Savannah Rolls by any chance? I had them in July at the normal restaurant -itwas corn, bitter greens, goat cheese.

I did one of the Jiko monthly wine dinners last year, and I thought it was fabulous. But then Brian was still the executive chef there, but the other chefs that work there create some great stuff, too. I'm sorry that you didn't have a meal that lived up to expectations.

I have two F&WF signature dinners in less than two weeks from now. I figure Todd English's should live up to the hype.

I hope Todd English's turns out great for you too! I can't wait for your review

I'm going to have to say that I am a bit of a lightweight drinker and I would not have noticed much of any of the food after the 2nd or 3rd glass of wine.

I did drink my money's worth of wine. However, my husband doesn't drink much wine and was looking forward to the food. IT happens though.

Thanks for taking the time to post such a detailed review of the Jiko signature dinner. I'm so sorry it didn't meet your expectations - I would have been disappointed in those circumstances, too. I know my hubby and I expect a lot when we book these special F&W events and to have them come in under the bar is really disheartening considering the amount of money you pay in advance.

It sounds like the rest of your trip was really good (except for that upset tummy day) and your pictures / reviews have been really helpful for me since we leave in 10 days. So, thanks again!

Thanks You are exactly right about expecting something for the amount of money it is. We're lucky that $300 isn't going to kill us - but to leave an event still not stuffed with happiness is what makes me upset. My husband and I knew with Sweet Sundays that as long as we liked 2 of the 3 desserts - it was enough worth for our money even though the speaker was rather dry.


I have my Dec Solo Trip on the Deluxe Plan - my husband and I are debating right now if we want to do our Feb Trip on the Deluxe as it did save us money and didn't affect how we ate too much or to try all the restaurants that don't take the plan: Bistro, Fulton's, T-Rex (for fun moreso than food quality), "the dining room" at Wolfgang, BlueZoo, Italian place in Swan, Shulu, etc as we want to try them (or for me to return again to places - my husband is a disney newbie in comparison to me) I'm playing with that spreadsheet right now to see what we want. If I don't do the dining plan - we'll stay club level at the Poly - If we do the dining plan - we'll stay garden view at the Poly. We really didn't get our full money's worth of the club level this time. The pre-planning service was nice as I didnt have to call for any of our dining reservations. The staff were absolute angels when my husband left his wallet one night at dinner at the Grand Floridian and they sent a runner to go get it when all we wanted them to do to is to call to see if they still had it and we would go pick it up in the morning. The breakfast in the morning is really enough for us and we really only went to sit downs or did Room Service to use those points. I will most likely order a special cake this trip as its our anniversary.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Day 7 - Part 1 - Breakfast and MK Snacks!

I woke up this morning with a headache. I think I had too much wine at the dinner and too little food My husband was still asleep when I couldn't sleep anymore so I snuck into the lounge and got a Buttery Croissant and a hot Earl Grey Tea with 5 sugars. I typically have something similiar to this whenever I have a hangover. The lounge was empty at 7:30 in the morning. When I got back to the room, my husband was also awake and we went back to the lounge to get him a breakfast of a Bagel w/ Cream Cheese.

We decided that we would head to Magic Kingdom to do Big Thunder Mountain as it was closed on our earlier visit to the park in the week, visit the bakery and head to EPCOT for Imagination, Art of Disney and then our Lunch at Tutto. We decided to finally ride the evil bus for the first time this trip as logistically it worked out better than driving our car around and having to tip the valet unnecessarily.

Around 10am, we headed into the Bakery.

I got: Fresh Rice Crispy Square w/ Sprinkles & Chocolate Frosting
My husband got: Orange Frosted Vanilla Cupcake

We split a Coke

The rice crispy square was good b/c you could taste it was fresh as it was still that fresh marshmellow stringy-ness that comes with fresh rice crispies.

The Cupcake was tasty but way too much frosting it was like 65% frosting! My husband ended up wiping off over half of it so he could get the frosting to cake ratio more to his liking.

The coke was well a coke. Cold and refreshing for this hot day.

5 snack credits remain

 

[Tatania]

Brett Hill is the new Head Chef I believe.

Was the appetizer the Crispy Savannah Rolls by any chance? I had them in July at the normal restaurant -it was corn, bitter greens, goat cheese.

Thanks so much for all the info. Crispy Savannah Rolls sounds right though the ingrediants may have changed slightly, as I don't think they had bitter greens in them. The filling was so oustanding and it'sa something I'd love to try and make at home.