ghidorah97
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 16, 2002
- Messages
- 227
Just as a reminder, the players are:
Me - Brad, loves to eat and drink but gets full way too fast
DW - Lisa, short & skinny but can eat me under the table
Our stay:
10/24 - 11/4 @ POR
Day 2 (10/25):
Following our wonderful Calif. Grill dinner, we both woke up full and skipped breakfast. Immediately headed over to Epcot to check out the Food & Wine Festival! Spent the morning in Future World (NO lines/waits for anything, not even Test Track), until WS opened at 11:00.
Let me take a quick sidebar and note that the special garden displays created for the F&W are simply fantastic. Dozens of varieties of peppers (ornamental, Scotch Bonnet, Hungarian Wax, etc., etc.), tomatoes, herbs, lettuces and more all planted leading into and throughout WS (not to mention the amazing topiary characters - Mickey, Minnie, Pumbaa, Timon, etc.). Wonderful!
Okay, on to the tastings, in order (we split every item):
Fresh from Florida - We were both EXTREMELY disappointed that the Seared Gator Medallions were, for some reason, not being offered. Lisa really wanted to try gator for the first time, and I've had (and enjoyed) it before. Never found out why it wasn't there. We did try the Grouper Cake (too much breading and a bit on the soggy side) and the Citrus Roulade (very tasty, moist cake and sweet citrus sauce -- a bit too sweet for that early in the day, but good nonetheless). Total - $4.50
Mexico - Quesadilla con pollo y chorizo (delicious! easily one of the highlights from the festival -- the chorizo made this dish) and Watermelon water (also delicious! not too sweet and full of flavor...why isn't this served all the time?). Total - $4.50
Ireland - Potato and Dubliner Cheese Root Vegetable Cake (Lisa loved this, I was less enthusiastic but did think it was tasty), Toasted Oatmeal and Whiskey Flan (perfectly prepared flan! Wow! Delicious! Yum! the oatmeal was a great complement too) and a Guinness Stout (God's nectar). Total - $8.25
Scandanavia - Gravlax with Aquavit Granite (very, very good combination of flavors) and Smoked Trout with a Honey Dill waffle (also very tasty). Lisa preferred the Trout, I the Gravlax -- both were great. Total - $4.50
So far we were loving this! Almost everything we had tasted (with the exception of Florida) was delicious. Unfortunately, by this point I was already starting to get full (how sad is that?) so we began to get a bit pickier on our choices. We skipped both China and Poland for now, moving on to:
Cape Region of South Africa - Durban Spiced Chicken on Sugar Cane skewer with White Corn Meal Cake (Lisa's favorite dish of the festival, she LOVED this one...I did too, but found the corn meal cake to be a bit of a disappointment as I was expecting something more like a corn bread), Curried Meat Loaf (we are both big curry fans and therefore loved this) and Iced Rooibos with Honey (basically an iced tea sweetened with a touch of honey, pretty tasty though). Two big thumbs up for this booth! Total - $7.75
Skipped Spain, Germany and Italy, stopping at the Specialty Beer Garden to try a Kelly's Raspberry Irish Cider. A big disappointment here as this tasted more like a wine cooler. Yuk. Total - $2.25
Skipped USA, Chile, Japan, Morocco and France.
Southeast Asia - Cabbage Slaw with Torn Chicken. A good dish but nothing remarkable about it, tasty but not unique. Total - $2.25
Skipped New Zealand, grabbed a Radegast (beer) at Russia. Total - $2.25
Canada - Cheddar Cheese soup! What can I say about this that hasn't already been said. Simply delicious. Total - $2.50
Australia - Shrimp on the barbie. Lisa is a big shrimp fan and enjoyed this a great deal, I was stuffed to the gills and had just a small taste. It was yummy. Total - $4.00
Grand total for "lunch" - $42.75
At this point (I think it was around 1:30 or so) I was ready to burst, so we left Epcot and hit MGM. This gave me enough time to digest prior to:
Dinner at Flying Fish (7:00PS) -
Arrived right at 7:00 and were seated within 2-3 minutes. Jay, our server, introduced himself and ran off to fetch Lisa's water and my Jade Mountain Merlot. Time now for appetizers:
For Lisa - Ahi Tuna Tartare with soy-cilantro vinaigrette, wasabi creme freche and sesame crackers
For Me - Maine Lobster with Lola Rosa, Braised Leeks, Avocado and Orange-Vanilla Vinaigrette
Both servings were very large. Lisa's tuna was excellent, and we both enjoyed it. I was less impressed with my dish, however. There was simply way too much avocado used, and it overpowered any other flavor (especially the lobster). On the positive side, the lobster alone was quite good and the orange-vanilla vinaigrette was fantastic. This would have been a winner had the amount of avocado been reduced. Dinner time:
For Lisa - Coriander Crusted Yellowfin Tuna with wasabi-tobiko potatoe puree and lobster jus
For Me - Pan Roasted Golden Tilefish with corn, smoked bacon, wild mushrooms, sugar snap peas and caramelized shallot sauce
By this point, Lisa had developed a bit of a headache and was getting full. She enjoyed her dinner, but not as much as she would have otherwise. I thought it was very good, and the potatoe puree was extravagant. My dinner was spectacular. The corn, bacon, mushrooms and shallot sauce all worked together with the fish so perfectly.
As I'm sure you can guess, we were both pretty full by this point, but how could I skip dessert? I couldn't:
For both - Banana Napoleon with crispy phyllo dough, vanilla creme brulee and warm caramel sauce.
We both loved this (even though we couldn't finish it). Much better than the desserts we had at Calif. Grill the night before.
Our grade for FF - 8 out of 10
Our total bill (not including gratuity) - $124.29
We waddled back to POR confident that there wouldn't be any breakfast plans for tomorrow. More to follow...
Me - Brad, loves to eat and drink but gets full way too fast
DW - Lisa, short & skinny but can eat me under the table
Our stay:
10/24 - 11/4 @ POR
Day 2 (10/25):
Following our wonderful Calif. Grill dinner, we both woke up full and skipped breakfast. Immediately headed over to Epcot to check out the Food & Wine Festival! Spent the morning in Future World (NO lines/waits for anything, not even Test Track), until WS opened at 11:00.
Let me take a quick sidebar and note that the special garden displays created for the F&W are simply fantastic. Dozens of varieties of peppers (ornamental, Scotch Bonnet, Hungarian Wax, etc., etc.), tomatoes, herbs, lettuces and more all planted leading into and throughout WS (not to mention the amazing topiary characters - Mickey, Minnie, Pumbaa, Timon, etc.). Wonderful!
Okay, on to the tastings, in order (we split every item):
Fresh from Florida - We were both EXTREMELY disappointed that the Seared Gator Medallions were, for some reason, not being offered. Lisa really wanted to try gator for the first time, and I've had (and enjoyed) it before. Never found out why it wasn't there. We did try the Grouper Cake (too much breading and a bit on the soggy side) and the Citrus Roulade (very tasty, moist cake and sweet citrus sauce -- a bit too sweet for that early in the day, but good nonetheless). Total - $4.50
Mexico - Quesadilla con pollo y chorizo (delicious! easily one of the highlights from the festival -- the chorizo made this dish) and Watermelon water (also delicious! not too sweet and full of flavor...why isn't this served all the time?). Total - $4.50
Ireland - Potato and Dubliner Cheese Root Vegetable Cake (Lisa loved this, I was less enthusiastic but did think it was tasty), Toasted Oatmeal and Whiskey Flan (perfectly prepared flan! Wow! Delicious! Yum! the oatmeal was a great complement too) and a Guinness Stout (God's nectar). Total - $8.25
Scandanavia - Gravlax with Aquavit Granite (very, very good combination of flavors) and Smoked Trout with a Honey Dill waffle (also very tasty). Lisa preferred the Trout, I the Gravlax -- both were great. Total - $4.50
So far we were loving this! Almost everything we had tasted (with the exception of Florida) was delicious. Unfortunately, by this point I was already starting to get full (how sad is that?) so we began to get a bit pickier on our choices. We skipped both China and Poland for now, moving on to:
Cape Region of South Africa - Durban Spiced Chicken on Sugar Cane skewer with White Corn Meal Cake (Lisa's favorite dish of the festival, she LOVED this one...I did too, but found the corn meal cake to be a bit of a disappointment as I was expecting something more like a corn bread), Curried Meat Loaf (we are both big curry fans and therefore loved this) and Iced Rooibos with Honey (basically an iced tea sweetened with a touch of honey, pretty tasty though). Two big thumbs up for this booth! Total - $7.75
Skipped Spain, Germany and Italy, stopping at the Specialty Beer Garden to try a Kelly's Raspberry Irish Cider. A big disappointment here as this tasted more like a wine cooler. Yuk. Total - $2.25
Skipped USA, Chile, Japan, Morocco and France.
Southeast Asia - Cabbage Slaw with Torn Chicken. A good dish but nothing remarkable about it, tasty but not unique. Total - $2.25
Skipped New Zealand, grabbed a Radegast (beer) at Russia. Total - $2.25
Canada - Cheddar Cheese soup! What can I say about this that hasn't already been said. Simply delicious. Total - $2.50
Australia - Shrimp on the barbie. Lisa is a big shrimp fan and enjoyed this a great deal, I was stuffed to the gills and had just a small taste. It was yummy. Total - $4.00
Grand total for "lunch" - $42.75
At this point (I think it was around 1:30 or so) I was ready to burst, so we left Epcot and hit MGM. This gave me enough time to digest prior to:
Dinner at Flying Fish (7:00PS) -
Arrived right at 7:00 and were seated within 2-3 minutes. Jay, our server, introduced himself and ran off to fetch Lisa's water and my Jade Mountain Merlot. Time now for appetizers:
For Lisa - Ahi Tuna Tartare with soy-cilantro vinaigrette, wasabi creme freche and sesame crackers
For Me - Maine Lobster with Lola Rosa, Braised Leeks, Avocado and Orange-Vanilla Vinaigrette
Both servings were very large. Lisa's tuna was excellent, and we both enjoyed it. I was less impressed with my dish, however. There was simply way too much avocado used, and it overpowered any other flavor (especially the lobster). On the positive side, the lobster alone was quite good and the orange-vanilla vinaigrette was fantastic. This would have been a winner had the amount of avocado been reduced. Dinner time:
For Lisa - Coriander Crusted Yellowfin Tuna with wasabi-tobiko potatoe puree and lobster jus
For Me - Pan Roasted Golden Tilefish with corn, smoked bacon, wild mushrooms, sugar snap peas and caramelized shallot sauce
By this point, Lisa had developed a bit of a headache and was getting full. She enjoyed her dinner, but not as much as she would have otherwise. I thought it was very good, and the potatoe puree was extravagant. My dinner was spectacular. The corn, bacon, mushrooms and shallot sauce all worked together with the fish so perfectly.
As I'm sure you can guess, we were both pretty full by this point, but how could I skip dessert? I couldn't:
For both - Banana Napoleon with crispy phyllo dough, vanilla creme brulee and warm caramel sauce.
We both loved this (even though we couldn't finish it). Much better than the desserts we had at Calif. Grill the night before.
Our grade for FF - 8 out of 10
Our total bill (not including gratuity) - $124.29
We waddled back to POR confident that there wouldn't be any breakfast plans for tomorrow. More to follow...
