Leaving behind a blizzard for Florida sun - A Week of Disney Dining UPDATED 4/2 Tangierine Cafe

[ChrissyBeth29]

Your pictures are AMAZING...I too live in the Northeast(cape cod) and hopefully you are handling this newest storm well. I am along for the ride! Great so far!

 

[peteykirch]

Well, I finally got some free time, so here is a short update.

Prior to making it to the Magic Kingdom, I took a detour and stopped at the Polynesian Village Resort. This is hands down my favorite resort, but man does the construction make it a drag and when they expect people to still shell out big bucks, to stay at a place that is being torn up there's no way you could get me to stay there.

Though I was shocked to see how far along everything has come there. I'm still undecided about the lobby, apparently you won't get the whole picture of the thing until they finish the construction on the pool, and you'll be able to see Cinderella's Castle straight through the lobby across the lagoon.

Onto the Magic Kingdom!

I was planning to grab some Corn dog Nuggets and Cheese fries at Casey's but the place was mobbed with a Brazilian Tour Group, and I wasn't craving them that bad so I moved on, crossed the bridge to Adventureland and found myself at....

The infamous Dole Whip! This is what I loved about staying at the Poly! Making you're own Dole Whip a mile high, now that option is gone. Guess they felt guests were abusing the system making them 3 feet high for a measly 3 bucks and change. I just realized the shadow on the right looks like The Old Man of the Mountain.

I do have one tip/idea for those who want a pretty awesome souvenir at a reasonable price that is truly one of a kind. Make a stop at the Crystal Art Shop on Main Street USA and have a handblown glass Christmas ornament made.

For 24 bucks you get a one of a kind, hand made souvenir created that will last a lot longer than most gifts. Plus if you time it right you get a show thrown in as well.

I had two made, one for me, and one for my GF. They have pretty much any color you want available to be made, I got Scarlet/Gray for myself, and Sky Blue/Navy Blue for my GF.

Well that's about it for my trip at the MK for this day, I return to the Boardwalk to have dinner at Flying Fish later in the evening.

 

[pumba]

our granddaughter and her husband (1st anniversary) are going to il Mulino in may...I will have to tell her about your experience...thanks again for the great reviews.

 

[peteykirch]

I'm glad that I decided upon having dinner at Flying Fish for the evening because well I was beat. Not getting much sleep the night before, the long travel day, it was taking it's toll, and I don't think I could've dealt with having to jump through hoops to get to certain restaurants. I could see Flying Fish from my balcony, and most likely could've yelled down to the lady at the podium to check in.

Let's just say this review is where things started to decline in terms of my overall experience. I never dined at Flying Fish before, so it was all new to me going in.

I was seated promptly shortly after arriving, which was a good thing because inside the Village Green courtyard they were playing Frozen on the big screen, and it just got to the Let it Go number and it was pretty much cat nip for kids and out of nowhere it was a giant offkey singalong.

Also I apologize in advance for the pictures, I wasn't exhausted and didn't want to carry around my DSLR at this time of night, so make due with mediocre cell phone pictures.

The Menu;

This was the only thing I had for nearly 15 minutes, no one came over to my table at all. I tried flagging down anyone that came near but no one saw my attempts to garner some sort of attention. My server finally arrived, with no apology, not a simple "How are you tonight?", "Have you dined with us before?" or anything. It was "Are you ready? What do you want?"

Mozzarella di Bufala alla Caprese
Florida Yellow Beefsteak, UgliRipe and Tiny Tomatoes, Aged Balsamico, Exotic Peppercorns, Petite Basil, and Sicilian Olio Verde
​

I don't think I could put it into words how amazing this was. The tomatoes so juicy, exploding with flavor coupled with the salty mozzarella di Bufala, the sweetness of the aged Balsamic vinegar. What the picture doesn't show is exactly how much cheese you got. There was a ton of it, even after trying to take equal bites of everything at the same time.

Grilled Berkshire Pork Tenderloin
Wilted EpcotGreens, Wild Mushroom-Leek-Focaccia Knödel, Truffled Red Wine Sauce​

​

The running joke tends to be, does Disney use anything that they grow inside the Land Pavilion, well according to this dish, the greens were grown in there, so take it for what it is. I sent this picture to my GF, and she couldn't believe it was pork, with the Red Wine Sauce it coated the pork in a deep red hue which made her think it was beef. Her other comment was what is the deal with the lawn clippings on top of the meat. I believe they were flash fried super thinly sliced potatoes, and sliced scallions. The pork was rested on a mushroom-leek-focaccia knodel, which to my knowledge is pretty much a bread/potato dumpling, more or less in this case a savory bread pudding. How did I like it?

I liked it! I liked it a lot!

The outer char on the pork had a rich smoky flavor, the truffled red wine sauce added some earthiness to the dish, which was compounded with the knodel. All the flavors were on point, and everything was cooked perfectly to specification.

It was a great meal, it was just a shame that the service was pretty much non-existent. My server didn't even bring me either dish, and didn't check on me until I was finished with the pork. It was another food runner who saw I didn't have bread, and asked "Did I want any?" and if so he'd gladly go get me a basket. It wasn't a particular busy night in there either, there were plenty of vacant tables, and it was pretty late in the evening, so I didn't understand why my server was so sparsely seen.

I skipped on dessert because nothing really caught my eye and decided to walk a bit further down and pick something up at the Boardwalk Bakery to enjoy in my room for later.

 

[dj1028]

Sorry the service at FF was so dismal...although the food looks amazing! And I have to say, even with just your cell phone, your photos are fantastic!

 

[dixonsontour]

Great photos

Shame service was so bad at ff

 

[ddluvsdisney]

To bad about the service that night. We have eaten there a few times, and LOVE it!! My DH LOVES the potato wrapped snapper.
Service has always been excellent. You'll have to give it another try, maybe next time w your GF.

 

[MagentaMulan]

Nice report so far!

 

[blackmamba10000]

Sorry your server was MIA, but I am glad you enjoyed the food. I've always had outstanding food here, but my experience with the service has been hit or miss. It's either been outstanding, as in on par with some of the finest restaurants I've eaten at, or rather like your own experience. If you go back, I recommend the snapper or the Thunder Fish, which changes every so often.The pillows your mom made are lovely as a side note.

 

[butiflfeet]

Wow! Your pictures are great, even the cell phone ones! It's too bad about the service you received at Flying Fish. The food there makes it one of our favorites but the service is really spotty which is unfortunate because it keeps us from dining there as often as we would like.

 

[peteykirch]

So after a delicious meal that was hampered by poor service I just wanted to get back to my room and relax for the night. I made a pit stop at the Boardwalk Bakery once again for dessert.

A bevy of choices, where it's nearly impossible to go wrong...well I apparently did go wrong, well at least with one of the options I decided upon.

The Mango and Vanilla Panna Cotta. I thought how could this go wrong? I love mango, I love vanilla, the two should go together well. I was wrong, the mango was so artificial tasting, and the vanilla was mild at best, I was hoping to find flecks of vanilla beans littered throughout the panna cotta but nope. The best part of this was the little shortbread cookie and the raspberries on top.

My other choice was much more successful;

The Key Lime Tart.

I ADORE! Nay LOVE!!! anything Key Lime. I enjoy the tartness of key lime which isn't that tart on the back end, there's a hint of sweetness. The fluffiness of the meringue, the delicate, crumbly graham cracker crust. This was a home run! Everything hit perfectly.

Well we're onto Day 3, which sees me have Breakfast and Dinner at the Contemporary (The Wave and then California Grill)

 

[Pfau]

Those are the exact deserts I imagined picking out while looking at the photos. SO sad to hear the Mango Vanilla panna cotta was disappointing.

 

[dj1028]

That key lime tart looks AMAZING! I must get one when we go next week.

 

[cheshiregoofy22]

Is the half portion at Il Mulino something you have to "know about" to order? I don't see that option listed on the disney dining website nor at allears . . . Maybe I'm just missing it! Fabulous reviews and pics: hungry for more!

 

[peteykirch]

As I stated in my last post, my plans had me having breakfast and dinner at the Contemporary. To start my day I ended up at;

I feel that The Wave is one of the underrated spots to grab a bite in the World, especially for breakfast. I know the inside is nothing special, but the true highlight is their breakfast buffet which is a bargain for Disney standards.

Now for my plates of food;

The Wave Breakfast Potatoes, Applewood Smoked Bacon, Sausage, Egg Frittata, Multigrain Mickey Waffle with Honey Pecan Butter, Banana Nut Bread.

The Wave tries to offer healthier breakfast choices, the Multigrain Mickey Waffles, and the Sweet Potato pancakes. I'm normally not a health nut, but you really can't tell the difference between the regular waffles and these, especially when you lather it up with the delicious honey pecan butter the Wave offers.

Plate 2;

Tilamook Cheddar and Smoked Bacon grits, biscuits with gravy, the Wave breakfast potatoes, maple pecan bread.

This is the first place I ever had grits 2 years ago, and I fell in love with them here. Now I'm not a true grits connoisseur, so I can't tell how authentic these are to Southern style grits, pretty much take Joe Pesci's reaction to grits in My Cousin Vinnie. I do like that their gravy for the biscuits has a bit of heat to it, and it isn't like flavorless wallpaper paste some places offer.

Plate 3;

Tilamook Cheddar and Smoked Bacon Grits, Sausage, The Wave Breakfast Potatoes, Biscuit and Gravy.

I will say that their breakfast taters are a tasty treat. They have a nice seasoning to them, and are roasted golden brown and delicious.

I had 2 of these Strawberry Greek Yogurt cups with Granola, and Craisins.

I had to have some sort of a semblance of something that could be classified as semi-healthy for breakfast.

The Wave has yet to disappoint in terms of breakfast for me, and I got to say for a shade over 19 bucks and change it's a bargain for a very filling meal. Also of note, this was the only place I ate at for my entire trip that they actually scanned my Magicband to pay for my meal. It was also interesting to see that when the check came they took 10% off for a DVC membership I don't have. I guess they could see on the band I was staying at the Boardwalk Villas and assumed I was a DVC member? I don't know, but I'll take any discount Disney is offering me.

 

[peteykirch]

Is the half portion at Il Mulino something you have to "know about" to order? I don't see that option listed on the disney dining website nor at allears . . . Maybe I'm just missing it! Fabulous reviews and pics: hungry for more!

It's not listed on the menu, but my server told me about it up front, he said the only pasta that wasn't available in a half portion was the pappardelle.

 

[cheshiregoofy22]

It's not listed on the menu, but my server told me about it up front, he said the only pasta that wasn't available in a half portion was the pappardelle.

Thank you!!

 

[Dislover1991]

We are suppose to try the Wave for breakfast in September! This may be a weird question, but do you remember if they had oatmeal on the buffet? I know it's on the a la carte menu so I was hoping they would have it on the buffet as well

 

[vettegirl]

They buffet at the Wave looks great. It's on my bucket list. Thanks for sharing all your amazing photos.

 

[KathyM2]

Great report so far!!! Love all the food pics!!