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

[peteykirch]

A little about myself, I'm Peter, 26, and this will be my second solo trip to The World. Growing up my family would down to Disney every year until I was about 16. I didn't go down again until my college graduation in 2012, and then I went solo in 2013.

Favorite Park: EPCOT
Favorite Hotel: Wilderness Lodge/Polynesian
Favorite Defunct Ride: Horizons
Favorite Current Ride: Haunted Mansion / Spaceship Earth
Favorite Defunct Restaurant: Alfredo's
Favorite Restaurant: California Grill

I didn't realize how lucky I'd be with the timing of my trip, but I pretty much hit the jackpot. My vacation was from 1/25-1/31/15. I'd be leaving the night before Snowmaggden/Snowpocolypse would hit the North East.

I'll be staying at the Boardwalk Inn and Villas, staying on rented points at the Villas, I only booked a few meals trying to be a bit more random, and fly by my pants, in a hope to try and experience some new things.

 

[peteykirch]

Table of Contents:

Day 1 - Arrival

Sunshine Seasons - Breakfast
Les Halles Boulangerie & Pâtisserie - Lunch
Karamell Kuche - Snack
Il Mulino - Dinner
Boardwalk Bakery - Dessert

Day 2 -

Boma - Breakfast
Sunshine Tree Terrace - Snack
Flying Fish - Dinner
Boardwalk Bakery - Dessert

Day 3 -

The Wave - Breakfast
Roaring Forks / Hollywood Studios - Snacks
California Grill - Dinner

Day 4 -

Boardwalk Bakery - Breakfast
Territory Lounge - Dinner
L'Artisen des Glaces - Dessert

Day 5 -

Sunshine Seasons - Breakfast
Kona Cafe - Lunch
Sunshine Tree Terrace - Snack
(To be Updated as Uploaded)

 

[peteykirch]

Arrival - Finally in Paradise

So as I stated before, I lucked out greatly flying out late Sunday night, just hours ahead of a storm which would cripple the North East in terms of air traffic for a couple days. I originally bought the late Sunday flight only because the earliest flight I could get on Monday would have me land at MCO at noon, killing half of my arrival day.

Not food related but, things at first didn't go smoothly. I finally arrived at The Boardwalk at about 2AM in the morning, only to be greeted with the fact their systems were completely down, and obviously I wouldn't be able to check in since Disney's day doesn't change over until 6AM, and Villa check in, wasn't until 4PM. However, I was greatly delighted by the fact upon hearing my story the cast member working the front desk, told me to wait and see if there was anything she could do. She came back about 10 minutes later with the old fashioned key card and told me to take a standard room for the night, and it was on the house. To think I would've been content to find a little nook in the one the meandering hallways to take a quick nap until 6 or 7 in the morning.

Well, back to the food; staying at the Boardwalk it was only natural to head to EPCOT first. I decided to get a quick and light breakfat at Sunshine Seasons inside The Land Pavilion

I had to have my favorite light breakfast snack in all of Disney World. The ever mentioned, Blueberry Croissant Bread Pudding

This is one of the great deals in Disney, it doesn't look like much, but it's a bit deceiving for three bucks and change you get nearly a half pound of deliciousness. The butteryness of the croissant mixed with the slight tartness of the blueberries made for a melt in the mouth delight.

 

[chiisai]

Arrival - Finally in Paradise
...

I had to have my favorite light breakfast snack in all of Disney World. The ever mentioned, Blueberry Croissant Bread Pudding

This is one of the great deals in Disney, it doesn't look like much, but it's a bit deceiving for three bucks and change you get nearly a half pound of deliciousness. The butteryness of the croissant mixed with the slight tartness of the blueberries made for a melt in the mouth delight.

That looks amazing! Glad you missed the snowpocalypse!

 

[pumba]

so awesome to be able to lay your head down and sleep in a bed instead of a chair...glad that the cm took care of you...we are still having snowpocalypse...I hate snow and will be ready for my trip..but when the snow is gone..
can hardly wait for your other reviews

 

[ursalita]

So jealous that you avoided the Blizzard of 2015.

It's great that Disney gave you a room for the night.

That breakfast looks awesome! I have to look for that next time we're in Epcot.

 

[peteykirch]

Meandering through EPCOT, en route to Paris.

I spent the most of the early morning and afternoon going back and forth through Future World, and then making my way to World Showcase. The highlight had to be riding Test Track via the Single Rider lane, and getting paired in a row with two good ol boys from the Deep South who insisted if Ford sponsored the ride they could make it faster than those wimps at Chevy.

Hunger finally was getting to me and I ended up at Les Halles Boulangerie & Pâtisserie. Oddly enough in all the times I visited EPCOT, I never step foot in this building, and well there are a myriad of options to decide to feast on to say the least.

I decided upon the Jambon Beurre. Ham and Cheese, Dijon Mustard Butter on a Demi Baguette. I was offered to have this hot or cold, and well I don't know who would pick this cold. Look at the melted cheesy goodness of this thing toasted.

This was delicious, the ham was thickly sliced and was quite plentiful. The dijon mustard butter added a nice sharp tang to meld with the melted creamy texture of the cheese. I knew shortly after I had this sandwich I've been missing out on this place tucked around the bend of France.

 

[Disney_Mama]

Yummy pictures. Thanks for sharing. Can't wait for more.

 

[Liz Z]

Great review!! Looking forward to the rest

 

[pumba]

in 22years I have never been to Les Halles Boulangerie & Pâtisserie. Now I do believe we will give it a shot on our next visit...thanks for the great photo

 

[ursalita]

Ford vs. Chevy. Enjoyed the review of Les Halles B&P. Thanks.

 

[peteykirch]

Before leaving EPCOT, I had to make a pit stop in Germany for something to soothe my sweet tooth at the Karamell Kuche

To me my favorite sweet treat in all of Disney World, is the Caramel Shortbread Chewy Bar with Walnuts. The buttery delicate shortbread coupled with the slightly salty ooey gooey caramel makes for an awesome combo. Sticky fingers will always occur, more so if it's warmer and it begins to melt into itself.

I was munching down on this when I was told my room was ready, and decided to take a late afternoon break before my dinner at Il Mulino later in the night. All I can say is WOW at the view was I given for my BWV studio room.

Absolutely stunning, talk about hitting the jackpot when it comes to room views. To think it was listed as a Garden/Pool view, and I end up with a Partial Boardwalk view.

 

[dj1028]

Enjoying your report so far! The food looks wonderful and you are a great photographer!

 

[ddluvsdisney]

Les Halle's B&P is a must do for us every trip!! We love all the treats. That caramel shortbread looks delish! I will definitely have to try that! What a beautiful view.....you did hit the jackpot w that one.
There's nothing better than being in FL during a blizzard!! We got 2 ft. And more on the way tomorrow. Unfortunately I dont leave for FL until next week.

 

[Elevationist]

Loving the food pics! Les Halles is one I've never tried either, as none of the entrees appeal to me, but I definitely want to pop in for dessert on my next trip. Noms!

Looking forward to eating vicariously through you!

 

[wishicouldgomoreofte]

What beautiful, clear, crisp pictures! I don't know what you did, but I think those are the clearest, crispest pictures I have seen posted. Wow!
You sure did luck out in your room location. Looking forward to the rest of your report. I hope you have a picture from the Boardwalk looking back at your room showing its location. I am having a hard time figuring out where it is for it to be garden/pool view and have that view, which looks more like a Boardwalk Inn location.

Want to add I am glad you missed the blizzard too. Makes the whole trip so much better.

 

[peteykirch]

Loving the food pics! Les Halles is one I've never tried either, as none of the entrees appeal to me, but I definitely want to pop in for dessert on my next trip. Noms!

Looking forward to eating vicariously through you!

I would seriously suggest making a trip there. Even a simple ham and cheese sandwich there is delicious.

What beautiful, clear, crisp pictures! I don't know what you did, but I think those are the clearest, crispest pictures I have seen posted. Wow!
You sure did luck out in your room location. Looking forward to the rest of your report. I hope you have a picture from the Boardwalk looking back at your room showing its location. I am having a hard time figuring out where it is for it to be garden/pool view and have that view, which looks more like a Boardwalk Inn location.

Want to add I am glad you missed the blizzard too. Makes the whole trip so much better.

I'm sort of into Photography, I mainly do Sports Photography, I use a Nikon D7000 with just a regular 35mm f/1.8 Prime Lens. The room location is pretty simple to find, go outside the Wyland Gallery, stand in the middle of the door, and look straight up. I was in the 5th floor, dead center above the gallery.

Les Halle's B&P is a must do for us every trip!! We love all the treats. That caramel shortbread looks delish! I will definitely have to try that! What a beautiful view.....you did hit the jackpot w that one.
There's nothing better than being in FL during a blizzard!! We got 2 ft. And more on the way tomorrow. Unfortunately I dont leave for FL until next week.

I'm very disappointed that it took me this long to finally experience Les Halle's B&P before. It has so many good options, plus nothing beats the little tables littered outside the alleyways back there.

Enjoying your report so far! The food looks wonderful and you are a great photographer!

Thanks for the compliments

 

[peteykirch]

My first dinner in The World, had me go to a place I never ate before, that being Il Mulino at The Swan Hotel. I had my reservations on this choice, well mainly being from New Jersey you can find good Italian food pretty much blind folded, and when you say Central Florida most people don't think Italian. However I really enjoyed Via Napoli the last time I visited, so I decided to take a chance on this place.

I will say it's laid out quite awkwardly to say the first. You have to go through the large bar and lounge area to get to the check in stand. Other than that the place has very nice features, and is quite modern and intimate at the same time.

The one thing I found odd was that my 6PM reservation was like the only thing available until 9PM, despite the fact the entire place was pretty much empty which resulted in pretty much butler like service as my server only had to worry about my needs. This was until I was leaving at 7:30PM when the IBM conference pretty much came in and filled up the place.

Well, enough about that, onto the food.

You are given a complimentary appetizer of eggplant and salami.

The roasted eggplant reminded me of an Italian version of Baba Ganoush. The salami was very salty as it should be with a hint of garlic and a peppery bite.

My appetizer was the arancini, deep fried rice balls served over a spicy marinara. The crispy exterior holding in the creamy risotto with crumbly Italian sausage blended in was perfection in each bite.

The Insalata Caesar, Il Mulino's take on the classic Caesar salad. I don't what to say about this, it's your average Caesar salad, it was good, but it wasn't life changing or anything.

Rigatoni Funghi, Rigatoni with Wild Mushrooms, Spicy Cherry Peppers, Garlic and Truffle oil. This is what I was told the most popular pasta dish on the entire menu, and boy I can see why. Such a simple preparation, that allows the flavors to stand out. The earthiness of the truffle oil and the mushrooms coupled with kick that comes with the cherry peppers, and the saltiness of the cheese on top it was a match in umami flavor heaven.

The shocker with that image? It's the HALF PORTION. All their pastas except the papperdelle come in half portions. I got that massive bowl of pasta for 14 bucks, from a SIGNATURE RESTAURANT on DISNEY PROPERTY. That price is unheard of for an entree.

Overall I got to say I was greatly surprised by Il Mulino, especially when it comes to Italian food from Florida. The service was top notch, I felt like I was truly part of the Il Mulino family, anything that I wanted they went out of their way to get for me. Seriously, I saw they had many mixed drinks that had blood orange in it, and I asked if I could get ice tea, with a blood orange wedge and they easily obliged with my request.

 

[vettegirl]

How awesome of the BWI staff to give you a room!! I just love hearing great stories like yours. I agree the ham sandwich in France is delicious. I also enjoyed you Il Mulino review, it doesn't get too many reviews on here. It sounds excellent

 

[hogwartsdropout]

Awesome report. I have never eaten at Il Mulino, now I think I might try it!