Live from WDW, Nicki & Todd do the F&W and 10 days worth of food!!!

[jeminni]

I never really considered going to CMC before but after looking at your pictures and review I think I'll try that on a future trip. Looking forward to your tutto Italia one. If you have a chance could you ask them if they would still make the pasta with crabmeat if requested? thanks !

 

[trixiequilts]

Hey Nicki~~I'm still lovin' the report! Keep on eating! And drinking! **Hiccup!**

I didn't check to see when you're going to Tutto, but when you're there could you please ask what their plan is as far as closing/staying open/changing/etc? One of my guidebooks said they were planning to close mid 2008 and change to something else...that the plan for Tutto was for it to be only a temporary thing. Obviously that hasn't happened, but when someone tried to make an ADR for January, they wouldn't do it. So, obviously I'm very confused. Anything you can find out would be very helpful to me and a bunch of other January people!

Thanks so much!

 

[kbeverina]

Well, you got me taking notes! I love falafels! We've never tried the Tangerine Cafe, this trip it's on my list! So is the pink drink in France. I was eyeing it in June, but went for the Grey Goose Slush. I told DH we have a list of beverages to drink in Epcot! I've never heard of the Peach Tea in China and I love peach schnapps!


Mare

After reading these reviews I told my husband we need to take a kidless FWF trip for our 20th anniversary (our youngest will be 16) and I have a list of beverages I want to drink. He said, "No, we need the kids with us to guide us back to the room!"

 

[goofygal531]

After reading these reviews I told my husband we need to take a kidless FWF trip for our 20th anniversary (our youngest will be 16) and I have a list of beverages I want to drink. He said, "No, we need the kids with us to guide us back to the room!"

I'm going to be the tipsy mom pushing the stroller sideways!

Thankfully, I just ordered our Disney Visa Rewards card to cover all those alcoholic beverages!

 

[MickeyNicki]

Oh, Nicki, that's so great, thanks so much for the pics of Tutto's menus! I didn't see the tagliatelle bolognese thing on there. Actually, the menus seems different from the allears one. I thought that dish with the parmesan sauce at the top of the menu sounded like what you had back in April, but maybe with different pasta noodles?

Can you tell me about the school bread? What kind of bread is it? Is the stuff inside like a custard? Not sure if I'd like that. Can you describe the taste as similiar to something anything else?

Thanks, again taking time to share your food adventures with us, Nicki! Sometimes I resist trying things when I'm not sure what to expect, and will have wasted my money so these descriptions sure help!!
I'm glad you and DH are having such a fun trip and enjoying some really delicious sounding food!

Hi there, I will get a closer pic of the menu tonight and see if that dish is still on it. I cannot wait to go there! School bread is a like spice roll (nutmeg, etc) filled with a very light yellow cream, covered with caramel and fresh coconut. I really like it, it is nothing like I have had before.

Thanks for the kind words, I am so glad my reviews can help! I know that I rely heavily on other Disers reviews!

Cape May is one of my friend's favorites and we keep putting it off. I'm not a fan of clams, but there's so much other food on that buffet that looks yummy! (And I hate buffets, so that's saying something!) I'm jealous!

CMC was on its mark last night, it was sooo amazing!

OK, I'm now adding Cape May dinner to our list for our next trip in 2010! Great pics. Are you still doing Tutto Italia tonight? That's on our list for the trip in 43 days, and I can't wait to see what another Italian girl thinks of the food!!

You will love CMC! We are eating at Tutto tonight, in a few hours! Cannot wait!

We went to the Cape May Clambake in September and really enjoyed it. Based on some of the reviews on dis, I wasn't expecting too much but I was pleasantly surprised.

Those little pails for the clams are so cute. Are they new because I don't remember seeing them there in September.

Loving your reviews!!!

We have been to CMC 5 times and this was the first time we found those cute little pails!

Isn't it fun to meet DISers? I can't wait, this trip I'll be meeting a bunch!!

It was so much fun and I cannot wait to meet YOU!

 

[goofygal531]

School bread is a like spice roll (nutmeg, etc) filled with a very light yellow cream, covered with caramel and fresh coconut. I really like it, it is nothing like I have had before.

Schoolbread was never spicy (nutmeg). It was more of a dense bread with the custard and frosting to make it sweet School bread. My mom had actually thought it tasted like a custard donut. So I guess it's a whole new recipe, not just the new caramel on top. Hmmm, can't wait to sample it in Nov.

 

[MickeyNicki]

Keegan hosts the Food Network Challenges! I love that show! Cool to meet someone famous in WDW!

Well, you got me taking notes! I love falafels! We've never tried the Tangerine Cafe, this trip it's on my list! So is the pink drink in France. I was eyeing it in June, but went for the Grey Goose Slush. I told DH we have a list of beverages to drink in Epcot! I've never heard of the Peach Tea in China and I love peach schnapps!

I did cancel Boma (while reading your review) and instead of Kona Cafe, which was just out of the way since we'll be at the YC, we're going to try the Biergarten. I think my kids will like the show and hopefully DH will like the food.

About the schoolbread, I'm actually happy they shrunk it. I was way too big and I could never eat just half of it. It would always turn out to be a meal-replacement for me Glad it tastes the same! Wonder why they switched the frosting?

Did you ever try the Almond Kringla Pretzel? It's another favorite of ours. They are so good that we put them in the Goofy Candy Bags (which have the ziploc top) and take to eat on the way to the airport. They fit perfectly in those bags!

Loving your reviews! What's up next?

Mare

We are going to Tutto tonight and Cape May in the morning, our last meal at WDW...boo hoo! I am glad they shrunk the school bread too, it is still the perfect size to share. We have not done the almond pretzel yet, might not have time this trip but for sure in January.

hey Nicki! CMC looked great!

Did you happen to notice if the food booths during EMH last night?

Last night was Epcot EMH and the F&W booths closed at 10pm but the CS places in the countries were open at 11pm.

You make it look so much better than I remember. Maybe we'll have to try again.

DH saw Jamie Deen in the restroom last weekend. Then he comes out and asks if I saw him too. In the restroom? He doesn't watch Food with me a lot so I was impressed he knew who Jamie was.

CMC was much better than last year, DH thinks it is because we went at 7pm instead of when they first opened. How cool your DH saw Jamie Deen!

Happy Belated Birthday!

I finally caught up, and wow! You certainly had some great stuff here! I got home late Tuesday night, vegged out on Wednesday, and pretty much didn't catch up until now.

First AKL concierge...I loved it and enjoyed seeing it through your eyes.
One of the breakfast foods from the Sunrise Safari I loved were salmon cakes. I guess they don't have those anymore. And breakfast used to be in the "schoolroom" at Tusker House. It's been a few years, so I guess it moved to Pizzafari since then.

Amarula...tasty stuff!

And Jiko has always been a favorite of mine. Even more so after this trip for me. Hmm, what else? Oh Keegan Gerhard! I met him a few years ago when he came down for the festival. My favorite story is my friend talking about him during Party for the Senses, raving about the homemade marshmallows he made at the culinary demo the day before. Keegan was standing right behind her, looking pretty pleased with himself.

And those photopass pictures are adorable.

Thank you! I am following your report very closely too! Need more pointers on places to go! But you are on your own for that beer float! That Amarula was awesome, I miss it right about now!

I really shouldn't read your updates when I'm hungry

We love Cape May Cafe (breakfast & dinner)! Glad to see the pails are back, they got rid of them for awhile First time we went (back in 2001) DS was only 4 1/2. Our waitress taught him to take the empty shells out of the buckets and color on them to turn them into puppets Even though the kids don't eat "seafood" there's plenty of choices for them and we all end up rolling out of there after dinner

You are right about that, there are tons of non seafood choices but I was totally bummed that the mini hot dogs were gone, I loved them!

I never really considered going to CMC before but after looking at your pictures and review I think I'll try that on a future trip. Looking forward to your tutto Italia one. If you have a chance could you ask them if they would still make the pasta with crabmeat if requested? thanks !

You got it babe!

Hey Nicki~~I'm still lovin' the report! Keep on eating! And drinking! **Hiccup!**

I didn't check to see when you're going to Tutto, but when you're there could you please ask what their plan is as far as closing/staying open/changing/etc? One of my guidebooks said they were planning to close mid 2008 and change to something else...that the plan for Tutto was for it to be only a temporary thing. Obviously that hasn't happened, but when someone tried to make an ADR for January, they wouldn't do it. So, obviously I'm very confused. Anything you can find out would be very helpful to me and a bunch of other January people!

Thanks so much!

You got it chick, I will do my very best!

After reading these reviews I told my husband we need to take a kidless FWF trip for our 20th anniversary (our youngest will be 16) and I have a list of beverages I want to drink. He said, "No, we need the kids with us to guide us back to the room!"

Hmm good idea!

I'm going to be the tipsy mom pushing the stroller sideways!

Thankfully, I just ordered our Disney Visa Rewards card to cover all those alcoholic beverages!

Yeah them little bitty drinks can blow your budget!

 

[trixiequilts]

You got it chick, I will do my very best!

Thanks!

 

[MickeyNicki]

Schoolbread was never spicy (nutmeg). It was more of a dense bread with the custard and frosting to make it sweet School bread. My mom had actually thought it tasted like a custard donut. So I guess it's a whole new recipe, not just the new caramel on top. Hmmm, can't wait to sample it in Nov.

When we had it this past June and Aug there were spice flakes in the dough, that was different from the past trips that we have had it on. This trip the spice flakes are still in the dough, the size is smaller and the caramel is the major change.

It may not have had a nutmeggy or allspice taste before but the last 3 times we have had it, it does

 

[goofygal531]

When we had it this past June and Aug there were spice flakes in the dough, that was different from the past trips that we have had it on. This trip the spice flakes are still in the dough, the size is smaller and the caramel is the major change.

It may not have had a nutmeggy or allspice taste before but the last 3 times we have had it, it does

I haven't had it since last Nov. I like spice bread. I'm lookng forward to trying it.

There seems to be a huge debate on this on another thread. It seems the pastry chef made the change and many customer have been complaining to the bakery staff and they're really annoyed with all the comments. I feel for them, I mean really what is the cashier going to do about it, why yell at her??

If it's more of a spice bread, they should serve this version during the holiday season, and bring back the original school bread the rest of the year.

 

[whogirl'smom]

When we had it this past June and Aug there were spice flakes in the dough, that was different from the past trips that we have had it on. This trip the spice flakes are still in the dough, the size is smaller and the caramel is the major change.

It may not have had a nutmeggy or allspice taste before but the last 3 times we have had it, it does

I agree; when we had it for the first time last week, I thought it tasted like spice cake, too. I wish I would have tried the original before it went poof so there would be a comparison. I just thought "meh" and ordered extra flourless choc. cake!

 

[Sam'sMom0126]

Your pictures from CMC are great!! Makes me feel very reassured as we have a ressie there our first night! My husband loves steamers and that is the only place he requested! Thanks for taking the time to share with all of us!

 

[MickeyNicki]

I haven't had it since last Nov. I like spice bread. I'm lookng forward to trying it.

There seems to be a huge debate on this on another thread. It seems the pastry chef made the change and many customer have been complaining to the bakery staff and they're really annoyed with all the comments. I feel for them, I mean really what is the cashier going to do about it, why yell at her??

If it's more of a spice bread, they should serve this version during the holiday season, and bring back the original school bread the rest of the year.

Leave it to WDW to keep messing with a good thing!

I agree; when we had it for the first time last week, I thought it tasted like spice cake, too. I wish I would have tried the original before it went poof so there would be a comparison. I just thought "meh" and ordered extra flourless choc. cake!

There are so many other great treats at Norway, we are slowly trying them all!

Your pictures from CMC are great!! Makes me feel very reassured as we have a ressie there our first night! My husband loves steamers and that is the only place he requested! Thanks for taking the time to share with all of us!

Thank you! DH loves this place too!

 

[Michelle_and_Aaron]

I am dying to hear about Tutto and if you even made it there or just snacked away again!

 

[MickeyNicki]

Hi everyone! Today was our last full day at WDW, waaaaaaaa

We, meaning I, decided that we would have a very light breakfast at the BW Bakery, head to Epcot for more fun, have lunch and then go back to the resort for a pool day....then TUTTO for dinner!

So we were up pretty early, headed down to the bakery and the people, man there were people all over the darn place. The entire time we have been here the resorts and parks have been super quiet but last night we notice it picking up and this morning, OY! The line for the bakery was about 30 or more people in it, just plain crazy. Funny thing is, all the tables were vacant, people were eating and walking or taking it back to their rooms.

DH went for the cinnamon roll, they were giving out free samples to the people in line and once he tasted it he was in heaven. No where near as wonderful as Main Street but it was still super good.

He had another Nescrape, I asked him how the heck he could drink that junk and he said after the first sip your taste buds are pretty much screwed up so you manage to get it down We also shared a juice and the super large fruit platter. I dont like Minute Maid juice, it has a weird bitter flavor to it, I prefer milk but milk and fruit? Not a great combo The fruit was awesome, so much flavor!

After a pretty quiet morning at Epcot we made our way over to Mexico for our lunch at San Angel Inn. At 11:30 am Epcot was wall to wall people, all with beer, wine or whatever in their hands....be careful as these people are not watching out for you just their drink and you may get bumped around!

I know SAI has a very bad rap on the Dis but I have to tell ya, we really enjoyed it! We were seated right away, had a great table on the water and a very nice waitress that made sure our chips and salsa and lemonade were never empty.

View from our table

Pink Lemonade

Chips and Salsa, the chips were served hot, the salsa cold so it made for a great snack. Yes it is store bought stuff but when the chips are hot you do not notice it much. DH tore right through these! There are 2 bowls of salsa on either side of the chips.

DH ordered the Tacos Al Pastor. Soft corn tacos with pork, onion, cilantro and pineapple. These were very good, nice and moist and the pineapple added a nice flavor. Kinda weird that 3 tacos are $16, no rice or beans or anything so DH ordered a side of rice and peas. This was cooked ok but really didnt have much flavor.

I ordered the Carne Asada...it was a grilled tenderloin of beef with a chicken enchilada and corn. I dont do corn, DH ate it and said it was very sweet and crisp, he loved it. The chicken enchilada was out of this world, the steak was a bit overcooked, I ordered med and it came out med well but DH ate most of it.....he really enjoyed it and once we put the salsa on the steak we were both very happy kids.

Didnt order dessert or appies for 2 reasons. First is we were planning a huge meal at Tutto and second, the choices were the pits.

Would we go back? Heck ya! The food was good, the service was right on it and the atmosphere is the best!

 

[MickeyNicki]

Ok my friends, I saved the best for last. Tutto Italia! DH and I ate here in April and we loved it so much I had to add it for this trip. The menu has changed so I will post a new one on this thread.

We arrived to Epcot at 6:20 and the place was so jammed you could not move. All the F&W booths were at least 30 or more deep. The booze stand in France was insane, it was wrapped around all over the place...same thing with the wine in Italy. All the tables were full of empty wine and champagne glasses as if there wasnt a trash can every 5 feet!

We had a 7:15 pm ressie at Tutto, checked into a completely empty waiting room at 6:55....where the heck is everyone? We were seated immediately, the dining room was half full...so many empty tables.

I asked the host/asst manager if the menu was changing soon. He said they just changed it and it will stay the way it is until after New Year's. I asked if they were closing for a remodel and his reply was No, not anytime soon as the feedback from diners has been superb, they like things the way they are. So everyone, that is the poop scoop that I was able to get for you all!

We had a wonderful server, Filomena, and her 2 assistants were the cutest little Italianos you have ever seen.....wish they were on the menu! Down girl back to the food!

First here are the menus

I wanted a cocktail so I ordered the Primavera. Strawberry and banana juices, white peach nectar and Grey Goose Vodka over shaved ice. This was so delish, nice and cold but too small! DH ordered a glass of Moscato D'Asti, a nice sparkling white wine with a peach undertone, this was nice and light and wonderful.

Out came the pickled veggies, DH loved these, carrots, celery, fennel, olives...right up his alley

Also brought out was the bread basket with breadsticks, a dough crisp, soft and dense breads. All were fantastic but the basil infused butter was my love of the night....so tasty and since DH doesnt "Do" basil it was mine all mine! He stuck to the olive oil

DH had a problem and to him it was a huge one. See he wanted pasta fagioli AND tomato mozzarella salad. I wanted the mixed green salad. He said how about you get the tomato one instead? I reply, I do not want that one. He says, Come on please? I reply, You have had a ton of these salads all week! He said, We can get two desserts if you get the tomato salad. So here is what I ordered

This salad was great! Super soft and cream homemade mozzarella with very very ripe tomatoes served over olive oil. When DH added a tad of salt the entire top of the shaker fell off. One of the cutie patooties, er I mean nice Italian servers replaced it asap.

DH had the pasta fagioli, can you believe he got his way again?! This was very good, nice and flavorful, the pasta was cooked perfectly!

For his entree DH decided on the Cavatelli with ground sweet sausage in a tomato sauce. OMIGOD this was to die for and I wish we had another night so we could go back and I could order it. The pasta was cooked to a perfect al dente, the sausage was so flavorful, the sauce was out of this world. We both loved this and finished the entire thing.

I ordered the pumpkin raviolis. They were served in a butter sage sauce that was a bit on the oily side but the pasta was cooked perfect once again and the filling inside those pasta pockets was very very good. Not too sweet to make it seem like dessert, just enough spice to make it a savory dish.

DH ordered a decaf and I just sipped water. Dessert was coming up and I did not want to get too full.

I went for the Zabliagone gelato with fresh (they were frozen) berries and chocolate sauce and whipped cream. I liked this, had a nice boozy taste to it, there were little amaretto cookies in the bottom. What I did not like were the frozen berries, they were too cold to eat! But alas, I cleaned the goblet anyways.

DH had the Bugia, the anise flavored crisps. Back in Boston they call these Wandi's, I forget what my grandmother calls them but she makes wonderful ones with tons of anise oil in the batter, DH eats them as fast as she makes them. Sadly the ones from Tutto had zero anise flavor. BUT they were nice and light and very good once you dipped them in the chocolate sauce or the to die for fresh and tasty apricot preserves.

So we left stuffed and very happy, by this time the restaurant was full and the lobby was full with waiting people. DH was thanking me so much for having thought it through and secured TS places for our last day since Epcot was a madhouse. You are welcome babe! Another word of advice, if you can stay away from Epcot on a Friday and Saturday during F&W, it just isnt worth it!

 

[MickeyNicki]

Tonight is the last night, watched the fireworks from our balcony, DH is now snoring away, I finished packing up and then I am going to chill out for a bit. We have a late breakfast at Cape May and our check out time is around 1pm. I probably wont get that review up until late Sunday or maybe Monday. Any questions just fire away!

 

[TigerKat]

Hey Nick, just wanted to say a big "THANK YOU" for taking the time to post your awesome reviews live! You're amazing my friend, have a safe trip home.

 

[trixiequilts]

You know what Nicki? It's so much easier to try to (re)schedule my ADRs when you say a place, a meal, anything...is BLECH! All these good reviews are just complicating everything in my little never-been-to-the-World brain!

I can't believe tomorrow is your going home day already. Don't you think you could just stay? And keep reviewing?

I'd been wondering about SAI for a while and never expected you to have positive things to say about it! I think the atmosphere looks just incredible and I bet my DDs would love it.

On to Tutto. Thank-you for getting the poop scoop on their status. I was really bummed about the situation, but now I guess I can have hope again. That pasta fagioli looks so good! Yummy.

Can I ask your opinion about something? If you had to choose between Les Chefs de France and Tutto Italia for dinner, which would you choose? I don't remember if you've been to Chef's for dinner, but you had the "macaroni and cheese"? That is hands down what I would choose there, if that helps.

Thanks so much for everything you do for us!

 

[jeminni]

Thanks for all your reviews. Have a safe trip home.