Mikka & Redwitch once again go to WDW and eat everything! Live! With pictures! Yay!

[Mikka]

Hello, my name is Mikka. I am an aspiring writer who really likes food whose claim to fame on these forums is starting food reports and never finishing them as well as disappearing randomly when vacations aren't happening. My lovely mother is Redwitch, a social worker who really likes food whose claim to fame on these forums is stalking every thread on the budget board in effort to save money for Disney vacations (and nagging me about starting those food reports and never finishing them).

Together, we, sadly, do not fight crime. We do go on vacation, though, which is probably healthier for the two of us in the long run.

Here for a week (till next Saturday), we're celebrating mother's day tomorrow, her birthday on Friday, the flower and garden festival, and probably other thing's we'll make up as we go along.

Our plans are to eat at all the booths around Epcot (...that have new items, at least), Mama Melrose for a Fantasmic package, Yak and Yeti, Boma's, Sci Fi STAR WARS BREAKFAST! (I am excited about that), Le Celler, Be Our Guest (our 'new' restaurant for this trip), probably way too many bars, and Victoria and Albert's (I am *insanely* excited about that). We're also doing a small DISmeet with a lovely couple we ate dinner with at a French Regional two years ago.

Mother is the one who takes the pictures, and I'm the one who does the babbling. Fair warning: this is my first time using the natural upload of the DIS, so there may be stupid errors. Also, while this is live, I will inevitably be a few days behind... and the V&A review in particular will probably wait till I get back home, as that's a ton of typing!

(And, as another also: I do apologize for my last unfinished food report from a year ago. I'll finish this one, I promise.)

 

[Mikka]

Eeek, I can't title posts anymore! How will people know where they are? Also, I apologize, but I am having insane problems uploading today. I got the first picture up, but not the last two. I *will* attempt to upload them tomorrow, but argh, I have spent two and half hours on this and I have rope drop tomorrow and I got up at four in the morning and /whineeeeeee.

Ignoring the bawling, have a title!

CHINA AND FLORIDA FRESH BOOTHS​

After a very bemusing morning that involved surviving on a cheese stick, a bad Auntie Anne's breakfast sandwich and an even worse syrupy lemonade horror, and tiny packages of pretzels and peanuts on the plane, the two of us wandered in to Epcot around 3:30 or so starving.

(Yet we still had time to wander the very pretty Festival Center and buy a bottle of very nice potato vodka before getting food. The nice girl in Arendelle wrote a birthday wish for my mother on the box; it was sweet. )

As tomorrow we will be in Epcot again at F&G- on a day when tables doesn't work- we decided no alcohol at the booths today, and to save them tomorrow. Thus, no super strong China drinks (the only booth where you'll get a decently strong drinks, from what I've read and experienced in former F&G's and F&W's). Instead...


Peach Bubble Tea with Popping Bubbles! Also, the kung pao chicken bun thing.

The latter is similar to the Mongolian Beef Bun you'll find at the Food and Wine: same bun (it's thick, and similar to a Chinese or Japanese dumpling), same sort of 'lightly spicy but with a sauce familiar to Americans who have grown used to Chinese food that's mostly been Americanized', similar veggies. That doesn't mean it's bad, though, or that it's unauthenic (though it's probably not exactly the same as one you'd find in China). It's a simple dish, but rather tasty, and pretty filling for the small amount. I liked it, and mom liked it. I do wish that they had done something more different then what you'd find at Food and Wine, but I'm not going to complain.

Bubble Tea is more associated with Taiwan then mainland China, but that's probably not something one should think about too hard at Disney. For those who aren't experienced with it, it's a drink (usually a heavily flavored iced tea, but these days you'll find just flavored juices, too) with decent sized balls of tapioca in it. This version is, as you noted, creamy- the taste reminded me more of Thai Iced Tea (with the condensed milk) then anything peach. That's where the popping bubbles came in. Unlike the black tapioca balls, they were little orange balls that when you bit in to them, 'popped' in your mouth a peach flavor.

This was, in my opinion, really enjoyable- and refreshing. Even mom, who doesn't really like tapioca, enjoyed it (though left the tapioca mostly for me). It was not nearly as heavy as you would expect despite having a creamy/milky base. A warning, though- it is very easy to choke on those balls if you're sucking up too fast. (I did, after mom made a joke about it, too.) If you have young kids who do like iced tea, I would recommend trying to get a smaller straw and then letting them eat the bubbles with a spoon at the end. If you have older kids, bat them for being a moron like me if they choke. Suck slowly (...that sounds inappropriate, doesn't it?): the bubbles don't rush up if you're not being dumb.

(If they're anything like they've been in the years prier, the strawberries are probably awesome... will have to try them later this week.)


We then ended up over at the FF booth. (Mom is disappointed in the lack of dark beer, I know.) I'm hoping to try the the tart and then sparkling wine later in the week. For now, we just grabbed the other two menu items.



Watermelon Salad with pickled onions, baby arugula, feta cheese and a balsamic reduction picture SHOULD be above (and now is!)

This is a vegetarian item that's really refreshing. Everything about this salad just worked together: while each piece was nice separately, it was best when you tried to get a bit of everything on your fork together. I could see this becoming a menu item long term (well, at least for spring) at almost any restaurant. If you like the individual parts of this dish, I'm honestly not sure what you could find to complain about when it's all put together. (Maybe if the arugla was wilty in the heat? It was fine for us, though.) It feels odd to be this positive about a salad, but it was a very nice little salad. Probably not too hard to make in your own kitchen, too.


(pretend there's a picture here )
(wait, here it comes...)
(PICTURE!)



Then the shrimp and grits, with sausage and corn and cilantro and tomatoes and something spicy that isn't listed in the menu description (I think, anyway- maybe peppers?). This was another nice dish. (I'm really feeling odd about being this positive. Positive is good, but finding four really good items in a row at these festivals doesn't usually happen!) It was a bit more spicy then I usually eat, admitedly, but although mother and I like a variety of different spices, neither of us are the best with the 'hot' sort of spiciness. Grits helped, though. This dish was actually a bit soupy at the end; a spoon would have been useful.

My only complaint is that there are three shrimp. Four would be better for sharing. That's a rather silly complaint, though!



And, obviously, that wasn't all we ate. We ended up going to Tutto Gusto, and grabbing some ice cream. However, the DISboard upload hates me, Imageshack turned pay to play, photoshack hates me too, tinyIMG hates me, my own flickr hates me, and I am frustrated. So tomorrow, we'll see if everything is more cooperative. I apologize for this. There are photos, I swear.

EDIT: and now they are here! Hurray!

 

[Mikka]

I always feel awkward talking to myself, but I'm hoping everyone else is at disney, too. Hopefully like me somewhere cool here at 3:30 as I type this (yes, I take a long time to make posts), as it's hot. Over 90. The week before was so nice, too...

Also, a quick message to the best mother in the world: Redwitch, I love you so much and I thank you for being, well, the best mother in the world.

Enough goopiness, more food.

TUTTO GUSTO​

Tutto Gusto is the semi-new wine bar hidden in the back left area of the Italy pavilion, back in what used to be the lobby for Tutto Italia (and Alfredo's before it). It's been there a while now, but a lot of people don't really know about it for some reason; perhaps because it's not on the dining plan. They serve the full menu for Tutto Italia, their own bar menu, and then they have a huge wine list (that is probably shared with Tutto Italia too, mind, but they don't often offer it unless you ask) with decent descriptions. They also have some Italian beers on tap besides Moretti, and a collection of Italian cocktails (some real, like the Americano, some like 'Hey, let's put limocello in a margarita and call it authentic!' (not to say that's not yummy- get the version inside rather then the one outside, I think it tastes better)).

Description aside, it's designed like a wine cellar similar to Le Celler, though it's thankfully not as dark. It also feels a bit more 'cozy' then 'claustrophobic', with high top tables and then couches with low tables spread out in the small place (we sat at the later). There's wines all over the back wall, and then an open display that shows examples of various menu items. Bricks are all over the ceiling, and rustic looking Italian art of various mediums are on the walls.

On another note, they're famous for usually opening two varieties of wine a day that are of the 'expensive' kind- like, 70$+- and allowing you to try those two varieties by the glass (there's actually a flight that will include the two wines of the day and a prosecco (Italian bubbly)). If you want to try an expensive Italian wine without committing, this is the place. They also have a lovely 30$ flight of six different Italian wines from regions all over Italy that's an awesome start to enjoying said Italian wines; if you're new to them, or sharing, I recommend that! It's a good deal.



I was tempted by the 'fancy wines' flight (and an Americano), but we decided to do cheaper flights instead. Mother chose the Under a Tuscan Sun (all wines from the Tuscany wine region, on the left), and I chose the Soft Elegant Reds, which are described as all being 'mixed berry flavors of strawberry and raspberry with a lingering velvety finish' on the right.

(If you're not interested in wine, skip to the next picture. Also- I am not a professional wine critic. Neither is mom. These are just our impressions.)

Mother's first (the white at the top) was a Vernaccia (di San Gimignano?) from Toscolo. We prefer reds to whites (save for my love of Rieslings), but this was a very nice white. It was a light wine, while still being very crisp and forward: it was a good combination of 'easy drinking' and 'I can stand up to food well, including cheese and tomatoes'. Her second was probably both our favorites of her set (and her favorite total), Castello di Querceto's Chianti.

Chianti is often described as the ultimate table wine: put it on your dinner table, and it will go with almost anything you're eating (especially if it's Italian food). Other people call it a cheap wine for cheap people, as it's generally not usually overly expensive. Personally, I lean towards the first group of thinking, not the latter: I think Chianti's have a strong, bold taste while still being easily paired. Also, I tend to like the cool shaped bottles they come in. This particular Chianti was lighter then most Chianti I've had, having softer tannins then usual. Still very bold, though.

Her third is... the wine I made the least amount of notes on. Tre, from Brancaia- a bled that was primarily Sangiovese. It was described on the tasting sheet as a 'powerhouse "Super Tuscan" blend'. It smelled rather sweet: mother picked up both vanilla and caramel. It wasn't sweet in taste, though. It was- well, very bold? The boldest of all the six wines. We both liked it, but liked others better.

Then on to my wines. The first one (on the bottom right) was La Quercia's Montepulciano d'Abruzzo (I hope I spelled that right). It was the sweetest, but not dessert wine level sweet. Mother noted it was an incredibly dangerous wine: one you could easily drink a whole bottle of as it went down smooth, sweet, and without any real tannins. I liked it probably as much as the Chianti.

My second wine (in the middle) was a Barbera d'Alba, Batasiolo's. Barbera's are interesting... it's probably the most famous wine from the Piedmont area of Italy and is grown very commonly over there (wikipedia wants me to know it's third most grown red grape in Italy). Yet at least here (in tourist trap, PA), I'm more likely to find a barbera from Argentina or Australia. And I'm just listing random facts because this wine was- well, sort of bland. Sweet smelling, mildly sweet tasting, and certainly not bad- yet nothing outstanding or really notable about that. About the best thing to note is that it did indeed make an excellent bridge between the first and third wine of my flight.

That wine was Allegrini's Valpolicella, my favorite. I thought it was the most flavorful of the six wines. It still had the berry notes, but it wasn't exactly sweet- in fact, it was a very spicy wine (the pairing list even described it as having 'gorgeous spice notes'. Yet it remained very light and refreshing. The 'elegant' label really described this wine. It was delicious, and I would have gladly drank a bottle of it.



My Gamberetti. As you can see, Tutto Gusta serves small plates, not huge ones like you'd get in it's sister restaurants (I thought that was a good thing). It was shrimp in a light tomato sauce (baby tomatoes abounded) with lots of garlic and some spice.

(There was a pepper in it. I bit in to it and nearly died. I really shouldn't eat pepper seeds.)

This was not really a complicated dish; mom noted she could easily make this at home. What she probably can not do, though, despite her prowess as a cook is cook the pasta this perfectly. I have eaten at many Italian restaurants in my life (though I've never been to Italy), many of them much more fancy (and expensive!) then this one. I don't think I've ever had pasta cooked this wonderful ever before. I was pretty amazed (and I feel sort of cheated from some of those fancy places, hmph). The shrimp was also perfect, making a simple dish excellent.



Mother was apparently on some odd fontina kick. She ordered two paninis.

In Italy, 'panini' (or 'panino', singular) from what I understand (please correct me if I'm wrong) basically means 'sandwich'. It can be grilled, served warmed, and pressed like you'd get if you ordered one in almost any restaurant here in the US, but it doesn't need to be. I think these, the bread might have been very lightly grilled, but they weren't pressed, nor were they served warm.

They were simple. The one in the back was fontina with carciofi: that's artichokes. Mom believes they were lightly pickled, or at least marinated (probably with some lemon juice). The one in the front was fontina with salametto: that's salumi, of the sweet yet garlicy variety. The bread was like one took a crusty Italian bread and made a roll out of it (in a cute diamond shape, to boot). The artichoke seemed to go better with the fontina, but the salametto was really good. Mother preferred the first, myself the second.

Although the menu lists the salad as a wedge, it certainly seemed more chopped to us. It was basically a Caeser, though the dressing was a bit lighter then I'm used to with Caeser. It was refreshing.

Both of these plates were small, but they were also filling. With a bit of upcoming dessert, I didn't get hungry till sometime around three in the morning (when I told mother, along with a happy mother's day wish... she told me to go back to sleep). And I'm like one of those prototype teenage boys: I'm always hungry.

Coming in a second: dessert.

 

[Redwitch]

Ahhhh! Thank you for the Mother's Day wishes! <3

 

[Mikka]

Dessert from yesterday, at the lovely...

L'Artisan des Glaces
​

This place is delicious. <3

Nestled near the pasty shop in France is the ice cream shop (it's where the old pastry shop once was). We've actually only ever had the ice cream (well, mother had the chocolate macaroon and ice cream once, I think), but everything here looks good. If you want an ice cream martini, there's good French spirits. And the brioche... we watched (and smelled) them prepare two while we were waiting. If we get back here during the week, that's where we'll be going.

Yesterday, though, we just had two cones of 'new' flavors. (As an aside, the other new thing appeared to be a strawberry macaroon ice cream sandwich, which I'm wondering might be worth getting over the Strawberry macaroon at the F&G French booth.)

Mine, the yellow in the foreground, was Lemon (with crispy meringue). That was lemon *ice cream*- not sorbet. Lemon is a rather rare ice cream flavor, at least where I am (I think Turkey Hill, if anyone in the world has ever heard of that, has a season summer one with shortbread (hm, that sounds good), but no other localish brands do). And it indeed tasted lemony, though with more sweetness then your average grocery store lemon. The meringue basically tasted like 'light sugar fluff', and was mixed in: there wasn't a large amount of it, but it added.

(I should make a note that the meringue was basically invisible in the ice cream. If you have sensory issues with unfamiliar textures, this is not a good flavor for you: you usually can't tell where meringue is until it's in your mouth and you have to chew it rather then swallow it, unlike the treats in mom's ice cream or standard nuts/chocolate chips, and it has a different texture- cotton candy that's been left to harden a bit, if you're not used to meringue.)

(Weirdly, this was labeled pistachio in the machine and receipt.)

Mother's (the brown) was the longly named Cinnamon, Caramelized Apple and Crumble Crunch. This... tasted like it says. It was cinnamon ice cream, there was pieces of apple that had been caramelized in it, and then there was the crumble. The crumble was like the stuff you would find on top of say, a berry crumble- a bit oatsy with tons of cinnamon flavor. Again, there wasn't a huge amount of either the apple or the crunch in the ice cream, but it was enough to add to the cinnamon.

The waffle cones were extremely fresh. The only way I knew they hadn't just made them seconds ago were that they weren't warm. As adding the waffle cone makes no difference in price for the one or two scoop (we got the one), if you're not messy and like waffle cones, I definitely recommend going for it.


And... that was yesterday! Today, we had a late breakfast at Starbucks-in-Hollywood Studio (Trolly Treats, is it?- Trolly something...), a full lunch at Mama Melrose, and we're off to grab some more snacks at Epcot before Fantasmic. I may be able to post the breakfast tonight, but that's a might- more likely it'll be tomorrow afternoon (tomorrow is another rope drop with break). Tomorrow should be Yak and Yeti for a small lunch, and V&A for a very big dinner. When that will get posted will... er... hopefully be sometime soon.

If you're reading, thank you!

 

[kastoney]

Joining in the conversation so you know you aren't talking to yourself ; )

Thanks for all the detailed descriptions and great pictures. I love the way you ladies roll. Especially loving tutto gusto as I'm a sucker for all thing Italian, especially wine. I'm with you on chianti, it's welcome on my table anytime.

Now that I found you don't go disappearing ; )

 

[ibcindyb]

I am a lurker who always enjoys your unfinished reviews, and I am loving this one!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Joining in! I love Tutto Gusto (and Tutto Italia) - Glad you enjoyed your meal there.

 

[Mikka]

Ooo, a Stitch avatar! I need to get one, he's my favorite. Thanks all three of you; it's really nice to know people are reading. And indeed, Tutto Gusto rocks! I'd like to get back there, let mom try the beer she wanted to, maybe try one of the fancy wines, another pasta dish, and I do love their cannoli...

Heh, not sure if that's going to happen this trip, but it would be nice.

Yesterday's plans got changed a bit, and we never made it to Epcot (we got to Fantasmic, though!). Today should be as planned; Yak and Yeti (mostly for apps) then V&A. In the break today I'll try to get up the Mama Melrose (not nearly as good Italian, but also not nearly as bad as I expected) review.

...Sorry for spelling Le Cellier wrong all the time up there. Oops. Don't have time to edit.

STARBUCKS IN MGM/HS THAT HAS A PRETTY NAME I CAN'T RECALL
(Trolly Whateverness?)​

Let me just preface this with a note that my mother and I really aren't Starbucks people. We're cheap (well, save for when on vacation), I'm not the biggest coffee drinker to begin with, and mom often finds their roasts a bit too strong. However, we again had no coffee maker in the room (curse you, value resorts!) and I was getting the sort of whiny hungry at ten or so. Starring Rolls has breakfasty food, but last time we ate there (I'm pretty sure I reviewed that- maybe food and wine two years ago, heh?), we were really disappointed.

So, Starbucks, because... why not? (Also, we were right there heading back from the Tower of Terror.)

This was mine. I got an iced chai tea latte, which actually isn't on the menu. They just have the usual hot thing. Starbucks will make any drink iced, though, from my experience. I love chai tea latte's of any sort, but they are expensive. So this was the smallest size. It was a simple nice one: there are a few tea places near home I can get better ones at, but it's nicer then what comes out of a k-cup... or what you get at a Joffery's stand.

The sandwich was ham, swiss and egg on a croissant. It was warm, and the croissant was nicely fluffy. As far as fast food breakfast sandwiches, this was actually very good (particularly compared to the ones we got at Auntie Anne's in the airport while waiting for our delayed flight down). It was, however, five dollars (and fifty cents) while beings barely bigger then the palm of my (small) hand. Starbucks is not cheap.



Unless you want iced coffee. Just plain iced coffee (or regular) is not overly expensive, and that's what mom had. They do have those chocolate/vanilla/cinnamon flavor sprinkle things you can dump on top of your drink for free, too, and I think she poured chocolate ones in hers. Personally, I would have got a flavor shot, but that's probably why I don't go to Starbucks often.

(She found the coffee fine, and not too strong with ice in it.)

Her sandwich was sausage, egg and chedder on an English Muffin. She noted she would have rather had a different kind of bread, but she likes sausage- and it was the cheapest sandwich on the menu. I actually really don't like English Muffins, so it just tasted blah to me, but I believe it was perfectly serviceable.


In hindsight, though, this was sort of a mistake, as Mama Melrose has slightly changed the way their menu worked. We should have went in starving. But that will be a story for later today...

(Ta-dah, a cliffhanger!)

 

[kastoney]

I'm with ya on starbucks. I think I've been there less than 5 times in my life. I'll take my cheap coffee from home any day, but its good to know there is at least another breakfast option at MGM - since it is clearly lacking that.

Ya got me intrigued on mama melrose....

 

[auntfrannie]

Nice to see you're back and doing more reviews! Can't wait for the V&A review!

 

[megveg]

Im here too! keep updating please, youre not posting to no one I really appreciate your wine descriptions! I work at a liquor store and cant drink red wine so I really appreciate the tasting notes on something Ill never get to try lol

 

[nco91590]

My parents accidentally spent $100 at Tutto Gusto last week. They went in for a glass of wine and some apps and ended up making it rain and ordering almost everything in the antipasti case.They said it was amazing!

Enjoying your posts!!!

 

[NuJoy]

I'm enjoying your dining report; and your last one of F&W was nothing less than an true inspiration for the trip my husband and I took nearly 3 weeks ago. Like you, we shared the shrimp and grits at the F&G food both. The pepper in the dish is jalapeño...and it is fiery! I love southern shrimp and grits; but the heat commonly comes from the Andouille alone. The jalapeño was completely unnecessary and overkill for me and I had to push them to the side after a few bites. This was the only thing we ate all day until our V&A reservation that night so it really left an impression. Can't wait to read your review for V&A as well!

 

[jenjersnap]

I love live reports! Looking forward to the rest.

 

[1stTimeDisneyer]

Great Report! And Turkey Hill is the best! I love Turkey Hill ice cream, it is mainly what we buy. I grew up in central PA and we even have a Turkey Hill mini mart. Living in Pittsburgh now, I was so happy to see Turkey Hill ice cream here!

 

[The Librarian]

Great reviews. Following along!

 

[Mikka]

Oh, wow! Everyone! I'm glad to see you posting and glad to know your enjoying this. I'll try to reply individually to everyone's posts later tonight or tomorrow, but right now I want to get up a post so you guys don't think I abandoned you again.

Sadly, we ran in to a few snags. Yesterday's V&A was excellent and awesome and if you've never been, you need to go (leave the kiddo's behind, unless they're teen foodies- then grab them because it is indeed awesome). However, when I woke up today, I felt dead. Dead-dead. Honestly, I thought it was a hangover (I make stupid decisions sometimes- not enough water last night), but after five bottles of water and three glasses of apple juice, it seemed to be more. We ended up canceling Be Our Guest, which I was looking forward to (it would have been our 'new' stop for this trip, as we've never been), and we're dropping Boma tomorrow just in case... buffets aren't really good if your stomach is upset.

(For the record: no, definitely not food poisoning, as mom and I shared everything. Don't avoid Yak and Yeti or V&A, both are excellent. I just have this problem in that if there is any sort of stomach bug around, I get it. Also, me getting sick while at Disney is sadly almost a tradition by now...)

So instead of cool reviews of that stuff, you guys will get boring All Stars Food Court reviews. Sorry!

But, on to... uh... two days ago.

Mama Melrose (Fantasmic Package)
​

We do the Fantasmic package every time we go to Disney. Mom absolutely adores Fantasmic (and yes, I think it's nice, too), but I just can't do that crowded, crazy line. So the package is the way to go, and honestly, we have no problem doing three-course meals. (I suppose we could do the fastpass, but that means no fourth FP and giving up TSM or ToT, which isn't happening.)

However, we almost always do Brown Derby. We love Brown Derby. Yet, we agreed to each other that as we were splurging on V&A, we'd go down a step with the package. So... Mama Melrose it was. H&V really isn't an option.

I'm just going to preface the review with this: a lot of people say Mama Melrose is basically Olive Garden. I think not. Mama Melrose is nowhere as good Italian as the restaurants in Italy/Epcot, and is indeed more Italian American then true Italian. It is not as bad as Olive Garden, though (that's Tony's over in MK at dinner). Olive Garden is basically 'I order soup, breadsticks, and salad, and only when someone else is paying as I'm not even going to pay 8.99 for that ick' (sorry, that may have been a bit snobby). Mama Melrose is at least a step up from that. They do make their sauces on site, and can make adjustments to menu items (Olive Garden often can't, as everything is precooked or frozen). I'm not saying this is a great restaurant- it's not- but it's not Olive Garden. If BD is taken, it will not kill you to go.

(I make no such guarantees about H&V )


Okay, rant over. Food!



Breadsticks came out warm, with a crust and soft inside. Mom liked whatever spice mixture they put in the oil (...it didn't seem to be just pepper), but I thought the oil itself was, well, not that good. It tasted more oily then a dipping sauce should, even if it is made with EVO.

Mama Melrose did a somewhat recent change to their menu: their sixteen or so dollar flatbreads can be used as an appetizer. That means you might actually be able to make your money worth with the package, which used to be impossible. Unfortunately, due to the breakfast sandwichs, we were too full for that. If you are doing this, though, and are like us in the 'must make moneys worth', I really recommend doing the flatbreads for an appetizer.

(And, as an aside, if you're just coming over to eat and not doing the package- the flatbreads are sixteen dollars and probably still sharable by two with maybe a shared other app or dessert. Good deal, and I remember them being tasty enough.)

(Oh, if you're wondering about drinks... this was Mother's Day, so no TiW discount, so we skipped out on that (shocking, right?). Mom managed to drink four glasses of iced tea, I think; I drank maybe one quarter of a glass of root beer. I should have gone with a frozen cappuccino or apple juice, even though there's no refills there...)



I try to avoid ordering seafood at any non signature that's not seafood specialized, but I figured I'd throw caution to the wind two days ago. Hidden under all that arugula was seared (that's basically raw) fennel-crusted tuna: there were four pieces each around the size of a piece of tuna sashimi. On top of the arugula was a tiny bit of olive-topenade, the little dark spots on the far side of the plate were apparently pea pods (they tasted like salt- I actually thought they were capers until I asked), and the sauce was a basil-sweet pepper vinaigrette.

I was surprised at how decent this was. This appetizer was almost signature quality: a bit more flavor on the arugula would have likely made it so. The tuna itself was very good, as was the sauce.



I don't think they've changed this dish in years: this is what I had last time we came here. Mom's appy, the Oak Fried Mussels (no note on where said mussels were from). They were cooked in 'spicy tomato butter', there were onions floating around (and I think one random pepper), and the bread was a 'herb cruton' (the menu implies there should be multiple pieces of said bread, but menus do lie).

This dish was again good (or we wouldn't have ordered it twice in a row!), but here's where the mistakes were made: mom was not offered either a small fork to dig the mussels out, as would be standard, nor a soup spoon to scoop up the broth... and no one came to check on us (or even came near us) for us to request either.

There were a pretty good amount of mussels in there, though, and they came out easier then they usually did... save for that really sweet part that is, well, impossible to get without ripping it with one's fingers or using a tiny fork. Sigh.



Sticking with the fish, I went with the Fish of the Day. It was Corvina, which as you may know is an overname for like, twelve different sorts of fish (as well as an Italian wine grape). In this case, they meant the sea bass version. This style of fish is sort of like tilapia, in my opinion: it's light, flaky, doesn't taste at all fishy, but uh, that's mostly because on it's own it doesn't really have all that much taste to begin with. It was done with lemon and tarragon: in this case, it meant the fish had a light lemon bite to it. I thought the fish might have been slightly overcooked, and skin was very tough (almost inedible).

All the real flavor came from the sauce, which was brandy cream sauce. That was nice. What was really nice (and the actual reason I ordered it (besides the fact that I hate eating pasta without wine, heh)) was the shrimp risotto underneath. I love a good risotto, and seafood risotto's tend to be my favorites. It was the high point of the dish, especially as it soaked in the brandy cream sauce. There were very tiny (like, the size of my thumbnail) shrimp mixed in, too.

I will say I had a lobster risotto at Tutto Italia and then a scallop risotto at Flying Fish both last year in October that were much better then this risotto. It wasn't by a huge leap though, and I think if they took this, the sauce, then added nicely done bigger shrimp this meal would be even more of a success. Then again, I'm no chef, so maybe that would be too shrimpy?

(Also: this said shrimp risotto on the menu, but the waitress said it was lobster and shrimp risotto after serving it and I had eaten some. There were no lobster pieces in this (shame?), so I assume it was just the juice of it, but... no warning. Most people are allergic to all shellfish, but if someone could take shrimp and not lobster, this would be bad. People with allergies, always note it to the resturaunt, as menus do lie.)



Keeping with the must get moneys worth ideal, the most expensive thing on the menu: the charred Strip Steak for mom. I don't really like Strip Steak's: I find them too tough, even when they are cooked well. And this one was cooked great (surprisingly so, considering how iffy that can be at the World): perfect medium rare. It was served with a Chianti wine reduction as the sauce and some aged balsamic-shallot butter on top that added some jucyness I think the steak needed.

I'm pretty sure the real reason mom ordered it was the side, though: a five cheese macaroni. The pasta was overcooked (especially compared to Tutto Gusto), but it was still great tasting and deliciously creamy. No notes on what the cheeses were, but, eh, they were good.

It's probably telling that she finished all her mac and cheese and I all my risotto, but I left some fish and her some steak. Maybe we should actually try some pasta dishes here, though none of them looked as good as the sides.

This is where waitress Alyssa became victim to SWDS (Sudden Waitperson Disappearing Syndrome, known to happen before the dessert menus are brought out or after they're done and one is waiting for the check- a tragic malady that seems to infect at least one out of five waitpersonas at Disney restaurants, and is prone to occasional epidemics that make the numbers more like two out of three). Thus, we sat staring at each other awkwardly for around fifteen minutes after this course was finished with our dishes in front of us while no one was to be seen. I'm being sort of sarcastic here, obviously, but this really does seem to be a major and frustrating problem at dining at Disney: and the restaurant was not anywhere near full.



We were almost dreading dessert. Last time we ate here, while the apps and entrees were fine, the desserts were some of the most horrible I've ever had, including I think the worst panna cotta in the history of mankind (it had no flavor whatsoever, and a texture no panna cotta should ever have).

This was much better. We were each given an individual platter (no choice- it's the dessert sampler on the menu), not a shared one. Left to right, that's a cannoli 'cake' (basically, a moist chocolate cake with the cannoli cream dolloped on it), tiramisu and then a chocolate amarettini cheesecake. The amarettini is the little cookie on top of the cheesecake: it's like a little almond (traditionally flavored using ameretto) macaroon, though this one was more crumbly then is perhaps proper.

Nicely fitting, left to right is also in order of how much we enjoyed them. The cake was probably fine, but neither of us enjoy cake, really. So we both just ate the cannoli filling part and ignored it. The tiramisu was nice enough, but ruined once again by service: all we were given for the dessert course was a soup/twirling spoon, which was too big to fit in to the bottom of the little platter and actually get to the ladyfingers (and of course the waitress and everyone else had disappeared so we couldn't ask for a fork or a tea spoon). This meant the ladyfingers just got gritty, really, and likewise made the rest of the dish a bit gritty. The little cheesecake and cookie, though, was quite enjoyable. Certainly not the best dessert ever, but much better then usual for Mama Melrose.

Unfortunately, there's no full sized portion of that (the cheesecake on the menu is no sugar added strawberry if you're not doing the package). Sigh.


All in all, we did get out of there in time to use our fastpass (and then get stuck on the Great Movie ride for an extra 20 or so minutes). So despite the awkward disappearing waitress, it didn't take too long. Still, while the food was acceptable (and better then I thought it would be), I wish the service had been more on top of things. The waitress was friendly and cheerful when around, but she never seemed to be around when we needed her (though at least she was on top with refills for mom). Sort of disappointing.


And... I am really behind. I owe you guys reviews for Brown Derby Lounge, Yak and Yeti, Victoria and Albert (for that, though, I think I'm going to do a teaser and then do a full review when I get home- twelve courses is a lot to type up!), Sci Fi Galatic Star Wars Awesomeness, and All Star Spots Food Court foodcourtness. When will this happen? ...I don't really know, but I think I'm still live here. Hopefully, more tomorrow! Where we are eating, I have no idea. Knowing us, probably a bar.

 

[Redwitch]

I was told to reply to Mikka's review. I really don't have more to add as she questions me as we eat as to my impressions on our food. I really do think it was odd that Mama decided to give us soup spoons that wouldn't fit inside the tiny cup - I actually used my ice tea spoon to eat dessert. Strange that a restaurant would have ice teas spoons (most do not) yet not have cocktail/seafood forks or even teaspoons. Enjoy the rest of Mikka's reviews!

 

[rhondag508]

Great report so far...hope today is fun! Pretty sure I remember your reports from our first trip to Disney too....

Glad you are feeling better now...and sorry you were sick and missed a few fun places!