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

[Mikka]

There are some great bars and lounges! We hit a few more later in the trip. One of my favorites we just never made it to is the Tequila Bar/'the cave' in Epcot's Mexico for margaritas, tequila, and mezcal. They get really crowded, especially on weekends, but the margaritas are so good... if they aren't premixing them. Heh, that's why we try to get there as soon as they open. Decent queso and guac, too, if you want to snack on chips.

So, I'm back from beautiful Virgina, a year older but no wiser as they say. I had the magic touch yesterday: I dialed in to the F&W folks and got to be some nice lady's first call of the day, and she actually knew what she was doing and we got our first choice for five events. So excited! We're basically going to be there the first week of October and then a few extra days, if anyone else is going then. I can't wait! If you're still waiting to make your reservations tomorrow, by the way, may I suggest the Habachi Experience? It's my favorite Food and Wine event I've gone to, ever. Enjoy stuff like lobster tail's and wagyu beef done on the habachi grill with sake, Japanese beer, and plum wine in a small setting with lots of interaction with the chef... it's great!

Today (well, the today of the far past) was mostly a 'wander around Epcot day' (and meet again the lovely MinnieMama411 and her husband, who we met at a French Regional two years ago, I believe <3). So a few short reviews when I get the time; I had a story seed pop up in my head this morning and am goofing off writing it today as well as trying to figure out if I can afford to subscribe to an MMO. >.>

SUNSHINE SEASONS​

Mom wanted breakfast. I was basically indifferent to this, so breakfast it was as we waited for our Soaring fastpass time to come around.



I got the Bircher Muesli, a lovely little dish from Switzerland. That's basically soaked rolled oats (so mushy oatmeal) with whatever toppings you so wish: traditionally, apples are used, but I believe this was just the berries and nuts you see. This version used milk over yogurt. It was sweet, simple, and easy to eat and kept me going for quite a while. I'm actually not a huge fan of oatmeal, but this was pretty flavourful in my opinion.



What mom had her eye on was the Croissant Berry Bread Pudding. It is exactly what it sounds like: croissants turned in to bread pudding with berries (I believe blueberries, though I've heard it's made with blackberries, too?). It was delicious! The only issue was that it was slightly dry- with someone ordering the muesli, though, we were in luck. A few spoonfuls of the milk on to the bread pudding moistened it up and made it even better. I'd strongly suggest doing that, getting cereal and milk, or just getting a thing of milk if you order this- you don't need much milk, but a little bit of it made everything pop out even more. I believe this counts as a snack credit on the dining plan rather then a meal: it's probably not the best use of a credit, but I think it's probably by far the best thing to eat here at Sunshine Seasons for breakfast, so I'm just mentioning it.

I would definitely order the Museli again, don't get me wrong, but I would really order the bread pudding. For something sitting under a heat lamp in a food court, it was pretty darn awesome.


Next... some booths, I think. Wee!

 

[frannn]

Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful reviews! Definetly helps pass the time before our trip more easily. I do have a specific question: We are doing the Fantasmic Pkg at Mama Melrose next month. I don't recall the flatbreads being an appetizer choice last year. How did you know they are allowed as an appetizer now? I would definetly love to try one but want to make sure I ask the right person, in the right way...

 

[Mikka]

Actually, for the flatbreads, the waitress just straight up told us! She did the usual "la de da, how long since you last dined here?" spiel, we told her we had been there a year and half ago/two years ago/I don't remember for the Fantasmic Dinner Package, she did a "Alright, some of the menu items will be familiar to you, these are some of our recent ones that are yummy la de da" and then added "There's been a change since you were here, FLATBREADS ARE HOW APPERTIZERS THEY ARE YUMMY YOU SHOULD EAT THEM (la de da)".

...I may be paraphrasing slightly.

Having said this, this *is* Disney, and it is totally possible that the day after we ate there (or, heck, even at dinner time the same day!) they decided to change it back to no flatbreads. Disney likes changing things. I can only say that it was allowed on Mother's Day in May. The only thing I can suggest is to just ask, and if you are refused, try the polite "But my friend was just here and was able to..., are you sure it wouldn't be possible?" in a pleading but not whiny voice with puppy eyes. That usually works pretty well, at least for me. >.>

(Well, unless it's against my mom. Then it's the whole 'if your friend jumped off a bridge' deal, but that's how mom's are.)

Good luck, though! I hope you can get them. As I said, we didn't try them this trip, but I remember from long ago finding them really actually one of the best things at the restaurant, and when I looked around this trip, they looked great!


Anyway, I was going to split this post up in to four separate ones, as we technically went to four separate places. Also it would increase my post count! But then I kind of decided I liked being a newbie and that seemed like a lot of work. So this is sort of a scattered post of four different stops: two flower and garden booths, France's ice cream shop, and my lovely Japanese department store.

WORLD SHOWCASE WANDERINGS​

Yeah, that sounds like a good title.

Starting off, we met MinnieMama from above and her husband at the FRANCE booth (it has a different name for Flower and Garden (Fleur De Leys, I'm thinking), but seriously, it's the France booth). And ordered...



This tremendously ugly thing!

Looking at my notes, this actually wasn't a new item this year, but I was hungry and wanted protean, so there it was. It's duck confit over garlic potatoes (they were sort of like scalloped potatoes). I actually did not take notes on what we liked about the food and wine booths (not that we really did many booths...), but I seem to remember we found this pretty satisfying. Probably partially because we desperately needed protean. The potatoes were nothing fancy, but the duck was rather decently cooked for a little booth, and was rich without being overly fatty.



Two things strike me about this picture: first, I really needed to trim/shape my nails, and second, I have no idea what that cast member in the back is doing. Must have been hot. It was really hot.

This was the new item of the day, the grown up ice pop. This was supposedly made with the Grand Marnier Raspberry Peach liquor (I only saw the bottles of the regular one around, though I suppose they actually made the ice pop somewhere else), vodka (not sure what kind) and iced tea.

This is sort of hard to review. There was nothing wrong with the flavor: it was sweet, tasty, and actually seemed to have booze in it. However, despite all those things you hear that vodka can not freeze (it's a lie, btw- mom managed to freeze a bottle down in a condo in Florida once, though we've never successfully repeated that experiment), this had chunks of frozen liquor everywhere that made it very unwieldy to eat (I'm talking ice chunks of frozen booze- not general popsicle frozen, which would be expected- more like the ice on the side of the popsicle's if it's been in the freezer too long that you brush off). Yet while most of it was frozen, the other half was dripping out of the bottom (I think I ended up using like, ten napkins and half a bottle of hand-santizer trying to fix that).

So I'm really unsure how to review this. Taste? Great! Execution? Iffy. They're trying one of these again for the Food and Wine festival; hopefully they'll have at least figured out the leakage. I can deal with the ice, but losing an eighth of my drink due to it falling out the whole in the middle isn't cool.



Next stop, more France... or to be exact, L'ARTISAN DES GLACES.



Mom got Mint Chocolate Chip, thankfully not dyed bright green. I took one lick: it tasted minty. Mint is one of the few things in food I really dislike (I can occasionally handle fresh mint- the Moroccon mint tea is okay as it is there, but not if it's out of a teabag- but not much more then that), so I left it at that. She seemed to enjoy it? I don't remember her complaining.



I'm not sure if this is still there: the Strawberry and Creame macaroon sandwich. I believe it debuted in January for early winter/spring, and a new Summer flavor may have come out now (I know they switch to the red/white/blue for Bastile Day in July, I'm just unsure if this one is still there, came back after disappearing for a week or if it was replaced entirely). If it is still there, though, it was delicious. The macaroon is kept chill- not quite frozen, but with a slight texture difference then a normal one (though I didn't find it bad). This keeps the ice cream cooperative: there was basically no dripping. It tasted exactly how it's described: cream(e?) ice cream with strawberry flavored cookie surrounding it. Despite it being ice cream, it was very light. However, despite costing more, it seemed a lot smaller then mom's.

Of course, macaroon's are ridiculously expensive, so that makes some sense.



Then the four of us headed off to the new booth in town, BOTANAS BOTA'NIO. Also known as 'sort of South American'.



Seafood Ceviche and the Cachapa con Queso (sweet corn pancake with cheese).

Neither of these were overly impressive, if you want the truth, though the pancake (despite being very simple) was probably the better of the dishes. The ceviche was more sauce then seafood, despite how 'full' the picture looks, and while I do like mango, there was far more mango then seafood in here (the seafood was white fish, shrimp, and scallops)... plus a ton of onions and peppers, more then that was really necessary. The 'sauce' (what is the correct word for this, I wonder?) was also both spicy and bitter, and yet still managed to be mostly uninteresting. The pancake, on the other hand, was well, exactly what it sounds like. Corn pancake with a healthy amount of cheese: no surprise, but not bad. Far too hot for the weather, but we ordered it.



We also got the fruit punch, without the rum (in general, adding a shot to these drinks is ridiculously expensive even by Disney prices). This was tasty, though not as cold as it could have been (though at least it wasn't warm like that watermelon juice from the F&W booth two years back...). It also came in a very small cup: we should have put it against the food to show the difference. Still, much better then any store-bought fruit punch I've ever had. This actually seemed like it was made with fruit rather then having fruit just dumped in at the end, which I'm not sure is really the case- but, hey, what it tastes like is what counts, right?

The four of us sat and chatted for a while, then we split up as mom had a ton of gift buying to do. And what better place to shop for gifts then the biggest department store in Disney?



Thus, the MITSUKOSHI DEPARTMENT STORE (oldest department store in the world!). And if mom and I walk in there, there's always a spot in the back we have to try.



The little sake bar in the back of the department store (way back) has a standard list of around ten or so sake's that are constantly there, and then usually rotates in another with the changing of seasons (noticably, they'll have a hot sake in winter). It seemed like the had the sparkling Hana (flower) sake (the one in the cute pink bottle) as their specialty for almost a whole year, though. Finally, though, there was something different, and I was happy to try it.

(Random note, they also had a Japanese alcoholic 'ginger beer'- but talking to the people trying it, it wasn't like our ginger beer. They said it tasted more like a weitbeir. So mom wasn't interested: she likes lots of ginger, or dark beers.)

This, as the bottle says, is Gekkikan's Zippang Sparkling Sake. It was light, crisp and slightly sweet (less sweet then the Hana sparkling, though- off-sweet?). It was easily drinkable, and for those who were curious about the name, this is an import from Japan (unlike the Gekkikan traditional big green bottle, which is made in the USA (...and served at our local Chinese place here in Tourist Trap, PA)). Since coming back from this vacation, I've noticed this bottle popping up on social media a lot. It seems people are using it to make sake cocktails these days, and I could see that: use it in place of a sparkler (I think it tasted better then most sparkling wines, actually, but I think I may just not be one for sparkling wines unless they're ridiculously cheap). I personally have a friend online who drinks this mixed with chambord constantly (I think that may be a waste of the chambord, but YMMV).

If you're new to sake, this might be a decent try of it, but as this is very non-traditional (much lower alcohol percentage plus the sparkling), I would actually personally recommend the outdoor flight. It's a little stand near the middle door to the department store, near the side steps to the Japanese counter service (this is the covered one, not the uncovered one that sells toys and popsicles). All they sell is that cursed ichiban beer that I hate (with foam!), weak cocktails, and a single sake flight that gives you a good example of three of the most common styles with decent (if not great) sake.

(I always post this whenever I talk about sake because I think sake is awesome and people who haven't tried it should. If you hate it, that's cool, but if you haven't tried it- give it a try!)



And, then, as we had drank some sake, the only thing to do was go drink more sake. But that's a story for tomorrow, I think...

 

[Redwitch]

So, I'm back from beautiful Virgina, a year older but no wiser as they say. I had the magic touch yesterday: I dialed in to the F&W folks and got to be some nice lady's first call of the day, and she actually knew what she was doing and we got our first choice for five events. So excited! We're basically going to be there the first week of October and then a few extra days, if anyone else is going then. I can't wait! If you're still waiting to make your reservations tomorrow, by the way, may I suggest the Habachi Experience? It's my favorite Food and Wine event I've gone to, ever. Enjoy stuff like lobster tail's and wagyu beef done on the habachi grill with sake, Japanese beer, and plum wine in a small setting with lots of interaction with the chef... it's great!

So excited we got our F&W Events! I was suffering from a nasty cold in VA and I'm sure the CM thought I was drunk at 0700 due to my slow responses and lack of focus. On another note - will Mikka finish this review before we leave for our next vaca?

Today (well, the today of the far past) was mostly a 'wander around Epcot day' (and meet again the lovely MinnieMama411 and her husband, who we met at a French Regional two years ago, I believe <3).

It was great to see MinnieMama411 and her husband! We so enjoyed their company at the Frunch and it was magical that we could meet up again!

What mom had her eye on was the Croissant Berry Bread Pudding.

I read about it in someone's review. It sounded so good! I think it might be a "must do" every trip.

Next stop, more France... or to be exact, L'ARTISAN DES GLACES.

Another "must do". Amazing ice cream.

Thus, the MITSUKOSHI DEPARTMENT STORE (oldest department store in the world!). And if mom and I walk in there, there's always a spot in the back we have to try.

Sake! Sake! Must have Sake!

 

[MelBel75]

Having so much fun reading your review! Thanks!

 

[Mikka]

Thank you for reading! I really appreciate it!

Anyway, sadly, I caught that horrible cold mom had. I'm feeling fairly miserable still, but if I'm good enough to be listening to bad jpop, I figure I'm good enough to write a small review. So,. after trying some sake, we basically walked right upstairs, and asked if we could have MOAR SAKE.

...If we were smart, we would have just visited booths, but it was just so hot. It really was. ;_;

TOKYO DINING​

I just want to pause and say I really like Tokyo Dining. The food's more authentic then Teppen Edo, the waitresses are just as friendly, you can watch the sushi chefs, people watch out the windows, or stare at the TV's showing pretty scenes of Japan throughout the seasons depending on where you're sitting, and it's usually quiet and cool. Also, some of the coolest bathrooms in the world. Because apparently that matters.

We were just basically here for sushi and sake, which we explained to the nice waitress Yuka, who was of course okay with it.



So, sake flight!

Trying to read my own notes, I believe this was Dassai "50" Junmai Daiginjo (Otter Festival), Oze no Yukidoke Junmai Ginjo, Otokoyama Tokubetsu Junmai (Man's Mountain). The first was a very light yet slightly fruity sake that was basically 'perfect hot weather drinking' sake. The second was I think my favorite, a bit more full bodied. The last was by far the driest, and was quite the bold little sake. All of them were, as you can see, clear and served chilled in the 'horseback riding' cups. I'm not going in to what each type of sake means, as I'm sure you can look it up and because I'm sure I'll be doing a long report of the details again in October (as I think I did two years ago). Just know that all were good and interesting. They have a really nice selection of sake cocktails, now. I'd like to experiment with some of them...



So remember the snarky remarks I made about mom trying to eat mussels at Mama Melrose with a tea spoon and fork? Multiply them, as you now imagine me trying to eat clam's with nothing but a broth scoop and chopsticks.

This was the Asari Miso Clam Soup, which is actually a pretty big thing in Japan. Asari clams have nothing to do with a certain video game by Bioware (...again, I'm the only one who gets these jokes, aren't I?) and are actually known as Manila Clams here in the USA. Unlike most versions of Miso Soup, this version traditionally doesn't have tofu- or seaweed, for that matter. I believe that was the case here: no seaweed, mushrooms, or tofu, just scallions.

This was quite nice, actually. Hard to eat, as I was trying to get the clams out with chopsticks, but that was part of the fun. These clams are traditionally more briny, but I think that's good, and the soup just soaked it all up. A bit salty, but delicious.

(Yuka- and many other nice looking people- were around, and I'm sure I could have asked for a fork, but it wasn't as hard as one would expect. I'm guessing if I had asked, they would have freakin' ran over to France if necessary to find me a little fork if they didn't have it, because that's just what they do in the Japanese Pavilion, but... well, it wasn't as difficult as the mussles had been.)



Then we shared the biggest sushi platter, 'Matsu' (Matsu means 'to wait'... or pine (tree)). Let's see...

Starting at the bottom left, we have pickled ginger (note: mom can and did eat all of this). Then egg (tamago- it's basically a folded omelette; sushi snobs will tell you that seeing how a chef prepares egg can tell you a lot about whether the place serves good sushi or bad sushi). Then eel (anago; tis cooked, as eel always is (toxic!)) (this, like most of the other items, is nigori, a type of sushi (nigori being the fish simply over the rice, sometimes with a single piece of seaweed holding it together)). Then two spicy rolls (salmon, tuna, cucumber, and then accompaniments such as the scallions and sesame seeds) (those are maki- rolls, though there's tons of different varieties of maki). Then there's the wasabi (powdered fake form; this version of wasabi is basically just American horseradish with food colouring, the real stuff tastes very different).

Above is the shrimp (ebi- poached, though you can get ama ebi (sweet shrimp!) raw at Kimono's), yellowtail (hamachi- not actually tuna (that's yellowfin!), though sometimes listed as it on menu's because of no reason I understand) and scallop (hotate- I believe that may have also been poached?). Above that is the standard tuna (maguro- the non-expensive part (AKA, not the belly, which would be toro)) and of course salmon (sake- see, it's a pun, do you want sake with your sake?). Then, at the top, four rainbow rolls (cucumber, avocado, roe) with two having salmon and two having... hm. I wrote down that two were yellowtail, but looking at this picture, two are definitely tuna. Either that or I've completely confused the yellowtail and the tuna, but seeing as they're completely different in color, I don't think I did that.

Anyway, there isn't much to say about this. Some people like raw fish; some people find it gross. Mom and I love it, but I tend to like nigiri/sashimi (sashimi would be just the fish with no rice) more, while she likes the maki. This is mostly because I don't like seaweed unless it's ridiculously expensive good stuff: otherwise, it gives me texture shudders. For this, then, we did go with mostly the nigiri... which I think makes sense. If you want rolls, Tokyo Dining probably isn't the best place for them (California Grill would be better). For just the plain fish, though, Tokyo Dining is great: obviously, they don't have fatty tuna or sea urchin here (or really a large variety in general), but they have all the basics, and they do them well.

Which is, of course, the thing. How does this sushi stand up to other sushi around Disney? I don't think I've ever actually had the sushi at the Kona Isle, so no comment there. I do think the Japan pavilion's not as good as either Kimono's (though I've only been there once) or California Grill's, but it's certainly so much better then any of the sushi you're getting out of grab and go cases at counter-services, and it's comparable to most of the sushi places around home. It's totally safe, everything is fresh, and I don't think there's anything to complain about.

I do wish the maki on this platter were ones actually enjoyed in Japan. Maki is more of an American thing then an actual Japanese one, but there are some rolls enjoyed over there (California roll has actually spread over to there, but daikon, natto and ume are popular, too). Sadly, we don't often see them in the USA. As yummy as 'Americans eat sushi is!', when I go to a Japanese restaurant in faux-Japan, I want to try 'Japanese eat sushi!'.



We didn't order this, but mother had her birthday button on, so... <3

Ah, Tokyo Dining. I do love you.

Their lovely chocolate ginger cake, free and with a message written in strawberry sauce. This is basically a yellow cake that's ginger infused and then has light chocolate layers, as well as a heavier chocolate icing. Despite the chocolate involved, it's a very light dessert. It's actually one of mom's favorites, so I was surprised she didn't order it. Then again, Tokyo Dining is very well known for giving this for people's birthdays. Lucky people who don't have birthday in the very heat of summer, grumble.

There's not much to say about this: it's yummy, not really that authentic (reminds me of that little rice cake with whipped cream on it they served at either the F&G or F&W a few years back- adorable, but nothing Japanese at all besides 'Japanese like red bean, green tea, fruit, and rice WEE IT WORKS'), but we still scarfed it all down. I was glad we got it.

(And the singing is so nice!)



...Next, a bit more World Showcase wandering. Followed by the next day: DOWNTOWN! The Boathouse!

 

[Redwitch]

Argh! While at work today (working hard/hardly working) we were discussing sushi options in the area and looking at menus on the web, which means I am now craving sushi! (Suu-chi as my Spanish co-worker says.) I come home to this post. Now I really want sushi! How many days until out Tokyo Food and Wine Pairing Food and Wine event?

BTW - Mikka hardly shared a taste of her soup. I do like the ginger cake, and I am not much of a cake eater. There is something different about the texture. And I love ginger anything!

 

[Mikka]

I want sushi, too! Less then two months till the F&W pairing event, I believe... I wish it was here now.

Did I really not share my soup? >.> Sorry! I told you to order an appetizer, too. Mine was so yummy...

MORE WORLD SHOWCASE WANDERINGS​

So what do you do after having sake? GET BEER. Apparently.

(Ooo, I like that woman's black and red dress. Fancy for park day, though. Perhaps she's off to Monsieur Paul's.)

If you've read my previous reports, you'll notice that I basically don't care for beer. Like, at all. The only beers I like are the ones that taste nothing like beer, basically; I don't even like shandy's all that much (though I find them easier to drink then most beers). Mother, however, does like beers. Especially dark ones.

Especially *especially* dark ones that say Maple Bacon Stout on them.

So this was the Maple Bacon Stout from the Smokehouse F&G booth (also known as Hops and Barley at F&W). Once again, the castmember saw her little button, and gave her the Piggylicious Cupcake. We had that last year, and it was the same this year: a thick cupcake (some people said it reminded them of cornbread, and I could see it) with bacon pieces in it, maple frosting, and then pretzels crumbled on top of the frosting. This was fairly yummy: completely unnecessary after the cake at Tokyo Dining, but hey, free! (How did she get two free desserts in one day, and both of them were good? Argh!) Neither of us are usually cake eaters, but this was not your standard vanilla cake.

As for the beer? It tasted like bitter.

According to mom, it was dark with the lightest hint of sweet from the maple, though she really didn't get any bacon flavoring. I, on the other hand, just got bitter. I'm very bad at beer tasting.



From Primavera Kitchen (also known as Italy), the 'Frozen Italian Primavera'. Primavera means Spring in Italian, Spanish, and Portagese (and a few of their buddy languages), but looking up 'primavera cocktail' is getting me four different hits for four completely different drinks. What this was supposed to be fruit juices swirled with vodka and limocello.

All I can tell you is it tasted like sweet. Super gross sweet. Syrup sweet. 'Desperately avoid sweet'.

(Also, fake-Italy booth had a thing with broken straws that day, in which around four straws in a row that we got were broken with holes in them. Odd.)

What I can't tell you is if, say, someone just happened to go get two shots of vodka and then dump them in this drink, it would sadly lead to this drink not really even improving at all as it was that horrible, and this hypothetical someone would then just feel depressed on wasting those two shots of vodka. Which would be something to keep in mind. If it happened. Y'know.

(In other words, avoid this. Syrupy sweet, no taste of alcohol, and alcohol doesn't even improve it. Bad combination.)



Much better was the Key Lime Sparkling Wine from the Florida Fresh booth (I'm not actually sure what booth that turns in to for F&W). It was made by Florida Orange Groves Winery, which mom and I actually visited on a recent trip to Tampa. They usually have a presence at both festivals, selling the Hurricane Sangria frozen pouches in headquarters building, if nothing else. I don't know if we'll be seeing it again, as I'm not sure what they mean by limited reserve, but I thought it was tasty.

It was, as you would expect, basically their key lime wine (also often served at these festivals) with carbonation. It is, as far as I know, made with fermented limes rather then grapes... which as it's the true fruit rather then flavoring, actually means it's not that bitter/sour/tart. There's a hint of that, sure, but it's mostly just light and refreshing.



Finally, as the day winds down, a rather non-informative picture of a sammy from Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe.

This is my favorite, the Ham and Apple Sandwich. It's ham, apple, jarlsberg, munster and then sweet apple chutney, toasted (though I suppose if you didn't want it toasted, you don't have to get it) on multigrain. It seems sort of sad we didn't get a pastry too, considering we were already in the bakery, but we just needed a little something to keep us going as we waited for Illuminations to start. This fit the bill perfectly.

There's not too much to say about this. I've seen ham, apple and brie sandwich's often enough at artsy cafe's around here, but never with the jarlsberg and munster besides here. I think it's just as nice, though (although I do love my brie cheese). I'm not sure if they actually eat this in Norway; sadly, I don't have any friends from Norway to bother aimlessly about their countries foods. Still, it tastes good and isn't something you'd see everywhere, which is really what I'm looking for in the World Showcase. So, no complaints! The cheese was nice and melty without being melted: it was toasted for the perfect time. A bit hot to touch, but it cooled quick.


And, uh, that's it. That night, mom managed a miracle of sorts: she found a Be Our Guest reservation (which we had ended up having to cancel when I was sick) for the next night. So we were excited! Yet... well, we'll get to that. First stop, hopefully tomorrow, will be THE BOATHOUSE.

 

[Redwitch]

Especially *especially* dark ones that say Maple Bacon Stout on them.

This was good. A bit sweet from the maple, but I couldn't pick up any bacon. Stouts are good, but my favorites are porters. It is hard to find darker beers in the heat of Florida, unfortunately.

What I can't tell you is if, say, someone just happened to go get two shots of vodka and then dump them in this drink, it would sadly lead to this drink not really even improving at all as it was that horrible, and this hypothetical someone would then just feel depressed on wasting those two shots of vodka. Which would be something to keep in mind. If it happened. Y'know.

What a hypothetical query!

(How did she get two free desserts in one day, and both of them were good? Argh!)

To me! To me!

 

[Mikka]

I want to go for my birthday one day, too. Or at least, I say that, then I picture that heat and start feeling horrified. I hope it's cooler this October.

Anyway, we slept in (or at least, I did, though I think she did too), and decided to skip the parks the next day. We had dinner scheduled at Be Our Guest for late in the evening, but the rest of the day was free. We decided to go Downtown. Downtown was an absolute disaster in terms of getting there (long way to Typhoon Lagoon, then circling alll the way back around the Vacation Club resorts + Port Orleans), but once there it was pretty empty.

We goofed off looking in the shops, and I think we might have actually bought a few things (and tried on a lot of expensive hats- I fell in love with one, but it was like, 60$'s more then what I would pay for a basic hat), but my true goal was the Boathouse (though we read the menu's to every restaurant we passed along the way and debated on them). It was new! It was exciting! It was food! And, you know, we weren't all disappointed. Hopefully it gets on Tables in Wonderland soon!

THE BOATHOUSE​

We sat at the bar, and thus the person we interacted with was the bartender, Holland (female, and not from the Neverlands- neither she nor her family had ever been there, from what she explained, they just liked the name). She was cheerful, friendly, and gave good advice when we talked about what to order if we ever came back for a full meal. And, of course, she gave drink advice.




Top down of mom's drink, as it's pretty.

Mine was the light and refreshing Cucumber Cooler: St George Citrus Vodka, lime, and cucumber (and soda water, I assume). Nice and simple. I've been making something similar to this at home, actually, though I add basil: muddle a cucumber and basil in vodka, add tonic water, drink yumminess. I enjoyed it, and you can definitely taste the vodka.

Mom went with what Holland said was their signature drink, the Lake Squall. Rum, more rum, grenadine, passion fruit, orange juice, bitters, and it looked like there were a few other juices involved, too (this drink involved a lot of shots of this and that). It was also light and refreshing, and very fruity.



An extreme CLOSEUP! of my Lobster Roll. New England Lobster Roll, acording to them: fresh whole maine lobster, toasted split top bun, fries (you're only seeing somewhere between half and two-thirds of them; there were a lot of fries). Now, while I do live on the East Coast, PA is sadly landlocked (well, save for Philly). I don't often get fresh lobster: it takes the trip down from Maine, gets frozen along the way, and is expensive so I rarely buy it. So I'm no lobster expert, but... this? This was delicious. There was a decent amount of mayo with the lobster, and there were a few pieces of onion or celery (I can't remember), but the majority was just lobster. Mayo'd lobster, but huge lobster chunks. This was not a place where you got 'mostly filling, little lobster'. This was great.

The fries were also decent: not the best in the world, but yummy. The amount given was ridiculous, though: that easily would have been enough for mom and me to share and probably leave some behind.




Mom was goofing off with close-ups; I figured we should indulge her.

Ever since a trip to San Diego (it was so beautifullllll~!), mom has loved fish tacos. If she sees them, she orders them. So these Grilled Mahi Mahi Fish Tacos were her sort of thing. Served with cabbage, picked radishes, cotija cheese, serrano mango sauce, and arugala salad (which had corn and tomatoes). Mom let me I think have one bite. I remember them being very good: not quite as good as that little hole-in-the-wall place in San Diego where we first had them, but better then most attempts I've had elsewhere. I also liked the little salad, which seemed light and refreshing, though mom kept stealing my fries, so I think she liked those better.



One more drink, then, as we finished our food. Mom had wanted that beer so bad after seeing it on the menu, and Holland said it was one of her favorites, so... there we go. Terripan Liquid Bliss from Athens, GA, the chocolate peanut butter stout. I remember nothing about this besides that it tasted bitter, but she seemed pleased. Hopefully she can give a more decent review.

I believe I just ordered a Whiskey Sour, which (along with ameretto sours and rusty nail's) is generally just something I order in a bar if nothing else comes to mind. This was made with Early Times Kentucky Whiskey, which was different. It was tasty.



Then, finally, ending us off... kids get their meals served in these adorable little cardboard cars. Holland gave mom one to take home as she was fascinated by it for some odd reason (we also got the blue plastic cups saying Boathouse you can see in the back of the first drink pictures, which are at least useful). We still have it. I am unsure why.


All in all, this was great. There was just one problem- flies. Usually Disney has very good pest control. Although we were sitting under a roof and there were fans (and AC blowing from the resturaunt), we were open to the sun on three sides (this was the main bar, the first thing you see if you walk in to the Boathouse). The flies adored that, and kept trying to come in. Holland mentioned they had sprayed the area that morning, and were going to do it again: hopefully Disney has by now found a method to get rid of those guys. They were no worse then you'd see at any bar like that, but considering how little you see insects at Disney generally (besides dragonflies, butterflies and the fifty gazillion lovebugs, anyway), this was a bit unusual.

Still, I'm hoping we can find a way to get back and get a drink and maybe some lobster this October. Or maybe lobster and steak. Yes, that sounds even better. Mmm.


Next: starbucks. I may just fold that in to the next review, of... MORE BARS. Woo? Then Be Our Guest.

 

[Redwitch]

Terripan Liquid Bliss from Athens, GA, the chocolate peanut butter stout.

Ahh, a porter and a yummy one at that! Porters lend themselves to magical flavors like peanut butter and maple and caramel so wonderfully, don't you think? Holland, the bartender, led me to believe that this beer was on the menu at her request. Yeah Holland! I liked this a lot.

I also liked the little salad, which seemed light and refreshing, though mom kept stealing my fries, so I think she liked those better.

I liked my salad very well. I just liked your fries too.

Then, finally, ending us off... kids get their meals served in these adorable little cardboard cars.

Guess what? This was actually another... To me! To me!

Ever since a trip to San Diego (it was so beautifullllll~!), mom has loved fish tacos.

Yes, I do have a thing for fish tacos. This one was tasty, but as Mikka alluded, the ones in the whole in wall bar in San Diego win hands down. Thanks to the host at the snobby restaurant at our resort for that lead.

 

[Mikka]

That snobby restaurant was awesome; my ink soup was fab. Actually, that hotel was awesome. I hope they have renovations for the rest of my life and I can go there cheap all the time.

But that has nothing to do with Disney, yeah?

Anyway, how about a really cheap review here...

STARBUCKS​

Yep.

This was the fancy Starbucks on West Side, that has the food and wine. I was actually sort of interested in that, but I don't think they'd quite started yet (I believe that started around four?). Anyway, walking from the Boathouse to this part of West Side in the prime of the afternoon was extremely hot (have I complained about the heat enough times in this thread yet?- MAYBE I SHOULD DO IT DOUBLE! (I am kidding)) and I was being whiny, so we got something cold.



Due to her birthday, Starbucks was giving mom a free (or cheap?- I don't remember) drink. Yay?

I tried the 'caramel chai tea latte', which they had on their menu at that moment. It was an iced chai tea latte with a bit of caramel syrup. Honestly, it didn't really effect the taste much. It wasn't worth the extra thirty cents or whatever they charged. I mean, it was still a nicely refreshing chai tea latte (for all I snark about Starbuck's prices, I do like their chai tea lattes quite a bit), but that was it.

What did mom get? I honestly don't know. I intended to write notes on the boat back to Marketplace, but we sort of got distracted and that didn't pan out. I believe she got a flavored iced coffee; I'm guessing it was either mocha, or a seasonal flavor. I have no idea what the seasonal flavors of May were, though. I don't often go to Starbucks at all.

So yeah, this is sort of a lousy post as I don't even remember what she ordered. It's recorded for property, and to note that having the starbucks app thing on your phone apparently gives you a birthday drink. Nice.

As there's no way this counts as a real post, expect me to double post probably in around an hour or so as with the next update.

As for where, well, what could have distracted us right there between Starbucks and the boat to Marketplace? Hm...

 

[Mikka]

Did you guess? Did you guess?

My goal was to get us to Trader Sam's and go try the most expensive cocktails on property (hopefully on mom's credit card). Mom, though, had a different idea. We paused and looked at the menu's of Wolfgang Puck and Bongo's, mused about the Food Truck's not being open, and stopped to look at the Smokehouse sign. Decided the food looked pretty neat, then Mom's eyes lit up: 'HAPPY HOUR', it said. Happy Hour NOW, it said. 'Yep,' the guy at the Smokehouse said. 'It's inside the bar.'

Where there was AC. Right now! Ooo...

So, obviously we dropped everything to go running in to House of Blues. I have still never actually eaten there. We're sort of throwing around the idea of doing a bar hopping DTD day where we go grab a signature appy and a drink at as many of DTD restaurants we have the room for in October, though, so maybe then. Otherwise, this is just a drink post.

HOUSE OF BLUES​

This place seemed to have a regular crowd. Our bartender, Howard, was friendly (we chatted with him for a bit about the difference between PA food and cocktails and Florida ones), but you could definitely tell that another couple and a different solo drinker were regulars at the bar, and he and the female bartender who's name I didn't catch were chatting eagerly and aimlessly with them, and as we left (it wasn't very crowded) they looked like they were considering playing a game of Cards Against Humanity over at the bar. Why not, I say? There was also a secret trade of English chocolate going on. AKA, real Cadberry and not fake Hershey junk. I'm not sure why, but good chocolate I suppose is reason enough.

...If I lived near Disney, I could totally see becoming a House of Blues regular. Though I suppose I should try the food first.

I'm just going to shove all the pictures together...





The bit of the Happy Hour Menu sign you're missing is the bottom, that describes 4.25$ well drinks. To them, that means any drink that uses just one liquor (then said liquor is the cheap 'no brand' stuff): rum/coke, gin/tonic, margarita being given as examples. Oddly, also given as an example- as the one liquor (along with whiskey, rum, tequila, vodka and gin) is LI Iced Tea.

That's because they have a premixed Long Island Iced Tea in the bottle. Seriously. Long Island Iced Tea in a bottle. Which is what is on the right in the first picture.

(We discussed this: according to Howard, what it actually is to the staff is a Texas Iced Tea, as it has tequila. Where I'm from, generally any Long Island you order will have the tequila in it. Also, we often do use iced tea in it rather then coke; he's always heard it done with coke. So hm.)

On the right is mom's Baybreeze, which I believe is vodka, cranberry, and some other juice- pineapple or something. I don't know. Second picture, she has a vodka and tonic (she's allergic to gin, though she sometimes ignores that to take a sip of my gin drinks which is bad and she shouldn't), while I tried another whiskey sour. Third drink, she has yet another vodka and tonic (that's her go to drink if she can't get a rusty nail) while I'm going with a Rum Punch. I have no idea what was in this, besides the assumed rum: I'm guessing orange juice and then one or two various other juices (probably pineapple), but every place seems to have their own thoughts on what juice to use.

Verdict? It all tasted good. It honestly did.

I deliberately ordered the Whiskey Sour to compare it to the Boathouse's. Obviously, at the Boathouse I was getting a nicer whiskey. I am going to guess that the Boathouse handmakes their sour mix (but that might just be an assumption, and maybe House of Blues does, too!), but even if they buy it, they probably use a slightly high quality mix then House of Blue's 'well drink' did. I'm no Whiskey expert, but except for beer, I like to think I can taste the difference between 'rotgut' and 'decent'.

And, okay, I could. The Whiskey Sour at the Boathouse was better tasting, there's no doubt. But honestly? I think the one at the House of Blues (where he was just futzing rather then carefully pouring each shot) was more boozy. And it still tasted good: this was not rotgut. It wasn't 'the good stuff', but it wasn't 'oh my god choke it down in a shot quickly and swallow water(/chai tea) while trying not to die'. It was decent and boozy (all the drinks were). Add on to that, it was also air conditioned and friendly. And such a cool bar. I'd never been in a House of Blues before.

So in summary, if you like simple drinks... well, 3 to 5 here downtown! There are also the cheap bottled domestics and imports (Bud, Bud Light, Miller Light, Coors Light, Mich Ultra, Yuengling, Corona, Dos Equis XX Lager, Heineken, Stella, Blue Moon, PBR) and Flat Rock wines (Chard, Cab, Merlot).

I'll definitely go again. We hung out for... an hour and half, maybe? It was fun!


Now, we're on our way to an MK Resort for Be Our Guest, but that's not till eight or so... hm. Another stop! Tomorrow.

 

[Redwitch]

Due to her birthday, Starbucks was giving mom a free (or cheap?- I don't remember) drink. Yay?

To me! To me! I don't remember what I had either.

Decided the food looked pretty neat, then Mom's eyes lit up: 'HAPPY HOUR', it said. Happy Hour NOW, it said. 'Yep,' the guy at the Smokehouse said. 'It's inside the bar.'

Yeah for Happy Hour! I've been wanting to try HoB HH for years. Just as an FYI, you do not get a TIW discount on the HH prices. I also know that the outside bar at Ragland Road runs a happy hour. According to the web site, Bongos also has one. Anyone know any other happy hour pricing at WDW?

 

[Mikka]

/taps mic

Is this thing on? I can tell people are reading, as the post count is going up, but it's getting sort of odd just talking to my mother through an online board. Hm. But on that note, mom, as of last year, Wolfgang Puck had a happy hour in their lounge from four to six on one of our favorite things- half off sushi and sake! Not sure if they still have it this year, but that sounds like the sort of thing we should check out. Their sushi is pretty decent (though no kimonos).

Anyway, we waited... and waited... and waited... and waited for a bus. The construction at DTD is insane. When will it end? Soon, one came to take us away to the Poly, though, and getting there didn't take too long.

We did go down and check out Trader Sam's (it was two and half or so hours till BoG), but they were advertising a two hour wait. We did not want to go in to MK if at all possible- super crowded day. So, off to another bar.

TAMBU LOUNGE​

This post is sort of embarrassing for me..



Would you believe that we've never had the signature drinks at the Poly? We did Ohana breakfast once, but I think that was before I even turned 21. I think the last time we did Kona lunch was before I was 21, too, and at Kona breakfast mom is just like 'give me press pot of coffee or dieee (politely)'. The Polynesia just isn't a place we make it to very often.

So here, we had to tried the signatures. You probably know what these are, but if you don't... the Lapu Lapu is in the pineapple. It's basically rum and fruit juices, topped with rum. It's sweet and goes down easy: I've heard some people on the DIS call it strong. We didn't really find it so, but you can taste the booze. The backscratcher is the one with the bamboo backscratcher. It's rum, more rum (dark this time), passionfruit juices, and topped with whiskey. Because why not, I guess. I thought this was a bit stronger, but still mostly fruity and refreshing. These were easy drinks to drink.



Here's the embarrassing part, though. While mom got a refill (note: if you refill your Lapu Lapu, or ask for it without the pineapple, it's like, three dollars cheaper or something- so unless you really like drinking out of a pineapple, which is pretty novel, I'd do that), I got... this.

And I have absolutely no idea what 'this' is.

I don't think it's one of the four Tambu Lounge-only drinks, which leaves me sort of sitting here and staring at it trying to figure out what it is. I really thought it had almond liquor (though not Ameretto) in it, but as I know it came from the big book, I can't find anything that fits that criteria. The best guess I can make is that this is Fireball Cocktail (Fireball cinnamon whiskey + Rumchata), as it would have made sense for me to try to stick to whiskey and rum. And with my love of whiskey, horchata and cinnamon, it does seem like something to my tastes.

Yet I honestly don't remember. Sigh. This is why I should do these reports immediately after I come home. ;_; I remember enjoying it, but that's all I can tell you.



Well, thankfully I have full notes for everything at Be Our Guest... which will be coming tomorrow, I believe.

 

[Redwitch]

But on that note, mom, as of last year, Wolfgang Puck had a happy hour in their lounge from four to six on one of our favorite things- half off sushi and sake!

Well now, that sounds like a lovely way to start an appy and drink crawl of DTD!

/taps mic

Is this thing on? I can tell people are reading, as the post count is going up, but it's getting sort of odd just talking to my mother through an online board. Hm.

Your mic is off. It is just the two of us in the vast wasteland of the DIS boards. Evidently, everyone else was kidnapped. Or maybe the Alien from the Great Movie Ride got them! .

So here, we had to tried the signatures.

I always wanted to try the Lapu Lapu. It was good, but I doubt I'd spring for it again. I think I'd rather get a take home souvenir from Trader Sam's

 

[luvpooh]

Maybe everyone was matching you guys drink for drink and are under a barstool somewhere? I kid, I kid!

I'm actually a little jealous, cause we will have our little dictator, er son, with us in October, so we won't get to do the bar crawls as in the good ol' days!

 

[Dreamer & Wisher]

I am enjoying your updates, I really appreciated the Boathouse review, we have a reservation there for our October trip and I have been eyeing those fish tacos.

 

[chocolateMinnie]

We loved House of Blues last trip the food and drink were lovely and very reasonably priced. I am one of those who think Lapu Lapu too strong (I would imagine paint stripper would taste the same ) but loving the reviews.

 

[DisneyJo]

Thanks for your great reviews