OK, now back to pictures.
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When we were done swimming and floating, we headed to Raglan Road for a 5:30 (IIRC) reservation. I think they were taking walk-ps, but they were waiting, as there were three families who looked as though they had been in the entrance for awhile. When we reached the podium we requested a seat near the stage, if possible. The hostess said that it was, but we would just need to wait of the next table to clear. The hostess could not provide an estimated time, but that was fine with us, as we knew we would just sit at the bar until a spot opened. As it turned out, we had not even paid for our drinks at the bar, when our buzzer ordered us back to the podium. We had great seats and it was worth the wait. The dancers were wonderful and there was also a great band, drops of green, who we enjoyed very much!
I ordered a diet pepsi and dh ordered some form of beer. This is where a great dining experience begins. I tend to drink ton in restaurants and will need two, if not three refills. Add in that we had been in the sun all day playing and that the Raglan's soda is served in a small glass, you get the picture. I figured I was fated to an evening of being in need of a refill most of time. Well, that never happened.
We had the best server I have ever had in my life. I wish I had thought to catch his name (he was so quick it was kinda like he was invisible) and mentioned it to his manager. Maybe I will shoot out an email anyway, highlighting our dates and what the guy like and our section. Anyway, before my glass could ever get empty, he would swoop in and refill. He was so on task, that dh wondered if he waited in the wings watching, so we started watching him. He did wait to the side of his section at all times and jump in often, but he also never made a pass without grabbing glasses or talking to a table. He was one intense dude. He was like puma waiting to strike, but none of that intensity carried over into interactions. He was just phenomenal and set the tone for the entire evening.
Along with our drinks, came the bread and Guinness reduction sauce. I cannot tell a lie, I was not impressed. I am famed for eating all of the bread service and being full by the time the meal is served, so this was very unusual for me. The bread was dense, dark and looked promising, but fell flat. I didn't find the bread to be any better than pre-sliced, bread aisle bread. Not even grocery store bakery aisle, as it lacked any strong flavor I normally associate with a dark bread. Dh liked the reduction. It has a honey flavor and I dislike honey, so it was not for me and I gave up after half a slice.
Dh ordered a Kiss before Shrimp with a side of carrots. It seemed a pretty funny combination to me. He said the shrimp had a spice that built on itself and he liked it very much. The side of carrots was huge! We joked that 25 carrots had to die to make this dish. Dh encouraged me to try them. I assumed they were sweetened carrots, which is not my thing but I decided to give them a shot. Well surprise, dh encouraged me for a reason and didn't give away the surprise, the sauce was vinegar based! Yum. The carrots were cut into such large pieces that the sauce, which was not just vinegar, did not overwhelm their natural flavor. They were cooked well and still had a tiny bit of bite, but didn't land in either the mushy or raw side of things. Sup
er yummy.
My turn! I ordered the portobello beauty with fries. This was delicious. It had dubliners cheese, tomato chutney and zucchini. I removed the lone slice of zucchini without disturbing the sandwich at all. This sandwich is all about the combo of flavors, not the individual components. The bread was soft, warm and unassuming. Dubliner cheese was new to me and it had a nice strong favor. It doesn't lean all the way to a sharp cheddar, but has that hint. It didn't overwhelm the sandwich at all and was paired perfectly with the tomato chutney.The chutney provided just a hint of of needed sweetness and it really made the dish for me.
The fries were fries. Nothing special and i wish I had chosen different side, but they served their purpose and were improved with the malt vinegar provided on the tables.
Well a trip here would not have been complete without trying Ger's Bread and Butter Pudding. This was more a dish for dh, as I pretty much never order a dessert that isn't straight chocolate.
I spread the bread across the plate and poured on the sauces. You can see the steam coming off of the dessert in the second picture it was so warm. The pudding was soft like little pillows of sweetness. The pudding had some sort of sweet fruit (raisins maybe) which i avoided, which was easy to do and still allowed me to enjoy the dessert. The sauces were both excellent. The first tasted of carmel and maple (brown sugar maybe) and the second was lovely, sweet cutting cream. As I snacked on this dessert I tried to think what I would relate it to most and I landed on a warm, thick waffles with light maple syrup and cream. I liked it very much, as did dh.
=]
All in all raglan road was great. The entertainment was wonderful, the food was excellent and we would return again, no questions asked. In fact, dh asked why we hadn't come each night of the trip, lol.
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The husband and I visited FL from March 21-26. We split our time between the beach and Disney. Husband loves the beach, so we spent a few wonderful days playing in the waves, walking in the sand and just relaxing. The rest of the time was spent at Disney. We stayed offsite, due to free rooms that are a perk of dh's job.
