Biergarten, dinner, 3.6.09
So after seeing Illuminations, I made my way on over to Germany, where I checked in for dinner. I knew I would be dining with others, and this is absolutely fine with me! Just sometimes it can be hit or miss, depending on how outgoing the others are...but man did I hit the jackpot!
At first, I was seated along with a couple from somewhere in the south. They had adorable accents. And they helped me pick a drink! See, I've mentioned before that I don't drink beer or wine. Well, those are the only choices at Biergarten. And a dinner is not a dinner without a nice beverage to go with it. So they told me about the wines they have had at home, and I settled on something they told me was nice and sweet. Perfect. Somehow, I managed not to get a pic of it, though, since they didn't really know me yet, and we were getting along...so I didn't want to scare them off, LOL!!!
Anyway, after my wine, her wine, and his pint of beer arrived, another family (of 5) was seated with us, filling out the table. They were from Mass, but were Yankee fans. Figure my luck! When they told me they were from Mass, I was a bit worried, but as soon as we found out we liked the same baseball team, we were fast friends. Also happened that one of the kids was a CM, in the college program. Lifeguard somewhere? Funny, I ran into them again on a bus later in the week.
Anyway, so on to the good stuff, the reason you're here, the food, of course! I had been here before, on my May DxDDP trip, but i was eating so much, that I really wanted to give it another try, when I wasn't so stuffed from other meals!
So, for my first plate, I went with the cold stuff. Green and white bean salad, pasta salad, pretzel bread, and mixed lettuce w/tomatoes and onions.
I finished off the green beans real quick, they are a favorite of mine. Oh and the pretzel bread. Now, I was a bit wary, as on my previous trip, it just hadn't been that great. I'm going to think they had burnt them or something. Because this time, oh so good! And I'm a green salad kinda girl, so that was good too. The pasta salad, eh, just wanted to try it. It was fine, but I only had a bite.
We were having such a blast at the table, just talking about our lives, Disney, anything! Time was flying, and I realized I needed to get myself the main part of my meal! Haha, seriously, would have just sat there all night had the others not gotten up!
Here we have salmon, pork w/applesauce, spaetzl, schnitzel, sausage, and potatoes.
Salmon was fine. It's not my favorite fish, but it had a nice sauce on it. The pork I was really digging. I put applesauce on it cuz that's how my mom taught me to eat it. Yum yum! The spaetzl was a bit dry. It's different than I'm used to getting from my deceased German/Hungarian grandma. Don't worry, I gave it another try on the next plate. Schnitzel, well, I don't really do fried food, and this was kinda tough, but I wanted to give it a try. The sausage was awesome. And I don't often eat sausage. The potatoes were meh, just fine. Nothing special.
So right, one more plate of "real dinner" before I hit dessert. I was extremely disappointed when I got to the carving station, and they had taken the meat away. I wanted more of that pork! Oh well, that's what I get for having an 8:30 ADR when a buffet closes at 9.
So anyway, here's what I did get. Mac & cheese from the kids section, more sausages, more pretzel bread (!), spaetzl w/red wine sauce on it, and some mustard to dip the pretzel bread in.
The mac & cheese was okay. Perfect for kids. Just wanted to try it. Sausages again, very good. Pretzel bread too. So good! I actually ended up eating it without the mustard. Just didn't want to mask the flavor at all. Ah, and the spaetzl w/the red wine sauce was so so so much better. I have no idea if they're supposed to go together, but it worked for me
Over this whole time, we were all still gabbing and having a blast. At some point, we were joking about the two guys who had gotten pints - the southern husband, and the recently turned 21 CM. See, the younger boy was beating the older one. And he would just not have that. So they decided they needed to race and chug. We were all chanting "chug, chug, chug!!!" At first, we thought the younger one had won, when he slammed his stein down. But the older one kept going. And when it all settled, the younger guy hadn't finished! So they older guy won. He was so proud, his wife took a picture of him. It was so cute! And a blast!
Oh yeah, so dessert. I had some. Not much, sorry! I'm not a huge dessert person anyway. Watermelon, pineapple, honeydew, a tiny piece of cheesecake, and a bit of the apple strudel.
Nice fresh fruit, they at least kept that stocked. And the bites of cheesecake and strudel were the perfect sweet ending to a very enjoyable meal.
I was out of here just before 10, which landed me at the bus stop just about 10. Well, if you remember, it was extra magic hours. I figured 10 would be a fine time to leave, the crowds wouldn't come til later. Well, I was dead wrong! The line went all the way back to the corner. Like, if you've taken a bus to Pop from Epcot, you know where I mean. Horrible! And since it wasn't closing time, they weren't coming boom boom boom. I guess I've just been very lucky that I either go to a restaurant, bar, or get driven home, but I have never experienced this! And now that I look at my notes, I was back at Pop by 10:45pm, so really....that's not all that bad. I've heard of much worse from these boards!
But really, take it as a warning. Unless you're staying til the end of evening EMH, and only if it's at the Magic Kingdom, then I would advise against doing it! Yikes, too many people.
Oh, I snapped some pics of the golf ball on my way out. Look, no people around! That's cuz they're all in line for the bus!
erg, now that I look at those pics...I do see people...all leaving...just like me...oops...
next up: world showcase booze!
... Great reviews as always..Surprised you didn't do 50s PT and just the Tune In Lounge.
. definitely give the gg slush a try. so so so good!
