Then Niki said, "This was the culinary demo presented by Adam Mali of the Brasserie S&P Mandarin Hotel, San Francisco...
"He made a Yukon potato gnocchi with butter poached lobster and bouillabaisse reduction."
"This was good but I didn't like the gnocchi. The reduction tasted like bisque and was great though."
Niki attended another culinary demo on Thursday, this one presented by Jamey Fader of Lola, Denver, CO.
"This was Kelly from Milbrandt Vineyards of Washington State."
"We had a really nice Chardonnay from there."
"It was the perfect pairing with the Corn Chowder with pickled shrimp salsa...
"This was fantastic!! There was a homemade hot sauce on the table that added a spicy kick to it. The soup could stand on its own but the hot sauce made it so much better."
"Our next stop was France for slushies, one Grey Goose and one Grand Marnier."
"They were ok. The orange one tasted like baby aspirin, which was fine with me. The lemon was better though."
7 October Game Points Earned + 3 Bonus Points for menu and presenter pics
Next we have a couple of updates from Jamie (DisneyDreamerMN).
She said, "Thursday we ate lunch at DHS'...
"I started with the vanilla shake and Kyle had the Oreo shake."
"Both were good."
"I had the Flame Broiled New York Strip Steak."
"This was just OK. There was a lot of fat on it and the fact that it is dark in the restaurant, made it hard to discover the fat."
"Kyle had the Chicken Pasta."
"He liked this dish and ate it all."
"For dessert I had the Out-of-the-world Turtle Cheesecake."
"I didn't like this dessert. I can't pinpoint why, just didn't care for it."
"Kyle had the House-made Sci-Fi Candy Bar."
"He really liked it, but I thought it was just too rich. I will probably wait a couple of years before I return to this restaurant. I love the seating, but it's dark in there and the movie reel gets old pretty quick."
2 October Game Points Earned + 1 Bonus Point for sign
Then Jamie also sent us this two-part update from Downtown Disney.
She said, "Thursday night we headed back to Downtown Disney. Our dinner was at...
"I ordered a pepperoni and mushroom pizza."
"At first glance I thought I would be bringing back a couple of pieces to our room, but in the end I ate it all. The pizza had a thinner crust then I imagined. To sum it up, it was just delicious."
"Kyle had the bacon wrapped meatloaf."
"For dessert we both had the creme brûlée."
"Can't go wrong with that."
"Later that night we made a stop at...
"We both ordered the Sea Cliff."
SEA CLIFF SUNDAE - Half of a Colossal Ghirardelli® Chocolate Chip Cookie served warm under two scoops of vanilla ice cream, freshly homemade hot fudge and topped with whipped cream, chopped almonds and a cherry.
"So good, but very rich."
3 October Game Points Earned + 5 Bonus Points for signs, menu, and misc. pics
Next in on Saturday was Jeri's (jerseytinkerbell) report from her visit to BLT's (exclusive to DVC members)...
"Here we are in the private elevator that takes you to the 16th floor."
"Hidden Mickey on the ceiling next to the elevators."
"View from the private deck."
"The lounge."
"Inside the lounge."
"The mixed drink menu specific to the lounge."
"The beer list."
"First I had the Bay Lake Sunset..."
Stoli Vanil Vodka, Parrot Bay Coconut Rum, and Pineapple Juice with a splash of Grenadine
"Then I had the Tip Top Colada..."
Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum and Pina Colada Mix topped off with a float of Midori
"Rob had the Oskar Blues Dale's Pale Ale...
"Then he had a Napa Smith Hopageddon...
"The appetizer menu...
"Rob had the Sticky Chicken Wings...
"Four wings is pretty lame. He didn't care for them either."
"I had the housemade potato chips...
"Not great."
"We stayed until it was time for Wishes!"
"We even got to see the Electrical Water Pageant...
"Not the greatest picture ever but you get the idea."
"And not the greatest snacks ever but the drinks were good and you can't beat the view! We were also able to use out TIW card here which was a bonus!"
3 October Game Points Earned + 10 Bonus Points for sign, menus, misc. pics, and pic of Jeri & Rob
Now a couple more of Niki Andiokno's final updates.
She said, "We checked out the candy/sweets case at the Contemporary but didn't end up getting anything."
"We tried to get an ADR somewhere near MK but no luck. On a whim, I decided to try the Old Key West resort's...
Olivia's
"It was open till 10:30 so we made it there just in time. Sally had the tortellini soup."
"She said it was very very good but didn't have a single tortellini."
"Mike had the New York Strip steak."
"He was pleasantly surprised! The steak was cooked perfectly medium and was very tender. Pretty thick too. The cheesy potatoes were to die for. Veggies were fresh."
"This is my Shrimp & Grits...
"Big tasty shrimp. Lotsa yummy cheese. Could have used some hot sauce though."
"This was a solid meal. Much less expensive than many comparable places. I won't hesitate to go there again."
5 October Game Points Earned + 1 Bonus Point for display case pic
Niki next sent a report from the Swan & Dolphin Food and Wine Classic which she attended on Friday.
She said, "This was the best event!!!! More wine than I could drink and excellent food everywhere The only thing I didn't care for was the pork taco. Everything else was absolutely fabulous."
The wine...
"This was an 84 point wine. Really clean and tasty. This and the Catena Malbec were my favorites."
The food...
"Kimonos sushi. Yum."
"Falafel. Sally loved this. She ate several."
"This was the worst thing I had all night. Oyster shooter. Just nasty. I don't do oysters but thought I would try it."
"This was the best thing I had all night. Fresh tuna with freeze-dried sriracha."
"Me with Todd English. I just love him."
"Gotta love the fish too."
"And I'm sure you already have one of these, but guess who I found in the dessert line?"
Niki with Paula (smile4stamps) & Hunter
"If not for these guys {Paula's review of last year's event}, I would never have ventured here."
"This was a great event. We plan to go back next year."
5 October Game Points Earned + 2 Bonus Point for pic with Todd English + 5 Bonus Points for DISmeet photo
And speaking of the Swan & Dolphin Food and Wine Festival, Gisèle (Arielle71) also attended the event on Saturday evening and sent us a report.
However, first up is an update from the Authentic Taste Seminar (30 minute seminars discussing the origins of pure ingredients) she went to on Saturday afternoon.
Presenter, JoAnne Theodore
She said, "This seminar was called "Greek Island Spice" and we learned how to make pestos and then we tasted basil pesto and a fresh herbed pesto (with lavender, rosemary, parsley, and thyme) and herbed butter."
"The speaker was really interesting and gave us many recipe ideas to use fresh pestos."
3 October Game Points Earned + 2 Bonus Points for menu and presenter pic
Next we have a dinner update from Kathy (kanadar) from...
She said, "We spent the afternoon at Disney's Animal Kingdom and afterward we trekked over to the Animal Kingdom Lodge, Kidani Village to try a new restaurant for us, Sanaa. Everyone very much enjoyed this dinner and will most definitely be returning in the future."
"We started with waters and I ordered the Magical Star cocktail."
"I enjoy this cocktail and make it at home, but the glow cube is always a fun addition to Disney drinks."
"While perusing the menu and wine list we took the advice of our waiter and many Disboards contributors and started with the bread service. We chose the 3 naans, and our waiter was able to easily up sell us to the 9 accompaniments. Our favorites were the mango chutney, coriander chutney, cucumber raita, and red chile sambal."
"For wine we got a Pinotage, which is a light-to-medium bodied red blend. It went well with our dishes."
"For our entree's both Jeff and I ordered the slow cooked butter chicken and short ribs with basmati rice."
"We both thought these dishes were awesome! This is actually something I was looking forward to trying after seeing it on the live thread and other dining reports. My favorite though ended up being the short ribs! They were amazing! Jeff even said later if he went back he would probably get 2 of the short ribs because they were so good!"
"My dad ordered the spicy durban chicken and short ribs with basmati rice."
"He thought they were both extremely tender and flavorful, the chicken was a spicy delight."
"Mary thought hers was very good. The flavors weren't strong but they were distinct. The sauce was light and the chicken was moist.
"We decided to follow the advice of our waiter Vaan who said the suggestion was to dump the dishes on the plate. Once the rice disappeared on Jeff and my dad's plate, he decided we needed more bread to sop up the remaining gravy. I had trouble finishing my food but the others had no trouble finishing off my last few pieces. My dad said the bread to enjoy the remaining gravy was a real treat. I half expected him to clean the plate with his fingers! Needless to say this was a hit with us!"
"After dinner we went outside to look at the animals. We were able to use a pair of the night vision goggles. It was pretty cool to see!"
3 October Game Point Earned + 5 Bonus Points for sign, menu and pic of DDad and Mary, misc. pic
And that just leaves two more updates, both of these from Niki Andiokno and sadly they are the final ones of her trip which ended Saturday.
She said, "Sadly this was our last day. After our drinking binge last night, we needed some breakfast from...
Earl of Sandwich
"We had a Bacon, egg, & cheese sandwich...
...and a Ham, egg and cheese sandwich."
"They did the job but nothing special. A little skimpy on the bacon but the ham was generous."
"I also got some pastries for home. The brownie is dark chocolate moist goodness. The bread pudding was a bit bland. A slight taste of cinnamon and tasteless raisins."
Now we are ready to begin Sunday's updates, of which our reporters sent us only 19...slackers!
Our First Update of the Day was sent to us by a new husband & wife reporting team who arrived at Disney World on Saturday, Jim (jimnlahaze) & Lee Ann (Justlahaze).
After I had posted Jim's trip intro on Friday morning I received Jim's intro pic. Since I didn't get a chance to edit the photo into that post, I will post it now.
Jim & Lee Ann
Jim said, "We finally arrived and had our first meal at Epcot's...
Rose and Crown Pub
"I had corned beef and cabbage...
... and Lee Ann had the New York Strip steak with no sauce, mashed potatoes, and Green beans."
"Very good meal, but we were very hungry. Good company and waiter, Adam. Quite a loud place on a Saturday night during F&W festival."
5 October Game Points Earned + 1 Bonus Point for First Update of the Day + 10 Bonus Points for intro pics
Next in yesterday morning was Jeri's (jerseytinkerbell) breakfast update from Fort Wilderness'...
Jeri said, "Today we had an awesome breakfast at Trail's End. Love the building and the area back here."
"First some shots of the buffet...
"Hidden Mickey in the cereal section."
"Eggs Benedict with pulled pork or Canadian bacon and the Vegetable Frittata."
Biscuits & Gravy
"Chocolate Chip & Plain Mickey Waffles."
"Breakfast potatoes, sausage, bacon."
"Fresh fruit area."
"My first plate...
"A little bit of everything."
"My second plate of my favorites...
"The pulled pork eggs Benedict, bacon, breakfast potatoes and the French toast bread pudding."
"And our juice was served in little Mason jars."
"This place was fantastic! It was our first time here, but I think this will be a must do for us from now on! Transportation takes a long time here, even with a car, so that's the only down side to eating here, but it won't stop us from returning!"
10 October Game Points Earned + 7 Bonus Points for sign, misc. pic and buffet pics
Just a reminder that next up to the Disney Dining Plate is ...
dvc4life
Chris & her family
And the whole group (plus two additions)...
- Photo taken at Raglan Road during last year's F & W trip -
Chris and her group will be at Disney World from 10/23 - 10/27 and she has volunteered to again do live updates for us! I think this will be Chris' 5th (or maybe 6th) time as a reporter for the live thread.
Picking up where we left off now with Sunday's updates, starting with a couple from Paula (smile4stamps).
She said, "The day began with changing resorts. Hunter was asking when we were going to eat and unfortunately we had a Wine Demonstration to get to with not much time so I was just going to get him a pretzel. I stood in line for over 5 minutes just to find out they were sold out."
"So into the festival center we went. I sent Hunter to find himself a snack while I picked up the tickets. He got these..."
"I guess they were still pretzels."
Then it was on to the wine seminar...
Maison Louis Jadot; Burgundy, France
Presenter Antoine Collet
"We learned a lot about the history."
"These were the best wines so far from the tastings we have done."
4 October Game Points Earned + 5 Bonus Points for sign, menu, presenter, and misc. pics
The pizza had a thinner crust then I imagined. To sum it up, it was just delicious."
