People are predictable - September 2022 - Victoria & Albert's 11/16 Cosmic Ray/Tokyo Dining - Complete

[gosalyn_mallard]

Wow, that Gideons cake looks so good!
I've never had their cakes and would love to try them.

I recently heard an interview of the creator/owner of Gideons on the podcast wdwprep to go. It made me like Gideons even more!

 

[KenyaSierra]

I’m curious that you liked the Scottish Professor since you have a good palate for alcohol. I though the individual chacteristics of the Monkey Shoulder and Hendrick's were lost and it just tasted muddled. Maybe you are more discerning than me.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

That was just a day of deliciousness right there!

It was! Coming back home to home cooking just hasn't be fun.

Wow, that Gideons cake looks so good!
I've never had their cakes and would love to try them.

I recently heard an interview of the creator/owner of Gideons on the podcast wdwprep to go. It made me like Gideons even more!

Yeah, I was really impressed with the cakes, more so than the cookies even. I like the vibe although not sure I would wait longer than the 1 hour 40 minutes for it that I did. That was enough time for lunch, shopping and a drink or two.

I’m curious that you liked the Scottish Professor since you have a good palate for alcohol. I though the individual chacteristics of the Monkey Shoulder and Hendrick's were lost and it just tasted muddled. Maybe you are more discerning than me.

See, I hate gin so anything that makes it so that I can't actually taste the gin is a win for me. Monkey Shoulder is more a mixer to me as well nowadays.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Food & Wine Festival Booths

Our first stop was at the Saucy Swine where we split the sticky ribs. My husband enjoyed these more than me. I found the meat to be a bit too dry and unflavored but he didn’t experience that.

Soy-glazed Sticky Ribs w/ Green Onions and Peanuts

Next up was China where I got the Dandan Noodles. This was a great dish with a ton of flavor. It had a nice kick and was a nice portion size that proved to fill me up.

Dandan Noodles: Spicy Pork with Sichuan Sauce, Peanut Butter, Sesame and Green Onion

We then headed to The Alps where I got the Frozen Rose while my husband had the non frozen version. It was refreshing in the humidity.

Frozen Rose

At Hops & Barley my husband got a beer that we split. It was unremarkable.

81Bay Brewing Company Strawberry & Lime Wheat

Next up was Japan where my husband enjoyed the chicken bun as it had a tone of filling while I had the yuzu lemon drop that I loved.

Teriyaki Chicken Bun

Yuzu Lemon Drop

We then headed into France where I picked up a French baguette for us to split on our walk back to the room before our afternoon relaxation time.​

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Steakhouse 71

After an afternoon of relaxing and laundry, we drove over to the Contemporary for dinner at Steakhouse 71. We had eaten here back in June and thought it was a great price for the food but the atmosphere was meh. This time we decided to eat a little earlier to see if that helped and it did. We also sat towards the edge of the restaurant this time rather than the middle of the dining room which I’m sure also helped.

To drink, I took it easy and ordered a single Pear French 75. French 75s are one of my go to drinks nowadays at the steakhouse bar I frequent here.

Pear French 75

We started with a Caesar. It was a classic steakhouse Caesar so no complaints here.

Fork & Knife Caesar

We both went with the Filet and selected different sauces. I did Béarnaise while my husband did the Whipped Horseradish. The béarnaise was the winner of the two as the whipped horseradish felt very weak to us. My husband ended up stealing half my mac and cheese as it was good and I was apparently eating too slow after his plate was already clean.

Filet Mignon w/ Mac & Cheese

Filet Mignon w/ Garlic Mashed Potatoes

We skipped dessert as we had another slice of Gideon’s cake for us to enjoy back in the room. Overall, the meal was enjoyable and for the price point, it was a win for us.​

 

[KenyaSierra]

It was! Coming back home to home cooking just hasn't be fun.



Yeah, I was really impressed with the cakes, more so than the cookies even. I like the vibe although not sure I would wait longer than the 1 hour 40 minutes for it that I did. That was enough time for lunch, shopping and a drink or two.



See, I hate gin so anything that makes it so that I can't actually taste the gin is a win for me. Monkey Shoulder is more a mixer to me as well nowadays.

Haha- now I understand.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Steakhouse 71 has been a great addition but will agree with you that dining room atmosphere is pretty meh. Love all the vintage photos in the entry. So many options in Disney Springs I've never made it to Enzo's. Need to give it a try. Who wins the meatball battle - Trattoria al Forno or Enzo's? Hope that your former FL neighborhood and your friends and family in the area are ok after the storm.

 

[bluejasmine74]

I’m a Mac and cheese snob can’t stand boxed and prefer baked the Steakhouse Mac doesn’t look appealing to me but you said it was good? We have reservations in early Dec and I was thinking about the Mac would you recommend it?

 

[disneyAndi14]

Nice to see you back on the boards, enjoying your report!
We were at WDW from 9/9-9/17, we had some good food and everything I tried at F&W this year was a hit!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Steakhouse 71 has been a great addition but will agree with you that dining room atmosphere is pretty meh. Love all the vintage photos in the entry. So many options in Disney Springs I've never made it to Enzo's. Need to give it a try. Who wins the meatball battle - Trattoria al Forno or Enzo's? Hope that your former FL neighborhood and your friends and family in the area are ok after the storm.

Yeah - you can tell that area used to be the arcade as its such a loud echo chamber.

Each of those meatballs is good in their own way. Trattoria for the cost aspect in amount it is filling - no it isn't the best meatball in existence and Enzo's for being a great meatball but it does cost significantly more.

I've gotten in contact with all those I care about in the area. Physically they are all ok. Some have significant damage to their homes but fixable damage at least. I felt so hopeless about it all.

I’m a Mac and cheese snob can’t stand boxed and prefer baked the Steakhouse Mac doesn’t look appealing to me but you said it was good? We have reservations in early Dec and I was thinking about the Mac would you recommend it?

If you prefer baked Mac & Cheese, you probably wouldn't enjoy it. While it is leagues ahead of boxed, its no where like a good baked mac and cheese in terms of texture.

Nice to see you back on the boards, enjoying your report!
We were at WDW from 9/9-9/17, we had some good food and everything I tried at F&W this year was a hit!

Thank you for joining in! Our days matched up! I wonder if we crossed paths at all and didn't even realize it. We were mostly pleased with F&W but we miss our special events and hope they make their way back in the next couple of years.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Food & Wine Festival Booths & La Cava

We headed this morning to EPCOT to get some rides done and eventually needed some caffeine. I had a salted caramel cold brew while my husband had a caramel ribbon crunch Frappuccino. Both hit the spot while we killed some time before the food booths for the festival opened.

At Ireland, my husband got a cider from the beer cart as we weren’t in the mood for the cart drinks and we split the wonderful warm chocolate pudding that is a festival staple at this point.

Magner Cider & Warm Chocolate Pudding

We headed to Canada where we got one of each of the items. I enjoyed the filet while my husband enjoyed his pretzel bread and cheese soup. This is the perfect size of the famous soup for him as he would never be able to finish an appetizer sized portion of it. The filet was tender and I was able to avoid eating the mushrooms.

Canadian Cheddar & Bacon Soup
“Le Cellier” Wild Mushroom Beef Filet Mignon w/ Truffle Butter Sauce

At Appleseed Orchard we got both the beer & cider flights to enjoy the samplings of. The cider flight was definitely the better of the two but the best beer was the 3 Daughters Brewing Apple Pecan Brown and the best Cider was the Blake’s Saint Cheri Bourbon Barrel Aged Cherry.

Beer & Cider Flights

At this point, I had a craving for queso and I knew La Cava had recently opened so we had a shot at getting a table. My husband loves tequila so that was a good decision. I mean can you really go wrong with warm cheese, especially with drinking?

Queso

We ordered the Premium Tequila Flight as we liked the choices and it was more reasonably priced than the other flights.

Premium Tequila Flight


So after enjoying the tequila, I started seeing new options of other Mexican liquors on the menu that I haven’t heard of before and my husband also wasn’t completely sure of them either even with them being sold where he works. As we hadn’t tried it before, we asked and got an answer that was like between a tequila and mezcal. Well, that was wrong. It was nice, a little sweet and smooth. It’s actually a spirit brewed from a wild Desert Spoon plant. It has some similarities to the manufacturing method but still enough different that I felt you don’t know what you talking about.

Sotol

The not-agave spirit list​

 

[Dis_Yoda]

California Grill

This evening we headed back to the Contemporary to eat at California Grill. We were quickly seated along the windows in a nice quiet area while we debated on the menu and drinks. We decided to just go with the signature wine pairing as we did enjoy the choices they were paired with and made sure we would be safe to not uber back to the hotel.

Menu

I ordered this dish hoping it would be close to this old favorite of mine from California Grill. This wasn’t that but it still was amazingly refreshing. It was a nice light start to the meal with a nice Sauvignon Blanc.

Key West Rock Shrimp

My husband went with the crab bisque that was more a corn bisque with a crab toast and a little mixed within the soup. He enjoyed it and felt the pinot gris matched it.

Florida Blue Crab Bisque

We both went with the Oak-Fired Filet and it was paired with Nickel & Nickel Cab. The filet was properly cooked but we noted the knifes were the same as what they used downstairs in Steakhouse 71 and were perplexed as they weren’t very sharp. Luckily the meat was tender.

Oak-Fired Filet of Beef

Our dessert pairing

For dessert, I enjoyed the crème brulee as a light way to end the meal.

Grand Marnier Crème Brulee

My husband went wit the five magical bites more so to get the Veuve Champagne as he was like why would they pair rose regale with the chocolate torte that he actually wanted and then have better choices for all the other desserts? So, he decided champagne and small bites was better than cheap wine and we had enjoyed chocolate cake literally the day before.

Five Magical Bites

Overall, we enjoyed the meal but I’m not the biggest fan of set menu. California Grill is a place I sometimes really used to enjoy ordering multiple appetizers for and honestly, I probably would have skipped dessert if it wasn’t a required course. It just felt very mechanical in service but still a nice meal at the same time.​

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Hollywood Brown Derby

We headed to Hollywood Studios to focus on the rides we didn’t get to earlier in the trip and eventually headed to the Brown Derby for lunch.

Chip & Dale having a picnic

They had recently updated their menu from the last time we were there so we ended up changing our original plans on what we would eat. As we debated, we each ordered a cocktail. My husband loves grapefruit so he went with the Paloma while I went silly and got the GlowTini as it had been a few trips since I last had one.

GlowTini & Paloma

For lunch, I decided to go with the duck which had a nice mix of the breast and confit. The portion size was great for lunch and I had no problem finishing it off!

Duck a l’orange

Wow, this is a terrible photo but my husband had the chicken which he enjoyed. The meat was well seasoned and with a nice sauce to enjoy.

Free-Range Chicken Coq au Vin

Overall, a nice relaxing lunch before we headed back to the Boardwalk for our afternoon of relaxation.​

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Citricos

So Citricos wasn’t our original plan for this night. We were supposed to go to Homecomin’ and then have a night of drinking around Disney Springs. Well, the universe had other plans. The day before we had received a call telling us that they had a buyout for the restaurant and we could either move the reservation to a different date, go before 3pm or agree to eat outside. TBH, I was really annoyed that they waited to less than 24 hours before a reservation to tell us the entire restaurant was bought out. Originally, I had agreed to eating outside but then my husband was equally annoyed and I cancelled it as who knew how the weather was going to be and our feelings were soured. I looked at what was available as an option that afternoon and we decided Citricos was what sounded good to us. We ended up glad we decided against eating outside as it was pouring off and on that evening.

Upon check in, we were quickly sat along the windows of the restaurant and decided on a bottle of wine to split. We picked a nice Italian white.

My husband skipped an appetizer but I really wanted something refreshing and went with the Strawberry Salad. The goat cheese was the star of this dish. When mixed with the bacon vinaigrette and the lettuce, I was thrilled.

Strawberry Salad – Chamomile Infused Goat Cheese

My husband went with more chicken. He found it to be flavorful although I look at that and think its boring but hey, he was happy!

Roulade of Chicken

For my meal, I enjoyed the short ribs. The sauce makes these especially with the well-made grits. The meat is tender and overall a great choice.

Guava Barbecued Short Ribs

We passed on dessert and headed back to the resort for the night. For not being in our original plans, it ended up being a great decision.

The Boardwalk​

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

I would have bailed on Homecoming too—rude! Glad Citricos proved to be a good Plan B.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

I had fun catching up this morning. An afternoon at La Cava is always a good idea. Does Sotol have the smokiness of mezcal? I don't personally care for that but cool that they have some different options. Totally agree with you on the California Grill prix fixe menu. I'd much rather order a few appetizers and/or skip dessert. And ugh to Rosa Regale being one of the pairings. Yuck! I want to try to rope drop the lounge at some point just to get those wontons. Glad you enjoyed Brown Derby. I'm not loving their current menu but it's still my go-to for a nice relaxing meal in HS. And we were absolutely delighted by our last meal at Citricos... SO good - and I love the new decor!

 

[KenyaSierra]

California Grill

This evening we headed back to the Contemporary to eat at California Grill. We were quickly seated along the windows in a nice quiet area while we debated on the menu and drinks. We decided to just go with the signature wine pairing as we did enjoy the choices they were paired with and made sure we would be safe to not uber back to the hotel.

Menu

I ordered this dish hoping it would be close to this old favorite of mine from California Grill. This wasn’t that but it still was amazingly refreshing. It was a nice light start to the meal with a nice Sauvignon Blanc.

Key West Rock Shrimp

My husband went with the crab bisque that was more a corn bisque with a crab toast and a little mixed within the soup. He enjoyed it and felt the pinot gris matched it.

Florida Blue Crab Bisque

We both went with the Oak-Fired Filet and it was paired with Nickel & Nickel Cab. The filet was properly cooked but we noted the knifes were the same as what they used downstairs in Steakhouse 71 and were perplexed as they weren’t very sharp. Luckily the meat was tender.

Oak-Fired Filet of Beef

Our dessert pairing

For dessert, I enjoyed the crème brulee as a light way to end the meal.

Grand Marnier Crème Brulee

My husband went wit the five magical bites more so to get the Veuve Champagne as he was like why would they pair rose regale with the chocolate torte that he actually wanted and then have better choices for all the other desserts? So, he decided champagne and small bites was better than cheap wine and we had enjoyed chocolate cake literally the day before.

Five Magical Bites

Overall, we enjoyed the meal but I’m not the biggest fan of set menu. California Grill is a place I sometimes really used to enjoy ordering multiple appetizers for and honestly, I probably would have skipped dessert if it wasn’t a required course. It just felt very mechanical in service but still a nice meal at the same time.​

Why do you think they have 1 dessert marked as vegan while nothing else on the menu is vegan or even vegetarian? (Not expecting you to have an answer, just noting it)

 

[TigerKat]

Enjoying your reviews so much! I have my eye on that Strawberry salad at Citricos for our next trip. You had so many of my favorites that I want to revisit…Scottish Professor, FF steak, Nonna’s Pasta at Enzo’s….59 more days!!

 

[franandaj]

*cobwebs* Anyone still remember me?

Yay! I'm glad I was alerted to your report! I thought of you when the Hurricane hit Florida, and how I was glad you'd moved. But you mentioned that Ida made your move complicated so boo to that.

We debated between heading to eat at either Kimonos or BlueZoo but my husband looked at me and said after 9 hours of driving, I just want to relax.

I totally get that! I'm wrestling with what to do for dinner our first night on our next trip. Especially since we probably won't get to the hotel until after 9PM.

I hope that Disney keeps up with having some of the sit down restaurants with Mobile Ordering as things return more to normal operations as it is a great option to have

Yes it seems like it!

The pork belly was the right amount of crispy but melty fatty. The spiced apple salad was refreshing and the croquette was filled with cheese which can never go wrong in my book.

That is totally going on my list! We plan to eat at Flying Fish one night.

We were quickly served some water and their parker house rolls which are also tasty.

OMG! I love those rolls!

The bread service is great.

Another place that's on our list, especially since we're staying at AK.

The entree we split is the lentil dahl, a favorite from my husband’s short stint as a vegetarian and the butter chicken since they got rid of my Durban shrimp.

I had forgotten about you DH's vegetarian phase. I think we might repeat what you ordered. I love Daal!

The real winner is all you can drink wine and beer.

This is a bonus!

I decided to take it easy for lunch and go to Blaze Pizza

That pizza looks great! We have some of those here in LB and I might want to get some.

everything is super rich and it was great to be able to share when we unwrapped something or otherwise I doubt we would have finished it.

That cake sure looks rich. Not sure I'd want to wait that long for cookies. I'm happy with Karamel Kuche.

We both went with the Filet and selected different sauces.

That's an interestingly trimmed steak. It's not how most restaurant filets appear.

Overall, we enjoyed the meal but I’m not the biggest fan of set menu.

.
I'm not either. I'm with you on liking appetizers as a main.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

I would have bailed on Homecoming too—rude! Glad Citricos proved to be a good Plan B.

Yes! Citricos was the perfect Plan B. Consistent in amazing service and good!

I had fun catching up this morning. An afternoon at La Cava is always a good idea. Does Sotol have the smokiness of mezcal? I don't personally care for that but cool that they have some different options. Totally agree with you on the California Grill prix fixe menu. I'd much rather order a few appetizers and/or skip dessert. And ugh to Rosa Regale being one of the pairings. Yuck! I want to try to rope drop the lounge at some point just to get those wontons. Glad you enjoyed Brown Derby. I'm not loving their current menu but it's still my go-to for a nice relaxing meal in HS. And we were absolutely delighted by our last meal at Citricos... SO good - and I love the new decor!

Sotel is less smoky than mezcal but still more smoky than tequila. It also felt a little sweeter. My husband brought a bottle home in his most recent box from work but we haven't opened it yet as we have been busy the last couple weeks (we were at the Rhodesian Ridgeback Nationals in Wilmington, Ohio and now he's traveling for work)

I forgot you can still get the appetizers at the lounge. I need to remember that for next trip as being able to eat at bars makes planning life so much easier. Brown Derby is in a menu meh feeling as I was hoping to make a meal of appetizers but at least the duck was good. It is the go to for a relaxing meal at HS as the other options just aren't that. I guess I could try Mama Melrose again but there is so much better Italian around WDW that we never think of it.

Why do you think they have 1 dessert marked as vegan while nothing else on the menu is vegan or even vegetarian? (Not expecting you to have an answer, just noting it)

Not a clue! That is weird. I know they have a separate vegan/vegetarian menu but as that wasn't our meal preference.

Enjoying your reviews so much! I have my eye on that Strawberry salad at Citricos for our next trip. You had so many of my favorites that I want to revisit…Scottish Professor, FF steak, Nonna’s Pasta at Enzo’s….59 more days!!

You will love that Strawberry Salad! When is your next trip?

Yay! I'm glad I was alerted to your report! I thought of you when the Hurricane hit Florida, and how I was glad you'd moved. But you mentioned that Ida made your move complicated so boo to that.

It is the risk of living where we do. So much of my old home is devastated and its heartbreaking to me. Sanibel was one of our happy places to go and disconnect with the world.

I totally get that! I'm wrestling with what to do for dinner our first night on our next trip. Especially since we probably won't get to the hotel until after 9PM.

Yeah - that late is hard too. Who knows what will even be open depending on the hotel or time of the year. At least DoorDash/Uber Eats exist now which helps some.

That is totally going on my list! We plan to eat at Flying Fish one night.

You will love it! I'm so glad Flying Fish has reopened and their wonderful dishes have returned!

OMG! I love those rolls!

They are the best!

Another place that's on our list, especially since we're staying at AK.

I love AK! We need to go back to Jiko next time we are staying at AKL but we're at Rivera next go around.

I had forgotten about you DH's vegetarian phase. I think we might repeat what you ordered. I love Daal!

I tease him about it from time to time when he's like I should try it again to lose weight. And then I remind him he mainly survived on skittles and twizzlers and that isn't a smart life choice.

That pizza looks great! We have some of those here in LB and I might want to get some.

That cheesy garlic bread would be so worth it for an easy meal out about town!

That cake sure looks rich. Not sure I'd want to wait that long for cookies. I'm happy with Karamel Kuche.

If it wasn't for the merch, I'm not sure I would have done it. Now I have merch, I won't wait that long again. The things we do because of our animals.

That's an interestingly trimmed steak. It's not how most restaurant filets appear.

That 1 TS Credit Trim. You know the good stuff goes to the better restaurants. At least it was tender and cooked well.

I'm not either. I'm with you on liking appetizers as a main.

Hopefully once we are past the 50th Anniversary it goes back to normal!