Planning for DxDP in a Whole New World...A Feb 14 PDR *2/19 Complete*

[JessicaKnits]

Day Eight brings another first with our dinner ADR. We are headed off to...

Had always avoided eating here because the menu just didn't appeal to me enough. Since our last trip they have made some menu adjustments that sound interesting, so we figured we would give it a shot!

For appetizers, I am REALLY looking forward to trying the...

"Area 51" Salad - Iceberg lettuce tossed in chipotle ranch dressing topped with roasted corn salas, crispy tortilla and Monterey Jack $6.99

the

Fried Dill Pickles - served with spicy Ranch Dipping Sauce $8.49

and

Spinach and Artichoke Dip - A blend of Monterey Jack, Swiss, and Parmesan, Spinach, and Artichokes served with Corn Tortilla Chips $8.49

also sound like solid options.

For an entree, I definitely want to try the

Salmon BLT - served on crusty French Roll with Arugula, Vine-ripened Tomatoes, Bacon, red onion and d Chili-Chive Aioli, served with cucumber salad or fries $15.99, with chicken $14.99

Sans bacon of course.

As a back up, the

Shrimp or Chicken Pasta - Whole-Grain Penne Pasta, Sauteed Shrimp with Olive Oil, Garlic, Basil, and fresh Tomatoes topped with Parmesan $23.99

or

Vegetable Burger - Vegetable Patty topped with Cucumber Planks, Vine-ripened Tomatoes, Grilled Red Onions, Arugula, drizzled with Balsamic Vinegar served with a choice of Cucumber Salad or Sweet Potato Fries $13.49

sound like great choices!

For dessert, I only have eyes for

Out-of-This-World Turtle Cheesecake - with Heath Bar, Pecans, Chocolate Chips, Caramel Sauce, and topped with Whipped Cream $6.99


I am also looking forward to trying one of there infamous milkshakes!

 

[JessicaKnits]

On to Day 9 already!

I tried this next restaurant on my first trip. I had intended on ordering a specific item, and at the last minute changed my mind. I still regret my decision and am looking forward to heading back and righting that wrong on this trip.

We will head over to the Grand Floridian Cafe for an early (7:15 AM) ADR.

Back in 2010, I had every intention of ordering the

Lobster Eggs Benedict - Two Poached Eggs, Lobster hash, Asparagus, and Hollandaise Sauce $18.99

and instead, ended up ordering this...

Vanilla-laced French Toast - Brioche Bread dipped in Vanilla-flavored Batter served with Bacon or Sausage $11.99

It was French toast. It was fine. It didn't blow me away.

We also had this...

Eggs Benedict - Two Poached Eggs on a Toasted English Muffin, Canadian Bacon, and Key Lime Hollandaise Sauce served with Asparagus and broiled tomato au gratin $11.99

As soon as I smelled the rich, buttery amazingness, I knew I had made a mistake. I can't wait to get back and give this place another try!

 

[JessicaKnits]

We're headed to Epcot today!

For lunch is yet another restaurant that I haven't been to since 2010. We were lucky enough to dine here only a few weeks after the grand opening. We had a truly wonderful meal and I'm looking forward to a return visit and to see some of the changes!

We started out with the classics...

Fritto Misto - an assortment of just-fried seasonal vegetables, calamari & cheese. Serves 2 people. Arancini, mozzarella, calamari, melanzane, asparagi, zucchini, artichoke, pomodoro piccante sauce $26.00

and

Arancini - fried risotto balls filled with mozzarella and meat ragu $11.00

Both were excellent and served ridiculously hot. I got a little greedy and couldn't wait to dive into that calamari and as a result, had a sore tongue for a few days.

For entrees we had...

Carciofi - white pizza, artichoke, fontina, mozzarella, truffle oil

This was one of the best things I ate all trip. The cheese was light and creamy and the truffle oil paired so well with it! I really love truffle oil though, so didn't mind it on this pizza. The only complaint was there needed to be more artichokes!

The other entree was this...

A salad. Don't know too much about this, because I would never dream of ordering a salad on vacation! Unless of course I started eating meat again and it was a Brown Derby Cobb!

For desserts we had...

Coppa dii Brutti Ma Buon! - Amarena cherry and vanilla gelato sundae $14

and

Torta di "Mamma Rosario" - apple cake with almond sorbetto $8

Both were good, but nothing earth shattering.

One minor annoyance I had is that the aqua frescas were not included on the dining plan. It just seemed a little strange that at every other restaurant we could order a smoothie or a milkshake, etc with our meal. At $6 each though, we won't be trying them off the dining plan.

 

[JessicaKnits]

Dinner tonight should be awesome and fun!

Both of us being German descent, we are looking forward to returning to Biergarten! It should be interesting given that neither of us are eating meat, and I honestly thought about cancelling this ADR several times, but nothing else really appealed to us.

I was originally worried there just wouldn't be enough for us to enjoy here, but after reading the menu on allears, I found the following items that would appeal to us!

Gemischter Salat (Mixed Green Salad)
Tarragon-Mustard - Dressing
Krauter Dressing
Creamy Herb Dressing
Bayrischer Kraut Salat (Bavarian Cabbage Salad)
Gurken Salat (Cucumber-Dill Salad)
Rote Beete Salat (Pickled Red Beet Salad)
Nudel Salat (Macaroni Salad)
Senfgurken (Mustard Pickles)
Cream of Potato and Leeks with Pretzel Croutons

Hausgemachte Spaetzle (Homemade Spaetzle)
Braised Red Cabbage
Lachs Filet in Zitronen-Dill- Sahne Sauce (Salmon filet with a Lemon Dill Cream sauce Bremerhaven Style)
Macaroni and Cheese
Potato Dumplings with Bread Crumb Butter
Herring Salad Schleswig Holsteiner Style

and of course...PRETZEL ROLLS!

So, it certainly seems like we will have plenty of options!

 

[JessicaKnits]

We don't have an ADR for breakfast this morning, but we plan on taking a leisurely stroll over from the Hollywood Studios bus stop to check out the one and only Boardwalk Bakery. I have never been here before, so it will be nice to give this a try. Who can say no to a case full of delicious sweets?

 

[JessicaKnits]

Continuing to make our way through the Table Service options at Hollywood Studios, we are headed to 50s Prime Time Café today. I skipped 50s on my last trip because I was still in mourning over the removal of all of their sandwiches from the menu.

Here's what we had last time...

I started with this...

This was Aunt Annie's Seafood Salad and was a great way to kick off the meal. It was light, refreshing and had the perfect amount of citrus. Sadly, this is no longer available on the menu.

Chicken Noodle Soup - Hearty mixture of chicken, vegetables, and egg noodles $6.99

This time around, I plan to try either the

Fried Herb and Garlic Cheese - served with warm Raspberry Sauce and toasted French Bread $8.49

or

Uncle Andy's Smoked Trout Dip - smoked rainbow trout with crispy homemade tomato crackers $7.49

For entree's last time we had...

This was a chicken sandwich and was delicious! Sadly, no more sandwiches!

We also had

Caesar Salad - Romaine lettuce tossed with caesar dressing, grated parmesan, and garlic croutons. With Chicken $13.49; With Salmon $15.99

This time around I would like to try the Caesar salad. I think the addition of salmon is an interesting choice.

I wish I could remember what we had for dessert last time, but the pictures seem to have vanished.

All I know is that I wished that I had ordered this,

Traditional Warm Apple Crisp $5.49; a la mode $7.49

 

[JessicaKnits]

Where to have dinner on the last night of your trip is always a difficult choice. I tried unsuccessfully to get another ADR at California Grill, but no luck. I ate at Narcoossee's on my last trip, and the meal was just so so. Mostly because I decided to order a truffle filet on the menu instead of the originally planned whole lobster. While the truffle was good, it was identical to the one at Le Cellier, so it wasn't anything I hadn't had before. I had also had my heart set on their strawberry and lemon tart, which was sadly absent from the menu the night we were there.

Here is what we had last time...

A scratch margarita, "Mickey Style." I wish I remembered our bartenders name, because he was outstanding, and really knew how to make a drink.

For appetizers we had

Prince Edward Island Mussels - Tomato, white wine, and Saffron Broth with Chorizo, Shaved Fennel, red onion, and toasted baguette $19.00

These were delicious and plentiful!

This was some sort of salad, but I don't see it on the menu any longer.

The aforementioned Truffle Filet. It was good and perfectly cooked, but as I mentioned, it was identical to the Le Cellier filet. I regretted my decision to not order the whole lobster.

Grilled Filet Mignon - "Smoked" Boniato Mashed Potatoes with Hericot Vert and Herbed Cabernet-oxtail reduction $44.00
•Add a butter-poached or steamed Maine lobster tail $71.00

This was also good and again the steak was not cooked perfectly, but the lobster was a little tough.

For dessert, since my much anticipated strawberry lemon tart was missing from the menu, I went with a new dessert they were trying out.

This was tres leche cake. It was good, but I have definitely had better homemade versions of this.

We also had the famous...

Almond-crusted Cheesecake - with lambert cherry sauce $10

This was the clear winner for the desserts. I am looking forward to this!

Overall, we enjoyed the meal here. I hope they have done something about the bug issues that they had here when we dined. I'm not sure if this was a seasonal Florida thing, or what the deal was, but with our window seat, we were subjected to a view of this the entire night...

Plus, you had to walk through a swarm of them to even get into the restaurant.

This time, I will stick to the plan to order the whole lobster, and pray that they've brought back the strawberry lemon tart!

 

[JessicaKnits]

Well, it's finally time! Our last day plans are up now. We are haeded to Whispering Canyon Cafe this morning and I must say, I'm quite excited about it! We have never eaten here before, so I'm anxious to give it a whirl.

The Wilderness Lodge is one of the most breathtaking resorts I have been to, and I'm really looking forward to giving it a try!

Some menu highlights include...

House-made Banana Bread French Toast - with Bananas Foster Sauce and choice of Bacon or Sausage $11.99

Chocolate Chip Buttermilk Pancakes - with bacon or sausage $11.49

and

Belgian Waffle - with maple butter, candied pecan topping and choice of bacon or sausage $10.99

 

[JessicaKnits]

You may have noticed that we have one dining credit not yet reserved! Shameful, I know. Originally we had planned to book an ADR at The Plaza as we were going to spend our last day in the Magic Kingdom.

However, our departure day also happens to coincide with the opening day of the Flower & Garden Festival. We were lucky enough to experience this in 2012, but that was back before they had food booths!

Everything sounds SO good, I don't think we will have enough time to try them all, but we will do our best. Here are some of my favorites!

■Pickled beet salad with goat cheese cream, mizuna and pistachios
■Asian Tuna Salad with Noodles
■Dole Whip with Parrot Bay Coconut Rum
■Sweet Potato Cinnamon Waffle with Dole Whip (TRYit! Selection)
■Freshly Baked Potato and Cheddar Cheese Biscuit with Smoked Salmon Tartare
■Freshly Baked Lemon Scones with Berry Preserves and Crème FraÎche
■Gnocchi Parisien à la Provençal – Parisian-style Dumplings with Vegetables and Mushrooms
■Baghrir – Moroccan pancake with honey, almonds and argan oil
■Three cheese manicotti – Egg pasta stuffed with ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan, tomato sauce and béchamel
■Torta di ricotta – Lemon cheesecake with limoncello-marinated strawberries
■Quesadilla de hongos con queso – Flour tortilla filled with mushrooms and cheese
■Flan de chocolate Abuelita – Mexican chocolate custard


Looks like we will have a VERY busy morning/afternoon at the booths!

 

[JessicaKnits]

With all of these AMAZING meals planned, it seems an almost impossible task to manage to use up our 44 snack credits. While we will be able to use many of them at the Flower and Garden booths, there are a few other things I will try my best to try out while we're there!

The first, caught my eye this morning on the Disney Food Blog. Really, I find the DFB to be the absolute best way to find out about the latest and greatest of all things "snack" related. The newest snack happens to reside at our very own Landscape of Flavors. Its a "snack" of Naan Bread complete with three dipping sauces: Coriander, Tandoori and Mango Chutney. You can read more about it here. This will be a great pairing with my surf and surf burger on arrival day, no?

Blueberry Lemon cupcake from Starring Rolls
Cronut from Refreshment Port in Epcot
Zebra Domes from The Mara
Ice Cream Sandwich from L’ARTISAN des GLACES
Coffee from Starbucks
An ice cream cookie sandwich from The Plaza
Dole Whip from Aloha Isle
Cupcakes from Be Our Guest
Potato and Leek Soup from Be Our Guest
Anything with Caramel from Karamel Kuche
Anything from Les Halles (I have not been since the remodel!)

 

[JessicaKnits]

Well Folks, that brings us to the end! Sorry, I know I was not the best at writing on a consistent basis. Living in two different states got a bit more complicated than I had planned! Now that I am firmly planted back in Wisconsin, expect the dining review to go off without a hitch!

We leave for Milwaukee on Friday afternoon and fly out first thing on Saturday! We are there for the looooooooooooong haul, 11 nights and 12 days! I can't wait to get started eating and look forward to sharing with all of you when we return!