Pudge Controls the Weather-A Dining Report (Updated 9/1-Bfast at EG-Closing Thoughts)

[jecskc]

This was our At Sea day and DS went to his club and DD and I played the Detective Agency game. In the mean time, DH was pre-booking our next cruise. While DD and I were playing, I stopped by the Vista Café and got this.

Double espresso mocha latte. YUMMY.

I am going to give this a Mrs. Incredible rating

because this was delicious and chocolate-y. And I needed some decent coffee by this time.


Well guys, I am off to doctor to get an MRI today. Keep your fingers crossed that there is nothing seriously wrong and that it is just a REALLY bad sprain that isn't healing very fast. But it has been five weeks and I can still barely walk, so ......... I dunno. I will know more tomorrow about this time.

 

[gardengirl628]

Good luck with your MRI....thinking positive thoughts for you! And meanwhile, that whipped cream covered chocolatey coffee thing looks a-mazing! Going to have to get me one of those.

 

[deenbrad]

Good luck!

 

[jecskc]

Good luck with your MRI....thinking positive thoughts for you! And meanwhile, that whipped cream covered chocolatey coffee thing looks a-mazing! Going to have to get me one of those.

That coffee was so good. And by that point, I was desperate for some good coffee. I usually drink mine black, but that whole whipped cream, chocolate-y latte thingy was pretty awesome.

Good luck!

Thanks you guys !!! Results tomorrow !! I just want it to be better !! Not being able to walk REALLY stinks !!!

 

[jecskc]

For whoever is interested, I got the results of my MRI today and it turns out I have a peroneal tendon subluxation. Which means my peroneal tendon has popped out of its protective sheath in my ankle and requires surgery to repair it.

It is very bad news and I am pretty upset, but I will get through it. What else can ya do, right ?? I will be laid up another 4-6 months so I will have plenty of time for more Dining reviews and Trip Reports. We are going to go on our September trip because cancelling would cost too much money, etc. So I have scheduled the surgery for when we get back. And I have to cancel the Thanksgiving trip now because I will still be in a cast and unable to walk. But at least I can bank those points to use next year, so that is good.

I'm pretty bummed .....

Anyway, let's help cure my depression with some emotional eating shall we???


***********

After a day of exploring the ship, we all met back at the room and headed to dinner at Animator’s Palate.

We got some bread.

DS with our tablemates

Tablemates – wonderful ladies.

DD and tablemate

Some restaurant photos

For appetizers DH ordered - Wild Mushroom Risotto and Porcini Twist - served with Parmigiano-Reggiano

I ordered - Black Truffle Pasta Pursettes - pasta purse filled with truffle scented cheese and coated with a delicate champagne sauce

These were very good.

DD ordered the kid’s pizza

She enjoyed it. Said it was good.

For the next course, DH and I both ordered - Baked Potato and Cheddar Cheese Soup with bacon bits and chives

This was very tasty. We both liked it a lot.

For our entrée, DH ordered - White Shrimp Pennette Pasta tossed with a basil and Reggiano Parmesan cheese sauce and topped with a parmesan cheese wafer

DS ordered – Marinated Angus Beef Tenderloin carved to order on wasabi mashed potatoes with bok choy and a tamarind-barbecue reduction

He ate all of the beef portion and the carrots, but I remember him saying the potatoes were “different”. After he was done, he and his buddy next to him were off to the club.

For my entrée I ordered - Grilled Pacific Black Cod with sauteed morel mushrooms on a yellow split pea puree

It was good. After the heavy appetizer and soup, this was nice and light. Not too heavy. Just right.

For dessert, Dh had - Sweet Temptations - a trio of crunchy walnut cake, pineapple financier, and lemon mousse.

He really enjoyed this and I liked the lemon mousse. Yummy !!

I ordered - Chocolate Brownie Cheesecake with whipped cream and raspberry coulis

Yum, yum, yum. Cheesecake and chocolate – you can’t lose.

DD ordered - Dense Chocolate Cake - brownie, caramel sauce and whipped cream

Fantastic meal. We very much enjoyed this meal and all of the dinners we had on the ship. Such wonderful meals and experiences.

Photos from dinner

I am going to give this a Mrs. Incredible rating

This meal was amazing. We really liked Animator’s Palate. A lot.

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

Ugh, I am very sorry to hear about your ankle! Glad to hear you will still be able to go on your Sept trip even if it is in a scooter!

 

[deenbrad]

I'm so sorry to hear about your ankle! I know its a small consolation but at least you know it can be fixed. I'm glad you still get to take your trip.

 

[jabead]

I'm so sorry that your ankle will require surgery, Susan. I hope that after it is fixed, you are up and walking again in record time!

 

[POOHsie]

Lunch - 50's Prime Time cafe ...

Love the Disney brand TV. Please tell me this is a man in a wig – yikes !!

I'm going to give away my age by saying this is Danny Thomas, father of Marlo Thomas ("That Girl"). He starred in "Make Room For Daddy," (also called "The Danny Thomas Show") which ran on TV from 1953–1965. He was a comedian, singer, actor, TV show producer. Very popular in his time, very funny. He was also the founder of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Sorry to hear the results of your MRI. I use a scooter at WDW, and it's easy to do Disney that way. Good luck to you. Enjoyed your reviews and pics.

 

[gardengirl628]

So sorry to hear about your ankle....that stinks. But I can think of nothing better for recovery than to plan another vacation!

Dinner at AP looks yummy.

 

[smiths02]

So sorry to hear about your ankle! Ouch! Wish you the best of luck with your surgery.

 

[jecskc]

Ugh, I am very sorry to hear about your ankle! Glad to hear you will still be able to go on your Sept trip even if it is in a scooter!

Thanks !! I even tried to reschedule that September trip, but we were inside our 45 day cancellation window. So we will just go and make the best of it. I will make sure to take lots of food photos to share !! Disney on a scooter is better than no Disney at all I guess

I'm so sorry to hear about your ankle! I know its a small consolation but at least you know it can be fixed. I'm glad you still get to take your trip.

Thanks !! It does help to know what the problem is. I am soooo not looking forward to that surgery though. Nope. Not at all.

I'm so sorry that your ankle will require surgery, Susan. I hope that after it is fixed, you are up and walking again in record time!

Thanks !!! I hope so too !! They say there is a 4-6 month recovery period. But it is something that has to be done or I will be lame forever and we can't have that. I do have very good insurance, so that takes a lot of the stress off.

I'm going to give away my age by saying this is Danny Thomas, father of Marlo Thomas ("That Girl"). He starred in "Make Room For Daddy," (also called "The Danny Thomas Show") which ran on TV from 1953–1965. He was a comedian, singer, actor, TV show producer. Very popular in his time, very funny. He was also the founder of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Sorry to hear the results of your MRI. I use a scooter at WDW, and it's easy to do Disney that way. Good luck to you. Enjoyed your reviews and pics.

Hey, thanks so much for telling me who that is. That was so much fun to know. Of course we are familiar with Danny and Marlo Thomas. I just didn't recognize him in that wig.

I am glad to know that doing Disney on a scooter is easy. Any tips or advice you can give would be very much appreciated !!

So sorry to hear about your ankle....that stinks. But I can think of nothing better for recovery than to plan another vacation!

Dinner at AP looks yummy.

Thanks !! It really does stink. I will at least have plenty of time for a Trip Report and a Dining Review when I get back.

All of the dinners on the ship were very delicious.

So sorry to hear about your ankle! Ouch! Wish you the best of luck with your surgery.

Thanks !! It really is a bummer. Just gonna have to get through it.

 

[jecskc]

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Breakfast at Royal Palace

The kids didn’t want to get up the next morning, so DH and I decided to go to Royal Palace for breakfast.

It was really nice to sit down for breakfast and order off a menu.

The waiter came to get our drink order which was coffee of course. The coffee here didn’t seem so bad. Maybe the “sit down” places made real coffee. DH had some juice as well.

We were offered pastries and I was almost demanded to order a fruit plate. “You,” our waiter said, “You must have some fruit.” He said this in a German accent, very stern like. Okaaayyyy. So apparently I looked like I had the early stages of scurvy ?? I dunno.

It was good and fresh. Maybe since it was the end of the cruise, they were trying to use up the fruit.

DH got some yogurt.

He said it tasted good, but was weirdly thin. More like a smoothie, he said.

For our entrée - DH and I both ordered - Express - Scrambled eggs, grilled ham, bacon, sausage. and hash browns

The eggs were a tiny bit better, but still not great. I am not sure why I kept ordering them. Wishful thinking, I guess.

Valance detail.

I'm going to give this an Edna rating.

Food filled us up, but nothing special. The coffee was decent at least. And it was really nice to sit down and not do the buffet thing.

After breakfast, we ran up to Cabanas to get some breakfast for the kids to take back to the room. We drug them out of bed and got ready and headed off the boat to Castaway Cay.

 

[Tricia's mom]

OOH this was a Lovely trip. We were all so lucky to be able to have that DOUBLE DIP ! Loved reading your trip report.

 

[jecskc]

OOH this was a Lovely trip. We were all so lucky to be able to have that DOUBLE DIP ! Loved reading your trip report.

Hey Janet !!! Wasn't it the best vacation EVER ?? We love, love, LOVED it. And we came home with some many wonderful new friends.

 

[jecskc]

Dinner at Cookies BBQ - Castaway Cay


We stayed on the beach for a couple of hours and then went over to Cookies BBQ to get some lunch.

After lunch, we head back to the boat. DS heads off to his club and DH wanted to trest. So DD and I headed up to the top deck.

We got up there and there is NO line for the Aquaduck. I step in at the entry point and the CM there tells me that they are not allowing single riders due to the wind. I was like, “ you are kidding, right?” And she said no, sorry. As she let’s two kids that clearly weight less that I do – TOGETHER. I swear both of them together barely weighed 100 pounds. And clearly ….. I weigh much more. It was stupid and I couldn’t talk DD into going. So I just brushed it off. And ordered a drink.

A mai tai. And It was STRONG. But I loved it.

An empty Aquaduck …..grrrr

View of the pretty blue water

DD enjoying the slide.

Toy Story 2 was playing on Funnelvision.

The weather is still gorgeous and since it was cooler, I didn’t think to put on sunscreen. This will prove to be a bad decision later.

After about an hour, we head back to the room. But not without taking a photo of DD and her favorite snack.

we took DD up to deck 11 to get her some pizza from Flo’s and went back to the room to get ready for our Palo Dinner. This is when I noticed I was sunburned from just the hour I spent up on deck while DD was riding the slide. Yep, I was a crispy critter. I should have put on some sunscreen.

 

[jecskc]

Dinner at Palo

At dinner time, we took DD to her club and headed over to Palo.

We checked in and we were early, so we stepped into the Meridian Lounge to have a drink.

We ordered a drink to share.

Latitude 46.5 - Fresh Raspberry Puree, Chambord, Cognac, Taittinger Champagne

Very yummy.

Then they came to get us for dinner.

Centerpiece.

We were brought some bread.

Some crunchy breadsticks. I really liked these.

Freshly Baked Bread on Our Pizza Oven. These were good, too.

Our waiter told us a story about Palo. Palo is the Italian word for “pole”. What this signifies is that the first two Disney Cruise ships were made in Venice, Italy. “pole” referring to the pole the gondolas used to propel themselves along. And that is how the restaurant got its name. Neat story.

He brought us a plate of antipasti - Prosciutto, Bresaola, Parmesan Reggiano, Marinated Olives and Marinated artichokes, Roasted Red Peppers, served with Palo's famous Dips and Olive Oil

So good. As a matter of fact, this was my downfall. I ate too much of it and when I got my other courses, I got too full, too fast. So if you eat here, PACE yourself. Which I didn’t do.

When we finished our drink from the Meridian, I asked for a Pinot Grigio and our waiter said they were out, but he recommended a blend which we ordered and it was very smooth but not too dry. I looked for a Palo Wine list so I could tell you exactly what it is, but I can’t find a copy of the list.

It was the perfect balance of sweet and dry, so I really loved it.

DH got a red blend the waiter recommended.

He really enjoyed this as well.

For my appetizer – I ordered - Grilled Portobello Mushroom and Polenta with a roasted shallot sauce and a parmesan chip

This was a miss for me. I think it was the polenta that reeled me in but the sauce on top was just not my thing. I had about three bites and DH tried some and agreed. It was just OK to us. To someone else, it might be amazing.

DH ordered – Calamari

Which was good, but I’ve had better.

Then we were given a palate cleanser – lemon sorbet.

I loved this little touch. I ate it all. It was so light and fresh and citrus-y.

For my main course, I ordered - Chianti Braised Beef Ravioli tossed in a rich red wine reduction with oven-roasted carrots and celery.

This was very good, but very rich. Since I was so full by this time (durn that antipasti), I only managed to eat two of these ravioli.

DH ordered - Osso Buco di Vitello - Slow-roasted center cut veal shank with gremolata and risotto Milanese

He really enjoyed this. Said it was very tender and had a good flavor.

For dessert, we had - Chocolate Souffle with Vanilla Bean and Chocolate Sauces. We were going to order two, but I just couldn’t do my own justice, so instead of wasting more food, we just ordered one.

It was amazing !!!

To finish, our waiter brought this Lemon slushie thing made with Citron vodka.

Which I enjoyed almost as much as the Chocolate Souffle.

I'm going to give this a Mrs. Incredible rating.

We very much enjoyed our meal here and we would definitely do this again.

Two things that I will do differently: one, I will not eat too much bread and antipasti. And two, I will order lighter dishes and not the heavy rich stuff that I did order. So, live and learn.

Our Palo photo

You can really see my sunburn here, but i like it.

After dinner, we sadly made our way back to our room to pack up the rest of our things since this was our last night.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Palo looks great! Even the heavy dishes look perfect to me right now...although that might be because I've only eaten a handful of almonds today.

 

[jecskc]

Palo looks great! Even the heavy dishes look perfect to me right now...although that might be because I've only eaten a handful of almonds today.

It made me hungry, too. I so want a do over on this meal because I went into it starving and I filled up on the the delicious bread and antipasti. Since I was full by the time the appys came, I just couldn't do the meal true justice. I definitely need to pace myself better next time.

I just had DS bring me a couple of cheese slices since I am upstairs in the bed icing my ankle. I haven't had much to eat to day either. All of these posts and dining reports make me hungry. But I so enjoy the food photos !!

 

[deenbrad]

Palo looks great! Especially that souffle!

I could see that burn must've hurt! I burn VERY easily so I'm pretty conscious of it when I'm planning on being in the sun. Unfortunately I'm not so attentive day to day and living in GA there is a lot of sun! Especially since my car is a golf cart!