SEMI-LIVE 5 weeks of onsite/offsite dining adventures Jan-Feb ‘23 *7/9 FINAL Update*

[elaine amj]

Glad you made it home safely. And Pearl's BBQ is now added to my "To Eat" map in case I ever find myself nearby. Looking forward to part 2 of the trip.

Pearl’s was so good! And very much a dive - which is part of it’s attraction.

 

[elaine amj]

We’re on our way to Florida!! Left this morning We have decided to stop in Nashville on the way. And now that I have discovered I am capable of doing the drive in 2 days, this gave us FOUR nights to spend in Nashville. I love country music and this is my 3rd visit to the Music City. I love how laidback it is - and how there is live music everywhere.

We are staying at the Club Wyndham Nashville near Opryland where we got a one bedroom condo. Rented from an owner for a killer deal of just $250 for all 4 nights. It is the offseason and weekdays, which dropped the price by half.

Anyway, back to food. On the way down, we had hoped to stop at our favourite Thai Smile in Richmond, KY. Unfortunately the owners are away on an extended vacation. So we found The Noodle Shack nearby. We got there 15 mins earlier than expected so they were not open yet and I took a snooze in the parking lot.

We both ordered the Japanese Katsu curry. They accommodated DH’s request to order it with tofu instead of the chicken I got. It was good, about medium spicy. It didn’t jump out at me and the chicken was slightly overcooked. I’d say about food court standard. Although it did have a nice batter.



The staff serving us was incredibly gracious and very accommodating. He really made this a better experience. Especially since my DH was having more difficulties. His chewing has gotten a bit worse and he is finding it really difficult to drink water.

So he was super frustrated throughout dinner and I had to work really hard to calm him down. We had a talk tonight and he’s going to try a few more ideas I have for accommodations. And hopefully have more patience with himself.

Tomorrow, the plan is the famous Loveless Cafe for the best biscuits I have ever had anywhere. Afterwards, we’ll hit the Tennessee State Museum. We listened to an audiobook today on the Civil War so DH is keen on seeing more related stuff. We both love history so I know we will enjoy it. Hoping to find other Civil War museums/sites in the area to check out on other days. Then at night, we’ll hit up some honkytonks on Broadway - woot!

We were thinking of going to Monell’s and all you can eat place served family style. Seating is communal - like Biergarten. So I think we will skip it. Even if I place DH at the end of the table, there could be someone next to and across from him as there are only the 2 of us. Not too fair to other diners to be quite that close as it is hard to be completely discreet. Really - there are plenty of other places to eat.

 

[erinch]

Have a blast!

 

[Counting Stars]

Wow you really got a great deal on that condo- good for you! Love it when plans work out! Have fun in Nashville- I am interested in hearing your experiences because we typically only stay the one night and then continue on toward Orlando. I am a sucker for southern cooking though... so maybe a longer stay is warranted

 

[elaine amj]

Wow you really got a great deal on that condo- good for you! Love it when plans work out! Have fun in Nashville- I am interested in hearing your experiences because we typically only stay the one night and then continue on toward Orlando. I am a sucker for southern cooking though... so maybe a longer stay is warranted

I love Nashville - HIGHLY recommended! Really good southern food every single place you look. Which hasn’t worked out quite as well for DH who prefers healthier food (which he mostly interprets as Asian )

 

[elaine amj]

We’re in Orlando now! Haven’t entered a park or eaten out yet though lol. I gotta finish the Nashville portion before tonight’s Beaches and Cream reservation!

Day 1 - lunch was the famous Loveless Cafe. I have been here on each of my last 2 trips and it will stay a must do. Those biscuits are truly pillows of love. Light, fluffy - the best biscuits I have ever had anywhere. And seasoned by the fact they are the “bread service” and you get an unlimited supply of it. YUM!!

The first batch was just ok and we were wondering if our memories were overly rose colored. Second plate was warm and restored our faith. 3rd plate has me swooning in delight.


We both ordered sides as our meal. Most things were about what you’d expect although I did like the very cheesy hash brown casserole. Mac and cheese was fine but a bit plasticky. The creamed corn is my obsession (because it is so different where I am).

 

[elaine amj]

At night, it was time for the honky tonks of Lower Broadway! I rarely ever go to bars in normal life - but love the bar scene in Nashville as it chill, relaxed and informal. And there is live music EVERYWHERE. If the music changes or the band gets boring, so easy to hop to the next bar to check out the music there.

We had dinner at Rippy’s, a bar I have eaten at on previous trips. I like the ribs here better than Jack’s, a more famous joint across the street. Besides, Rippy’s has live music with dinner



The onion rings and mac and cheese were blah (Flame Tree is much better) but the ribs are decently juicy. Good, not great. We were surprisingly full after sharing this 1/2 rack of ribs. I was still stuffed from all those biscuits I gorged on at Loveless lol.



The next day, we headed back downtown as it is one of the few places to find live music on a weekday at lunchtime. The streets were packed with tourists and there was a lively vibe everywhere.

DH is not a big fan of bar food so it was hard to find somewhere with food he liked. We settled on Nudie’s Honky Tonk where the band was pretty good. DH even pulled me into a slow dance by our table *blush*

Unfortunately the food took forever. He ordered braised beef tacos and I got a Nashville hot chicken sandwich. I thought his tacos were fairly good but he didn’t much like them. He scraped out the insides and did his best with some extra avocado crema but mostly just suffered through lunch. He did like my sweet potato fries. My own hot chicken sandwich was surprisingly really really good. Did not expect that from a bar - we were mostly here for the music. I have vague recollections of hot chicken being covered by chilli sauce. I like spicy stuff but don’t care for chilli sauce. This one was breaded with a spicy mixture and served on toast. Delicious!!!





The bar was surprisingly clean and the bathrooms thankfully newly renovated. I remember things being more grungy on previous visits a few years back.

That night, we decided to stay in near our hotel at the Opryland area and dinner was at the Scoreboard since the hotel concierge raved about their BBQ. We got a half rack of ribs with hot water cornbread.



The ribs were dried out and mostly charred (which I imagine some people like). It would have been fine if the ribs were juicy, but these were not. Also the server insisted the bbq sauce was not spicy, but it was mildly spicy and Dh has a hard time tolerating spice these days. Oh well, at least it was cheap.



It was my first time hearing of and trying hot water cornbread. Everything really is better when it is deep fried. Soooooo good!

We moved next door to the Nashville Palace for dessert but unfortunately that has been removed from the menu. The band was playing really old country and nothing else on the menu was appealing (all I could consider was a Caesar Salad) so we left to head back to the condo early. We should’ve gone back downtown - what a bummer!

Our last full day in Nashville, we headed out to Stones River Battlefield (we’ve been visiting Civil War sites by day). On the way home, we stopped at Sunflower Bakery, a gluten free vegan bakery.



Closer look:


- Bacon Philly bake with tofu “bacon”, peppers, onions, foccacia cubes and a cashew cream sauce. It was really good although eventually it got a bit salty for my taste

- a vegan and gluten free biscuit. Sounds awful, right? It was beautifully crumbly biscuit that rivalled regular biscuits with real flour! One of the best biscuits I have had (although Loveless still ranks higher haha). Still can’t believe it is gluten free. WOW. I bought another to eat on the road the next day. Yes, it was that good.


- Omelette Biscuit Bake with vegan custard cream, onions, peppers, and vegan cheese. DH loved this but had trouble swallowing it so our incredibly kind server brought him a small bit of their potato kale soup to help him swallow the food. Backfired on me - he loved it so much I had to go back and order a full bowl for him. I have to admit - it was seriously delicious.
We also got takeout (I went back to the counter sooooo many times and the staff were so kind they made every visit a pleasure). DH got a Choc-alado veggie smoothie (with cocoa powder) which he said was really good but I forgot to taste. He also got a curried cauliflower salad for lunch during the drive the next day and again I forgot to taste it. I got my extra biscuit



DH was so thrilled to have veggies again after so much Southern cooking. It certainly felt healthier. But let’s not kid ourselves - we ate a lot of bread haha! I was again stuffed after my biscuit and some of the two baked dishes we ordered.

 

[elaine amj]

Dinner was at the Bluebird Cafe, where stars like Taylor Swift, Garyh Brooks and Faith Hill were discovered. I was fangirling like crazy all night after having binged on the Nashville TV series a few years back. The place is fully booked within 3 mins of opening up reservations and people wait 1.5-2hrs for a chance at maybe 10-12 standby seats.

I had a hot chicken sandwich (which was rather awful) and DH had a baked brussel sprouts salad that he said was really good. Only problem was the songwriters kept playing these super quiet ballads where u could hear a pin drop! No way I could use the food chopper so I was hand scissoring the salad very slowly and quietly all night. Any time they sang a bit louder, I’d scissor faster LOL!



Next time I won’t bother with dinner and just get dessert or something (there is a $10 food minimum and I can’t drink since I have to drive). It was distracting trying to eat a meal there and the food is not very good anyway.

Still it was beyond worth it to be in that iconic place. Wowwwww



The next day we spent 12.5 hrs driving the 11hrs to Orlando through endless hours of torrential rain. Lunch was the takeout we got from the vegan bakery.

Dinner was at a Vietnamese joint near The Villages. It was very blah. We have wayyyy better Vietnamese food in my small city.

Tofu pho:


I got rice. Pork chops were overly salty (again I think my tastebuds just don’t like salt much anymore - although I always feel I use so much at home).


The next day was a rest day. I ended up cooking a super yummy dinner I was thoroughly pleased with. Sooooo good!! First attempt at this recipe

I made Black Tofu Spaghetti with Scallops and Spinach.



We also got a lemon tart and a corn something from Fortuna Bakery in the Town of Celebration. Solidly good, neither amazing enough for a must go back. Especially since they were $5+ each.

 

[elaine amj]

We are finally on Disney property!!!

Tonight’s dinner was at Beaches and Cream. I like eating dinner at the Boardwalk area resorts so it is a quick walk to the Intl Gateway as we like being in World Showcase and the half hour walk from the front can be exhausting.

I was super excited to finally be on Disney property! Did terrible taking photos though…

I got a kids’ burger. I had planned a side of fries and a side of ice cream but server only heard fries and gave me a double serving of fries (this is half as I gave half to DH already). The burger was fine - kicking myself for not thinking to ask for relish as I am pickle mad.



DH got the bacon cheese tots that he asked for them to process in the kitchen with a food processor. Unfortunately I didn’t get a photo. It was good but harder to swallow. Even with extra ranch dressing (which quickly got overpowering). Last time he got the chilli cheese tots and liked that better.

We were going to get him a regular chocolate milkshake until our server explained the souvenir brownie shake had a brownie blended into the milkshake. I explained we didn’t want to souvenir mug and asked if it could be cheaper without the mug. We discussed it at length and he asked specifically if I just wanted a brownie blended into a chocolate milkshake. So he went off agreeing that we wanted to order a brownie milkshake, not specifically the souvenir one.

We got the regular souvenir milkshake. I tasted it and it definitely did not have a brownie blended into it. Just the brownie on top as I expected. $15 instead of the normal $8 for a chocolate milkshake.

I forgot to take a pic until we took off the brownie.



It tasted like a regular chocolate milkshake. NOTHING compared to the decadence at Ghirardelli. Still, DH poured it into a bowl and enjoyed it. Next time we’ll get either a sundae or a regular milkshake. Can u tell I am still annoyed? Lol!

My frozen sunshine was sooo good and made me happier Really like a frozen bit of sunshine with the lovely light taste of the sherbet and the sparkling of the seltzer all together into perfection. Ties for first place with the American Dream

Overall our server was very - blah. He did his job without a trace of a smile, would be cleaning up the table right next to us but not even glance over to see if we needed anything, gave me misleading information, and when I informed him about the milkshake, just shrugged and cleared the table. Also, when I ordered the kids meal, I get 2 sides and a drink. I only remembered to mention the fries and he decided to assume I wanted a double portion of fries. I didn’t mention a drink so he assumed I didn’t want any. (I don’t drink pop/juice often anyway - but it would’ve been nice to be asked). I was so annoyed I tipped less than I normally do at Disney.



We might consider sharing next time. All that ice cream sat rather heavily by bedtime

Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day and we have brunch at Ale & Compass and dinner at Chefs de France. We’re going to be so stuffed…

 

[Juliet25]

Welcome back! I love following your reviews. Thanks for taking the time to post them!

 

[erinch]

Continue to have a blast!

 

[elaine amj]

Welcome back! I love following your reviews. Thanks for taking the time to post them!

Awww…thank you! I have fun writing them. And it’s helpful to look back when I can’t remember what I liked/didn’t like.

Continue to have a blast!

We are loving being here. It’s a bit harder this time and we had a rather concerning visit with the oncologist when we were home last as there are some signs that DH had a mini stroke when we were here in January (clear weakness on his left side).

We almost delayed this trip the morning we were leaving when the oncologist called to follow up nervous about slight possibilities of brain bleeds, etc. But it had been 2+ weeks of no further changes and chances are high there will be nothing much we can do at home anyway so DH insisted he wanted to take the risk and come anyway.

Our family doctor has taken a closer look at the scans and reassured us saying he sees no signs of major issues. We have scheduled yet another brain MRI - but next appointment is not available for 5+ weeks. Still trying to get an appointment with a neurologist. We are monitoring him closely and will take action if there are worsening symptoms. So far the main issues are even more difficulty eating (this one has been hard) and more difficulty walking (so he uses the walker almost all the time now).

I am hoping nothing new pops up. We are planning to go home for a week during the second week of March and then drive right back down again, this time with my best friend and her husband for just a week. With 3 drivers, we are going to drive straight through coming to Orlando and stop for a night on the way home. We love travelling with them and it will be their first time without kids and a trailing crew of 10-15 family members.

Forgot to share that we had a nice encounter with a fellow guest yesterday.

When we were at Beaches and Cream yesterday, we sat down at our table and got set up with the food chopper and his bib. The lady at the next table leaned over, apologized for staring, and asked if he had ALS.

Turns out her mother was recently diagnosed with ALS and has been having a lot of issues swallowing food. We showed her our different gadgets and were able to share all the different ways we manage and the types of food DH is able to eat. Many little tips they hadn’t considered and that had taken us months to think of doing. It was nice to be able to be helpful

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

Welcome back! Looking forward to all the good food to come

 

[Counting Stars]

Welcome back! All of my very best thoughts and wishes for you and your DH. So glad you are both able to make the trip. Enjoy each day. I am thinking your conversation with the fellow guest at B&C was probably really helpful and greatly appreciated. In terms of the restaurant I have thought that Beaches and Cream has declined since the expansion, both in service and the food quality. Used to be a must do for us, a fun little place, now not so much. Thanks again for sharing your experiences.

 

[olliesmom]

I’m so glad to see updates! Your Nashville trip looked like so much fun, I don’t know a lot about country music but even the mediocre BBQ looks delicious to this Canadian!

I hope everything stays stable for your husband this trip and you are able to just be surrounded by magic and kindness for some time. You and your husband have remarkable spirits.

 

[elaine amj]

Welcome back! All of my very best thoughts and wishes for you and your DH. So glad you are both able to make the trip. Enjoy each day. I am thinking your conversation with the fellow guest at B&C was probably really helpful and greatly appreciated. In terms of the restaurant I have thought that Beaches and Cream has declined since the expansion, both in service and the food quality. Used to be a must do for us, a fun little place, now not so much. Thanks again for sharing your experiences.

Yeah - not sure about Beaches and Cream in the future. Although that frozen sunshine was really insanely good. And the server for the tables next to us was amazing. We just had a bad one.

I’m so glad to see updates! Your Nashville trip looked like so much fun, I don’t know a lot about country music but even the mediocre BBQ looks delicious to this Canadian!

I hope everything stays stable for your husband this trip and you are able to just be surrounded by magic and kindness for some time. You and your husband have remarkable spirits.

Thank you! We don’t always manage to stay positive. And my DH has been having a really tough time with his worsening symptoms. Amazingly, I have been able to stay patient with him although sometimes I roll my eyes behind his back . He’s so stubborn and hates trying new things. I keep telling him doing the same thing that doesn’t work and then complaining about it is not exactly a sign of intelligence lol.

 

[elaine amj]

Valentine’s Day was all about eating! In between the eating, we did also have a really romantic, loving day wandering around Epcot, relishing being together - just what we needed.

Brunch was at Ale & Compass. I’ve reviewed this earlier and it was the same awesomeness. We had a good server so had a nice experience even though I had a couple of issues with the buffet not getting refilled promptly (lots of back and forth trips to check if food had been refilled - felt like a glutton haha!)

My first plate - I decided I better start with fruit before loading up on carbs. Lovely granola to go with the yogurt. DH had overnight oats and I tried a bit - it is surprisingly good (I hate oatmeal). Another guest I encountered at the buffet line also commented how amazingly good the overnight oats were The croissant was blah like the last time so I only had a few bites. Think dense, chewy supermarket croissants. Not even fresh warm ones saved this. I’m a croissant snob and the Europeans do it much better.



Definitely like the gravy better here than what I had along the road. Prob because it is not peppery. I am happily back to drowning my biscuits in vats of gravy haha. The cinnamon roll looked better than it tasted. I think it’s a decent one but the pastry is hmm…firmer and more dense. I am not a big fan of cinnamon rolls - the only ones I like are from Cicis Pizza which are soft and have a more pillowy texture. Those melt in the mouth - YUM!


They do look good though:



The buffet line:






As always we ate too much here - DH must have eaten 5-6 pots of overnight oatmeal - and just nibbled at our entrees.

Mine was the shrimp and grits which was as good as I remembered. I realized this time I prob like these so much because they are very cheesy - although it’s deceptive as it’s all mixed with the grits.



DH had the plant based protein bowl. He wasn’t a fan of the citrus dressing though. When he heated it up at home, he opted to eat it all in separate components instead of mixed up together - all while complaining it was hard to swallow as it was dry. Ummm…it would have gone down easier mixed up together. And he wouldn’t let me redo the scrambled “eggs” with more almond milk even though it was dried out. I told him he was weird since before his illness he would eat one bite after another of food that did NOT go together all the time.



Overall - $23 pp is Disney’s most screaming deal.

Plus - quick walk to the International Gateway

 

[elaine amj]

Dinner was at Chefs de France. We have eaten there twice before - both times with amazing, memorable servers. This third time was the same and Florine was incredible. Charming, kind, patient and very energetic. Considering French people are known for their reserve and almost nonexistent service (I have had horrible experiences with two layovers at the airport in Paris with unhelpful staff), I have always been blown away at Chefs de France

I was still a bit full from brunch. So I opted to order escargot for my entree. DH ordered the ratatouille after a discussion with the server about consistency.

The ratatouille was basically pureed/mashed vegetables in a tomato sauce over quinoa. No need for food chopper here and DH finished his meal long before I did. He wouldn’t order this again though as he found the tomato sauce a bit overpowering and I agreed. Very strong taste and the quinoa didn’t balance it out as well as pasta would. You couldn’t even tell the vegetables existed (other than I assume ratatouille involves vegetables other than tomatoes).



The bread. French baguette is soooo good! It’s not the best I have ever had (I like bread and spend a lot of time hunting down good bakeries), but it is way way way better than most in North America. I’ll admit I didn’t order a normal entree to save stomach room for this entire baguette. With bread this good, I was thoroughly happy to have bread and butter for dinner!

The escargot was good too. Very tender and not rubbery at all. Each piece was huge! I wasn’t as big a fan of the crostinis (although I ate them).



We also had the dessert. At first Dh was worried about the chocolate tart as it was a rather sticky texture as we mashed it up. But he found a way to devour it all lol.

I had the citrus cake. It was a dry, crumbly texture. Overall good, not great.



My one complaint is that dessert is very overpriced IMO. $13-14 each is rather outrageous for non-signature. Coral Reef’s desserts are only $8.50-$10 each.



Still, despite everything we had a lovely romantic meal. It’s incredible what a difference a good server makes.

 

[Betsyp]

I wouldn’t judge French people for the bad service you had at airports, which aren’t known for service. On the contrary, the French take service extremely seriously, as real careers - not like Americans, who just want to use it to become actors. Reserve isn’t a bad thing, IMO - I’m not a fan of servers checking up on us in the middle of the meal when most likely I have food in my mouth and I can’t talk.

Lovely report, though. I canceled my Chefs ADR this past November due to awful reviews. I hope it’s getting better - I love French food. I like their menu, though their desserts are surprisingly limited.

 

[elaine amj]

I wouldn’t judge French people for the bad service you had at airports, which aren’t known for service. On the contrary, the French take service extremely seriously, as real careers - not like Americans, who just want to use it to become actors. Reserve isn’t a bad thing, IMO - I’m not a fan of servers checking up on us in the middle of the meal when most likely I have food in my mouth and I can’t talk.

Lovely report, though. I canceled my Chefs ADR this past November due to awful reviews. I hope it’s getting better - I love French food. I like their menu, though their desserts are surprisingly limited.

The food we had at Chefs de France was ok, not amazing. Then again, we didn’t try a lot of options. I would go again but it is not a major must-do for us although we have walked away happy every time. I probably wouldn’t do desserts again though - very overpriced.