September/October 2009 Dining Reviews - Updated 11/1

[onelilspark]

That waffle looks really good!

 

[Tink2312]

That waffle looks really good, but I'm not sure if the chicken sausage patties would be for me

 

[PNO4TE]

That waffle looks really good, but I'm not sure if the chicken sausage patties would be for me

Well, they have to be better than the bacon. It was the most bland bacon I have ever eaten!

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I had that exact meal (except with bacon) on our trip. I agree with what you posted. Our service was incredibly slow too & I'm glad we did it on the day we didn't really have plans outside of mini-golf.

Slowest service of the trip.

That waffle looks really good!

It was yummy!

That waffle looks really good, but I'm not sure if the chicken sausage patties would be for me

You really couldn't even tell that they were chicken, I just knew I didn't want bacon. Disney bacon is usually pretty lacking.

Well, they have to be better than the bacon. It was the most bland bacon I have ever eaten!

And as much as I love bacon, I really don't like the bacon in Disney that much.

 

[ClareH37]

It's interesting to read your breakfast review, I loved it when it was Spoodles However, on seeing that delicious looking waffle I might just have to make a visit.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

It's interesting to read your breakfast review, I loved it when it was Spoodles However, on seeing that delicious looking waffle I might just have to make a visit.

I think Kouzzina is very similar to Spoodles, so I don't think you'd be dissapointed. If I hadn't known they had changed, it would've been hard for me to tell.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

After my breakfast I headed over to Epcot. It was only 10:30, so World Showcase wasn't open yet, but there was nothing I really needed to do in Future World, so I headed to the Festival Welcome center, and bought the things I had decided I neeeded, the cookbook, the tote bag, (a red one, not the one made from last year's banners, they were long gone,) and wine glass charms.

I then rented a locker, which serverd two purposed, the main one was so I wouldn't have to take all my day stuff with me to Party for the Senses that night, I had already figured that I could cram everything I absolutly needed into my camera bag instead of the backpack I'd been using all week, and that could be shoved in my locker. The other was that since I was checking out the next day, I was no longer able to use the resort delivery service, so I liked having a locker to stow my purchases.

By then it was 11:00, so I headed back into World Showcase. My first stop was the Santiago, Chile booth, where I got the corn and cheese arepa.

This was very unimpressive to me. The cake was dense and not very flavorful. The best part was the melted cheese on the top, which seemed just to be regular pepperjack, which I can get at home.

It gets an;

My next stop was the Athens, Greece booth, where I tried the chicken souvlaki.

This was very tasty! The portion of chicken could've been a little larger for the cost, but the pita was delicious, and the sauce went very well with the nicely spiced chicken.

It gets an

After that I stopped at the Rio de Janiero, Brazil booth, where I got a sample of the shrimp stew.

I know this has been getting some rave reviews here on the DIS, but I didn't think it was all that amazing. Still, it was tasty, so it's getting a;

My last Food and Wine item of the day was the crema catalana from the Barcelona, Spain booth.

This was great! It was a nice and creamy creme brulee, with a very refreshing citrus flavor, which according to the recipe, (which is in this year's cookbook,) has orange and lemon zest in it.

It gets an;

I also had a peach snap drink from the Joy of Tea stand in China.

This was very refreshing, and I had a nice little break on one of the benches drinking this. It gets an;

 

[Lynn5700]

Hi!! Awesome reviews. I love your rating system! So cute.

I cannot wait to try the filet and mac & cheese at Jiko!

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Hi!! Awesome reviews. I love your rating system! So cute.

I cannot wait to try the filet and mac & cheese at Jiko!

Thank you! The filet is yummy, I hope you enjoy it. I am going to have a very hard time ordering something else instead of that the next time I eat at Jiko.

 

[englishrose47]

Great Reviews Remi!!!

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Great Reviews Remi!!!

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I was originally not going to include this in my reviews, but it was food-related, and part of the Food and Wine Festival, and they're my reviews, so what the heck.

I spent most of the afternoon in the Festival Welcome center. It was pretty hot today, and I did not want to exhaust myself in the heat. This was, for me, the worst day heat-wise.

I attended the 2:00 Authentic Taste Seminar, which was hosted by Huma Siddiqui. I enjoyed it, learned a little, and got a small sample of the company's garam masala spice, which I used after returning home in burgers. I know burgers doesn't sound very gourmet, but the ones I made were pretty awesome, I topped them with tomato, and a cucumber dill sauce, and they were very tasty, and reminded me of Boma.

I also attended the 3:45 Authors Without Borders lecture. Pam Brandon was the speaker of this one, and she writes all the Disney cookbooks. I thought she was very personable, and she gave away two cookbooks to audience members who knew answers to trivia questions. I knew the answers to both questions, but since I already own all the current Disney cookbooks, I didn't bother answering.

Two things I was happy to hear at the lecture though, one was that there will be another Disney Parks cookbook next year, which will be about double the size of the current cookbook, and I think will have pictures as well, which I always love. The other was she hopes to do a series of Delicious Disney cookbooks. Delicious Disney Desserts is already out there, and she mentioned that she'd like to do a soups book or a holiday one, and just make a whole set of them, which I think is a great idea.

 

[disney_princess_85]

Ooh, great waffle at Kouzzina! It's interesting to see the F&W offerings, I hope to make it to the festival someday.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Ooh, great waffle at Kouzzina! It's interesting to see the F&W offerings, I hope to make it to the festival someday.

Food and Wine is my favorite time of year to go to Disney, and it makes Epcot even more fun then it already is.

 

[MickeyNicki]

Man, your review of Kouzzina breakfast makes me wish I ate there! That waffle looks awesome!

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Okay, so here is how my review of Party for the Senses is going to be set up since it's too much to do in one posts. There will be seven posts, this one, which I'll go over all my thoughts of everything except for the food, and then six posts for each of the "shape sections," which I will link to in this post, as well as the first post of this thread.

Square Section
Oval Section
Triangle Section
Flag Section
Octogan Section
Star Section

This year I also had a camera that actually took decent pictures of the food, as on my old camera my pictures were always much too dark.

Wine View Lounge

I headed to World Showplace around 5:00 PM. They had suggested arriving and checking in at 5:45 for Wine View Lounge guests as I had recieved a phone call earlier in the week telling me to do so.

I was given a pink wristband, and shortly after getting in line, was given a magnet-pin thing identifying me as a Wine View Lounge guest, as well as that evening's program.

Naturally I then spent the rest of time waiting studying the menu. There were a few things that really caught my eye, and I'm happy to say I tried everything I really wanted to, and only missed a couple of dishes that were being served that night.

I do have a few regrets though; I only sampled two wines, and only one of them was new for me. I had fully intended to drink more, but the two glasses, and the rum and coke I ended up having, was all I could manage. I don't know if it's because of the heat that day, but I did not drink that much, but I drank water like I would never have it again. Of course it was Evian, so that made it taste so good after suffering through Florida tap water all week, that may have had something to do with my new love of water as well.

My other real regret was my serious lack of cheese tasting. I did try three of the four cheeses being offered in the Wine View Lounge, but I never got around to trying cheese elsewhere during the Party. And I really love cheese, so that was a real shame.

The other Wine View Lounge guests and myself were allowed into the holding area around 5:45, where we were served a welcoming celebratory cocktail.

This was, what they were calling, the Wild KibisKISS cocktail. It was Maschio Prosecco by Castello Banfi Vinters with a wild hibiskiss and syrup added. I really liked it, and thought it tasted a lot like Rosa Regale. I did hear someone else comment that they thought it was too sweet though.

We were allowed into the main Party area shortly after 6:00, and were shown to our tables.

I had a table to myself right in front of the band, though I was watching them through the gate the entire evening, I still thought it was a pretty good seat, and I was very happy with my table.

At the table was another program. It had a fancy cover, but it was the same program I already had. Still I was glad to have a second, since that meant one I could write all over with my notes, and the other I could keep in mint condition as a lovely keepsake. Needless to say this is not the one I was scribbling in;

Our wine glasses for the evening also distingushied us as Wine View Lounge guests as well, so were also a little different.

In the Wine View Lounge we were served an amuse bouche, which was a tomato soup with a mini grilled cheese sandwich. The cheese used was some kind of havarti, I did not write down what made the soup special.

It was good, both had a nice taste, but both were also kind of cold. It gets an;

Also in the Wine View Lounge was the open bar, which seemed to have a very good selection of liquor. I didn't pay much attention to what all was offered there, as they had Captain Morgan, and that's all I cared about. That is my favorite rum, and I usually won't buy it for myself, as I can't really justify the cost of cheap vs. name brand liquor at home, but I do love Captain Morgan. So all I drank that night besides the two glasses of wine, and lots of water, was one very strong Captain Morgan and diet Coke with lime. It was really good.

Going to the end of the evening, and I did stay until almost the end of the party, but I did cut out about ten minutes early to watch Illuminations. The one thing I thought I'd like to see added for Wine View Lounge guests would be a reserved section for Illuminations. Not only would it be nice for us, it would also help them clear out World Showplace at 9:00.

Anyway, we were given gift bags to take home with us. Inside mine was a selection of tea bags, with a lot of flavors I have not seen at the grocery store here, even though we carry that brand of tea, a box with two truffles, a jar with the wild hibiscuses in syrup, (I was very happy to get that,) a brownie, and I think there may have been something else, but I couldn't tell you what that was.

Overall, I loved the Wine View Lounge, and will definatly be upgrading every time I'm solo if it's available. The table made the night easy, and I really liked having the extra half an hour of the Party in addition to everything else. If I was not solo however, I don't know if I would upgrade. It would really depend on who I went with, a lot of my friends would freak out over how much it cost, and once you start going with a bunch of people it would get very expensive indeed. I really liked it though, I thought it was great.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Man, your review of Kouzzina breakfast makes me wish I ate there! That waffle looks awesome!

I remember us discussing Kouzzina when we met up, and you didn't eat there because Todd "wasn't feeling it." Try it though, that waffle is so good, and I'm going to have to eat there again next year to try some other stuff.

 

[MickeyNicki]

I remember us discussing Kouzzina when we met up, and you didn't eat there because Todd "wasn't feeling it." Try it though, that waffle is so good, and I'm going to have to eat there again next year to try some other stuff.

Yup you are so right! Wish I went there instead BWI one day...I kept hinting to him that it was not Spoodles anymore and the food should be better but I think the memories of a bad meal from Spoodles is stuck in his head.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Yup you are so right! Wish I went there instead BWI one day...I kept hinting to him that it was not Spoodles anymore and the food should be better but I think the memories of a bad meal from Spoodles is stuck in his head.

I can understand the whole bad memories thing. I avoided Tutto Italia last year because I didn't like Alfredos when I was little, but then I tried Tutto in Feb, and I thought it was really good.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I tried two different items from this section.

Warm rock shrimp cocktail with a potato bacon frittata and bib lettuce sauce.

This was made by Nick Pastis, from Le Cellier.

This was very good, it was a little spicy, which wasn't suprising since it was "shrimp cocktail," but I was suprised that the spiciest part of the dish was the green sauce, which I'm assuming was the bib lettuce sauce.

It gets an

The second item I tried from the square section was this;

Chorizo and shrimp ravioli with opal basil cream sauce.

This was made by Juan Serrano, from Citricos.

Citricos is one of my favorite restaurants on property, and this dish did not dissapoint. The sauce was tasty, the opal basil gave it a slightly sweet flavor that was very nice. This was one of my favorites of the night, and it gets an;

There was one other item in the square section that I did not sample, and that was tangine of lamb, made by Lahsen Abrache and Samad Benzari from Marrakesh. Even though I love lamb I did not try this, as I remembered having tangine of lamb, from the chefs at Marrakesh, at a past Party I attended. I really think chefs should not repeat dishes year to year at events like this. It seems silly to pay that much, and then for food to be the same as years past, it was good, but it wasn't that good. Luckily that's the only complaint I have for the evening.