We had a 5:20 dinner ADR at
I told the boys to meet us at 5:10 so we could get checked in a little early and we would hopefully get right in so we might be able to make the second Candlelight Processional presentation. After our little jaunt back over to Germany DW and I were back in Italy before 5:00. As we waited for the boys to arrive I took a few pictures and kept one eye on the time.
Here are a couple of pictures of the newest restaurant that seems to be getting lots of attention right now......
And here was our view looking back towards the Showcase Lagoon.
After a late breakfast I didn't want to spoil my dinner by eating anything else as we took our world tour, and I was starting to get hungry! I checked the time once again on my cell phone and it was about 5:09. I thought to myself "they should be getting here at any time." As I looked back up I located them coming through the crowd towards us right on time.
It turns out that their latest Kim Possible Mission had taken them to Mexico I think. It was almost time for them to meet us and they still had some items left to complete, so they went into hurry up mode and finished about two minutes before they were supposed to meet us.
Andrew described their journey back to Italy and I was reminded of an old TV commercial that I think featured OJ Simpson running through an airport, spinning around people, swerving through small gaps and jumping over luggage to make his destination. The funny thing is when they arrived they were walking along chatting as if they had just completed a leisurely stroll to get there. 
We quickly headed inside and I checked us in. They told us it would be a few minutes and handed me a pager to let us know when our table was ready. We walked across the lobby to some empty chairs along the far wall, and I handed off the pager so I could wash my hands in the restroom right beside us. When I walked back out a few seconds later, I saw everyone else following the hostess to our table.
We were seated near the entrance to the dining room and were soon greeted by our server John Henry. John Henry was an older man from Italy (seems like he was from Venice but I don't remember for certain) and had the accent to go with it. He was very professional and did a wonderful job making sure everything was satisfactory and all of our needs were met. He would converse with us and was warm to us, but he never strayed too far from being very professional, which is exactly what I would expect in a restaurant like this.
I know that may not sound like the most glowing of reviews but I would be pleased to have John Henry every time we ate at Tutto Italia. I always tried to pronounce the Italian names on the menu and John Henry would patiently wait, repeat a word here and there followed by good, and then tell me my Italian was perfect. I'm sure he was trying to make me feel good as a paying patron, but I don't think that had anything to do with how pleased I was with his service. It certainly didn't hurt though!
We ordered our drinks first. Typically, being a good southern boy, I would normally order sweet tea with my meals, but tea at Disney is typically a really bad proposition, and to be honest I'm not sure I would have ordered it with Italian food if given the choice. Even after 4 and 1/2 years in college, I never acquired a taste for beer and I do not care for wine. Those are not options for me. When I drink, which isn't all that often to start with, it is a mixed drink of some variety. Water would typically be the choice in this situation, but since the drink is part of the DDP I upped the ante and went with Sprite! And yes it was straight.......
The boys ordered soft drinks. Drew also had sprite with Jon and Matt opting for Coke I think. Alison is the wine aficionado in the family and ordered a glass of the house Merlot to go with her water. When the wine arrived she was very pleased with the taste and offered to let Matt sample it, being our only son of legal age. He thought it was really good too, so after showing John Henry the requisite driver's license, he also got a glass of the Merlot.
With drink orders behind us it was time to move on to the main event. Jonathan was the first to order and he went with the Penne Tortelli Di Vitello Al Chianti, which is veal and chianti ravioli. Here is how it looked when it arrived at the table.
Jonathan said it was good, but I think he would have ordered something else if he knew it was such a small portion.
Drew is our less adventurous eater. If you get him to try something, he usually likes it well enough, but when presented with a number of confusing options on a menu he will go with what is familiar, and for Drew that is spaghetti. If you ever have to feed Drew you can't go wrong with spaghetti. He likes other things, but he really likes spaghetti. The spaghetti at Tutto Italia comes with veal meatballs and pomodoro sauce. Drew really liked this and ate pretty much all of it. (Sorry no picture, but to me spaghetti is spaghetti....lol)
I was next to order. As I said before I do not like wine, and that includes the taste of it cooked in Italian food, which sometimes limits my choices. But on this night I found something that fit all of my criteria for trying something I wouldn't normally order; something new that maximized the use of the DDP and no wine (at least in the description on the menu. My choice was
which was the Costata Di Maiale Alla Valdostana. This is a breaded pork chop, stuffed with prociutto ham and fontina cheese, with potatoes and sauteed spinach. This is one of the best meals I have ever had anywhere, much less a Disney restaurant! I am trying to figure out if there is a way they can make it for me right now and have it delivered before it gets cold. It was so tender and delicious, and the potatoes and sauteed spinach were well seasoned and very good. I know I let DW, Jon and Matt (possibly Drew too) try some so they could see how it tasted, but man I didn't want to even though this was a rather large portion and quite filling.
DW ordered next and she got the Casareci, which was cavatelli pasta with sweet sausage ragu, tomatoes and Pecorino Ramano. This looked almost like a large plate of penne pasta to me (although cavatelli is split open on one side instead of a tube like penne pasta). I know I should have but I didn't get a picture of it. I think I tried though. Alison sat to my left and Andrew to my right. I think that day I only had the zoom lens for the camera and trying to take pictures of their food was a difficult undertaking and I finally gave up. Besides, even for the sake of a DIS Trip Report, I just didn't feel that comfortable making a scene in this restaurant to get a picture of two items that looked pretty much like you would expect.
DW really enjoyed her meal and the sample she gave me was very good, but not on a par with my stuffed pork chop.
Matt was the last to order and he went with something new too. He ordered
which was the Arrosto Di Vitello In Prochetta which is a veal roast with mushrooms and potatoes, and also the sauteed spinach. Matthew kept commenting how good this was and the sample he gave me was very good; tender and tasty! He also enjoyed the potatoes and spinach.
After taking care of our drinks and meals, John Henry took our dessert orders. This was another opportunity to pick items we might not normally order. This was the path I took when I ordered
the Gianduja Chocolate Torta, a chocolate and hazelnut torte with whipped cream and raspberry sauce. Raspberry is something I like okay, but there are a lot of other flavors I pick first. This was an excellent dessert and I thought a very good finish to my stuffed pork chop.
Alison and Matthew both ordered
the Piatto Delizie, which was a sampler of sorts with a cannoli with strawberries, a chocolate torte, and a chocolate tart of some type. When the order came there was some confusion and Alison got
which was the Torta Ricotta, a cheesecake type torte with strawberries. This was actually the same thing Jonathan had ordered. When John Henry realized that Alison didnt get what she had ordered, he took it back and brought her another Piatto Delizie. They both thought it was delicious, and Jonathan enjoyed his Torta Ricotta.
Andrew ordered the
Mocha Tiramisu. Andrew really didnt like his choice and didnt eat very much of it. He slid it across the table and Alison and I finished it for him. It was very good, but not a taste that Andrew enjoyed. Andrew likes to get coffee on occasion and thought this would be a similar experience, but I dont think all of the combined flavors and textures went together for him.
Overall it was a very good meal that we all enjoyed and John Henry did an excellent job of taking care of us. We were done around 6:35 and it was time for Alison and I to head out and try to catch the Candlelight Processional, while the boys went off together to worlds unknown since they were yet to decide exactly what they wanted to do next.
Coming Up Chapter 13 The Candlelight Processional
I told the boys to meet us at 5:10 so we could get checked in a little early and we would hopefully get right in so we might be able to make the second Candlelight Processional presentation. After our little jaunt back over to Germany DW and I were back in Italy before 5:00. As we waited for the boys to arrive I took a few pictures and kept one eye on the time.
Here are a couple of pictures of the newest restaurant that seems to be getting lots of attention right now......
And here was our view looking back towards the Showcase Lagoon.
After a late breakfast I didn't want to spoil my dinner by eating anything else as we took our world tour, and I was starting to get hungry! I checked the time once again on my cell phone and it was about 5:09. I thought to myself "they should be getting here at any time." As I looked back up I located them coming through the crowd towards us right on time.
It turns out that their latest Kim Possible Mission had taken them to Mexico I think. It was almost time for them to meet us and they still had some items left to complete, so they went into hurry up mode and finished about two minutes before they were supposed to meet us.
Andrew described their journey back to Italy and I was reminded of an old TV commercial that I think featured OJ Simpson running through an airport, spinning around people, swerving through small gaps and jumping over luggage to make his destination. The funny thing is when they arrived they were walking along chatting as if they had just completed a leisurely stroll to get there. We quickly headed inside and I checked us in. They told us it would be a few minutes and handed me a pager to let us know when our table was ready. We walked across the lobby to some empty chairs along the far wall, and I handed off the pager so I could wash my hands in the restroom right beside us. When I walked back out a few seconds later, I saw everyone else following the hostess to our table.
We were seated near the entrance to the dining room and were soon greeted by our server John Henry. John Henry was an older man from Italy (seems like he was from Venice but I don't remember for certain) and had the accent to go with it. He was very professional and did a wonderful job making sure everything was satisfactory and all of our needs were met. He would converse with us and was warm to us, but he never strayed too far from being very professional, which is exactly what I would expect in a restaurant like this.
I know that may not sound like the most glowing of reviews but I would be pleased to have John Henry every time we ate at Tutto Italia. I always tried to pronounce the Italian names on the menu and John Henry would patiently wait, repeat a word here and there followed by good, and then tell me my Italian was perfect. I'm sure he was trying to make me feel good as a paying patron, but I don't think that had anything to do with how pleased I was with his service. It certainly didn't hurt though!
We ordered our drinks first. Typically, being a good southern boy, I would normally order sweet tea with my meals, but tea at Disney is typically a really bad proposition, and to be honest I'm not sure I would have ordered it with Italian food if given the choice. Even after 4 and 1/2 years in college, I never acquired a taste for beer and I do not care for wine. Those are not options for me. When I drink, which isn't all that often to start with, it is a mixed drink of some variety. Water would typically be the choice in this situation, but since the drink is part of the DDP I upped the ante and went with Sprite! And yes it was straight.......
The boys ordered soft drinks. Drew also had sprite with Jon and Matt opting for Coke I think. Alison is the wine aficionado in the family and ordered a glass of the house Merlot to go with her water. When the wine arrived she was very pleased with the taste and offered to let Matt sample it, being our only son of legal age. He thought it was really good too, so after showing John Henry the requisite driver's license, he also got a glass of the Merlot.
With drink orders behind us it was time to move on to the main event. Jonathan was the first to order and he went with the Penne Tortelli Di Vitello Al Chianti, which is veal and chianti ravioli. Here is how it looked when it arrived at the table.
Jonathan said it was good, but I think he would have ordered something else if he knew it was such a small portion.
Drew is our less adventurous eater. If you get him to try something, he usually likes it well enough, but when presented with a number of confusing options on a menu he will go with what is familiar, and for Drew that is spaghetti. If you ever have to feed Drew you can't go wrong with spaghetti. He likes other things, but he really likes spaghetti. The spaghetti at Tutto Italia comes with veal meatballs and pomodoro sauce. Drew really liked this and ate pretty much all of it. (Sorry no picture, but to me spaghetti is spaghetti....lol)
I was next to order. As I said before I do not like wine, and that includes the taste of it cooked in Italian food, which sometimes limits my choices. But on this night I found something that fit all of my criteria for trying something I wouldn't normally order; something new that maximized the use of the DDP and no wine (at least in the description on the menu. My choice was
which was the Costata Di Maiale Alla Valdostana. This is a breaded pork chop, stuffed with prociutto ham and fontina cheese, with potatoes and sauteed spinach. This is one of the best meals I have ever had anywhere, much less a Disney restaurant! I am trying to figure out if there is a way they can make it for me right now and have it delivered before it gets cold. It was so tender and delicious, and the potatoes and sauteed spinach were well seasoned and very good. I know I let DW, Jon and Matt (possibly Drew too) try some so they could see how it tasted, but man I didn't want to even though this was a rather large portion and quite filling.
DW ordered next and she got the Casareci, which was cavatelli pasta with sweet sausage ragu, tomatoes and Pecorino Ramano. This looked almost like a large plate of penne pasta to me (although cavatelli is split open on one side instead of a tube like penne pasta). I know I should have but I didn't get a picture of it. I think I tried though. Alison sat to my left and Andrew to my right. I think that day I only had the zoom lens for the camera and trying to take pictures of their food was a difficult undertaking and I finally gave up. Besides, even for the sake of a DIS Trip Report, I just didn't feel that comfortable making a scene in this restaurant to get a picture of two items that looked pretty much like you would expect.
DW really enjoyed her meal and the sample she gave me was very good, but not on a par with my stuffed pork chop.Matt was the last to order and he went with something new too. He ordered
which was the Arrosto Di Vitello In Prochetta which is a veal roast with mushrooms and potatoes, and also the sauteed spinach. Matthew kept commenting how good this was and the sample he gave me was very good; tender and tasty! He also enjoyed the potatoes and spinach.
After taking care of our drinks and meals, John Henry took our dessert orders. This was another opportunity to pick items we might not normally order. This was the path I took when I ordered
the Gianduja Chocolate Torta, a chocolate and hazelnut torte with whipped cream and raspberry sauce. Raspberry is something I like okay, but there are a lot of other flavors I pick first. This was an excellent dessert and I thought a very good finish to my stuffed pork chop.
Alison and Matthew both ordered
the Piatto Delizie, which was a sampler of sorts with a cannoli with strawberries, a chocolate torte, and a chocolate tart of some type. When the order came there was some confusion and Alison got
which was the Torta Ricotta, a cheesecake type torte with strawberries. This was actually the same thing Jonathan had ordered. When John Henry realized that Alison didnt get what she had ordered, he took it back and brought her another Piatto Delizie. They both thought it was delicious, and Jonathan enjoyed his Torta Ricotta.
Andrew ordered the
Mocha Tiramisu. Andrew really didnt like his choice and didnt eat very much of it. He slid it across the table and Alison and I finished it for him. It was very good, but not a taste that Andrew enjoyed. Andrew likes to get coffee on occasion and thought this would be a similar experience, but I dont think all of the combined flavors and textures went together for him.
Overall it was a very good meal that we all enjoyed and John Henry did an excellent job of taking care of us. We were done around 6:35 and it was time for Alison and I to head out and try to catch the Candlelight Processional, while the boys went off together to worlds unknown since they were yet to decide exactly what they wanted to do next.
Coming Up Chapter 13 The Candlelight Processional
And don't listen to Marv !!!!!
I really hated that one didn't turn out better, but it is certainly no reflection on the quality of the real thing!!!
