The Dirty Dozen – 12 Days of Disney, Drinks & Dining - Updated 2/26

[missjackiemcg]

We ended up skipping our Sci Fi reservation on this trip; shh, don't tell Jason! By mid-week, some of us were burgered out!!

The Funky Buddha was Rob's newfound favorite on this trip. He discovered it while waiting for me to get off Expedition Everest, and was super excited to find it again at the T-Rex restaurant on one of our "bonus" stranded in FL evenings where no other reservations were available and I used my Landry's card to get us in!

 

[LifeTheDisneyWay14]

She's Gonna Explode

To cap off the best day ever we fittingly had a reservation at one of the best restaurants ever: Sanaa. This has long been a favorite of ours largely due to one menu item alone…. Bread Service (shocking I know). Seriously if could eat only one thing in Disney this may well be it. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

We arrived a little early and spent some time scoping out the savanna.



Soon enough we were seated and Casey commented that she loves that you always feel comfortable in a Disney restaurant even if its fancy or you haven’t been there before. ❤ that kid of mine.

Speaking of said child in the beverage department she ordered a No Jito which is Lime Juice, Pure Cane Sugar, and Mint topped with Soda Water.

She loved it because you can pretty much guarantee Casey will love anything that contains pure sugar.

Jason needed some Yes in his Jito so he got the Whiskey Breeze, with Jack Beam Black Extra-aged Bourbon, Cointreau, and Lime Juice with flavors of Guava and Mango.

I don’t love Whiskey but this was really good. It was nicely balanced with just a hint of citrus and smokiness but thankfully it wasn’t too sweet. I would definitely order this for myself.

Boring old me just got a Pinot Noir.

It tasted like Pinot Noir.

But moving on to the not boring department we of course started with the Bread Service.
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Yes Oprah, we all do.

Up first is the glorious bread. We always order this with regular naan vs. all of the flavored ones so the bread doesn’t overwhelm the sauces.


Speaking of sauces I will spare you listing them all out but my favorites were the garlic pickle and the spicy pickle. I don’t recall loving these as much previously but I guess I was pretty pickled today

And for anyone keeping score at home Casey’s favorite was the Tamarind Chutney.

We had heard that there was a secret 10th sauce you could order so of course we had to go that route. I didn’t catch what it was called so we’ll go with Valley of Death.

This was so crazy spicy I could only eat a tiny bit. Someone else should have done the same but could not help themselves. Any guesses?

He was literally sweating from this stuff.

This was as close to the secret spicy 10th sauce that Casey choose to get.


After all that bread I’m not really sure we needed anything else, but feeling compelled Casey and I shared the Fish of the Day which was Salmon served with Yellow Rice, Sukama Wiki, and Citrus Butter.

This was unquestionably the best entrée I’ve ever had at Sanaa. The salmon was cooked a perfect medium rare and was accented well by the citrus butter and just a hint of cinnamon. The Sukama Wiki, which was collard greens and tomatoes, was absolutely divine with just a hint of spice and turmeric flavor. As good as the salmon was I would have been happy with just the greens.

Jason ordered the African-inspired Biryani with Chicken

Like my dish Jason said he didn’t even need the chicken because the rice was the real star. He of course ate said chicken, which was a bit dry, but he didn’t care because the aromatic and flavorful rice was perfect.

At some point we called Uncle but the damage was already done. Jason said he was so full he could feel it in his chest. Not to be out done by her father Casey declared that her brace (which she wears for scoliosis) may explode. So Sanaa is a great spot with fabulous food, but consider yourself warned in the explosion department.

Despite all of this we still ordered some dessert to go

This is the African Triple chocolate mousse with Nyangbo Dark Chocolate from Ghana, Tanariva Milk Chocolate from Madagascar, Orelys Blond Chocolate, Chocolate Almond Biscuit, and Strawberries. This looked and sounded divine but in the end was pretty blah. The flavors were all a bit muted and the strawberries ended up overpowering the chocolate flavor. But did I mention we loved the bread?

Up next, we rise but do we resist?​

Ooh I know what I’m ordering next month - that salmon looks delicious! Sanaa is one of my favorites and we’re staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge so it’s clearly meant to be.

Also, Casey looks exactly like a mix of you and your husband! We’re a OAD family too, but our daughter is just 11 months old (one year old in two weeks). Next month we’re taking our first annual Disney family vacation and I’m really hoping that LO grows up to be a Disney loving, fine dining champ like Casey!

 

[Wood Nymph]

We've had some pretty good food at SciFi - especially the onion rings. I can see why Jason likes it.

 

[suse66]

Even better than all the Christmas and adult beverages we got to spend time with our wonderful friends, Ariane @CruellaNY, Jenny @Jenny Sanders, and Kelly @buzzrelly. We'd seen Jenny and her hubby Joe in June, but it had been 2 1/2 years since I had seen Ariane and Kelly. These ladies feed my Disney and friendship soul so there were all the reunion feels.

Love that! Nothing better than hanging out with your Disney besties!

And finally we spent the New Year in Savannah ringing in 2022 with more picture perfect weather and our best friends.

Ah Savannah! Definitely on my list for a must visit trip. I am really hoping to check out Hilton head Island too.

Day 8 found us heading back to MGM again. I have a love/hate relationship with this park (love the kitch but hate its lack of cohesion and inability to absorb crowds) so I was actually lobbying to head to Animal Kingdom or Epcot instead. But with a lunch reservation at Jason’s favorite restaurant that was strictly forbidden.​

I feel the same about HS....I think what it could be and am frustrated with what it actually is.

Very uncharacteristically I just had some water and Iced Tea. Bet ya didn’t know I even knew such things existed ​

I did wonder, lol!

After lunch we didn’t stick around long because the park was a mess. At one point Rise, Runaway Railway, Slinky Dog, and Rock N Roller Coaster were all down simultaneously which of course caused pandemonium elsewhere. But we did get to visit Potatoland.

Where oh where would Potatoland be?? Having been raised in the land of the world's best potatoes I need to know these things.

Side note Jason and Casey have declared the Frozen Coke from a booth by Hollywood and Vine as the best ever and will literally not get it anywhere else. You heard it here first.​

If I ever decide I need to try a frozen coke, I now know where to go!

 

[disneyAndi14]

I’m with Jason on this one, I love Sci-Fi! I finally got an ADR for our next trip, yay! The atmosphere is my jam. I love sitting in the retro car sipping on my milkshake watching the 50 foot woman
I agree about MGM a definite love/hate relationship right now. I love Sunset blvd and the retro vibe but it can be a mess at times. I also miss my old favorites! We loved the backlot tour, Streets of America and of course GMR.
My favorite at Sci-Fi is the onion rings, Oreo shake and the burger!
Andi is willing to go now since she eats chicken again, yay!
Wow, you all had some decent snowfall. I bet yours will melt soon if it hasn’t already, ours will be here until March, yuck

 

[LifeTheDisneyWay14]

it's a (blue)zoo in here

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! Before we start cooking and the traditional pilgrim bloody marys start flowing thought I’d get one more update done. Hope everyone has a healthy, happy, and tipsy holiday

To continue our theme of resting on the 7th day we elected to stay in and grabbed a last minute reservation at bluezoo (please ensure no capital letters or spaces are used in the spelling of this name). This did require that we walk all the way from The Swan to The Dolphin, but we were willing to sacrifice in the name of food.

We’d only ever done Happy Hour at bluezoo before so we were looking forward to our first official meal.

For drinks Jason and I shared a bottle of Silverado Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc. No picture of the wine, but who needs that when you’ve got these two wine models.

We had been to this winery in Napa before so this was a bit of a nostalgic selection but it was a very dry and crisp white that hit the seafood spot.

After taking this photo of us Casey has kind enough to selfie her own selection of Swedish Fish Soda which they described as a blast from the past for the young and old with swedish fish candy syrup and soda

In words I never thought I would hear spoken Casey felt this was “too sweet” and “needed less sugar.”

To help soak up all that sugar bluezoo started us off some sourdough bread and butter.

The bread was perfect as it was warm and dense with that distinctive sourdough tart taste. The butter on the other hand was really odd. It tasted like it had star anise in it which for the record is not a flavor anyone should want in butter.

As our app we went for the Risotto “tots” which is technically a side item on the menu. These are fried risotto with white truffle and “sassy” romesco.

These were a new item for us and they were fanfreakingtastic. The tots were fried risotto balls and were crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside with a ton of truffle flavor. The “sassy” romesco had a bit more tomato flavor than the promised sass and was good on its own but overwhelmed the truffle flavor a bit. But props to bluezoo for using the word sassy which obviously needs a more prominent role in the English language.

When it came to entrée time Casey continued her independent streak and ordered the Pork Belly Bao appetizer as her entrée.

These are slow cooked smoked pork, hoisin, pickled vegetables, and a kimchi aioli served on a bao bun. She liked these very much but said they tasted like bbq and she wanted more kimchi flavor. Only my child.

I ordered the uncapitalized bluezoo Simply fish which tonight was mahimahi which I ordered with a warm crab Dijon sauce. I also added scallops to it for an additional $12.

This came with a side of risotto and charred vegetables which were both fantastic. The risotto was probably the best I’d ever had. It was simultaneously al dente and creamy and was everything a risotto should be (and I’ve never been able to pull off myself). The veggies included carrots, cauliflower, and broccoli and they were perfectly charred. I’m of the mindset that veggies taste better burnt so I was loving these. Sadly the veggies and risotto eclipsed the actual seafood. The mahi and scallops were fine, but they were more steamed than seared and the sauce did not have much flavor.

Jason ordered the Cappaletti pasta which was charred kale and ricotta-filled pasta served with lobster medallions and chervil butter.

In case you were too distracted by my husband's dazzling smile I'll draw your attention to the food which was absolutely beautiful and probably one of the best plated things we’d ever seen at Disney. Sadly it looked better than it tasted. It wasn’t bad by any stretch of the imagination just was massively under seasoned, so it was all a bit bland. Thankfully for me I can't say the same for Jason

Despite a few missteps we enjoyed our meal overall, but I think Happy Hour is more of bluezoo’s sweet spot. All of our food was good – but not outstanding – and I think I would have been happier with some cocktails and apps at the bar.

None of their desserts struck our fancy so we had to "make do" with the Gideons cookies we had in the room. Oh the sacrifice. Though word of warning these cookies had some sort of curse on them as they were lorded over by the girl from the ring.

You’ve been warned.

Up next, Jason’s favorite Disney restaurant and its probably not what you think. Any guesses?​

The cookies look super good, we’ll have to try Gideon’s when we’re at Disney next month! Which was your favorite cookie flavor?

 

[LifeTheDisneyWay14]

Happy New Year! Merry Christmas! Happy Birthday Jason! And Merry any other things I may have missed in my extended absence from this place. But I promise I've got all the bad fantastic excuses

First and foremost, we spent the first week in December in DISNEY WORLD! Between all of the Christmas, the most glorious weather and time with my favorite Disney friends it was the perfect start to the holiday season.

We spent a ton of time soaking up the holiday park magic.
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And while we didn't partake in as many signature restaurants as usual there was of course plenty of holiday food and drinks.
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Even better than all the Christmas and adult beverages we got to spend time with our wonderful friends, Ariane @CruellaNY, Jenny @Jenny Sanders, and Kelly @buzzrelly. We'd seen Jenny and her hubby Joe in June, but it had been 2 1/2 years since I had seen Ariane and Kelly. These ladies feed my Disney and friendship soul so there were all the reunion feels.
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Since we returned its been a whirlwind of getting ready for Christmas and somewhere in there this guy had a birthday.
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Complete with a cake befitting every 46 year old's creepy clown cake dreams.

Then of course there was actual Christmas filled with Disney snack pajamas
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And everything under the tree appearing to be from Mitsukoshi.
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And finally we spent the New Year in Savannah ringing in 2022 with more picture perfect weather and our best friends.
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So there ya have it. I'm tired just from writing all of that. But that is my very long winded way of saying its been a wee bit busy around these parts but I'm back and will focus on getting this long overdue report done. Thanks in advance for sticking with me.

Again, Happy & Merry to all!​

Looks like a fun trip! Are you going to write a report for that one, too?
I was just thinking about how you guys are us in 10 years… but you really are! Jason is exactly 10 years older than my husband and his birthday is in December, too. I hope our daughter loves Disney and dining as much as yours does when she’s older! I’ll start the brainwashing on next month’s trip.

 

[kastoney]

I’m like you! I managed to get a much coveted “Sindy’s horse “ for my 8th birthday because I’d had my appendix out 2 days earlier after asking for weeks beforehand with my mum saying “no way was she paying that amount of money for a bit of plastic”.

Way to milk it!!! I had never even heard of this but of course had to google it. So from me to you here is a "Sindy's horse" and you don't even need to ride in an ambulance for it

A trip would be wonderful but I don’t think I have the writing skills for a report unfortunately. Punctuation is not my strong point as I’m sure you’ve noticed.

Pretty sure on these boards punctuation does not matter. Or you can be be like me and put a comma, after, every, other, word, and call that, good, punctuation I seriously had a teach one time tell me I was comma happy and told me when I was done writing to go back and remove at least half the comma's I felt I needed to use.

I feel like there should be a wee leprechaun in there. Maybe I should become the custodian of Potatoland after all we Irish are pretty darn good at potatoes ☘

That is a brilliant idea! Heck I think we have the makings of a new park in Ireland. We should start the petition now. Screw Idaho we NEED a potatoland on your side of the Atlantic.

I think everyone has that one restaurant that you can't help but like, even if the food isn't spectacular. When we're back home in Florida, Alex insists on eating Whataburger multiple times. Of all the places, he picks a fast food burger joint.

I didn't even know what there was a Whataburger in Florida but now suddenly I wanna have one with Alex We always have that when we are in Texas, even though I loathe fast food to have a "special" one somehow makes all the difference in the world. Same with me and In and Out Burger.

But, in Sci Fi's defense, their onion rings and shakes are decent. Plus, it really is nice to sit somewhere dark and quiet for a few minutes.

It really isn't bad at all I just love to rib him about it because it is a must do every trip. On our last trip he even bought himself a SciFi sweatshirt to wear then when it came realized he'd ordered a women's size. It is now Casey's

We ended up skipping our Sci Fi reservation on this trip; shh, don't tell Jason! By mid-week, some of us were burgered out!!

Your secret is safe with me. Pretty sure Jason does not know the meaning of burgered out. I think he had at least 4 when we were there last month.

The Funky Buddha was Rob's newfound favorite on this trip. He discovered it while waiting for me to get off Expedition Everest, and was super excited to find it again at the T-Rex restaurant on one of our "bonus" stranded in FL evenings where no other reservations were available and I used my Landry's card to get us in!

Oh I don't think I knew that had it out of restaurants. I'm a big fan too.

That landrys card is gold. We used it at Yak N Yeti on our trip too and so nice to not have to wait or have a reservation.

You better be writing a trip report because I cannot wait to hear about your trip and your "bonus" days and "bonus" hotel and "bonus" car ride

Ooh I know what I’m ordering next month - that salmon looks delicious! Sanaa is one of my favorites and we’re staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge so it’s clearly meant to be.

Unquestionably meant to be. It really was one of my favorite things on the trip. I could go back and just eat all the sides and be a happy camper.

Also, Casey looks exactly like a mix of you and your husband! We’re a OAD family too, but our daughter is just 11 months old (one year old in two weeks). Next month we’re taking our first annual Disney family vacation and I’m really hoping that LO grows up to be a Disney loving, fine dining champ like Casey!

How exciting for you all. I remember those early Disney days well. So much fun and so many memories. Though I had to google what "OAD" was. I am very much not up on any cool acronyms. But now that I know yes, we are an OAD. My running joke is we got it right the first time

We've had some pretty good food at SciFi - especially the onion rings. I can see why Jason likes it.

It definitely is a great place to grab some lunch, though Jason's love for it is certainly next level

 

[kastoney]

Love that! Nothing better than hanging out with your Disney besties!

Truly. We talk all the time but definitely nothing better than having them in person.

Ah Savannah! Definitely on my list for a must visit trip. I am really hoping to check out Hilton head Island too.

You would love it and its only a 4 hour ride from Disney. It wasn't my favorite place at first (mainly because being a petulant child that my best friend had moved away) but it has grown on me. The architecture and beautiful and one of a kind. Hilton head is only 45 minutes or so and a great place to hang as well. There is also another beach (Tybee Island) about 20 minutes from the city so we go there a lot. Including last week. So nice to walk on the beach in December.

I feel the same about HS....I think what it could be and am frustrated with what it actually is.

Perfectly said. It's been so confused for so long not sure it will ever get its MGMness back but I'm still holding out hope.

Where oh where would Potatoland be?? Having been raised in the land of the world's best potatoes I need to know these things.

Do you not know about Potatoland???? It is only the best mickey cartoon ever that our family has watched about 1000 times. They have a small Potatoland "exhibit" set up at the exit of the theater where they show the Mickey shorts. We had no idea and were VERY excited to find it.

I’m with Jason on this one, I love Sci-Fi! I finally got an ADR for our next trip, yay! The atmosphere is my jam. I love sitting in the retro car sipping on my milkshake watching the 50 foot woman

The trouble is I never make ADR's in enough time so it becomes a game to try and find a reservation and make this man happy. We ended up with like an 8 pm dinner last month because that is all I could get

I agree about MGM a definite love/hate relationship right now. I love Sunset blvd and the retro vibe but it can be a mess at times. I also miss my old favorites! We loved the backlot tour, Streets of America and of course GMR.

YES!!!! Sunset Blvd is probably one of my favorite places in all of Disney World to just sit and watch people but then everything that went with it is gone. Sigh.

Wow, you all had some decent snowfall. I bet yours will melt soon if it hasn’t already, ours will be here until March, yuck

It's still sticking with us but freezing rain today so it will be gone soon enough.

The cookies look super good, we’ll have to try Gideon’s when we’re at Disney next month! Which was your favorite cookie flavor?

The coffee cake was probably my favorite followed by the pistachio and toffee as a close second.

Looks like a fun trip! Are you going to write a report for that one, too?

We'll see. If I can get this thing wrapped up soon enough than maybe. If not we are planning on Disneyland sometime this year so may just wait for that one.

I was just thinking about how you guys are us in 10 years… but you really are! Jason is exactly 10 years older than my husband and his birthday is in December, too. I hope our daughter loves Disney and dining as much as yours does when she’s older! I’ll start the brainwashing on next month’s trip.

Thanks for the reminder that we're old Brainwashing definitely started early for us but its clearly not hard to get a kid to love Disney ❤ Can't wait to hear about your trip

 

[Tracy161]

Even better than all the Christmas and adult beverages we got to spend time with our wonderful friends, Ariane @CruellaNY, Jenny @Jenny Sanders, and Kelly @buzzrelly.

Yay! So glad you got to spend some long-awaited time with Dis pals. I heard all about your t-shirt-gifts-turned-new-logos on a Jen and Joe on the Go @Jenny Sanders vlog--LOVED THEM!!!

Speaking of love, torn between two of his favorite beverages – milkshakes and beer - he did what any logical person would do. Order both.

Logic for the win

Very uncharacteristically I just had some water and Iced Tea. Bet ya didn’t know I even knew such things existed

Were you okay? I mean, did someone check in on you??? This is very startling information.

Thankfully the rings of onion were fabulous, but of course you really can’t go wrong with fried anything.

I agree entirely.

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

So from me to you here is a "Sindy's horse" and you don't even need to ride in an ambulance for it

Ach now look at that! She’s even got her wee rosette on and everything! You are a true friend especially saving me the ambulance trip

That is a brilliant idea! Heck I think we have the makings of a new park in Ireland. We should start the petition now. Screw Idaho we NEED a potatoland on your side of the Atlantic.

lol there is actually a “Tayto Park” in the south. I’ve never been as youngest son gets car sick but the older 2 have been with their dad as it’s been the site for his work family fun day on a couple of occasions pre-pandemic but get this - there is a graveyard (just before the entrance apparently) and they got stuck behind a funeral cortege going in last time! Way to scare the c#%p outta your kids thinking they might actually die on those coasters
ETA Tayto are a brand of crisps ( chips). Known for their Cheese ‘n onion ( or death breath as my husband calls them for obvious reasons lol). Favourite sandwich here growing up was-wait for it- a crisp sandwich! A rare treat as my mother actually liked us to eat real food

n our last trip he even bought himself a SciFi sweatshirt to wear then when it came realized he'd ordered a women's size. It is now Casey's

So nice to walk on the beach in December.

Sounds perfect!

The trouble is I never make ADR's in enough time so it becomes a game to try and find a reservation and make this man happy. We ended up with like an 8 pm dinner last month because that is all I could get

We play a different came which involves seeing how many adrs I actually change/cancel while there. I make them to stop the wingeing ( not sure that’s a word but you know what I mean) and then we get to the point we just want a glass of wine and some apps so half the adrs bite the dust!

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Pretty sure on these boards punctuation does not matter. Or you can be be like me and put a comma, after, every, other, word, and call that, good, punctuation I seriously had a teach one time tell me I was comma happy and told me when I was done writing to go back and remove at least half the comma's I felt I needed to use.
I love your writing style.
I write like I speak so the commas are where I’d take a breath. I have been known to go back and discover I’ve written a book without a full stop ( quite possibly because I talk a lot )

 

[kastoney]

Yay! So glad you got to spend some long-awaited time with Dis pals. I heard all about your t-shirt-gifts-turned-new-logos on a Jen and Joe on the Go @Jenny Sanders vlog--LOVED THEM!!!

Thanks!!!! That was all Jason. I jokingly said we should make Jen and Joe on the go shirts as a joke when we saw them and next thing I knew Jason was full on designing logos.

Were you okay? I mean, did someone check in on you??? This is very startling information.

It was a close call. Even the cast members were worried. But I did survive

“Tayto Park” in the south. I’ve never been as youngest son gets car sick but the older 2 have been with their dad as it’s been the site for his work family fun day on a couple of occasions pre-pandemic but get this - there is a graveyard (just before the entrance apparently) and they got stuck behind a funeral cortege going in last time! Way to scare the c#%p outta your kids thinking they might actually die on those coasters

How in the word did I not know that Tayto Park existed. My whole family is currently googling said park. Initial reaction loving the mascot but sadly disappointed in the lack of potato themed attractions. Though the grave yard neighbor is an interesting selling point

Favourite sandwich here growing up was-wait for it- a crisp sandwich! A rare treat as my mother actually liked us to eat real food

Seriously? A potato chip sandwich? What other wonderful accompaniments went on this "sandwich"?

We play a different came which involves seeing how many adrs I actually change/cancel while there. I make them to stop the wingeing ( not sure that’s a word but you know what I mean) and then we get to the point we just want a glass of wine and some apps so half the adrs bite the dust!

We did a lot of that on this trip for the first time too though our trip last month we were back to our usual wingeing it style But I had forgotten to make SciFi so it became a game to find it

 

[kastoney]

A 3 Hour Tour Dinner, A 3 Hour Tour Dinner

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful dinner. That started from a tropic port, aboard the Disney ship. The mate was a mighty sister wife, the server
brave and sure. Five passengers sit down that day for a three hour dinner. A three hour dinner.

Yup ladies and gentlemen we've come to the longest and best dinner of our entire trip!

So where were we headed? Topolino’s Terrace! For those unaware, Topolino is the Italian name for Mickey Mouse but this is the furthest thing from a mickey mouse operation. The restaurant is located on the top floor of the exquisite Riviera resort and the ambiance and décor was befitting this most beautiful location.

And who were we meeting? My fabulous sister wife (@Jenny Sanders) and one half of the the YouTube sensation Jen and Joe on The Go.

It had been 2+ years since I had seen any of my wonderful DIS friends and seeing my sister wife brought on all the feels.

We hung out on the gorgeous Topolinos terrace for some pictures before dinner.


We even caught a rainbow.

Eventually we were seated and had the best server I think we’ve ever encountered at Disney or anywhere for that matter. His name was Mike and he had worked at Topolino’s since it opened but previously had been at Victoria and Albert’s. He was everything you would want a server to be. Personable and attentive, but not overly so. He also knew the menu like the back of his hand and told you every small detail about the food and wine. Pretty sure I asked him if he can just travel from restaurant to restaurant with me and describe menu items to me. Strangely he declined the offer, but I'm gonna keep working on him

And what fantastic treats did Mike lead us too. First off we have Topolino’s bread.

This is made to look like wheat stalks and is absolutely beautiful. It is served with an olive oil that uses olives aged for a week before pressing. This isn't how olive oil is normally made so it intensified the taste and gave it a very fruity and acidic flavor. This may have been the best olive oil I’d ever had and it paired perfectly with the stalks of wheat.


We also ordered the Olives Marinee which was an assortment of olives with olive oil, lemon, and garlic.

I’ve never met an olive I didn’t love so these hit the spot.

But the piece de resistance of the appetizers was their house made Ricotta.

I did not know that Ricotta could be so good but this was pure heaven. It may look simple but the ricotta was creamy and decadent and it paired so well with the bread, sweet tomatoes and olive oil. This was one of the best dishes we’ve had in a long time.

Somewhere along the way we had ordered drinks as well. I got the Pomegranate Paradiso with Figenza Vodka, Pomegranate, Lemon, and Pineapple.

This was a bit too sweet for my liking but I of course had no trouble downing it.

Casey ordered the Strawberry and Cucumber Spritzer.


And Jason ordered the Boulevardier with Knob Creek Disney Select Single Barrel Bourbon, Campari, & Carpano Antica Formula Vermouth.

Not 100% sure I got this right but we were having such a good time my sparse notes are reflective of that.

Mike did not rush us at all and I think we’d been seated well over an hour before we even ordered our entrees.

Casey and I shared the Filet Mignon with Potato Purée, Soubise, Pickled Scallions, Onion Jus, and Guanciale Shallot Jam.

This very much reminded me of the filet at California Grill as it had an oaky flavor to it. The vinegary onions and porky jam served along side really paired well and it was cooked a perfect medium rare. My only complaint was it was served sliced and I much prefer to hack into the meat myself. The potatoes were pretty pedestrian, but I'm a sucker for a mashed potato pedestrian or not.

While our filet was good Jason was the superior orderer this time around. He got the Tomahawk Veal Chop with Potato-Torpedo Onion Gratin and Lemon-Veal Jus.

This was fanfreakingtastic! Of course you can’t go wrong with a Fred Flintstone sized chop but the veal was tender, moist and perfectly cooked. As good as the chop was the potatoes were next level, creamy, cheesy, and pure decadence. Jason was in meet and potato heaven and commented that this meal was so over the top they didn’t even have to pretend to serve veggies with it

To wash down our entrees Jason and I shared a bottle of a Super Tuscan wine our server recommended.

This was a 2019 so a little young and soft, but it was a blend of heavy cab and fruity sangiovese that went really well with our entrees. Mike also told us this is one of the few Tuscan wines that has elected not to use the DOCG label because they can add different grapes to the mix and keep the price point lower.

It was close to ten at this point and I was calling uncle, but Jason reminded me that he has a second dessert stomach so like a cow he can keep on eating. So what did the cow order…

Meet the Warm Valrhona Chocolate Cake with Caramel Center, Chantilly, and Raspberries. This was a traditional lava type cake but with the addition of the caramel really made it next level. Pretty sure I grew my own dessert stomach just so I could help eat it.

In case it wasn’t evident this meal was start to finish perfection. Beautiful restaurant. Amazing food. Phenomenal service. Fantastic friends. This has become all of our favorite restaurants (SciFi aside of course) so much so that we’ve been back 3 times since this meal!

Beyond the food spending time with Jenny and Joe was everything we needed. And at a meal clocking in at 3+ hours even Casey was a trooper through it all.


Up next, poopers and pork
​

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Well, happy new year to you! I'm playing catch-up tonight. I would not have guessed Sci-Fi as Jason's favorite restaurant. Interesting. I haven't been in years (like I think the servers were still wearing roller skates) but not for any particular reason. I may have to switch it up and give it a go. Is that Jason's pick for best burger on property? I am always game for a good burger.

So happy to hear you enjoyed Topolino's so much and were able to enjoy it with Jen & Joe. I love that terrace. I really hope that at some point they open the bar out there and allow walk-ups ... although not sure how that would work for fireworks as it would be a very hot ticket and I think you'd have to give priority to those in the dining room. That ricotta is the stuff dreams are made of. It sounds so basic but it's tremendous. I'm making note of that wine -- I love a Super Tuscan. That dessert is going on my to-try list as well! And I will ask for Mike!

 

[MomtoLandK]

Glad your dad is continuing to improve.

Will you guys be there the first week of April? Then Jason and I can have our date at Sci Fi, LOL. I'd be happy to let you borrow my hubby but he won't go to 50's either.

Your dinner at Topolino's looks wonderful! I am working on my list of restaurants since my ADR day is coming up in a few weeks and I want to fit Topolino's in, but there are so many other places that I want to go to also and I just can't decide. I need to go back and look at their plant based options. My 14 yr old decided to become a vegan a few weeks ago and so I've been trying to make sure that she has good options as well.

 

[Wood Nymph]

This is made to look like wheat stalks and is absolutely beautiful.

That is a very creative way to serve bread. It looks good, too.

This has become all of our favorite restaurants (SciFi aside of course) so much so that we’ve been back 3 times since this meal!

I think that others have found how good this restaurant is, since reservations seem to fill up quickly.

Beyond the food spending time with Jenny and Joe was everything we needed. And at a meal clocking in at 3+ hours even Casey was a trooper through it all.

We briefly met Jen and Joe at the WL in Sept. I wish we could have spent more time with them. I could definitely see how you could easily end up with a three hour dinner.

Casey is a really good kid.

 

[missjackiemcg]

That landrys card is gold. We used it at Yak N Yeti on our trip too and so nice to not have to wait or have a reservation.

You better be writing a trip report because I cannot wait to hear about your trip and your "bonus" days and "bonus" hotel and "bonus" car ride

I felt very VIP when everyone at TREX walk-up was being turned away, and I just flashed my card and was able to get us in

I'm definitely thinking a TR must happen. I'll have PTSD on departure days for the rest of my life now!

 

[KathyM2]

That looks like an amazing meal and company to boot!! I can't believe the size of that veal chop!!

 

[amazingact21]

I've heard nothing but amazing things about Topolino's. Glad your meal there was top notch. Not going to lie, I wanna go just to try the ricotta and olives. They sound amazing.