The Three Amigos eat their way through Disney FINAL UPDATE 1/24 Parisian Breakfast

[Niki Andiokno]

Hi All. Niki here with another trip report of fantastic food. This is a bit late but better late than never when it comes to food porn. This was a Food and Wine Fantastic. Now who are the Three Amigos? Me and my favorite people in the whole wide world! And, we were joined by other friends along the way. Let me introduce the main characters in this story.

This is me Niki. I am the big Disney fan of the bunch, and the biggest Foodie. I love to cook and love to eat even more.



Next is my Husband Mike. He is also a Disney fan, but not quite as fanatic as me. He is the type of tourist the Food & Wine Festival is made for, the emphasis is on the wine for him. This is my favorite photo of him and our little dog Ellie we lost this past spring.

These third Amiga is my BEAUTIFUL BFF Sally. She loves Disney like I do, but will gladly leave most of the planning to me. She loves food, but has much more willpower than me in daily life, saving it for our annual Disney trip.


Some friends joined us all long the way.


We hit the World October 28 through November 5, 2016. Here is where we ate:

F&W Booths
Boulanger Patisserie Las Halles
Swan & Dolphin Food & Wine Classic
Monsiuer Paul French Family Traditions lunch
Grill out at the Beach Club Villas
Yak n` Yeti Counter service
Todd English's Bluezoo
Two culinary demonstrations
Kimonos
Grill at Hilton Tuscany Village
Captain's Grill
Boardwalk Bakery
Garden View Tea Room
Lunching Pad
Parisi an Breakfast at Chefs de France
ESPN Zone
Jiko Wine Wednesday
Trails End breakfast

It seems like I am missing something. I can add it as I remember.

And the most fantastic part of the trip CUBS WIN!!!!!! I can't believe we come to Orlando from Chicago for the Cubs win, then are driving back home when the Cubbies come to Orlando for the parade. Just our luck.

So hang on kiddos. We have lots of good food to go.

 

[princess aleya]

Looking forward to hearing more.

 

[alex9179]

Looking forward to it! I'm especially interested in Blue Zoo. We're planning on dining there on our last night.

I'm so sorry about your pup. I lost my 15 yr old shepherd in Aug. and my 14 yr old giant mix in Oct. I'm still a mess.

 

[ariane37]

Following & Happy New Year! Love F&W reports since we haven't done that in years

 

[Disneyhayes]

Joining in!

 

[Niki Andiokno]

Joining in!

Thanks for joining.

Following & Happy New Year! Love F&W reports since we haven't done that in years

Happy New Year! We love F&W.

Looking forward to it! I'm especially interested in Blue Zoo. We're planning on dining there on our last night.

I'm so sorry about your pup. I lost my 15 yr old shepherd in Aug. and my 14 yr old giant mix in Oct. I'm still a mess.

Blue zoo is one of my favorite restaurants,. The staff goes above and beyond usually. The food is fabulous. Trust me, you can't go wrong there.

Looking forward to hearing more.

More coming.

 

[Niki Andiokno]

Day 1 Epcot

We drove down from Chicago. We checked in a little late, but Beach Club had our villa ready. This was our first stay at Beach Club. While I love the location, I was not a fan of the accommodations. The room was really small compared to the others we have stayed at. But we were there for the Food and Wine!! Our first stop was Epcot,

We were starved! Where do we go first? Why Viva la France!! We stopped at our favorite booth and got Escargots: Escargot Croissant with Garlic and Parsley, Soupe à l’oignon au Gruyère et Cognac: Gruyère and Cognac Onion Soup, Boeuf Bourguignon: Cabernet Sauvignon-braised Short Ribs with Mashed Potatoes


I don't have a photo of the onion soup. This was all fantastic. This is why we love this booth. We each had our favorites. Mine was the soup. I can't get enough of the Gruyère cheese on top. Mike loved the Escargots. He was the only one to eat it, as the Amigas aren't fans. He w as happy with the garlicky taste, and that he had it all to himself. Sally's favorite was the beef. This reminds me a bit of the beef my grandpa used to make for me. It is tender and has great flavor.

We also had wine because, who doesn't love French wine? I guess some people don't, but those aren' my people. Chardonnay, Bourgogne Blanc, Mommessin, La Clé Saint-Pierre, Merlot & Cabernet Blend, Bordeaux, Château les Graves de Barrau and St-Germain Sparkling Kir: Sparkling Wine and St-Germain Elderflower Liqueur (see the photo in the original post of Sally with the Kir) These were all fantastic. The chardonnay was very crisp and perfect on this hot day. The Merlot Cab blend was very nice, just cut with Merlot so not too heavy. The Kir. Well, need I say more?

Afterwards we went t I see one of our favorite oldies bands, IN LIVING COLOUR! !!! We listened to them in the 80's and 90's. Not only are they pretty heavy metal, but their music is still relevant today. We need to overcome racial tensions, question our politicians and love each other. Just great.

Next we went to the Africa booth. Perfect between sets from the (formerly) cutting edge black heavy metal band. We ate
Buttered Chicken with Micro Cilantro and Naan Bread and Berbere-style Beef Tenderloin Tips with Onions, Jalapeños, Tomato and Pap. Sally thought everything was a bit too spicy, but she liked the Naan bread. Mike and I really liked the butter chicken, but thought it was pretty small. We love love love the Berbere beef. It had a great kick to it. We are all about the spice. I couldn't find my pics so here are ones from the internet.




We drank one of everything. Simonsig Pinotage was just lovely. Like a pinot noir. Indaba Chenin Blanc was another crisp wine. Perfect for the evening. Jam Jar Sweet Shiraz is really good. It is a sweet red wine, but not cloying sweet. I get this for my friends at home who like only sweet wine. Loved it here too. Unfortunately you can buy a bottle at your local liquor store for about the price of two tiny glasses here. People really need to check out African wine. It is very very good, yet less expensive than comparable California and French wines. Everything at the Africa booth was great.

That ended day 1. Up tomorrow a little French pastry and the Food & Wine Classic at the Swan & Dolphin.

 

[Niki Andiokno]

Day 2 Again Epcot

Mike and I made rope drop and headed straight back to France Boulangerie Patisserie Las Halles. I went here looking for a chocolate croissant. Once there, I got sidetracked. Tartine Aux Fromages - country bread, tomato sauce, swiss, parmesan and goat cheese.
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This was fantastic. The goat cheese was plentiful and the tomato sauce light.

Mike had the best breakfast sandwich of his life. The bacon egg and cheese croissant was huge. We could have shared, but the one in the case looked so much smaller than what we actually got. I loved my Tartine so much, he was forced to eat it all. So rough, I know.
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This was a really good and filling breakfast. We will be back.

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

Our trips overlapped a few days! We never seem to make it to Las Halles for breakfast but the croissant may motivate us! It looks awesome!

 

[ariane37]

In Living Color!! I used to love them! Please don't call them an oldies band lol!!
We love Les Halles especially in the morning. I've never had the Tartine Aux Fromages but it looks & sounds so good, think it's going on my list

 

[Niki Andiokno]

Our trips overlapped a few days! We never seem to make it to Las Halles for breakfast but the croissant may motivate us! It looks awesome!

I saw photos of you with Barb. I just missed some Dismeets. You really need to make breakfast there. That croissant was awesome. Even better than the sweet ones there.

In Living Color!! I used to love them! Please don't call them an oldies band lol!!
We love Les Halles especially in the morning. I've never had the Tartine Aux Fromages but it looks & sounds so good, think it's going on my list

I only say Oldies because the Oldies rock station plays it. I think of Oldies as 60's and 70's music. Now 80's and 90's are Oldies. You have to try the Tartine. It is cheese heaven.

 

[Niki Andiokno]

Here is a pic of IN Living Colour, and me loving the concert.

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Day 2 also had our first culinary demonstrations.
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The Iron Horse Pinot Noir was good, but not my favorite. I liked the Meomi we had Later that week. The duck was good. We were pleased with our demo. At $13 with the DVC discount you can't go wrong.

Later in the day, after meeting Sally and riding rides, we headed back to France. Now we did the wine tasting at the
wine shop whose name I always forget. The tasting format was different, but the wines were the same as in this picture.
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Finally we rode Frozen Ever After. I was not impressed by the ride as a whole. The little girl in front of us was scared to death.
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We are such bad grownups. We couldn't stop laughing.

Night all.

 

[Niki Andiokno]

Please don't hate me for that photo. I really just want an excuse to post the photo pass pics we got from our AP that we never really wanted. Rant over. I will be back for more food. Promise.

 

[ariane37]

I think the photo is hysterical! Poor girl, but I would have been laughing too so either we're both normal or we're both bad adults
I wasn't impressed with FEA last Aug., either, not that I'm a big Frozen fan but I expected "more" from the ride and not so much empty space. I guess for huge fans it's good though because it always has a huge line
I don't know for how many years they've done the culinary demonstrations, but 2010 was the last time we were there during F&W and our boys were only 8 and 5, so we wouldn't have done any. One of these days we'll get down for it again, I love fall in Disney for many reasons but it's just a hard time of year to get away for us. I have to keep living vicariously through everyone else's trips!

 

[Niki Andiokno]

At the end of Day 2 was the big reason for our trip the Swan & Dolphin Food & Wine Classic. This is an amazing event. A causeway is set up with Booths from all of the resort restaurants. Todd English is always there for photos (such a hottie!) Wine Booths are also set up for about every varietal and region throughout the world. A Chinatown area was set up, as well as an area for food trucks. This is a total food and drunk fest, at least for me. I don't recall all of the Food, but my favorites were the strip loin and mashed potatoes from Shula's, Fish n' Chips, shrimp cocktail shooters from Bluezoo and Dragon Roll from Kimonos. All for the desserts were fabulous, a salted caramel eclair, chocolate orange layered dessert and lemon merengue cup.

Here was the party crew this night. We are all Dis'ers but I am so bad at names. Barb (jabead) Beth, Paula, Hunter and Rachel. We had a blast, although I got lost from the crew for awhile we can all usually find each other.
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I am sure I ate more than this, and I don't see any Wine bottle photos. As you can see, the pics got blurring as the night went on. The last one is actually Mac n' cheese from a Food truck.

We just love this event.

 

[Niki Andiokno]

As if we hadn't had enough to drink, Sally, Beth and I went to Abracadabar on our walk across the Boardwalk back to Beach Club. Beth had a simple drink. I think a gin and tonic. But I honestly don't recall. Sally and I each had a Magic Mirror - drink, drink, on the table; soda water, honey mango, Sprite & lime juice. I am sure you are saying, "What Niki? No alcohol?? " That would be ABSOLUTELY ALCOHOL. ADD A SHOT OF ABSOLUTE VODKA TO THAT BABY!!! The waitress was more than happy to. I learned this trick on the Disboards. Any drink here can be made alcoholic. I really liked this. Sally did not, so I finished off hers. Here it is along with gin and tonic.


After parting ways with our buddy Beth, who sadly had to cut the rest of her trip short, Sally and I felt like a dip in the hot tub. We took a bottle of Joel Gott Sauvignon Blanc with us for a final night cap. Then we went to bed and literally passed out.

 

[Niki Andiokno]

I'm so sorry about your pup. I lost my 15 yr old shepherd in Aug. and my 14 yr old giant mix in Oct. I'm still a mess.

Alex, thanks for the condolences on the loss of Ellie. Hugs back to you on your loss. She was a rescue. We loved her to pieces. She was 15 and had a brain tumor. Woke up one morning and Ellie was just not there anymore. Just a shell. Our doberman Strider took it the hardest so we got home a puppy. I know this is a Food thread, but here is the puppy Princess Jasmine and Strider.
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[ariane37]

I'm a cat person, not a dog person, but I do love all animals and I've lost many cats over the years so I know the pain. That picture of Princess Jasmine and Strider is just adorable
We have friends that do the Swan & Dolphin Food and Wine Classic about every other year and think it's great, but you really don't read much about it here for some reason. Looks like a fun night with lots of good food/drink! Also sounds very laid back which is cool.

 

[Niki Andiokno]

The Food & Wine Classic is my favorite event. We schedule our vacation time around going. It is very laid back. Bands are always playing, but if dancing isn't your thing you can escape to the other end of the causeway or hang out on the Swan's beach. I think sometimes people ignore it because it is not run by Disney. I hear it is comparable to Party of the Senses but more laid back and half the price.

 

[ShellieMimi]

Joining in!

The Tartine Aux Fromages is my FAVORITE thing at Les Halles. I have to have at least one every trip.

I feel bad for that poor little girl but the photo is hilarious.

I have never been to the S&D F&W Classic but it looks A-MA-ZING! I love Disney's F&W so this is something to keep on the radar!

So sorry to read about Ellie. Losing a furry family member is so hard. Jasmine & Strider are lovely.