Two Weeks of Food, Wine & Fun! REVIEWS COMPLETE!

[smile4stamps]

Raglan Road looks so good! I remember a while ago people had some so-so reviews but our dinner there in '09 was very good. Hopefully we can get there for lunch or something in January!

We have only had good experiences at Raglan Road. I wish we had made it there more than once this trip as there are a lot of things on the menu I would like to try.

I am here too.

Okay I said on the tr that the party sounds good but not now.

Great reviews of the places. The break pudding there is really good and I don't like bread pudding.

Yeah, the party was very much a disappointment. Oh well, it was a live and learn experience.

The bread pudding there is definitely good!

Glad to see that the amazing bread pudding didn't disappoint! It looks so good! Is that a creme anglaise and a caramel sauce?

Sorry that the 3D dessert party wasn't more satisfying but at least the Illuminations viewing and Dismeet were a redeeming factor for the event.

Yes I do believe it is a creme anglaise and a caramel sauce, both really compliment the bread pudding!

The Dismeet was nice! It was the first of the trip but there are more to come!

I agree with you about the quality of the desserts at the 3D party, espcially the bacon themed stuff (YUCK IMO) but we still thought it was so much fun. And I don't think I ever went to the savory section hahaha but Andrew brought back some things for me to try. I did, however, enjoy my ticket's worth in wine and other drinks

How amazing is that bread pudding?! Man I wish Id have known to email ahead about that salad. But I still had an amazing meal there.

Anyway, chiming in, will try to remember to check for updates LOL but i'm never on this board so will def be paying more attention to your regular report!

I'm glad you agree on those desserts! I was really expecting something different!

The savory items were mostly what we had lol. That Bacon Brittle was pure gross though. Not sure if the humidity did it in or what but it was no good!

We had dreamed of that salad for 3.5 years! My DH would have been really upset if we hadn't been able to have it! But then again it may have been okay as there seems to be a lot on the menu we would have enjoyed!

Enjoying your reviews and looking forward to more!

Thanks! Sorry I made everyone wait!

Raglan Road looks scrumptious as usual. Someday I will eat there!!!

It sucks that the "3D" desserts were so ordinary. It's so disappointing when food looks that good but doesn't match the taste you're imagining it has.

Looking forward to the rest of your reviews!

When I show the pictures of the desserts at the Party For the Senses you will see what I was hoping to see at this party.

The problem with WDW is there are so many good restaurants its really hard to narrow down the selections!

 

[smile4stamps]

The evening of October 13th we did not have a "dinner" planned. Instead I had scheduled attending the Swan & Dolphin F&W Classic. I had read about the previous years events and knew it was something my DH would LOVE. In fact it was this event that dictated when our WDW vacation would begin! (I had originally wanted to go end of October/beginning of November).

We arrived (via Bus and Boat) pretty early so we had some time to look around.

We figured before all the people got there was the best time to get a picture of this amazing Sugar Sculpture. I should mention that the weather for the evening was wonderful!! However it was a bit breezy so we thought maybe the sculpture would fall but it was still standing at the end of the night.

Because we were so early we took some time to just relax. My DH had a coffee from the Java Bar and we hung out in the seating area by the coffee bar for awhile.

Finally though it was time to EAT... and DRINK!!

First up we went for the Smoked Pork Belly!

All lined up just waiting for 5pm!

I should mention that you have a couple of options for paying for this event. You can purchase a causeway ticket which means you get a wristband and you can eat and drink all you want! Or you can purchase tickets at $2 each and then use the tickets to get the items. Of course I knew we would be eating (and drinking) plenty so the causeway all included was definietly the route for us!

The wine glasses with plates that they give you to use... I believe if you bought the tickets you received a different glass and plate...

Next up for me was the crab cake slider...

And for my DH the Custom blended mini Burger, Cheddar Cheese Roll, Truffle Aioli, Caramelized Onions..

Then for me I had the Shrimp & Grits

DH had the Mahi Mahi Tacos

And then even though it was early we decided to have dessert as the line was short and we were nearby!

Strawberry Shortcake

We also ran into Michael Mina and Todd English and DH got his picture taken.

I finally got to try one of those burgers for myself!!

Other food items we tried that I apparently did not get any pictures of (after a few glasses of wine one forgets these things!)

So therefor these pics are stolen from the Swan & Dolphin website!

Carved Prime Rib with Garlic Mashed Potatoes!

Falafal

So... What did we think of the food options at this event?!? They WERE WONDERFUL!

The custom blended burger was the sure winner with the garlic mash from the Prime Rib dish coming in second. Third was the Fish Tacos and in fourth the Pork Belly.

The only thing we didn't really care for was the Falafel... There were also some specialty dishes there from Todd English and Micheal Mina but one was oysters (not really a fan and DH can't have them) and I honestly don't remember what Michael Mina's was!

The Wine Selections were hit or miss. We found one we REALLY liked though and we ended up spending the last hour of our evening at that booth chit chatting with the wine rep and other people that came up...

I have more details of the non-food aspects of the Classic in my Trip Report.

Overall, if you love Food & Wine (They had a FEW beers but not much) and you will be in the WDW area when they are holding the F&W classic I would strongly encourage attending! We enjoyed many of the food items more than once!

 

[Linda67]

Great review of the S&D Food & Wine Classic

We loved this event and totally understand why you would schedule your trip around it

 

[emmysmommy]

Looks like the S&D F&W classic was pretty awesome. I remember your anticipation during your PTR for this event! Glad to know that it was good! I've gotta go to your TR because I'm hoping you have the photos of the sugar sculpture, Michael Mina and Todd English.

 

[halleous]

Subbed! Loving your reviews especially your Biergarten experience I would have loved to be sat near you drinking shots sounds like a lot of fun!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Loving your report! I'm definitely thinking about timing my visit next year to coincide with the Swan & Dolphin Food & Wine Classic... looks amazing!!!

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

We enjoyed the Pumpkin Mousse with Craisins and Orange Sauce.

Delicious!! I should have gotten it again!

This was one thing we had wanted to try and didn't get to. Guess there is always next year! (fingers crossed!)

Totally not worth doing for the desserts. They are basic desserts. Nothing special. The best items were the savory ones. In fact my plate of desserts was barely touched. I had a small bite of each.

I am sorry to hear that this was disappointing! It sure sounds good on paper!

We haven't hit Raglan Road in a few trips. May be time to go back! Maybe in March!

Love the pics from the Swalphin F&W! Not sure that is something that we will make it to any time in the near future but a girl can dream!

 

[DizNee Luver]

YUMMO!!!

The stuff at the Swan & Dolphin F&W looked sooooooo good!! Got my taste buds tingling!!

Ok, time to warm up left over pizza for lunch........heavy sigh!!

 

[Imagineer5]

I love that they do a wristband type thing, I really wish Disney would do that too, I would enjoy the F&W more, though those long lines make that sort of difficult. Looks like a fun evening. Are those all the choices to eat? Was there much vegetarian? I don't see much there. Woudl love to try it though. Love the wine and unlimited drinks! I can see Hunter enjoying that!

 

[NHTikiBeckie]

Loving the reviews so far!

 

[smile4stamps]

Great review of the S&D Food & Wine Classic

We loved this event and totally understand why you would schedule your trip around it

I'm glad to hear someone else has also loved it! I would totally schedule a trip to coincide with it again if I could!

Looks like the S&D F&W classic was pretty awesome. I remember your anticipation during your PTR for this event! Glad to know that it was good! I've gotta go to your TR because I'm hoping you have the photos of the sugar sculpture, Michael Mina and Todd English.

It was really good! When I first looked at it I was hoping there would be more food options but we had plenty to eat!

Sorry! I had meant to include those photos here and completely forgot!

Subbed! Loving your reviews especially your Biergarten experience I would have loved to be sat near you drinking shots sounds like a lot of fun!

Thank you! Biergarten is good. And good company makes it even better!

Loving your report! I'm definitely thinking about timing my visit next year to coincide with the Swan & Dolphin Food & Wine Classic... looks amazing!!!

It certainly was... I would have to go look in my PTR but I think they released the dates of the event in December last year so should be pretty soon!

This was one thing we had wanted to try and didn't get to. Guess there is always next year! (fingers crossed!)

I am sorry to hear that this was disappointing! It sure sounds good on paper!

We haven't hit Raglan Road in a few trips. May be time to go back! Maybe in March!

Love the pics from the Swalphin F&W! Not sure that is something that we will make it to any time in the near future but a girl can dream!

There were a few items at the F&W that I didn't get to that I really wanted to! I think it would take 4 "meals" to try something from each booth! We only spent 2 meal times tasting out way around and missed quite a bit!

I dream of going back to the Swolphin F&W classic. It was so good! A great evening!

YUMMO!!!

The stuff at the Swan & Dolphin F&W looked sooooooo good!! Got my taste buds tingling!!

Ok, time to warm up left over pizza for lunch........heavy sigh!!

Lol! I know the feeling! It makes it hard to write these reviews knowing my meal choices are pitiful in comparison!

I love that they do a wristband type thing, I really wish Disney would do that too, I would enjoy the F&W more, though those long lines make that sort of difficult. Looks like a fun evening. Are those all the choices to eat? Was there much vegetarian? I don't see much there. Woudl love to try it though. Love the wine and unlimited drinks! I can see Hunter enjoying that!

I think I included most of the food choices. You can go here to see what they offered... http://swandolphinfoodandwineclassic.com/index.html The desserts are vegetarian and they were really good!!

Yes, you learned much about my DH in a short time lol! Anytime there is alcohol around he is a much happier person!

Loving the reviews so far!

Thank you!

 

[smile4stamps]

Our original meal plans for Sunday October 14th were to have a pre-opening breakfast at 8:05am at Crystal Palace. Unfortunately they decided to change the park hours and that time would no longer be before Park Opening. So.. I canceled our breakfast ADR and changed our lunch ADR to the earliest I could for Liberty Tree Tavern.

My husband had brought his Protein Powder along and he had a shake before we left the room in the morning. As that is usually all he has a for a few hours I figured we would be fine until lunch. Unfortunately DH's stomach did not agree and he felt he needed something to eat pretty early. So we found ourselves at the Main Street Bakery.

DH selected the ham, egg, and cheese croissant

He said it was ok. He was more irate at me that it had taken so long to get something... And then to make it worse I had to take a picture!

My selection was the Cheese Danish

Good not great. I think my problem with all Danish's is that I used to work at McDonald's and they used to have a Cheese Danish that when warmed was all soft and delicious. So therefor the traditional danish that are a little more firm are always a little bit disappointing. But it was good! It had a good amount of cream cheese filing which was nice! And it was one thing I had on my must try snacks list!

 

[emmysmommy]

He was more irate at me that it had taken so long to get something... And then to make it worse I had to take a picture!

Oh my gosh! I had to chuckle because that sounds like my DH on occassion during our trip!

Your danish does look good. There's still so many things at MSB that I want to try!

 

[jabead]

Hi Paula! I'm getting caught up tonight on everyone's reviews. I think it was the night that you and Hunter had attended the S & D Food and Wine Classic that I sent you the text asking if you wanted to meet up at Steak 'n Shake. I guess now I know why you were too full. Anyway, it all looked quite delicious!

Oh, and thanks again for surprising me with the live updates from Disneyland. I love nice surprises like that.

 

[scottny]

Yum! It is all I can say.

We should have gotten tickets to the F&W festival there. Looked really good.

 

[debrapagliasotti]

The Swan & Dolphin selections look quite yummy!

I would give anything for a Main St Bakery yummy ANYTHING right about now!!!

 

[princess aleya]

Great start everything looks wonderful. I would really like to try the food and wine at the Swan Dolphin.

 

[WDWaddictt]

I am joining along...

 

[smile4stamps]

Oh my gosh! I had to chuckle because that sounds like my DH on occassion during our trip!

Your danish does look good. There's still so many things at MSB that I want to try!

Our good 'ol DH's! We love them dearly but they can also drive us nuts!!

Hi Paula! I'm getting caught up tonight on everyone's reviews. I think it was the night that you and Hunter had attended the S & D Food and Wine Classic that I sent you the text asking if you wanted to meet up at Steak 'n Shake. I guess now I know why you were too full. Anyway, it all looked quite delicious!

Oh, and thanks again for surprising me with the live updates from Disneyland. I love nice surprises like that.

It could very well have been that night! I know I was tipsy and I was definitely tipsy that night!! LOL!

Yum! It is all I can say.

We should have gotten tickets to the F&W festival there. Looked really good.

It sure was good! I definitely recommend it if you are there at the same time of it again!

The Swan & Dolphin selections look quite yummy!

I would give anything for a Main St Bakery yummy ANYTHING right about now!!!

Me too!! But maybe not since its the holidays and I'm not one for the huge crowds!

Great start everything looks wonderful. I would really like to try the food and wine at the Swan Dolphin.

I'd love to try it again!

I am joining along...

Welcome!!

 

[smile4stamps]

Lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern was interesting..

We weren't real hungry since we had a snack a few hours earlier and DH's stomach still wasn't feeling well.

We still arrived early though as I didn't want to skip it completely.

Pics of the waiting area.

One of the dining areas..

Cheese Sticks, yes just the Mozzarella ones but I love any Deep Fried Cheese so I still got them!

We then shared a BLT sandwich

The sandwich was served on a thick Whole Grain bread. Really TO much bread for the sandwich. I think a thinner bread would be much better.
Also the B part of the sandwich was really a Pork Belly type meat and it had too much of the fatty part so I ate most of it while DH had a few fries and just a few bites of the sandwich.

And of course... the Ooey Goey Toffee Cake

I tried.. I didn't succeed...

It was delicious but way too rich!!