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

[Linda67]

Wow, Party For The Senses looks amazing!
We are hoping we can get out for F&W next year and would love to check this out
Great photos of you both with the Chefs

 

[2xcited2sleep]

I had such fun this morning catching up. Really enjoying your reviews and definitely getting me excited to go to F&W next month!! Thanks so much for sharing. We are heading to many of the same places - Food & Wine Classic, Bluezoo, Yachtsman, Brown Derby, Via Napoli, Chefs. Cannot wait!!

We saw Keegan hanging out at JellyRolls last year. Very cool!

 

[kbarrett]

Loving your reviews!!! First of all you must get to Yak & Yeti for the cream cheese wonton dessert, YUM! Next because of you I know what to try, ie Raglan Road and know to skip Yachtsman's!

 

[emmysmommy]

Oh my gosh!! What a great party! Makes me hungry to see/read all about this. Good food, good wine, and entertainment - sounds perfect to me!!! Are you doing this again??

 

[smile4stamps]

Thanks for continuing the reviews, they are amazing!

Looks like Denver was well represented! Have you been to D Bar Desserts here? It's amazing! I took my parents last fall and Keegan was actually there...gave my Mom a thrill to see a real live celebrity!

Jill in CO

Thank you. I'm trying hard to complete them before the next trip!

We have been to D Bar in both Denver and San Diego! Keegan was at the San Diego location when we were there! It was after this event so we asked if he remembered us. He didn't but we showed him our picture and then he did lol. We are sad he will be at the PFTS the week before we are going this year. Although that gives us an opportunity to try different chef's pastries so looking forward to that!

Loved the party pics, the food looks incredible,

It IS. I would recommend it highly!

I am so glad that you are getting a chance to update your DR! I love all your pictures from Party for the Senses. That is fantastic that you are able to go again this year. I wish we could go, but unfortunately it is not in the budget for us this trip. I hope you are able to post pics from this year's party as well!

I'm trying! The pictures I took were actually pretty bad lol. The lighting was pretty dim. I'm thinking I may need to turn on the flash this year for some better pics! The regular admission price isn't too bad considering all the food and wine you get to try. Definitely give it a try sometime! I will either post pics myself at some point or I will send some to Barb to post for the LIVE thread.

Wow, Party For The Senses looks amazing!
We are hoping we can get out for F&W next year and would love to check this out
Great photos of you both with the Chefs

It's definitely a great event. Can't wait to do it again. I would make a weekend trip just to do the event lol. Meeting the Chef's is always fun! Helps to have a Pastry Chef as a husband who always wants to talk to them!

I had such fun this morning catching up. Really enjoying your reviews and definitely getting me excited to go to F&W next month!! Thanks so much for sharing. We are heading to many of the same places - Food & Wine Classic, Bluezoo, Yachtsman, Brown Derby, Via Napoli, Chefs. Cannot wait!!

We saw Keegan hanging out at JellyRolls last year. Very cool!

We are heading BACK to many of the same places! Look for me at the Swalphin F&W classic! WE will also do Bluezoo and Via Napoli again. Yachtsman we are doing in December (Right Brenda?!?) Brown Derby I would be happy to do again just not sure where in my plans lol. Chefs we will be passing on this time around.

I'm really hoping we can make it to Jellyrolls this year! The perfect time would be AFTER the F&W classic but then again NOT the perfect time due to the amt of wine we will have drank lol!

Loving your reviews!!! First of all you must get to Yak & Yeti for the cream cheese wonton dessert, YUM! Next because of you I know what to try, ie Raglan Road and know to skip Yachtsman's!

Thank You! I've actually been the Y&Y since this trip and did have the Wontons. Unfortunately it wasn't my favorite.. Raglan Road is a good choice. We need to make it for Dinner sometime to catch the entertainment! Yachtsman is good but not spectacular!

Oh my gosh!! What a great party! Makes me hungry to see/read all about this. Good food, good wine, and entertainment - sounds perfect to me!!! Are you doing this again??

We are definitely going again! I was up dark (4am CO time! )and early on August 12th to book it!

 

[smile4stamps]

Sunday October 21 began after gorging ourselves at the Party for the Senses the night before. We rose bright (or not!) and early to catch a pre-park opening in the Magic Kingdom. For some Pre-Park photos stop HERE!

We were seated fairly soon after they opened so I grabbed a few buffet pictures before people started getting in my way!

Everyone’s favorite! The Puffed Toast and Mickey Waffles!

Oops! Thought I had more buffet photos! Sorry!

Before we were starting to eat Pooh came around! I shared this pic in my TR but I just love it!

And then my first plate of food!

Lets see if I can remember what I have here, Pooh’s Puffed French Toast, Breakfast Lasagna, Chocolate croissant, Sausage, Potatoes, looks like it might be a breakfast pizza and maybe I dunno what else! Sorry!

I am in the minority here. I DO NOT like the Puffed French Toast. I love donuts, I love French toast.. I’m just not sure why I don’t like this?!?! Maybe cause we are there first and its already been sitting a little while so its not warm? Anyways. I do like the Breakfast Lasagna and the sausages and the potatoes!

And then because you go for the Characters as much as the food…

I apparently did not take any other food pictures so I apologize! The food here is okay for me. Hunter is not a fan of breakfast food so there isn’t much he actually likes about it. I would only go again for the empty Main Street Photos!



I’m just gonna throw this on here as it’s only one photo! Later in the day we headed to Epcot and felt we should get a little something to eat before having alcohol so we stopped at the only place convenient. The Electric Umbrella. We ordered 2 items and shared. The Meatball Sandwich and the Chicken Nuggets. The picture is the combo of both! We felt the food was decent and did it’s purpose. We wouldn’t hesitate to order this again.

 

[smile4stamps]

Grand Marnier F&W event

I booked this event as we like Grand Marnier and thought it would be interesting. It was a little pricey but I figured it would be worth it!

We were the first to check in for the event so had our choice of tables to sit at. I chose a front row table but the last 2 seats so we didn’t have to crane our necks to see!

Our place settings… Apparently I did not take a picture nor keep the days “menu”

A cute little bottle of Grand Marnier.. Unfortunately this wasn’t a souvenir!

A look at the whole setting

A Mimosa toast (at least I think that’s what it was! LOL!)

The different bottles of what we would be trying today.

The company rep

Time to make our own mixed drink!

Muddle Muddle!

Mmmm!

So during the event we got to taste 4 different Grand Marniers. The traditional one. A 100yr and a 150yr. We also got to try a Cherry one that was limited edition. The cherry one was Blech! Neither hubby or I liked it. Tasted like cough syrup lol! The others were really nice. You could really tell the smoothness of the aged ones.

I really liked the mixed drink as well…

The best part though!??!

These donuts!

Seriously!! One of them was Marzipan!! Oh my Goodness!! I’ll take a dozen please!!

I would so totally do this event again…. IF… it was like half the cost! I think this was around $70 a person!! Not that much info, food or alcohol for that price!

Now I’ve heard this years event is in Monsieur Paul in France, that is probably a much more elegant setting and may make it more worthwhile but I wasn’t willing to spend the money for it a second time!

Sorry I didn’t have a lot of details on this event. I honestly don’t have that great of a memory of it except for that darn donut! Lol.

 

[DisneyDreamerMN]

Yay you did an update! This is Jamie from the Oct FB page! Those donuts look great! But then again, I LOVE donuts. I really want to try some events, but since we are traveling with extended family, it's kind of hard for DH and I to sneak away. I need to plan a trip for next year. All your photos are great and are making me hungry!

 

[smile4stamps]

Before heading to our dinner we decided to get a drink at the Territory Lounge right next door!

I ordered the Forever Young

It was a lot more tart than I expected and I didn’t like it very much so the bartender made me the Pimm’s Punch

I liked this one much more! Still no idea what Pimm’s is though.

I have no clue what Hunter had to drink as I didn’t take a picture!

After enjoying our drinks we headed REAL far to get to dinner! Yeah.. next door…

Artist Point

Some menu pics

Maybe that is a bit more readable?!?

They start you off with some sourdough bread with both butter and Infused Olive Oil

While we waited for our apps I took some pics of the wall murals as they are beautiful!

And I guess the interior of the restaurant!

Apps arrived and I was starting with the Smoky Portobella Mushroom Soup!

Not be left out of the wonderfulness that is this soup though Hunter also ordered it!

He knew I wouldn’t share more than a taste as I LOVE mushroom soup!

Next Hunter had the Buffalo Strip Steak

And I had the Grilled Hand Cut “C.A.B” Filet

Both of our entrees were good but not very memorable. There was nothing that spoke to us and made us want to eat there again. In fact we are staying at WL in October and no reservations are made for this location despite it being very convenient!

I will be trying to get the mushroom soup at the Lounge though! I am a sucker for that stuff!

 

[vettegirl]

I need to try that soup one of these days!

 

[smile4stamps]

Yay you did an update! This is Jamie from the Oct FB page! Those donuts look great! But then again, I LOVE donuts. I really want to try some events, but since we are traveling with extended family, it's kind of hard for DH and I to sneak away. I need to plan a trip for next year. All your photos are great and are making me hungry!

I'm so sorry.. I totally meant to reply to you and then forgot! Welcome! Now I can associate your DIS name with who you really are! You should try and just do a seminar.. they are only 45 minutes and you need some time to yourselves too! My photos make me hungry too!!

I need to try that soup one of these days!

Yes you do! It's so good!

 

[smile4stamps]

For lunch on October 22 I didn’t have plans! However after not getting to many of the F&W booths the previous Monday I knew that was what we HAD to do! I really wanted to try some more of the food items!

So.. Do you think we took the monorail to Epcot? That’s what most people would do from the MK right? Yeah.. not us.. Since we were headed to the World Showcase we decided to take the bus to the Boardwalk and then the boat to the International Gateway! So that had us starting with France!

Coq au Vin sur Gratin de Macaroni (Red Wine braised Chicken, Mushrooms, Pear Onions and Macaroni Gratin)

This may not have LOOKED very appetizing but it was DELICIOUS! I am very sad it is not returning this year! I only had a bit of this though as Hunter couldn’t have the other item.

the inside..

Escargots Persillade en Brioche ( Garlic and Parsly Snails)

I was really disappointed in these.. They were overcooked and dried out. Not having them again even though they will be offered.

From France we moved onto Belgium where we got 2 sweet things!

Belgian Waffle with Berry Compote and Whipped Cream

Yummy!! I’ll take another. Hunter would pass but he’s not fond of waffles lol. I thought this was perfect!

We also had the Godiva Chocolate Liqueur Iced Coffee

This went down way to fast and easy!!

Then onto New Zealand!

Lamb Meatball with Spicy Tomato Chutney.
This wasn’t all that spicy and we loved this as well. Looking forward to trying this again next month!

Then we were onto Morocco where we had one of everything lol.

The 3 items I know are Kefta Pocket (Ground Seasoned Beef in Pita Pocket) Merguez Sausage (Beef and Lamb Sausage with Grilled Peppers and Onions) and Baklava. The last item was something with Chicken but it wasn’t in the passport book so I don’t recall exactly.
What I do recall was… we didn’t like ANY of it. We will be passing on Morocco’s booth this year but maybe stopping for some Hummus from the Tangerine Café!

From Singapore we enjoyed the Beef Rendang with Jasmine Rice.

This had a little bit of a kick to it so Hunter finished this on his own but it was enjoyable! The thing Hunter is most looking forward to from this booth though is the Singapore Sling! (I can’t seem to find my picture though!) This is a very small drink that packs a BIG punch! And is good to boot!

From Japan we got the only thing Hunter could have

Sukiyaki Beef Pan (Marinated thinly sliced Rib Eye with Sauteed Onions and Teriyaki Sauce served in a bun) Hunter thought this was a lot like a sloppy joe which he is not overly fond of! I really liked it though! I think I ate most of the meat out though just save some room!

From the Florida Local Booth we had the White Corn Arepa with Mangalitsa Pork Rillette and Zellwood Sweet Corn Salad

The thing that shocked me the most on this was the Arepa was piping hot and the corn was ice cold. I guess I hadn’t read it was a SALAD and I was expecting it to be warm. It was enjoyable though and something I might do again (don’t think its being offered though??)

WE then skipped by a few booths and found our way to the CHEESE booth! I had been looking forward to this one as they serve one of my all-time favorite items!

It wasn’t this though!

Artisan Cheese Selection with Beecher’s Flagship Reserve Cheddar, La Bonne Vie Goat Brie, Rogue River Creamery Echo Mountain Blue Cheese
We weren’t a fan of the cheddar (I personally like the softer ooey gooey cheeses and not the hard ones!) The others were okay. I think they were affected by sitting out too long..

Then we had what I had been waiting for..

Cheese Fondue with sourdough Bread… Now like I said.. Cheese Fondue is one of my favorite items and I can make a really good swiss fondue very quickly.. This was YUCK! I really tried to like it.. Wasn’t happening. Something was wrong with this! It went straight in the garbage! That made fondue 0 for 2 for us this trip.. Maybe I should just stick to making it myself!

We skipped ahead a few more booths and found ourselves in China.. Again getting a few selections!

Mongolian Beef in a Steamed Bun, Pork Potstickers, and Chicken Satay with Spiced Peanut Sauce and Pickled Vegetables.

These were pretty traditional items but non the less pretty tasty! Except for the pickled veggies everything was good (and that’s just cause I’m not a fan in general!)

Next it was on to Scandinavia where we went with the Sweddish Meatballs with Lingonberries.. to which I have no recollection on if we like them or not!

I was getting pretty full at this point and was looking for some shade to relax under!

Instead we decided to head out of Epcot to get ready for our dinner! Would we even be hungry?!?!

 

[disneygirl1972]

I've been following along all this time as a "lurker". But now I have a question. Do you think the TIW was worth it?

BTW, I just read through all your posts again in anticipation of my F&W trip in 2 weeks. I'm a little discouraged by you "so-so" reviews of 3D, but I'll make the most of it

 

[jedijill]

Great reviews! The beef rendang from Singapore almost killed me last year. I think I got the end of the batch at the end of the night and all the heat was in that one serving. It was awful!

I tried the fondue a couple of years ago and I agree it wasn't good. I skipped the Swedish meatballs....I can get those at Ikea!

Jill in CO

 

[emmysmommy]

Oh no, another fondue fail! You are not having any luck with that. The items from China really look/sound great. But the thing that had my attention was the Coq au Vin. That looks great!

I have to say in response to your AP dinner that we weren't moved to make an ADR there last time as well even though I'm a fan of the soup. And since you can get it in the lounge, there's really no compelling reason to book a dinner. Even if you changed your mind they appeared to have plenty of availability the day of our trip this time.

I'll be curious to see where dinner takes you.... or.. if you make it!

 

[ses1230]

The Lasseter wine dinner looks fabulous! I can't wait for your Jiko and V&A reviews!

 

[smile4stamps]

I've been following along all this time as a "lurker". But now I have a question. Do you think the TIW was worth it?

BTW, I just read through all your posts again in anticipation of my F&W trip in 2 weeks. I'm a little discouraged by you "so-so" reviews of 3D, but I'll make the most of it

The TiW was definitely worth it! Would have been more so if we had dined in the regular dining room at V&A's but yes it definitely saved us more than we paid for it even with the increased price of getting an AP. I then had the AP and TiW burning a whole in my pocket so I booked a solo/conference trip in May/June. The TiW is also still valid for our upcoming October trip. I will need to get a new one for December though (Still not sure if that will be worth it for just a week.. depends on if we return in May as well)

As for the 3D party... it just wasn't what we expected. We were expecting sophisticated desserts and these were far more simple than anticipated.

Great reviews! The beef rendang from Singapore almost killed me last year. I think I got the end of the batch at the end of the night and all the heat was in that one serving. It was awful!

I tried the fondue a couple of years ago and I agree it wasn't good. I skipped the Swedish meatballs....I can get those at Ikea!

Jill in CO

So sorry it almost killed you! That would not be good! I'm glad I wasn't the only one with a Fondue Fail!! And ha-ha on the meatballs! My hubby was to dine at Askerhus this year.. I hope he doesn't order the meatballs lol.

BTW... Are we there at the same time this year?!? My trip is 10/18-10/28

Oh no, another fondue fail! You are not having any luck with that. The items from China really look/sound great. But the thing that had my attention was the Coq au Vin. That looks great!

I have to say in response to your AP dinner that we weren't moved to make an ADR there last time as well even though I'm a fan of the soup. And since you can get it in the lounge, there's really no compelling reason to book a dinner. Even if you changed your mind they appeared to have plenty of availability the day of our trip this time.

I'll be curious to see where dinner takes you.... or.. if you make it!

Nope.. no fondue luck! Guess I'll make some for myself lol. China was pretty good! I don't think the chicken satay is back this year though.

I agree, with the lounge willing to serve AP food I may just get some soup there!

Dinner is coming up soon!

The Lasseter wine dinner looks fabulous! I can't wait for your Jiko and V&A reviews!

The Lasseter Wine lunch was Fantastic! I would do one again in a heartbeat!

FYI Jiko is not a full meal and hopefully V&A's will be up before October 17th!

 

[smile4stamps]

For dinner after gorging ourselves at the F&W booths we had an ADR scheduled for Citrico’s. I had booked this as Citrico’s had been our favorite meal in 2009 but since we had the Signature Wine lunch there I wasn’t sure we would keep it. Well the lunch was SO good that we definitely wanted to do Citrico’s again!

A Selfie as we take the boat from WL to MK (I presume! Lol)

When we got to the restaurant we were seated pretty quickly. The Chef came over and sat down and asked what we were thinking of having. Hunter said something about how about a tasting menu. This means we get 5 courses with wine pairings and NONE of it is our choice!

Lets see how that all rolled out!

We started with the regular bread service.

With salted butter

For an amuse bouche we had heirloom tomato with fresh mozzarella

A delightful first bite!

Then we were served our first wine

Then our first course.

Charcutterie! I don’t remember what all the kinds were but they were really good! The thing that baffled us was we were doing a TASTING MENU and we both received servings this big! Normally that would have been enough to share!

My second wine

And Hunter’s second wine

Why different wines you ask?!? Well we were going to be getting different items for our next course.

I received a seafood dish that Hunter couldn’t have. This was VERY good. The only thing missing was it needed a piece of toasted bread to dip into the juice!

Hunter’s second course was equally (but differently!) delicious!!

His was beef cheeks, over cheesy polenta and fried purple potatoes
Mmmm Good!

Our next wine

And our next course

Pork two ways…tenderloin, braised pork belly. Frilled mustard greens, roasted purple potatoes, curried squash purée

Oh so very good! We love pork belly and the accompaniments were just delicious…

And the next wine!

Followed by our next course.

Veal shank, bone marrow crostini, rainbow baby carrots, parsnip purée!

Now.. this was absolutely heavenly! The marrow crostini was amazing! However… I’m not sure if you all noticed but all these servings were not exactly TINY.. We were PRETTY full before even starting this course so we each really only had a few bites. I think I devoured all of the crostini but left much of the actual veal.

And we hadn’t even received Dessert yet!!

Our wine with Dessert

A dessert Sampler

Tiramisu, vanilla gelato, raspberry gelato, espresso gelato, warm chocolate banana torte.

I’m sure you already guessed this but we did not actually have much of this! We were completely full at this point and even though it was all tasty we had reached our limits!

Us with Chef Phillip

And Hunter with Chef Axel

Overall it was a DELICIOUS meal with WAY to much food! Would we do it again?? Oh yeah! I just hope they learn the meaning of a “tasting menu” so we don’t leave so much wonderful food on the table!

 

[Linda67]

What a wonderful review of Citricos - we really need to get ourselves there one of these days!
It's on the wish list for 2014 as we can't squeeze it in on our next trip
I love the photos of you both with the chefs

 

[jedijill]

So sorry it almost killed you! That would not be good! I'm glad I wasn't the only one with a Fondue Fail!! And ha-ha on the meatballs! My hubby was to dine at Askerhus this year.. I hope he doesn't order the meatballs lol.

BTW... Are we there at the same time this year?!? My trip is 10/18-10/28

I'm there 10/18 to 10/27!!!! I'll be on the Dream from the 20th to the 24th. Are you guys flying from Denver?

Jill in CO