We Ate, We Drank, We Conquered - An Aug/Sep '16 Dining Report - Complete 3/11

[Terra Nova guy]

It always weirds me out that burgers in the US aren't cooked well done, it's pretty much a given here in Canada.

Me too! Although I have no problem eating a medium rare steak, for some reason in Canada it's been drilled into our heads that you shouldn't eat red hamburger meat. I even have a fridge magnet from Health Canada that says "your burger's done at 71" meaning 71 Celsius or 160 Fahrenheit, which is well done for beef. I have no idea why that is. Then I see on US cooking shows like Masterchef they cook burgers to medium rare. Unless it's some different food inspection method. I have no clue.

 

[TeeterTots]

Me too! Although I have no problem eating a medium rare steak, for some reason in Canada it's been drilled into our heads that you shouldn't eat red hamburger meat. I even have a fridge magnet from Health Canada that says "your burger's done at 71" meaning 71 Celsius or 160 Fahrenheit, which is well done for beef. I have no idea why that is. Then I see on US cooking shows like Masterchef they cook burgers to medium rare. Unless it's some different food inspection method. I have no clue.

It's due to the concern of E.coli. A steak for example gets heated on both sides. Any bacteria from handling would be killed in the cooking process but ground meat such as hamburger is mixed meat that is ground through a machine. If someone wasn't practicing safe food handling when grinding the meat is could get mixed in potentially contaminating a lot of meat that wouldnt get heated to the proper temperature to kill any bacteria internally. WHOA, long answer. I hope this helps.

 

[kastoney]

OK, next time I am getting the Milky Way thing at B&C...yum! Casey walking on that path from Epcot to the BC was pretty much my guys every day. We're dyyyyinggggg! Suck it up kids, deliciousness and AC awaits! Your hub's sandwich and the burger look awesome, as do the onion rings. Maybe next time we will actually eat some food instead of copious amounts of ice cream.

Yeah, today was probably the worst we got from her in terms of walking. This was her first trip without a stroller so she struggled more in the beginning, but in the end was a champ.

I don't think you can go wrong with the food or ice cream!!!!

I'm way behind (yes, again....life needs to stop getting in the way of my Dis time) so I figure I'll reply one update at a time.

Love all the m&g's! Love the Pooper, too. Lol. My boys do as well so I will definitely plan quite a few rides in June! Wow, that looks like a huge meal at LTT. I have never, ever eaten there in 15 trips! Yum on the cake! Sounds like some good rides after lunch!

Ok, onto the next update!

Come on Renee, how dare you let life get in the way of disney LTT was a great meal, though with the menu changes I think we'll be passing for a while

O.M.G. That Sundae! Hunny loves Milky Way (I'm a Snickers girl) and if I show him this we will somehow have to stop at BC. It looks fabulous though I'm loving this DR,is really being me excited for our trip to the world.

You know Beaches and Cream is just a few quick steps from Epcot and has a to go counter, so maybe you don't have to deprive your poor hunny

I feel him. I may or may not have just placed an order this week for a high quality point & shoot so I don't have to schlep my dslr around wineries

Yeah, Jason did the same a year or 2 ago. We have a great sony point and shoot now, but its just not ever quite the same quality.

I am leaving for Sonoma a week from Tuesday!!! (The 22nd) and the time is now moving in slow motion until vacay departure. Thanks again for all the planning help. I've got a bunch of your recommendations lined up on my itinerary and I can't wait!

How exciting!!! Hope you enjoy. Can't wait to hear all about it!

Somehow I messed up this quote and got it out of order. Oh well. Anyway maybe the people with all the sundaes were on the dining plan? We have only ever attempted one shared between three people (or once two people when it was just R & me). But if I had the dining plan I'd just get my entree packed up and focus on crushing my sundae... #icecreampriorities

I totally didn't even think about the dining plan,duh!!! I'm sure that is it since we were there during free dining. We never do the dining plan so it isn't even on my radar.

The burger and patty melt look fabulous. Yacht and Beach sure know their way around a burger as I still think the burger I had at nearby Crew's Cup Lounge is the best burger I've had at WDW at a non-signature (I'm telling you, the wagyu burger at Hollywood Brown Derby is in its own league... so long as no one is injured upon arrival y'all have got to give it another shot!)

MMMM. Gonna have to try crewcup out and do a comparison. Though, I just read about the brown derby burger on @GoofySon'sMom thread and think I finally convinced Jason to go back to HBD. We'll see how it stacks up.

I loved Beaches and Cream, but wow it's small! It think it's so fun though when people order the kitchen sink, when I was there last it think they must have brought out 4 or 5. In think we got the almost the exact same thing as you, that party melt was to die for.

Yeah I think there are only a dozen or so tables in there. Amazing that we could get a reservation at all, let alone day of.

Can't wait to hear where you go next! I was actually surprised at what ADR's you can get on the fly.

Yeah, there are a lot of folks canceling ADRs so last minute has lots of possibilities. We were probably about 70% no ADR and 30% ADR this trip. When I knew where we would be thanks to fast passes I generally made lunch plans and a few dinner plans I knew we wouldn't want to miss (like CG and FF)

I've put away a full Milky Way by myself but that wasn't after eating Onion Rings and a Burger!

Looks like you had a great meal at Beaches & Cream! It is such a nice option.

Yeah I could have totally demolished one of the sundaes had I not just gorged myself on food and beer!

This sundae looks delicious. It also looks like a lot more than three scoops of ice cream. Most people talk about the Kitchen Sink, the Mickey Pants and the No Way Jose at B&C and none of them appealed to me. But the Milky Way sundae and the delicious onion rings might sway me to make a reservation there someday. We haven't eaten at B&C in about 20 years even those we stay there all the time.

Crews Cup Lounge serves a very good Angus burger. I wonder if they use the same beef at both B&C and Crews Cup.

It definitely seemed like a lot more than 3 scoops of ice cream, so definitely perfect to share. And I think a meal of onion rings and milky way sundae would be a great way to welcome you back!!!

You're the second recco on crews cup, definitely going to have to try that!

I've always thought she should be a Disney food model. Glad it official now!

Those onion rings do look deliciously tantalizing though.

Yeah, sadly disney only pays her by the onion ring so she can't quit her day job yet

These statements have got my food antennae perked up. My carnivore self NEEDS to experience this

Heck, a vegetarian needs to experience these!

B&C didn't fit in my previous trip and now I'm going to have to go there twice next time - once for the onion rings and burger and a second time for one of their sundaes. There is no way I can do both at the same time. At this rate my next trip is going to need to be twice as long to fit as much in as possible.

You could always just do the kids burger and some onion rings to keep it on the smaller side. Of course though more days in disney is always better!!!!!

I've eaten at Flying Fish once and it was with my mother, who is real big on basic comfort food...so you can probably guess it didn't go over all that great. I think I enjoyed it fine though. I'll have to plan a repeat visit in the future.

Funny we took my parents there once and it didn't go over so well either with my meat and potatoes Dad. Oddly though my mother had ordered some bolognese that is still hands down the best we've ever had. And we're Italian and make our own!

Oh and I love Casey's Halloween costume!

Thanks, she was in heaven.What were your boys for Halloween?

Ok, so that entire Beaches & Cream meal looks so good to me. Kind of reminds me of Steak n Shake on steroids and I love me some Steak n Shake (yes, I admit it). And that sundae.....O-M-G! Now I'm wondering if I can fit this in anywhere in my plans.....

We don't have steak and shake here so I've never had the opportunity, but if its anything like B&C then I need to find more ASAP!

This is exactly what I was thinking! I just went last month and had the perfect lunch at Crew's Cup: cheeseburger w/truffle fries & a Strawberry Julep. Even though it was F&W, this was one of the best things I ate that trip for sure! Now I'm wondering how the patty melt & burger at Beaches & Cream compares. It was a great way to take a break in between Epcot & heading to HS.

TRUFFLE FRIES!!!!!!!!!!!!! Have to get there now!

Joining in late. I always love your dining reports! I am very disappointed about the changes to LTT's menu. I made it there last December for dinner and even though I had a terrible experience (not food related), I really wanted to give them another chance for lunch, so I could have the ooey gooey toffee cake. That dessert party was a great deal and I want to know which agency it is, but I'm guessing it's not one you can name. Looking forward to your next update!

Welcome to the food party!!!! Yeah, we are pretty ticked off about the LTT menu changes. Definitely skipping it until they go back to the norm.

 

[kastoney]

Yeah, walking around there is not fun. One of my greatest Disney planning blunders was my trip to Beaches & Cream two years ago. I made the ADR on a Downtown Disney shopping day, thinking a break in the afternoon for ice cream would be nice (yes, I know Ghiradelli is right there, don't ask why I thought it was a good idea). Anyway, we hopped on the milk run bus to all the Epcot resorts. Now, for some reason I had it in my head that Beaches & Cream was at the Boardwalk. Again, I don't know why, I think it's because I had planned to explore the Boardwalk after Beaches & Cream. So when the bus stopped at the Beach Club (close to our ADR time, mind you) we did not get off, but continued on to the Boardwalk. After walking around there and realizing my colossal mistake, we speed walked to Beach Club and finally got to the ADR 15 minutes late. Thankfully we enjoyed it, or else I wouldn't have heard the end of it.

Wow!!! That is quite the trek you all had to make, especially since there is no ice cream at DTD . I did something similar on our last trip to B&C but got off at Yacht Club instead. Thankfully the trip wasn't as far.

Meh, I'd like to say I look like Chris Evans, but life is real. At the end of the day, aren't we happier having dessert?

We most definitely are!

I can't believe people would do that! Eat an entire sundae for themselves. I mean, it's not like I would ever do that and the picture below is certainly not my family having one each at Beaches & Cream

In our defense, we did not eat burgers before. I *probably* would not be able to finish one on my own if I had. I had the Milky Way and it was awesome (I am also the cherry collector in my family). DW had the No Way Jose, also great (if you don't have a nut allergy), youngest DD had a Brownie a la Mode, and oldest DD had something with oreos that I don't see on the menu anymore.

I know I can't believe it either. What is wrong with the people in this picture

Just for future reference, I read in another report that you can ask for smaller versions of the sundaes. I haven't done this myself, but it might be a way for everyone to enjoy their own. It doesn't hurt to ask I guess.

That is great to know. Jason would have loved the no way jose and casey could have cared less what she ate as long as there was ice cream and cherries.

It was hot! The meal looks very good, I love a good patty melt. The sundae looks awesome, I love a Milky Way. We had an ADR here once and canceled for some reason, we will have to try it for sure.

So very hot. Once the hurricane got closer we at least had a breeze most of the time, but those first few days were brutal.

Yeah that's normally a pleasant walk but NOT in August You crazies, you.
I always stick with the grilled cheese and tomato soup at B&C but I should probably venture off my well-known path and try that Patty Melt Jason had, because it looks delish. Same with my ice cream, I'll have to forgo my No Way Jose and try the Milky Way Sundae. Speaking of I had no idea you had a peanut allergy! Not that it's a requirement for reading each others' reports on the Dis or anything...... just never noticed you avoided them.

Yeah not pleasant is an understatement. Though if I'd actually gone in the beach club entrance and not completely around storm along bay it would not have been quite so bad. Oops

Yeah, i contemplated the grilled cheese though given my statement above that was likely not the best idea. The patty melt was definitely good, though I liked the burger better.

Yep, peanut allergy right here so I never eat them. They won't kill me, just make me miserable for a while, so I just can't eat peanuts or peanut butter but don't have to worry about cross contamination or anything.

It always weirds me out that burgers in the US aren't cooked well done, it's pretty much a given here in Canada. A fancy burger place opened up close to my house a few months ago, and my burger came out looking like yours in that picture, and I immediately sent it back. I won't eat hamburger unless it's completely cooked. Mind you, I also won't eat steak unless it's well done either... Again - I'm fussy.

That sundae though - oh man! I can't wait to have one of those in January!

Too funny how things can be different between countries. If I got a burger cooked well done, I'd certainly be sending it back I'm fussy too, just in the 180 direction

I have been binging your trip reports, Netflix style. You seem like such a fun family! Your daughter is just the cutest! Thanks for sharing.

Thank you so much. Glad to hear you enjoyed!

Me too! Although I have no problem eating a medium rare steak, for some reason in Canada it's been drilled into our heads that you shouldn't eat red hamburger meat. I even have a fridge magnet from Health Canada that says "your burger's done at 71" meaning 71 Celsius or 160 Fahrenheit, which is well done for beef. I have no idea why that is. Then I see on US cooking shows like Masterchef they cook burgers to medium rare. Unless it's some different food inspection method. I have no clue.

160!!!!!! That is sacrilege!

It's due to the concern of E.coli. A steak for example gets heated on both sides. Any bacteria from handling would be killed in the cooking process but ground meat such as hamburger is mixed meat that is ground through a machine. If someone wasn't practicing safe food handling when grinding the meat is could get mixed in potentially contaminating a lot of meat that wouldnt get heated to the proper temperature to kill any bacteria internally. WHOA, long answer. I hope this helps.

Bring on the medium rare e coli!!!

 

[TeeterTots]

Bring on the medium rare e coli!!!

I agree!!! Yum!!!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

I adore Beaches & Cream. Nothing hits the spot like their burger & fries!! It astonishes me that they haven't refurbed and expanded the space. Crews Cup has a great burger too - and no ADR required- definitely give that a try sometime. Can't wait to hear where you headed for dinner!

 

[NJlauren]

Beachs and cream! Yum! It seems like a way better friendlys to me.... we went to friendlys yesterday so that's what makes me think that, and I have a feeling that's a really bad comparison.

But I love he ice cream at friendlys....

Was someone missing the stroller on this 100 degree 100% humidity day?

 

[ArielSRL]

My boys were BB-8 and Iron Man!
And yes, it was so hot on Halloween, Will wore shorts!

 

[Terra Nova guy]

It's due to the concern of E.coli. A steak for example gets heated on both sides. Any bacteria from handling would be killed in the cooking process but ground meat such as hamburger is mixed meat that is ground through a machine. If someone wasn't practicing safe food handling when grinding the meat is could get mixed in potentially contaminating a lot of meat that wouldnt get heated to the proper temperature to kill any bacteria internally. WHOA, long answer. I hope this helps.

Thanks, I figured it must be something like that. I guess that's how the high end restaurants can serve medium rare burgers, they are more careful with their handling. Like I said, I like a medium rare steak. I should try the same with a burger sometime.

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

DS and I did not love our one trip to B&C but I think it was more because we were very tired at the end of a long day. We may have to give it another try for the ice cream if nothing else! Although that patty melt looks awesome!

 

[kristie73]

I'd like to say we were too full for dessert, but then again I'd also like to say I'm 5'10", 120 pounds, and a super model. So this happened.

Meet the Milky Way Sundae. Three Scoops of Vanilla Ice Cream, Hot Fudge, Caramel, and Whipped Cream topped with Dark and White Chocolate Shavings and a Cherry. Deep down I know Jason wanted the No Way Jose, but he was a good husband who didn't want to kill his wife with a peanut allergy so we went with this. First, this thing was downright huge. We saw a few tables where folks were eating these individually and I have no idea how they did that. As this is all the 3 of us could muster.

But what we could eat was downright delicious. Sweet and salty caramel, fudge, ice cream, whats not to love. And to no ones surprise, the cherry landed here.


Overall, this was another successful visit to Beaches and Cream. In the vein of The Plaza, its good food done well and right. And of course ice cream!!!! With our tables in wonderland card we saved $13.11. Just $89 to go till we break even.

After lunch we smartly boated back to Ep-A-Cot this time and even posed for a pic with French Tink on the way back in
.
From there we took another spin on figment (oh joy insert my happiness here), before examining history with dame judi dench, and meeting some vegetarian sharks under the sea.


Soon we were on the monorail headed back to the Poly and booked an ADR for that night. What would the food gambling ADR gods have in store for us???

Well up next, a new meal at an old favorite. ​

WOW! That Milky Way Sundae looks so delicious. Following along officially. I've been reading your posts for awhile. I'm having WDW withdrawals and need to plan another trip to try some other restaurants.

 

[momof3princes]

I am obsessed with the bubble lights at Flying Fish. I would not have been able to look at anything but the fire alarm knowing that one of my boys would for sure try to break the glass! LOL
Beaches and Cream is so yummy, always a must for our family!

 

[Mom&RN]

Just finished binge reading your last dining report and I'm excited to join this one in progress! I love eating at Disney!

 

[kastoney]

I agree!!! Yum!!!

Phew, you had me worried there for a minute!

I adore Beaches & Cream. Nothing hits the spot like their burger & fries!! It astonishes me that they haven't refurbed and expanded the space. Crews Cup has a great burger too - and no ADR required- definitely give that a try sometime. Can't wait to hear where you headed for dinner!

Yeah you're the 3rd or 4th person to recommend Crews Cup so we are definitely going to have to try that. We're suckers for a good burger!

Beachs and cream! Yum! It seems like a way better friendlys to me.... we went to friendlys yesterday so that's what makes me think that, and I have a feeling that's a really bad comparison.

But I love he ice cream at friendlys....

Was someone missing the stroller on this 100 degree 100% humidity day?

Wow, Friendly's I haven't thought about that in years. That was a big hang-out when I was in high school, but all of ours are gone now. I'm suddenly remembering their clown sundae and the watermelon ice cream log, ahh memories.

Yes, someone was most definitely missing her stroller. She did great after this day, so this was the hardest. Stay tuned for the next update but we end up not venturing very far for dinner for fear she'd revolt

My boys were BB-8 and Iron Man!View attachment 206308
And yes, it was so hot on Halloween, Will wore shorts!

Adorable!!!!! Not so hot here. We packed it in early cause we were freezing (and ran out of booze)

Thanks, I figured it must be something like that. I guess that's how the high end restaurants can serve medium rare burgers, they are more careful with their handling. Like I said, I like a medium rare steak. I should try the same with a burger sometime.

You must try. Remember once you go rare you never go back

DS and I did not love our one trip to B&C but I think it was more because we were very tired at the end of a long day. We may have to give it another try for the ice cream if nothing else! Although that patty melt looks awesome!

At least ice cream to go is a a must, though after your last review Ample Hills may have it beat

WOW! That Milky Way Sundae looks so delicious. Following along officially. I've been reading your posts for awhile. I'm having WDW withdrawals and need to plan another trip to try some other restaurants.

Food pics and reviews are the best cures for withdrawal

I am obsessed with the bubble lights at Flying Fish. I would not have been able to look at anything but the fire alarm knowing that one of my boys would for sure try to break the glass! LOL
Beaches and Cream is so yummy, always a must for our family!

Yeah FF was gorgeous. I've been angling to Jason to try and figure out the wall paper to put in our bedroom. It was perfection.

Thankfully for all Casey was able to refrain from breaking the glass, but she thought about it

Just finished binge reading your last dining report and I'm excited to join this one in progress! I love eating at Disney!

Wow, thanks so much. Glad you enjoyed. And what do you know I love eating, I love disney, and I love eating at Disney too

 

[kastoney]

This is How We Roll

After a hot and exhausting day at Ep-A-Cot we knew Casey (and apparently Jason too) didn't have too much left in her.

So being the good parent I am we bought ourselves some time, goodwill, and dinner at something besides a quick service with some fun at the Volcano Pool. While on the monorail we'd seen some last minute reservations at Narcoossee's and Artist Point that were calling my signature name, ultimately we decided to stay close to home and try dinner at Kona.

We've eaten breakfast at Kona many times, but this was a dinner first. Clearly not everyone got the memo that we were not eating at Cinderella's Royal Table tonight.


We were seated quickly and it wasn't long before our very pleasant server arrived. Jason and I both commented that perhaps dinner was not the bad service diner experience that breakfast had become known for, but in not so much foreshadowing I'm sure you can guess how that went.

Wanting some sake or Japanese beer to go with the meal that awaited us, I was shocked to learn that they had nothing of the sort. The Kona beer flight was the best I could do. Sadly I can't find the picture, but that will give you a taste of what I was experiencing as the beer didn't come until well after we finished our appetizer. Per my very informative notes, I liked the fruity one.

Speaking of which, I'd read so many good things about the Ohana wings that I wanted to try them for ourselves. Meet the Kona (aka Ohana, aka Tambu Lounge) Sticky Wings.

These are Glazed Chicken Wings with tangy Mustard Drizzle and Toasted Sesame Seeds. I am thrilled to report they lived up to the hype. While I expected the wings to be spicy they were surpassingly sweet but not overly so. They were perfectly fried and crisp which made for a nice crunch on the outside and tender on the inside. They also appeared to be grilled after they were fried as they had lots of yummy crispy burnt bits on them. The mustard sauce didn't seem to add anything, but a nice beer sure hit the spot with them (oh wait, I didn't have a beer yet).

The wings also came out with the infamous Kona sweet bread and macadamia butter.

The butter didn't seem quite as indulgent as the one that comes on the pancakes (though I'm guessing they are probably the same), but it was a great accompaniment to the sweet bread that was reminiscent of King's Hawaiian.

Once my beer that shall remain pictureless arrived, Jason also got his very masculine drink.

This is the Kona Cooldown which is Vodka, Cranberry, and Chambord. Essentially this was just a souped up cranberry and vodka, but apparently when you're in a pink drink topped with a cherry kind of mood it can hit the spot.

For our entree's we all elected to share some slushi (aka sushi to Casey). First up we have the Kamikaze roll

This is an inside out Tuna Roll with Shrimp, Yellowtail, Avocado, and spicy Mayonnaise (we got the mayo on the side so Casey could eat some). This was exceedingly fresh though pretty much a typical rainbow roll that you can get at most sushi places. The "spicy" mayo was pretty bland but some wasabi quickly remedied that (as would have some sriracha but the server was no where to be found).

We also got the Shrimp Tempura Roll which is Tempura Shrimp and fresh Mango served with Liliko'i Sauce

This was not enough slushi and way too much frushi for my liking. The shrimp was nicely cooked but the sweet mango was just way too overwhelming that it felt more like dessert that dinner. Jason and I could only stomach one, but of course someone with a major sweet tooth was in slushi heaven.


Last up we have the winner of the bunch, the Tuna Tataki.

This Tuna is dusted with Togarashi and Sesame Seeds, Lightly Seared, Thinly Sliced, served with Ponzu Sauce. This had a perfect sear that just barely cooked the outside while leaving the fresh tuna on the inside. The sauce added some nice spice and the slaw served on the side some great crunch.

I wanted to try some dessert, but since we'd seen our server once when our slushi arrived and had been without alcohol for most of the meal we decided to high tail it out of there. In case you couldn't tell Kona was a definite disappointment. While the location was convenient, the service was just plain awful, and the sushi didn't even stack up against our local slushi joint. I'm willing to give them some concessions in the morning in the name of The Samoan and Bloody Mary's, but not at night. We did however save $14.20 with the Tables in Wonderland card. Just $75 till we break even.

After dinner we were in need of some sweets and alcohol so we headed over to the Mercantile for some provisions. We ended up with some yummy macadamia nuts and of course a bottle of the very Polynesian Chianti wine.

These hit the spot, though strange side note they had no cork screw in the store like most resorts have (and no screw caps either) so I had to go to Tambu lounge and ask the very busy bartenders to indulge my inner alcoholic and open it for me.

Up next...We join the force ​

 

[Wood Nymph]

I wanted to try some dessert, but since we'd seen our server once when our slushi arrived and had been without alcohol for most of the meal we decided to high tail it out of there. In case you couldn't tell Kona was a definite disappointment. While the location was convenient, the service was just plain awful, and the sushi didn't even stack up against our local slushi joint. I'm willing to give them some concessions in the morning in the name of The Samoan and Bloody Mary's, but not at night.

I've heard that the pot stickers are really good at Kona's but the poor service has me reluctant to dine here. You would think they would try and improve the service since it has been like that for years.

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

I have to say, we were pretty underwhelmed with Kona as well. We did breakfast (I know, I know, sorry to the Kona fans!), but I'd had a dinner ADR booked for ages and ended up cancelling because I just had a feeling it wasn't going to be what I wanted it to be. I was glad we *only* dropped $ on breakfast. Sorry Kona, but that was a one and done for us.

Oh, and our service was lousy and super slow too. Is that like their claim to fame?

Thank goodness the bartender came to your (and your wine's) rescue!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Your experience has been what my experience tends to be. The thing that sucks about it was that I used to have a few dishes I really loved before the dumbing down of the menus so I put up with hit. We skip it now because there are so many better options around!

 

[pepperandchips]

The sushi looks good but we have made the mistake of ordering that shrimp tempura roll as well and didn't care much for it either. I'm in the "still love Kona" camp but I've always been able to get a second beverage... and my beverage of choice there being the heavenly (and very potent) backscratcher, maybe that changes my opinion

Sounds like you guys may be done with kona for a while, which is sad, because aren't you pretty much a poly gal? (Wilderness lodge dalliances aside)

These hit the spot, though strange side note they had no cork screw in the store like most resorts have (and no screw caps either) so I had to go to Tambu lounge and ask the very busy bartenders to indulge my inner alcoholic and open it for me.

Rude! What kinda gift shop do they think they are?! Good thinking though. I myself tend to keep a wine key in my suitcase for "emergencies"... learned my lesson after I found myself in Rome (Italy not Georgia) with no way to open a bottle of 5 euro wine I'd picked up on my last night before flying back to the states - had to call down to the desk to ask if they had a wine key and they sent up a very nice gentleman to OPEN IT FOR ME and to my horror when we removed the foil the cork was plastic and BLUE! He had a good laugh at my expense but I enjoyed my Italian wine nevertheless. Not that my wine sensibilities are much improved, I'm still buying $10 wine from Trader Joe's which isn't far off from the price of the blue cork special given the exchange rate at the time

 

[ArielSRL]

Thanks for the update. Now I have learned that I probably don't ever want to do Kona dinner. Not that I had it on my list anyway (so many more I would like to try) but it is nice to read a review just to file away.

I had a wine key on my packing list for this past June but I forgot it! However, we were in a 1 bedroom villa at SSR and they had one. Nice! I wonder if the studios at WL have them. I just need to remember it next trip!