We Came, We Ate, We Conquered Food & Wine--With Lots of Pictures! Complete

[swankybeth]

The trip: Oct 17-21
Why: WDWCP 5 Year Reunion with some of my closest friends that I made there
The cast: Me (of course), Beth, 26 yrs old, probably the most adventurous eater of the group
Kevin, turned 28 on the trip (you'll see his bleary eyed birthday breakfast on this review)
Becca, 26, got sick at Le Cellier (but that didn't ruin her review of it)
Ruben, 25, was sick almost the entire trip with a cold

Here's a group shot of the cast:

L-R: Me, Becca, Kevin, Ruben

Most of the reviews are counter service and of the Food & Wine booths. We did 2 table service meals-Le Cellier lunch and Chef Mickey's breakfast.

I also want to apologize in advance for the quality of some of the pictures. Some were because it was dark out at Food & Wine and some were just because I felt bad torturing my friends and wanted to take a quick picture before I "let" them eat!

Any questions or comments, please feel free to ask!

Day 1

End Zone food court, All Star Sports
My first night of the trip was spent at All Star Sports. We were staying at Music the rest of the trip but I wanted to complete my All Stars Trifecta. I have to say, it was a lot nicer than I thought it would be. I'm not a huge sports fan except for baseball but I still enjoyed the theming. It was almost 11 am when I was all checked in and ready to head to Epcot to meet up with everyone. I realized I hadn't eaten yet and I was up since the ungodly hour of 3:30 am, so I stopped off for a late breakfast. I had the kid's Mickey waffles with bacon. It came with an unsweetened applesauce and I chose an apple juice box for my drink. I love, love, love Mickey waffles. I found some sugarfree syrup on the toppings bar and used that on top of the waffles. The bacon was nice and crispy. I saved the applesauce for the next day. It was a good breakfast and not overly filling which was good because we had Le Cellier coming up at 2:20 pm!

Will post more later, I have to get ready for work!

 

[wilma-bride]

Good start - looking forward to more

 

[suzimar57]

bring on the report and the photos!!!!

 

[my3disneygirls]

Can't wait!

 

[TigerKat]

Signing on.....

 

[Busymom85]

Thanks for posting. Looking forward to more.

 

[Ciciwoowoo]

Looking forward to reading more!

 

[Minniespal]

Great start, looking forward to reading more.

 

[mom2fivecs]

Bring on the reviews!!!

 

[swankybeth]

Day 1 continued

Le Cellier lunch

The only reservation we could get a couple of months out was for a 2:20 pm lunch, so we took it! It was brutally hot that day so it was nice to get out of the sun for awhile. I decided to order two appetizers for my meal. I had the shrimp cocktail and the beefsteak tomato stack. I thought the old presentation was really cute where they had it in a Chinese take out container. It is now served in a regular bowl with chopsticks. The wasabi slaw is at the bottom of the bowl and topped with the shrimp which have a slightly spicy sauce on them. I didn't count the shrimp but it seemed like a fairly generous portion. The whole dish was spicy but not overly so and it had a pleasing flavor. The tomato stack was okay, I liked it better before when it had spinach and mushrooms between the layers. Now there are 2 small pieces of mozzarella on either side of the stack and onions take the place of the spinach and mushrooms. It was drizzled with a yuzu vinaigrette which was thick and syrupy and delicious. Overall it was kind of plain and mostly just the flavor of tomato which got boring after awhile. I asked for more vinaigrette to flavor it up a bit but it didn't do much.
Becca ordered the Canadian cheddar cheese soup. I told her to dip the pretzel bread in it and taste it that way too. She thought I was crazy at first but tried it and she really liked it. She loved the soup. For her entree she had the seared salmon salad which comes with frisee, poached pears, basmati rice, candied walnuts and bacon-sherry vinaigrette. It looked really good but I didn't taste it. She really didn't taste it much either. She had a couple of bites and then started feeling really sick. She was light headed and nauseous. She was sick the rest of the meal. We weren't sure if the heat had gotten the best of her or what, but she had a couple of more episodes like this the rest of the trip.
Ruben ordered the grilled chicken breast sandwich which came on top of an English muffin, it was topped with mushrooms, peppers, cheddar cheese and garlic mayonnaise. He had his choice of fries or potato salad to accompany it, he chose fries. I didn't taste this but he really loved it and ate every bite.
Kevin had the Prince Edward Island mussels which come with applewood smoked bacon and potato chowder. He thought the chowder was similar to the cheese soup. He really liked the mussels but there were some bits of shell that he was complaining about.
Overall the meal was good but not great. I think I prefer the dinner menu even though I only ordered appetizers, I still checked out the entire lunch menu.

Sunshine Seasons snack

We stopped here briefly so Becca could get an orange juice as she was starting to feel better. Ruben also got a strawberry shortcake which I also tasted. It was very light and very creamy.

Food and Wine Festival Booths dinner

Festival Welcome Center
We stopped off at the festival center mostly so I could see what has become of my beloved Wonders of Life pavillion. It was pretty sad, I really miss Cranium Command. It was set up for demonstrations and had a wine tasting bar. There were also places to purchase bottles of wine and Food & Wine merchandise. We all got a glass of our favorite, Banfi Rosa Regale. For those who haven't tried it yet, do it! You can purchase it by the glass in the Italy wine shop. It's a sweet, sparkling wine.

Mexico
Chilaquiles-chicken and cheese baked in tortillas topped with a verde sauce and sour cream
Quesadilla con chorizo-spicy sausage and cheese inside a flour tortilla

The chilaquiles were delicious, one of the best things we tried at Food and Wine. I had this twice. The chicken was very tender and went well with the sauces. The quesadilla was kind of boring and pretty much what you would expect.

Spain
Papas con chorizo-potatoes and spicy sausage in kind of a stew
Taste of Spain-Marcona almonds, chorizo, Spanish olives
Wine-Bodegas Julian Chivite Gran Feudo Rose

The papas con chorizo was really disappointing, it lacked flavor and Kevin said it best when he said it tasted like chili. The taste of Spain was a surprising hit. The almonds were delicious, the chorizo was flavorful and the olives were good because they weren't overly salty. The rose was pretty bland.

Ireland
Chilled potato and leek soup with an Irish cheddar cheese stick
Boxty with bacon chips and Kerrygold garlic and fresh herb Irish butter
Irish cheese plate and brown bread with apple chutney and Kerrygold Irish butter
Wine-Bunratty Meade honey wine
Alcohol-Frozen Bailey's Irish coffee

Ireland gets mixed reviews. The soup should not have been served cold. The flavors seemed like they would have benefited from being heated. We all just tasted this one and didn't finish it. The boxty was a delicious potato pancake stuffed with bacon and topped with butter. Yum! The cheese plate was ok. All of the cheeses tasted the same. The apple chutney was unrecognizable as a chutney and as something apple flavored. The brown bread was dry as anything and we didn't try the butter on it because it didn't seem worth it. The meade was good, it was definitely sweet but it was tasty. The frozen coffees were awesome, they had the right balance of alcohol and coffee flavors. I had this twice.

China
Chicken Sha Cha-skewered chicken with peanut sauce
Green Tea Plum Wine cooler

The chicken was all dark meat and the sauce tasted nothing like peanut. It was not something any of us enjoyed. The plum wine cooler was very refreshing and yummy. We got the wine cooler twice also.

Poland
Kielbasa and potato pierogies
Wine (not pictured)-Nalewka Babuni raspberry wine
This was also served with sauerkraut. It was good, nothing special. It was a typical rendition of Polish food.
The wine was so strong, they should have labeled it as an alcohol shot. Very sweet and no one liked it.

End Zone food court late dinner
When I finally got back to the hotel I was hungry so I ordered a kid's pasta dinner minus the meatball. It was spaghetti with marinara sauce. For my sides I picked carrots and grapes. I had it packed up to go so I could eat it in my room. It didn't come with any grated cheese which I should have asked for. It was pretty good and satisfied my pasta craving. I am always very critical of Italian food at WDW but I would recommend this dish.

Day 2 coming soon!

 

[KatGarcia]

We ;eave in 3 days for F&W and I'm absorbing all I can to fill the time before I finally get to eat the food I'm drooling over pictures of! Great reviews!

 

[2manypets]

I can't wait for more reviews. You're pics are making me hungry!

 

[Luv2Roam]

Great photos and review!

 

[wilma-bride]

Great photos - I agee about the Le cellier lunch menu - I think it's more limited than the dinner.

 

[DLo]

Enjoying your reviews. Looking forward to the rest.

 

[Ms. Heimlich]

I am enjoying your reviews -

We ate some of the same things at the F&WF and had many of the same reactions - I agree the Chiliquiles were really good and the Sha Cha did NOT taste like peanuts.

Keep up the great reviews and pics!

Ms. H

 

[swankybeth]

Day 2
Breakfast
Intermission Food Court All Star Music
I had the kid's breakfast platter which came with scrambled eggs, bacon, unsweetened applesauce and an apple juice box. The eggs were good, the bacon was nice and crispy. I saved the juice box for later on in the parks.

Lunch
Restaurantosaurus AK
The Times Guide said they opened at 10:30 so we headed over at around 11:15 but the restaurant didn't actually open until 11:30. We waited a few minutes on the porch and then they let everyone in around 11:25. I normally don't eat McDonald's so this was a rarity for me. It was really the only choice because I didn't want Pizzafari or Flame Tree BBQ. I used to eat at Tusker House for the salmon, but no more. I ordered the 10 piece Chicken McNugget meal which came with fries, and a Diet Coke. Becca and Kevin had the same thing. Ruben had the bacon burger. The food was fresh and hot and for someone who hadn't had McDonald's in months, it was tasty. Everyone enjoyed their meals. They had a decent fixins bar plus all of the McDonald's condiments (sweet and sour sauce, etc.). We arrived at a good time because as we were sitting there, the lines for food were getting longer and longer and tables were becoming scarce.

Snack
Ice cream cart
During the middle of the oppressively hot day, Ruben stopped at an ice cream cart for a cup of soft serve vanilla. I didn't taste it but he enjoyed it.

Dinner
Pinocchio Village Haus MK
We went to the 10/18 MNSSHP and before the party officially started we stopped off for some Figaro Fries. They are absolutely one of my favorite guilty pleasures. Fries topped with lettuce, tomato, ranch dressing, cheese and bacon. Becca, Kevin and I all had an order. Ruben decided to try the Philly cheese steak sandwich served with apple slices. We all loved our fries and Ruben said the sandwich was good. The fries were so filling, we didn't eat anything else but Halloween candy for dinner.

Day 3 coming soon!

 

[DLo]

Ok, the lettuce on the fries throws me off. I love all those ingredients and can see all the other stuff. I guess I like my lettuce crisp and it seems like it would wilt with the heat of the fries. Is it really good? My mom prefers dipping her fries in ranch dressing instead of ketchup.

 

[swankybeth]

Ok, the lettuce on the fries throws me off. I love all those ingredients and can see all the other stuff. I guess I like my lettuce crisp and it seems like it would wilt with the heat of the fries. Is it really good? My mom prefers dipping her fries in ranch dressing instead of ketchup.

The Figaro Fries are really, really good. They make them to order so you could just ask for no lettuce. The lettuce is warm from the fries but not in a gross, too wilted way. I would definitely try them!

 

[DLo]

Thanks for the info. In less than 2 weeks, we will be there. I think I may have to try those fries. As soon as I mention ranch dressing and fries, my mom will help me eat them.