We Smelled It...It Had to be Eaten, Part II ... Ding, Dong, Done!!!

[D&R love Disney]

Tuesday, October 14th - Rose and Crown Pub ... The Beery Interlude

Drinking makes us hungry, especially after looping the World Showcase three times in an effort to drink slowly and walk off the booze we'd already consumed. I knew that we would need a break in our drinkfest with a chance to eat a meal at some point in the afternoon and had made a late lunch reservation at Rose and Crown, one of our favorite places to grab some tasty food and drink while visiting Epcot.

The nice thing about our three o'clock reservation on an uber-windy afternoon was that our request for a patio table didn't even cause the CM to bat an eyelash, much less roll her eyes into the back of her head while muttering under her breath about how everyone and their damned fourth cousin twice removed wanted to sit outside.

We were led to a primo table with a lagoon view and a very brisk breeze - since Jay and I have dined at Rose & Crown many times before we didn't have to spend much time on the menu. When our waiter showed up our first request was for lots of water and a beer sampler, specifically the Imperial Beer Sampler.

While the sampler didn't include anything that we haven't tried before, all five beers hit the spot and tasted great with the food we ordered. So what did it include? From left to right in the pictures that follow: Guinness, Boddingtons, Bass, Stella Artois, and Harp.

Beer us!

We need more beer over here!

The rule was that we had to have a picture taken with the booze, so for your viewing pleasure here is ...

Jay the two-fisted drinker.

Jay loves to get picures of me drinking dark, chewy beers ... a few short years ago I wouldn't have been caught holding the glass, much less taking a sip of the motor oil inside!

Guinness makes some people burp but it just makes me flirt.

I do not exaggerate when I say the afternoon was windy - check out the wave action on the world showcase lagoon. Everything on the patio tables was in danger of blowing away if not securely weighted down. It was kind of funny to watch until it was something on our table that tried to escape.

Surf's up!

After we placed our order, our waiter delivered a basket of bread and some butter to the table to hold us over until the food arrived. The bread at Rose & Crown is hit and miss in our opinion ... sometimes it's fresh and warm and soft and other times it's hard and chewy. We were on the receiving end of hard and chewy on this visit but we were so hungry that we really didn't care. And we had lots of beer to help soften the bread.

Fresh bread and spaceship earth butterballs!

I love the little balls of butter that look like Epcot's giant golfball! I doubt that's really what they're supposed to be, but Jay and I think it's funny to pretend that it's exactly what the kitchen intended.

We ordered an appetizer this afternoon that was new to us. In years past we've split the cheese plate but neither one of us have been overly impressed with the cheese assortment that Rose and Crown offers now compared with the bounty of 2002 when we first dined there. Instead of strangely colored cheeses that taste of wax, we selected the Smoked Scottish Salmon served on a Crispy Potato Cake w/Dill Aioli.

It's tasty!

This was a nice-sized appetizer with good flavor - the salmon was mild and sweet, the potato pancake provided nice texture with a hint of saltiness, and the dill sauce was creamy and slightly tart. It was just the right size for us to share.

There was never any question in my mind about what I was going to order for lunch ... I could smell it while we were waiting to check in for our reservation. I smelled it ... it had to be eaten!

Harry Ramsden's Fish & Chips - Battered Fresh Cod served with English Chips

We needs it ... we must haves it!

Harry Ramsden's fishie chippies are some of the best I've ever had ... tender, flaky, mild fish with a delightful batter and just a hint of grease enhanced by a sprinkling of salt and my cheap yellow mustard habit.

Jay's lunch selection carried on the theme he began at breakfast: mush ... mish ... mash! He ordered Bangers and Mash: Traditional English Sausages, with Braised Cabbage and Bacon, Mashed Potatoes and Shallot Gravy.

More mush means less chewing!

Well, I think it looks disgusting but since it wasn't my meal I guess it doesn't really matter, does it? Jay really enjoyed it and highly recommends it for all you lovers of mushy mixed foods out there.

At the end of our highly satisfying meal as we sat and watched the wind blow table trash all over the place we indulged ourselves in Do-Re-Mi-Beer ala' Homer Simpson because it seemed like the thing to do.

Why don't you join in and sing along with us?

Dough – the stuff … that buys my beer;
Ray – the guy that sells me beer;
Me – the guy … who drinks the beer;
Far – the distance to my beer;
So – I think I’ll have a beer;
La – La la la la la la beer;
Tea – No thanks, I’m drinking beer;
That will bring us back to …
(we each looked forlornly into an empty glass)
D’OH!

Thanks for reading!

Great lunch! I like beer but not dark beer, I'd be fine with the Bass to Harp part of the beer flight though.

I forgot about Home singing the beer song

 

[Robert P]

Excellent! Makes me want to add R&C for next trip, as we have yet to dine there.
Though I am puzzled by your impromptu quasi 'fun run' of looping the WS 3 times to counter the alcohol effects. I've never found alcohol and exercise (or alcohol and altitude for that matter) to be winning combinations, but maybe that's the secret, and explains why your reports are so well written, and mine resemble wild hallucinations from after a chili cookoff. I'll have to ask the space coyote about this, the next time I see him....

 

[DisneyMom5]

Mmmmm....

How many ounces IS that beer flight???

Until the pic of Jay holding the glasses I thought the glasses looked huge.

About 30 oz total???

I'm definately getting the fish next time. I had fish and steak, and wasn't overly impressed with the steak. John loved it though.

I will tell him about the beeeeeeeer fliiiiiiiight, but I bet he'll get another Black and Tan, in honor of the place that first introduced them to him.

 

[KristinAnne]

*Love* the Homer beer song! I am really looking forward to reading about how this afternoon ends. I think I would have lost all of my faculties and elected to swim back to my resort if it were me.

 

[BriarRosie]

Tuesday, October 14th - Rose and Crown Pub ... The Beery Interlude

Drinking makes us hungry, especially after looping the World Showcase three times in an effort to drink slowly and walk off the booze we'd already consumed. I knew that we would need a break in our drinkfest with a chance to eat a meal at some point in the afternoon and had made a late lunch reservation at Rose and Crown, one of our favorite places to grab some tasty food and drink while visiting Epcot.

Ah, it's been a few years since I've had anything at Rose and Crown. Good times.

The nice thing about our three o'clock reservation on an uber-windy afternoon was that our request for a patio table didn't even cause the CM to bat an eyelash, much less roll her eyes into the back of her head while muttering under her breath about how everyone and their damned fourth cousin twice removed wanted to sit outside.

That's because you weren't arriving for a 7:30pm ADR, silly.
It wouldn't have made me bat an eyelash, either. I enjoy eating out there during the daytime, too.

We were led to a primo table with a lagoon view and a very brisk breeze - since Jay and I have dined at Rose & Crown many times before we didn't have to spend much time on the menu. When our waiter showed up our first request was for lots of water and a beer sampler, specifically the Imperial Beer Sampler.

While the sampler didn't include anything that we haven't tried before, all five beers hit the spot and tasted great with the food we ordered. So what did it include? From left to right in the pictures that follow: Guinness, Boddingtons, Bass, Stella Artois, and Harp.

Beer us!

We need more beer over here!

Yowza! That looks like good beer to me! It was a very good beer...

The rule was that we had to have a picture taken with the booze, so for your viewing pleasure here is ...

Jay the two-fisted drinker.

His name was Brian McGee?

Jay loves to get picures of me drinking dark, chewy beers ... a few short years ago I wouldn't have been caught holding the glass, much less taking a sip of the motor oil inside!

Guinness makes some people burp but it just makes me flirt.

I used to get intimidated by dark beers like that, but not anymore. I really like porters and stouts.

I do not exaggerate when I say the afternoon was windy - check out the wave action on the world showcase lagoon. Everything on the patio tables was in danger of blowing away if not securely weighted down. It was kind of funny to watch until it was something on our table that tried to escape.

Surf's up!

After we placed our order, our waiter delivered a basket of bread and some butter to the table to hold us over until the food arrived. The bread at Rose & Crown is hit and miss in our opinion ... sometimes it's fresh and warm and soft and other times it's hard and chewy. We were on the receiving end of hard and chewy on this visit but we were so hungry that we really didn't care. And we had lots of beer to help soften the bread.

I would just be happy they were still serving bread at at that point, too. But now I'm more inclined to skip the bread altogether.

Fresh bread and spaceship earth butterballs!

I love the little balls of butter that look like Epcot's giant golfball! I doubt that's really what they're supposed to be, but Jay and I think it's funny to pretend that it's exactly what the kitchen intended.

Who knows? Maybe they are indeed made from Spaceship Earth butter molds. But hey, I'm a nostalgic purist when it comes to Disney butter. I remember the days when butter arrived in the shape of the full body of Mickey Mouse. "Let's decapitate Mickey and spread him on bread! Yummy!" I really miss those days.

We ordered an appetizer this afternoon that was new to us. In years past we've split the cheese plate but neither one of us have been overly impressed with the cheese assortment that Rose and Crown offers now compared with the bounty of 2002 when we first dined there. Instead of strangely colored cheeses that taste of wax, we selected the Smoked Scottish Salmon served on a Crispy Potato Cake w/Dill Aioli.

It's tasty!

This was a nice-sized appetizer with good flavor - the salmon was mild and sweet, the potato pancake provided nice texture with a hint of saltiness, and the dill sauce was creamy and slightly tart. It was just the right size for us to share.

That looks fabulous. I would have wanted to eat that. Lox on a latke!

There was never any question in my mind about what I was going to order for lunch ... I could smell it while we were waiting to check in for our reservation. I smelled it ... it had to be eaten!

Harry Ramsden's Fish & Chips - Battered Fresh Cod served with English Chips

We needs it ... we must haves it!

Harry Ramsden's fishie chippies are some of the best I've ever had ... tender, flaky, mild fish with a delightful batter and just a hint of grease enhanced by a sprinkling of salt and my cheap yellow mustard habit.

D'OH! This is where I go off on another rant. I totally refuse to order the fish and chips if I'm eating at the restaurant when I am fully aware that I can get it either at the take-out window next to the pub or inside the pub at the bar itself. I've done both of those options and know what the price is
vs. the restaurant menu price for the same damn fish. Ok, I'm done know.
Rant off.

Jay's lunch selection carried on the theme he began at breakfast: mush ... mish ... mash! He ordered Bangers and Mash: Traditional English Sausages, with Braised Cabbage and Bacon, Mashed Potatoes and Shallot Gravy.

More mush means less chewing!

Well, I think it looks disgusting but since it wasn't my meal I guess it doesn't really matter, does it? Jay really enjoyed it and highly recommends it for all you lovers of mushy mixed foods out there.

I've actually ordered that before, but my all time favorite menu item was the
pie sampler, more specifically the chicken and leek pie. It was really excellent.

At the end of our highly satisfying meal as we sat and watched the wind blow table trash all over the place we indulged ourselves in Do-Re-Mi-Beer ala' Homer Simpson because it seemed like the thing to do.

Why don't you join in and sing along with us?

Dough – the stuff … that buys my beer;
Ray – the guy that sells me beer;
Me – the guy … who drinks the beer;
Far – the distance to my beer;
So – I think I’ll have a beer;
La – La la la la la la beer;
Tea – No thanks, I’m drinking beer;
That will bring us back to …
(we each looked forlornly into an empty glass)
D’OH!

Thanks for reading!

LOL! The Adventurers Club had a very similar version, probably adapted from the Simpsons version:

Dough, with which, I buy my beer;
Ray, the guy I buy beer from;
Me, the guy I buy beer for;
Far, the distance to the store!
So, I think I'll have a beer!
La, la la la la la la...
Tea? No thanks, I'll have a beer!
Which will bring us back to dough!

Uh, Catherine and I taught a boatload of tourists on the pootastic ship that does the Grand Floridian/Polynesian/Magic Kingdom route this song, mainly to get the group singing "99 bottles of beer on the wall" to stop singing that song and sing this instead. It was a much nicer boat ride after that.

 

[TigerKat]

We're going to try R&C for the first time for lunch in October. The fish & chips are calling my name.....

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

Love the beer song! We went back to R&C after a couple year hiatus this past December and it was a 50/50 mix on what we thought. I can confirm that the cheese platter is still sucky, but the lamb entree was fabulous. That smoked salmon you guys had looked really good and I don't think you can ever go wrong with the fish and chips.

 

[whogirl'smom]

Hi Jamie! Thanks for reading ... you didn't get your margarita in October either?

It's okay on that one--I had to make a hard choice that day and I chose my Diva wine in Germany! (That I can find here in my teeny package store--what's up with that?)

It was Harris Teeter where I saw it Move on back here, I think we could have fun hanging out together

I'm jealous. Now I have Teeter envy. Where is Stallings? We used to live in Asheville.

 

[whogirl'smom]

Harris Teeter sounds like the opening act for Lynyrd Skynyrd.

My friends used to think I was a grocery store snob for going there instead of Ingles or Bi-Lo. It's near Biltmore Forest, if that tells you anything!

 

[cntkg1]

ANOTHER meal I'd like B. I see a pattern starting here. I just might like this F&W thingy.

Great update woman.

 

[Krissalee]

R&C is our traditional arrival day lunch - got to have a pint or two, or ehm, five with our food to start the trip off right! Especially after an early morning flight. Only 16 days to go until we are sitting lakeside at R&C!

 

[oybolshoi]

Good start

Thanks!

I'm really not a beer person (I prefer hard liquour ), but DH always makes me try stuff at R&C and I usually end uplike most of it.

I like beer but it's taken years of Jay encouraging me to try new stuff for me to reach the point I'm at now.

Well, DUH! I didn't think there was anything else on menu

They used to have a really tasty guinness beef stew on the menu ... along with many other things that seem to have been done away with.

My mistake, I forgot they had mish mash on the menu.

If mish-mash is an option Jay will usually order it!

TOO FUNNY!

It's great, isn't it?

Great lunch! I like beer but not dark beer, I'd be fine with the Bass to Harp part of the beer flight though.

I forgot about Home singing the beer song

Hi Deb! Thanks for reading ... and as for the beer, I pretty much stuck with the other four in the sampler and let Jay keep the Guinness for himself.

Excellent! Makes me want to add R&C for next trip, as we have yet to dine there.

Though I am puzzled by your impromptu quasi 'fun run' of looping the WS 3 times to counter the alcohol effects. I've never found alcohol and exercise (or alcohol and altitude for that matter) to be winning combinations, but maybe that's the secret, and explains why your reports are so well written, and mine resemble wild hallucinations from after a chili cookoff. I'll have to ask the space coyote about this, the next time I see him....

Hello Mr. Scorpio! I can't believe you of all people haven't dined at Rose & Crown ... you'll really enjoy it once you get there.

Our approach was to drink slowly and enjoy the day ... I know we did stuff in between drinks but I can't remember what any of it was!!!

And your reports are well written, too ... don't be so hard on yourself. I love reading your trippies!

Mmmmm....

How many ounces IS that beer flight???

Until the pic of Jay holding the glasses I thought the glasses looked huge.

About 30 oz total???

I'm definately getting the fish next time. I had fish and steak, and wasn't overly impressed with the steak. John loved it though.

I will tell him about the beeeeeeeer fliiiiiiiight, but I bet he'll get another Black and Tan, in honor of the place that first introduced them to him.

Number of ounces? Beats me ...

The fish & chips are terrific ... I hope you enjoy them! As for your hubby ... why can't he have a black and tan and an imperial sampler? That's the Jay and Bendy way!

*Love* the Homer beer song! I am really looking forward to reading about how this afternoon ends. I think I would have lost all of my faculties and elected to swim back to my resort if it were me.

The afternoon ends on kind of a bad note but then we were able to save it later in the evening ...

Ah, it's been a few years since I've had anything at Rose and Crown. Good times.

That's because you weren't arriving for a 7:30pm ADR, silly.
It wouldn't have made me bat an eyelash, either. I enjoy eating out there during the daytime, too.

Rose & Crown has always been good times for us, too ... even with Grimace around. As for the patio ... as long as the weather is decent I love to eat out there ... love the view and the fresh air.

Yowza! That looks like good beer to me! It was a very good beer...

His name was Brian McGee?

He stayed up listening to Queen ...

I used to get intimidated by dark beers like that, but not anymore. I really like porters and stouts.

I'm developing a greater appreciation for them ... especially with dessert.

I would just be happy they were still serving bread at at that point, too. But now I'm more inclined to skip the bread altogether.

We still ate it even though it wasn't as good as some we've had there before. I'm not going to hold it against them since everything else was so good.

Who knows? Maybe they are indeed made from Spaceship Earth butter molds. But hey, I'm a nostalgic purist when it comes to Disney butter. I remember the days when butter arrived in the shape of the full body of Mickey Mouse. "Let's decapitate Mickey and spread him on bread! Yummy!" I really miss those days.

Ooooooooh .... we've never seen Mickey butter. Have you a picture to share?

That looks fabulous. I would have wanted to eat that. Lox on a latke!

It was terrific!

D'OH! This is where I go off on another rant. I totally refuse to order the fish and chips if I'm eating at the restaurant when I am fully aware that I can get it either at the take-out window next to the pub or inside the pub at the bar itself. I've done both of those options and know what the price is vs. the restaurant menu price for the same damn fish. Ok, I'm done know.
Rant off.

Yeah, I know that it's cheaper to order at Ramsden's but I figure we're paying for the table, the plate, the silverware, the server, the multitudes of beer choices. And we had our DDE discount and honestly we were too buzzed to care very much.

But I don't disagree with you - you make a fair point.

I've actually ordered that before, but my all time favorite menu item was the pie sampler, more specifically the chicken and leek pie. It was really excellent.

Jay has ordered the pie sampler before too and that was also his favorite ... until the Disney Menu Mangling Team got their hands on R&C.

LOL! The Adventurers Club had a very similar version, probably adapted from the Simpsons version:

Dough, with which, I buy my beer;
Ray, the guy I buy beer from;
Me, the guy I buy beer for;
Far, the distance to the store!
So, I think I'll have a beer!
La, la la la la la la...
Tea? No thanks, I'll have a beer!
Which will bring us back to dough!

Uh, Catherine and I taught a boatload of tourists on the pootastic ship that does the Grand Floridian/Polynesian/Magic Kingdom route this song, mainly to get the group singing "99 bottles of beer on the wall" to stop singing that song and sing this instead. It was a much nicer boat ride after that.

Excellent!!!

We're going to try R&C for the first time for lunch in October. The fish & chips are calling my name.....

I hope you'll like it - R&C has always been one of our favorite Epcot restaurants.

Love the beer song! We went back to R&C after a couple year hiatus this past December and it was a 50/50 mix on what we thought. I can confirm that the cheese platter is still sucky, but the lamb entree was fabulous. That smoked salmon you guys had looked really good and I don't think you can ever go wrong with the fish and chips.

Thanks for reading! I'm sorry to hear that the cheese platter still sucks wind ... I'm afraid that's unlikely to change any time soon. But the salmon we ordered was excellent as were my fish and chips.

It's okay on that one--I had to make a hard choice that day and I chose my Diva wine in Germany! (That I can find here in my teeny package store--what's up with that?)

I'm jealous. Now I have Teeter envy. Where is Stallings? We used to live in Asheville.

Diva wine? Wut is das?

My friends used to think I was a grocery store snob for going there instead of Ingles or Bi-Lo. It's near Biltmore Forest, if that tells you anything!

Biltmore ... as in the fancy-schmancy estate bult by the Vanderbilts?

ANOTHER meal I'd like B. I see a pattern starting here. I just might like this F&W thingy.

Great update woman.

Hiya, Goosie! Thanks for reading ... I'm glad you finally saw something you'd enjoy!

R&C is our traditional arrival day lunch - got to have a pint or two, or ehm, five with our food to start the trip off right! Especially after an early morning flight. Only 16 days to go until we are sitting lakeside at R&C!

We love R&C ... it was good to get back there on this last trip since we'd skipped it on the last couple of visits. I hope you have a great trip and a great lunch once you're there!

 

[whogirl'smom]

Diva wine? Wut is das?



Biltmore ... as in the fancy-schmancy estate bult by the Vanderbilts?

http://www.randolphwinecellars.com/r/products/weingut-gunderloch-diva-riesling-spatlese-2006

Here is the Diva Riesling--this is the one I tried on our first Disney trip and then couldn't remember the name. This year I wrote it down. It's so good and crisp and sweet! We scored a little table outside by the fountain in Germany and just had a nice rest. Ahh.

Yes, Biltmore Forest is the fancy-schmancy neighborhood that borders Biltmore property; it is actually it's own little incorporated town with its own police, town hall, etc. This is where the old money is and where Andie McDowell has/had? a home when I lived there. It's really beautiful with huge older homes on large wooded lots. When we were looking for our first house, there was a teeny little house (probably a carriage house) for only $135,000. It was so out of our range then, but we look back now and think, wow what resale value that would have had!

The fish and chips look very yum! We always get some at the CS place. 'The light ale looks very interesting, too. I wonder if there menu will change again this year? I would have to forego an appetizer to have room for the wonderful Sticky Toffee Pudding. I remember this day and the wind because it's the day we were supposed to go to the beach and they were having high seas and high winds warning all along the Cocoa Beach area.

 

[oybolshoi]

http://www.randolphwinecellars.com/r/products/weingut-gunderloch-diva-riesling-spatlese-2006

Here is the Diva Riesling--this is the one I tried on our first Disney trip and then couldn't remember the name. This year I wrote it down. It's so good and crisp and sweet! We scored a little table outside by the fountain in Germany and just had a nice rest. Ahh.

Something tells me you told me about this before and I forgot ...

Yes, Biltmore Forest is the fancy-schmancy neighborhood that borders Biltmore property; it is actually it's own little incorporated town with its own police, town hall, etc. This is where the old money is and where Andie McDowell has/had? a home when I lived there. It's really beautiful with huge older homes on large wooded lots. When we were looking for our first house, there was a teeny little house (probably a carriage house) for only $135,000. It was so out of our range then, but we look back now and think, wow what resale value that would have had!

I've always wanted to see Biltmore. We actually drove past Asheville once on our way home from florida ... took the scenic route through the Smoky Mountains and Gatlinburg ... but I couldn't convince my parents to stop and let me experience the Gilded Age up close and personal.

I was so deprived.

The fish and chips look very yum! We always get some at the CS place. 'The light ale looks very interesting, too. I wonder if there menu will change again this year? I would have to forego an appetizer to have room for the wonderful Sticky Toffee Pudding. I remember this day and the wind because it's the day we were supposed to go to the beach and they were having high seas and high winds warning all along the Cocoa Beach area.

The fish & chips at R&C are the same as the ones you'd purchase next door at the CS place (Harry Ramsden's), so as Lori pointed out you'd pay a little more to eat them at the restaurant but they are delicious!

Was the wind crazy that day or what? It felt kind of good out in the sun but it was strong.

 

[DisneyMom5]

The reason I would probably put my foot down on John having both the Black and Tan AND the beer flight, is that he has to help me get 7 kids back to the room, and he doesn't fit in the stroller.

 

[oybolshoi]

The reason I would probably put my foot down on John having both the Black and Tan AND the beer flight, is that he has to help me get 7 kids back to the room, and he doesn't fit in the stroller.

What if you rented one of those double wide strollers that Disney likes to price gouge its guests for? I bet your older kids could help push.

 

[oybolshoi]

Tuesday, October 14th - We Tried and We Failed, the Lesson is ... Drown Your Sorrows in Sushi!

From Rose and Crown we wandered ...

Where?

I don't know.

Why?

Old age and alcohol are a lethal combination.



Drink #6: Viking Coffee, Norway

Eventually we found ourselves in the land of Erik the Red and cranky trolls; since our choices were pretty limited and we were feeling a bit drowsy thanks to those earlier drinks, coffee seemed like a good pick-us-up.

Hoooooo-eeeeey! This must be the world renowned Viking blend!

This $8 plastic coffee cup was filled to the brim with hot coffee, Kamora Coffee liqueur, and Bailey's Irish Cream. When the CM asked me if I wanted whipped cream on that I responded with, "How much for the entire can?"

I think I shocked five years worth of English language study out of that poor CM ... he had the best deer-in-the-headlights look on his face I've seen in a long time.

Jay broke the stunned silence in the Kringla Bakery by stepping around me and saying, "She's harmless; really. No need for concern."

We took our coffee outside and found a nice shady area where we could stretch out and watch the world and half-a-billion strollers go by. This was a wonderful drink ... I've grown to appreciate the allure of coffee-flavored-coffee, especially when it cleverly masks the alcohol hidden within ... and our coffee was strong and flavorful with just a touch of creamy sweetness.

Jay and I felt re-energized by the time we were finished and were more than ready for the last five countries in our challenge. Unfortunately our next stop was China and here things came to a crashing halt.

Drink #7: Plum Wine Green Tea Cooler, China

We've had this drink before ... it has always been one of the most refreshing drinks offered at any of the F&W booths and we look forward to having it every year.

Or I should say we used to look forward to drinking it.

It was awful ... only one rung above that vile conconction being sold at the Poland booth. The redeeming factor in China was that this drink was twice the size of the one in Poland for only half the price. It tasted like a plastic cup filled with syrup and ice ... I defy anyone to find the tea in this drink.

Who is responsible for this swill?

When ordering the plum wine poison, Jay also picked up some of the dessert being sold at China's F&W booth: Ginger Ice Cream. I'm not a big fan of ginger and I thought this tasted pretty nasty ... cold creamy ginger isn't any better in my book than pickled ginger, so Jay was able to enjoy this all by himself.

Dessert does not make the drink taste any less swill-like.

The saddest part about our drink was that it was so bad we tossed it out and immediately agreed that there was no way we could continue our quest without experiencing a reversal of fortune the likes of which hadn't been seen since last year's F&W Festival Viral Agent Adventure.

We know when we're licked.

So thanks a lot China.

First you produce lots of cheap toys made with shoddy materials and lead-based paint ... note to America: why else do you think you could buy these items so inexpensively at Wal-Mart?; then you trot out unknown, under-age gymnasts at the Olympics to steal gold medals from team USA ... note to the IOC: oppressive regimes forge documents all the time, do you think the rest of us are too stupid to know?; and then you go and ruin our favorite F&W drink, derailing our attempt to conquer Epcot's world showcase through alcohol consumption ... note to Jay and Bendy: next time you're in China order the singing toe beer ... at least that can be burped away quickly.

We made our way to Epcot's front entrance and the resort bus stop holding pens where we only had to wait fifteen minutes for a bus to take us back to Saratoga Springs. Jay and I discussed the approach we thought we'd need to try in October 2009, when we would once again take on Epcot's world showcase and all its alcoholic delights. We're convinced that the best strategy may be to stick with beer, ocassionally venturing over into wine when absolutely necessary.

I guess we'll see how that works in another eight months or so.

The last self-portrait of the day:

Jay and Bendy: sadder, wiser, and tipsier ...

After doing things that frighten bedbugs and taking a late afternoon nap, Jay and I were hungry ... again. I told the hubby that I was jonesin for sushi, especially after seeing some stunning sushi platters the night before at Wolfgang Puck's. We walked over to the West Side from the resort and immediately found all the people who had been missing in action the previous evening.

It had to have been at least 8PM by the time we arrived at Wolfgang's and there was a line out the door - we almost walked away and tried something else but we realized that we'd have to wait no matter where we ended up. And so we stood in line for about ten minutes before realizing that if we wanted to eat at the sushi bar it was "first-come, first-serve" rather than "wait 60-minutes for the next available table."

The dining gods smiled on us ... two spots opened up at the sushi bar and we pounced faster than a kitty stalking a catnip mouse!

Puck's was busy, busy, busy but our server did a nice job of keeping an eye on us and our drinks. Our first priority was to order some alcohol to wash away the last bitter vestiges of our Chinese defeat. Jay stuck with beer and ordered a Kirin Ichiban while I took the advice of a young lady sitting next to me and selected a Wildberry Lemonade.

What, you ask, is Wildberry Lemonade?

It's stolichnaya blueberry and raspberry vodkas mixed with strawberry and lemonade and it is fantastic! The perfect girly drink with a kick and very refreshing - I highly recommend this one if you ever find yourself dining at Puck's some day.

Always try to end the day with good booze.

After much head scratching and sushi ogling, Jay and I chose a spicy tuna roll, a california roll, and three nigiri selections: yellowtail tuna, ahi tuna, and salmon.

It's all so good ... I wish we were eating it right now!

Mother of Pearl!

This was, without a doubt, the best sushi of the entire trip. Fresh, delicate, flavorful ... we didn't want to stop eating and that's saying something. We struck up a conversation with the couple seated on my right - turns out they were from Yorkshire, England, and had just arrived in Orlando that very day. We eyeballed their plates ... they eyeballed our plates ... we talked about other food joys in Orlando and in between it all we watched in amazement as the sushi chefs performed their magical fish arts.

We tried to get a decent picture of the action going on behind the bar, but those guys move fast! Still, to give you an idea of what it's like at the sushi bar here's a not-very-good picture...

Slap a tourist with some more fish, would ya?

I don't know if it was the very obvious pleasure we and our neighbors were taking in our sushi or if we caught the sushi-man on a good night, but either way we were suddenly presented with a surprise ...

Crab flower!!!

Jay and I received one of these and so did our un-named British friends.

A fabulous and free snow crab sushi flower - one for each of us and almost too pretty to eat, they ended up being too tasty not to eat!!!

Now you might think that we'd had enough, finally, for one day. But our friends had ordered one of the chef's sushi specials and it looked so darn good that we had to order one too. So the last plate of the night was a rainbow roll, which was a california inside-out roll with tuna, whitefish, salmon, shrimp and avocado.

Somewhere over the rainbow...there are more fish waiting to be eaten.

I know that I sound like a broken record, but Wolfgang Puck's sushi bar was producing amazing fishies that night. It all tasted incredible and when I say that, I want you all to understand that I don't use sauce, wasabi, or ginger with my sushi - I just eat the roll or the fish'n'rice as presented. The flavor was absolutely amazing and just thinking about it has set my salivary glands a droolin'.

Jay and I couldn't have been happier with the way our evening turned out and we wholeheartedly gave Wolfgang Puck's sushi bar our highest rating: MONSTROUS FINE!!!!

Friends, if you like sushi you simply must visit Puck's and get yourselves smacked upside the head with some raw fishies. It's just that good.

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

Ok ALL of that sushi looks AMAZING! I want some now! LOL And you got all of my favorites especially the spicy tuna!

Last time we ate at Wolfgang Puck's it was a bit of a miss, but we might just try it again now solely for sushi

 

[Tink rules]

You know... I swear one of these days you two are going to sprout gills!!!

 

[cntkg1]

Loved the self portrait B. You wear your hat in that position around here and you might be finding yourself being initiated into some unsavory gang activity. Then again, you could probably talk your way out of it with some sushi conversation. Talk about a deer in headlights!

Nice reads B.