"What exactly is a schnitzel!?" March 2015 DR - November Trip Plans 9/2

[WildGinger]

I am salivating over Ohana, YUM! I love love Ohana. I can't wait to go back in April. I am going to have to check out the cookie too at the Writer's Stop...for some reason I never make it over there. That is too bad about Raglan Road So many people LOVE that place. I still haven't made it there either!

 

[Vernie822]

I am salivating over Ohana, YUM! I love love Ohana. I can't wait to go back in April. I am going to have to check out the cookie too at the Writer's Stop...for some reason I never make it over there. That is too bad about Raglan Road So many people LOVE that place. I still haven't made it there either!

I am Ohana-obsessed. Maybe because it was the first meal my fiance and I had on our first trip together.. and we were starving, and it was just delicious. But it was just as good the second time!

I would have never known that Writer's Stop served those awesome cookies (or anything) if it weren't for the Disboards and dining reports. Now I'm a carrot cookie convert.. MMmmmm.

I really had such high hopes for Raglan Road. The service was pretty poor and it just overall wasn't a great meal. The dessert was AMAZING though! I know plenty of people have great experiences, but ours didn't live up to my expectations! I'm sure I'll go back someday. I have to get more of that bread pudding.

 

[han22735]

Love your dining report so far. I can't wait to try that cookie from the writers shop in september....I had no Idea that place even exsisted.

 

[kastoney]

Yikes, your Raglan Road experience certainly sounds less than ideal. Good news though, now we all official know what a schnitzel is and won't have to learn by ordering one. And for the record, I don't think there is any chance those beans would have improved the dish. Beans, on fried pork, with an egg, and arugula??? No thank you

 

[RunnerMommyof4]

I'm with you I'm basically 100% German. All 4 grandparents were born there but I am not a schnitzel fan or warm potato salad either lol Raglan Road is one restaurant I'm just "not" dying to try. Sorry your meal wasn't better.

 

[Vernie822]

Love your dining report so far. I can't wait to try that cookie from the writers shop in september....I had no Idea that place even exsisted.

Thank you! I had no idea it did either - without reading about it on Disboards, I would have never tried it.

Yikes, your Raglan Road experience certainly sounds less than ideal. Good news though, now we all official know what a schnitzel is and won't have to learn by ordering one. And for the record, I don't think there is any chance those beans would have improved the dish. Beans, on fried pork, with an egg, and arugula??? No thank you

Hahaha. The schnitzel was totally less than ideal. I really did think that the beans would've improved it, but I'm glad you agree. Just an odd pairing of foods. I'll never let a fried egg sell me on a dish again!

I'm with you I'm basically 100% German. All 4 grandparents were born there but I am not a schnitzel fan or warm potato salad either lol Raglan Road is one restaurant I'm just "not" dying to try. Sorry your meal wasn't better.

Yep I can't get the warm potato salad either, haha. I definitely prefer mine cold. I'm definitely not dying to go back for their entrees, but I do think their bread and butter pudding was out of this world good!

 

[ariane37]

Half German here too, but other than spaetzle I really can't get into the food That carrot cake cookie on the other hand, pretty sure I'd be fine with that!! I've been hearing about it for years and even went in to the Writer's Stop last year-and I think I got a big cookie with sprinkles??? Definitely going on my list for Nov.!

 

[Vernie822]

Hey everyone! Sorry for the lack of updates. I've been studying for a huge actuarial exam coming up in a few weeks and I've neglected my foodie duties .. but I hope everyone has a GREAT Easter weekend! I'm heading down to Pittsburgh today to see Cinderella with my mom, sister, aunt and cousin (that took the trip with us), along with my mom's other sister, her daughter (my cousin), and her daughter's daughter (my second cousin). I've already seen it, but I enjoyed it so much that I'm excited to see it again.

Anyways.. today was our last day at WDW. Originally we were scheduled to fly home the day before (Tuesday), but about a month before I easily talked the rest of my party into switching our flights (with no fee, via Southwest!) and adding on an extra day to our trip.

So we packed up our stuff that morning, got it to luggage services for our checked bags and stored carryons, and headed off to Epcot. We jumped on Test Track and Soarin', did a few more attractions, and found ourselves heading to Italy for lunch via the World Showcase entrance by Mexico.


A few days before, when we had passed by Via Napoli during Flower and Garden, the girls asked if we could eat here. Um, but of course!


We had originally made our ADR for 2 PM, but I switched it to 11:30 the day before so that we could get to MK after Epcot.


But first, we had very important business to attend to. Something that has become a twice per trip tradition for me (ok only on the last two trips..) Round 2 of Schofferhofer and Caramel Corn! Ok, so the Schofferhofer would wait until after lunch, but I wanted to grab the caramel corn while the store wasn't too busy.


We went through the caramel store one last time. I got a bag to take home. I think it actually made it a few days, which is probably a record for me. I love that stuff. It’s like crack!


Since it was still just after 11, the World Showcase was nearly empty and it was great.


We checked in for our ADR right at 11:30 and were seated within 5 minutes. I think the restaurant had just opened for lunch.

I love this chandelier in the entry way.

We had two waiters, Giuseppe and Nicola. I have a friend, Nicola, she’s south African. This waiter was a male from Italy. Cool to see the name used in different ways.


I had one thing that I wanted and one thing only – the carciofi pizza. I didn’t care if I got an individual or a mezzo metro to myself, I had to have it.


Since moving from Pittsburgh, Justin and I have NOT found a good pizza place. We’ve found a few ‘okay’ pizza places, but none that we can really call our “go-to” pizza joint. I know Pittsburgh isn’t necessarily the most Italian place in the world, but hey, there’s plenty of great pizza to be had. My parents order regularly from this little tiny shop called Fortino’s and let me tell you, it’s some of the best pizza I’ve ever had. I hunt for leftovers any time I’m home.


So when Justin and I had pizza here last year, I fell in love. And so did he. So much that he ate all of his and close to half of mine – minus the artichokes, because why would he eat a vegetable on his pizza?!


Anyhow..


We placed our drink order. I’m pretty sure we all got water and my aunt tried the strawberry aqua fresca. She loved it!

We decided that we did want pizza. I let them know that a mezzo metro was as big as the table, and we decided a large would probably do, because we planned on having dessert in France at the bakery.


My cousin decided she would like to try arancini, which she’d had before (not from Via Napoli). None of us had, but I told her they got great reviews. After this week, she probably thinks I do nothing but sit online and read dining reviews.. which may or may not be true..


We decided to split a large pizza, that would give us each two slices. My mom and I thought the carciofi sounded good. My cousin and aunt wanted to try the margherita. We all were excited to try both.


My aunt suggested the family style house salad for $7. $7 is great for a huge salad that everyone can share!


We placed our order and then saw that the salad was $7 PER PERSON. Ok, $7 per person is crazy, I would have rather split another appetizer for that much.


We were offered bread and oil with our salad, which was nice. When I was here before, they didn’t offer us bread, but we also hadn’t ordered salad.

The bread was good, kind of had a ciabatta taste to it, much like the bread that came with the mozzarella/prosciutto pinwheel from Primavera Kitchen. The oil was a nice accompaniment.

Family Style House Salad - Served Exclusively with Pizza - $7 per person, minimum 2 people; leaf lettuces, diced tomato, peppers, cucumber, mushrooms, olives, peperonicini, red wine vinaigrette $7.00 per person

The salad was just OK. I wasn’t a huge fan of the red wine vinaigrette, but it was still good. I loved the olives they used – they were so delicious! I guess I just kept thinking to myself “Omg, this is a $30 salad..” hahaha.

Arancini - fried risotto balls filled with mozzarella and meat ragu $11.00

The arancini came out with the salad. We cut these to share. They were sooooo good! Definitely something we’ll have to order next time as well. The sauce was good, the inside was cheesy. Yum.

The pizza came out not too long after. It was every bit as delicious as I remembered. Ahhh. We each got a slice of carciofi and a slice of margherita. I still preferred the carciofi, but the margherita was also good.

Carciofi Signature Pie - white pizza, artichoke, fontina, mozzarella, truffle oil
& the other half was margherita (tomatoes, mozzarella, basil) which for some reason is not on the menu I'm looking at! I think a large pizza is $31.

I learned on the Magical Express video that they get their water imported from western Pennsylvania, because the minerals in the water there are similar to the minerals in the water in Naples, Italy. How cool! Considering that’s where we’re from, I wonder if that’s why we can get great pizza there?! Too bad that theory doesn’t extend up to Erie where the pizza is sub-par.


After our delicious meal, we settled the bill. I got 10% off with my Annual Pass, which was greatly appreciated.

I want to say it was around $15-20 per person with tip. Not too bad, if you ask me, for 2 slices of pizza, some salad, and arancini. Considering you can spend $20 easily at a QS place for a meal with a drink and dessert. I absolutely love Via Napoli! Justin did too, so we'll definitely try to come here for lunch on our next trip.

I would love to try a pasta dish, but I don't know if I can stray away from my beloved carciofi.


We then headed towards France, because we just could not get enough of that bakery. Mmmm!!

 

[larslovesyou]

I am loving your reviews! You are eating at a lot of the places that are on my Disney Food " Bucket List."

 

[ariane37]

I cannot WAIT to get back to Via Napoli! We haven't been there in about 3 years - a definite for Nov.

 

[kastoney]

Ahh, via Napoli my pizza love. We are like you, we used to have good brick oven pizza near us and now nada. I heard a rumor the via Napoli owners were coming to our area, but nothing yet. In the interim Via Napoli is my twice a year source for authentic pizza. Like you I'm a huge carciofi fan. Artichokes and truffles are two of my fav foods ever. I usually add arugula to mine just to experience the prosciutto and melon, which is my other fav

 

[lauraleh]

I'm loving lots of your spots! We have Ohana, TH (repeat), VN and RR all on our ADRs for our Sept trip. Can't wait! Plus I think you may have encouraged me to add in some ice cream at Plaza.

 

[BlovesC]

That carcioffi pie is my favorite pizza in the entire world (not just Disney world). Your photos made me drool!

 

[Vernie822]

I am loving your reviews! You are eating at a lot of the places that are on my Disney Food " Bucket List."

Thank you!! A lot of them went from my Bucket List to my "I must eat here once a year" list!

I cannot WAIT to get back to Via Napoli! We haven't been there in about 3 years - a definite for Nov.

Absolutely! We just love it.

Ahh, via Napoli my pizza love. We are like you, we used to have good brick oven pizza near us and now nada. I heard a rumor the via Napoli owners were coming to our area, but nothing yet. In the interim Via Napoli is my twice a year source for authentic pizza. Like you I'm a huge carciofi fan. Artichokes and truffles are two of my fav foods ever. I usually add arugula to mine just to experience the prosciutto and melon, which is my other fav

Oh, that would be fantastic! I would be there weekly if there were one near me, lol. I haven't tried the prosciutto and melon one, but that was on my list after the carciofi. Maybe next time if I can bear to switch it up. I agree - those artichokes and truffles together are amazing!

I'm loving lots of your spots! We have Ohana, TH (repeat), VN and RR all on our ADRs for our Sept trip. Can't wait! Plus I think you may have encouraged me to add in some ice cream at Plaza.

The ice cream was delicious! They have an All American Sundae with chocolate and peanut butter that looks awesome!

That carcioffi pie is my favorite pizza in the entire world (not just Disney world). Your photos made me drool!

I think it might be mine, too!

 

[Vernie822]

DAY 5 - LES ARTISANS DES GLACES -- BOULANGERIE PATISSERIE -- SASSAGOULA FLOATWORKS @ POFQ

So for our final few stops in WDW...

We all knew after our lunch at Via Napoli, that we would want to stop by the French bakery for a few pastries on the plane that evening. We had no dinner plans, so we thought we'd grab a few of these and eat them on the plane ride home.

On the way to the Boulangerie Patisserie, I wanted to peek inside Les Artisans des Glaces. I've been in there before, but I've never had the ice cream.

My aunt and mom immediately decided that they had to have ice cream!

I had heard great things about the coconut white chocolate flavor. They had lots of good looking flavors.

The cinnamon, carmel apple crumble crunch sounded delicious. We asked about the Profiterole, and the cast members told us it was similar to cookie dough. My aunt decided to try that.

My mom decided on the coconut white chocolate. In an effort to get something different, I went with the Caramel fleur de Sel, which the cast members said is like salted caramel. Yum!

Here's my caramel fleur de sel..

They have lots of other yummy treats to try, although we decided on just a small cup.

It was $3.99 for a small cup which is kind of pricy, but the ice cream had a great texture and was much better than just regular ice cream!

I love the Mickeys in the ice cream:

We got outside and all tasted our ice cream, and each other's. My cousin skipped the ice cream and decided she'd rather save space for Boulangerie Patisserie.

I took one taste of my salted caramel ice cream and...

Oh my gosh, was it GROSS. I couldn't tell if it was my tastebuds, a bad batch of ice cream, or if I had just expected it to taste differently. I passed it around and everyone else tasted it, too. My aunt could tolerate it, but the rest of us said EWWW!

You know when you're making caramel in a pan on the stove, and you don't double boil it, and the sugar gets burnt on the bottom of the pan? That's exactly what it wasted like. It was gross. It tasted like burnt caramel. The cast member could tell I didn't like it, so I asked him what he thought.

In the nicest way possible, he said "Oh yeah, that flavor is gross.." hahahaha. Luckily, he asked what flavor I would like instead and had no problem replacing my salted caramel with the coconut white chocolate.

I was a MUCH happier camper now!

I felt bad that I didn't like it because I didn't want to insult the CM's. Like I said, could've been an off-batch or that could really be the way it tastes. Whatever it was, I was not a fan.


After the ice cream, we stopped in Boulangerie Patisserie for a few to-go items. If you recall from our first day, we fell in love with the Frangipane (and almond-y croissant). My mom wanted one of those, and so did my aunt. My aunt was in line and grabbed a chocolate croissant for my cousin. My cousin was separated from her so she ordered a frangipane, not knowing that her mom had already ordered her one. I ordered a chocolate croissant, too.

My mom ended up eating hers on the plane and so did my cousin. My aunt saved hers and the second pastry for their breakfast the next day. I saved mine as well - it was fine but it definitely was not as fresh as the day before. It also got mega-squished in my bag.

We had to stop for one last Bier in Germany on our way out of Epcot. I can't go without at least 2 of these on each trip.

One day I'll get one of those massive pretzels!

Ah, my beloved Schofferhofer.

Until next time, Schofferhofer & homeland of Germany!

Honestly, we loved Boulangerie Patisserie - I can't wait to come back next time and try something new. Those sandwiches look divine every time.

------

That evening our MDE reservation was for 7 pm. Not having eaten since noon, and knowing we wouldn't land until midnight, we decided to grab something to eat at the POFQ food court. I am not big on food court food, as I'd rather grab a snack in the parks or have a sit down, but I was fine with this on our last night.

However, I was so sick of food! Kind of one of those things where you just aren't feeling anything. I wasn't feeling pasta, or a burger, or the Southern style stuff. I honestly could've done with like a turkey sub or a salad, but the salad bar wasn't enticing. And I think it was like $12 for the Create Your Own salad, and $10 for a loaded baked potato - this was crazy to me.

I was really close to Chicken nuggets.

They had a few different stations here..
Create your own Salad and loaded baked potatoes (this sounded best to me)
Pasta, Pizza, and Meatball subs
Grill with chicken nuggets, burgers, and chicken sandwiches
Southern style with ribs, jumbalaya, and fried chicken

My mom went with the fried chicken, which she shared with my aunt. I think it came with some potatoes, collard greens, and cornbread. She said it was okay but it left her feeling like it was really heavy and greasy.

My cousin went with a Cajun chicken sandwich that came with french fries. She said it was good.

I eventually settled on a bacon cheeseburger. Justin had a quick serve bacon cheeseburger on our last trip and it was actually really good. So I guess I had the same expectations here.

I knew I should eat something, and while nothing was really calling me, this was fine. It took them like 20 minutes to make since it was made to order, so it was really hot and the fries were fresh too.


And on that note, our dining adventures were over. I was sad to be leaving, but kind of ready. We had gone from sun up to sun down for 5 days straight, and we got a ton accomplished! I was so happy with the way it turned out. We got to try a lot of great foods and there are plenty of things that are definitely on my must-do list now.


I'm going to have another post where I review everything one last time and total up everything spent - thank you so much for reading! I loved getting to share all of our adventures with you guys, and hearing about your trips, too.

 

[Vernie822]

Of everything we ate this week... I can't even decide what my favorite thing was! To sum up everything we ate, it was awesome. There were very few things that I think were bad.

In my opinion...
Best QS: Fish and chips from the UK! This is a great value, $9.49, for two big pieces of fish and some chips.

Best TS Entree: This is a toss up between the shrimp and scallops dish at Be Our Guest, and the meal we had at Via Napoli. I just love that pizza.

Best Snack: I just loved the French pastries at Boulangerie Patisserie. Oh, and the carrot cake cookies. Yum.

Best TS Dessert: Tie between the bread pudding at Ohana and the bread pudding at Raglan Road - both are so good!

Best Meal Overall: We really enjoyed Be Our Guest and Ohana. I think with the atmosphere and Wishes being piped in, Ohana was our favorite. Although the experience at Be Our Guest was great, and dining with my brother was very fun.


I honestly think almost everything we ate was great. I wasn't the biggest fan of Raglan Road, as I'd mentioned, but I'll definitely be giving it a second chance. I hope all of you enjoyed reading our dining report, and I can't wait to read more of yours.

 

[kastoney]

Noooooo, I can't believe your trip is already over. Though I love that you went out on a beer note. You're a girl after my own heart.

And thanks for the warning on the caramel ice cream. I so would have been all over that and now I can make a much better choice when I finally get to try that brioche "sandwich."

Thanks for sharing all your dining adventures with us.

 

[vettegirl]

Wow I think I see pizza in my future at VN!! Going next week and will make an ADR.

 

[Vernie822]

Thanks for reading ladies!!

Kari, I was thinking about that brioche sandwich but I had to save room for the beer! Haha.

Lori- I can't get enough of that pizza. I'm thinking of not doing VN next time just to try something new but it's just so good!! Let us know what you think if you go.

 

[ariane37]

I LOVED that coconut white chocolate ice cream!! DH got the cinnamon apple crumble one, that's delicious also Glad we stayed away from the caramel one......
We ate (snacked) more in France on our trip last month than we ever have before, and I have to agree with you that the bakery is now a new favorite of mine! I've already figured it in to our Nov. trip a couple of times lol.