Zero Forky's Given - An August 2019 Dining Report - Completed 8/18

[Wood Nymph]

I'm a little late to the report but the World Series does come first.

I love the title even though I never heard of Forky before. He is cute, though.

 

[TeresaNJ]

Oh my gosh, hahahahaha, I absolutely loved your intro post to this dining report! I love all your dining reports, as well as witty responses, but this one sounds like it is going to be epic! Oh, and I love Forky! So sorry about your beautiful pup. I hope he's doing better.

 

[kastoney]

First off: where the forky have I been?! At least I didn't fall too behind.

What the forky Tracy, I expect better of you

Gorgeous picture of you, Kari!

Aww, thank you ❤

Aww, poor Duval. He's such a beautiful dog Where did the name come from? We had a cat named Sloppy Joe after a bar in Key West... so in our family, "Duval" would have come from Duval Street... the bar lined street in Key West

Winner, winner, chicken dinner!!!! Who knew we were so similar? Duval is in fact named for our favorite street in our favorite adult place in the world, Key West!!!! His sister, who we lost last year, was Mallory and I'm sure you know why! Cause who doesn't name Arctic water rescue dogs after Americas one and only tropical destination??? Suddenly feeling like Sloppy Joe would be perfect if we ever get another one.

After eating breakfast, we're getting ready to walk out the door to head to the fair and someone said "get your sporks" and they ALL shoved the sporks in their hoody pockets...I did manage to keep my mouth shut on WHY we needed them.

When we all met up later I asked them if everyone had used their sporks AND THEY DID!!! Who knew they'd be so handy!!

That is hilarious and makes me think I'm much cooler than I actually am if teenagers are down with the sporks action too. But of course sporks are the most versatile of the utensils. Though I'll have to start carrying them in my hoodie!!

"Fish" - the black and white boy is on the left and his sister "Frankie" is on the right (she signs her name with a *heart* over the "i" but she's a spunky one!

They are beyond adorable. What are they? The one on the right looks like a Portugese Water Dog, which is what my best friend has.

I'm sorry your pup is struggle-bussing - we also have a 12 yr old lab mix who is not thrilled with our puppy choices....or puppies in general...HA!

It's definitely tough. We didn't get another puppy but he is not thrilled with Casey's newest acquisitions.

Meet sushi.

And egg roll.

Aptly named by Casey Jo of course!

I read the intro and thought, OH MY, Kari, Jason and Casey were abducted by aliens and had their brains drained or were replaced with Stepford clones.
Whew, what a relief to know the sarcasm was real and the 'normal' family was reporting for Dining duty armed with their sporks!

Thankfully no aliens. Just us eating and drinking like any "normal" family does!

Woohoo I'm here for more Chunkylusciousness! I brought my own spork!

Wouldn't be the same without a ChunkySpork!

I just found this! I can't catch up today but I can't wait to read more.

Thanks for joining in!

I'm a little late to the report but the World Series does come first.

I love the title even though I never heard of Forky before. He is cute, though.

Same. I haven't actually been able to start this because between the Playoffs and World Series we've been eating and drinking baseball. Go Nats!!!!!!!!!

Oh my gosh, hahahahaha, I absolutely loved your intro post to this dining report! I love all your dining reports, as well as witty responses, but this one sounds like it is going to be epic! Oh, and I love Forky! So sorry about your beautiful pup. I hope he's doing better.

Epic it will be and hopefully actually starting later today. Thanks for drinking along with me for the 11th time!!!!!

 

[kastoney]

Patience Young Grasshopper

Sorry got a little distracted by the playoffs and World Series (Go Nats!) but we are finally ready for some forky fun….

Our flight wasn’t until noon so we had some time to do last minute packing and make videos of course.

We had some yummy sandwiches courtesy of Taylors Gourmet (definitely try it if you’re ever DC)






And finally made it on the plane.

And waited. And waited. And waited.

Turns out a group we saw downing Coronas at 11 am at the gate (which isn’t allowed BTW) was making some kind of disturbance and got kicked off the plane. Drunks removed they then couldn’t get the gate bridge to move. They finally did but then we waited on the runway because the plane in front of us hit a bird. Needless to say we arrived almost 2 hours late.

But arrived we did.

We made it to the Magical Express and took off in no time only to find out our resort – Caribbean Beach – was the last of 4 stops. I was done with waiting for the day so we hopped off at the Boardwalk instead.

And when at the Boardwalk.

We made a mandatory pit stop at Ample Hills for some of the best ice cream ever – Ooey Gooey Butter Cake. This unquestionably added to my already ample hills, but it was so worth it.

We had dinner plans soon (blasphmeny with the plans I know) but we had time for a brief jaunt through Epcot and a space ride through earth

Before soarin’ over the world and gettin’ our cool club on.


It was then time to get the heck outta dodge because we were late, late, for a very important DIS date!

After yet another transportation debacle and being sent by a Cast Member in the complete opposite direction of the uber pick up and then our driver getting lost, we eventually made it to Disney Springs for our hot dinner date with my one and only Sister Wife @Jenny Sanders and her family.

Jason and Casey had only met Jenny briefly once so it was great that they got to meet the woman I’ll be leaving them for.

Continued in next post...​

 

[kastoney]

Duplicate Post

 

[kastoney]

Patience Young Grasshopper Part II

Dinner was at Frontera Cocina which was new to us, but we are big fans of its owner – Rick Bayless.

We started with the Bacon Guacamole and Chips which is of course avocado with bacon, tomatillos, toasted pepitas, cilantro and onions.

While this was a bit expensive at $13 it was fresh and delicious and the bacon was a really good addition.

To drink (cause it was now after 6pm and my liver was starting to get restless) I got the Play with Fire Margarita.

This is Maestro Dobel tequila, cucumber, jalapeño, fresh lime juice, agave nectar, and a hibiscus salt rim. Again this was pricy at $15 but worst of all it had absolutely no heat. The cumber flavor was great with the tequila but if you’re gonna call this “Play with Fire” ya better dang well have an inferno waiting for me. Jason was the better drink orderer next to mine with the Smokey Paloma. Unlike with fire they delivered on the smoke as this had mescal vice tequila with Belle Isle grapefruit liqueur, fresh lime juice, ginger cordial, and a black ant salt rim.

While we waited for food Casey had a great time hanging with Jenny’s niece Gia.

Apparently the sister wife bond can extend through generations.

For our entrees Casey and I shared the Carnitas which is slow-cooked pork shoulder with garlic and lime, black beans refritos with queso fresco, guacamole, pickled red onions, salsa verde, and warm corn tortillas.

The actual pork was sadly very dry but the spicy salsa helped give it some moisture and flavor and the pickled onions added some nice acidity. Oddly I liked the black beans better than the pork as they had a deep smoky flavor that was really good.

We also ordered a side of their Queso Añejo Mashed Potatoes with aged Cotija cheese.

Clearly Mashed Potatoes at a Mexican restaurant is as authentic as you can get but I’d read these were really good. Sadly they were not. These had been sitting under a heat lamp way too long and were so dried out I couldn’t discern much other flavor.

Jason didn’t do so great in the food department either. He went with the Mole Chicken which is described as a crispy half chicken with Oaxacan red mole, plantain rice, and warm corn tortillas.

The flavors of the mole were deep and very good, but sadly the chicken was so dry even an amazing sauce couldn’t save it.

To aid in washing down our dry entrees I got a couple of glasses of sangria (using Jenny's as the sangria stand-in).

It was a little too sweet for my liking (the drink, not Jenny) but decent.

And Jason got the absolute best thing of the night – A Mezcal shot.

Here this is served in a traditional “Veladora” style which meant it came with a Pacifico, orange wedge, some juice of some kind and GRASSHOPPERS!!!


Clearly one of us was going much more authentic than the other.

Not wanting to be left out Casey downed Grasshopper #2.

She said it tasted more like the chili salt it was in than well, a bug, but she ate it like a champ and more importantly ensured herself the top spot in the kid eating hall of fame.

Overall Frontera was definitely a disappointment with only Two Forky’s Given.

When a grasshopper is your favorite part of a meal, its probably not the best sign. We were hopeful for some authentic Mexican food from a world-class chef, but instead we got the Disney-fied touristy version. We won’t be in any hurry to go back but we did at least save $24.66 with our Tables in Wonderland card.

But on the flip side a full five forky’s for a forkin’ great evening with my sister wife, her real sister, her sons, and Casey Jr. – Gia. Our time together was way too short but hopefully we’ll be reunited soon.


After dinner Casey and Jason hit up the Sprinkles ATM for some cupcakes. I didn’t jot down what they got, but who doesn’t want sweets dispensed from a “machine.”


We eventually made it to Caribbean Beach and finally checked out our room for the next 9 days.
Sadly I got no sleep that night as our dog was having some issues but in the immortal words of Scarlet O’Hara….Tomorrow is Another Disney Day!

Up next, its early in the trip but zero forkys will be given!​

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Oh Frontera. I feel you on that place. We just had drinks there and an appetizer and felt about the same. I also get mad when I have to pay for salsa at a Mexican restaurant. A drink with fire in the name needs to bring it! Glad you all made the most of it and had fun with grasshoppers and alcohol in general. It does make everything a little better.

Hopefully it gets better from here after the zero forks!

 

[DrunkJam]

Following along! Looking forward to see what next!

 

[Wood Nymph]

We didn't get another puppy but he is not thrilled with Casey's newest acquisitions.
Meet sushi.
And egg roll.

Those are cute names for her hamsters. Our kids had gerbils and named them chocolate, vanilla and butterscotch. I guess food names for small pets is the thing to do.

Needless to say we arrived almost 2 hours late.

I hate when you sit forever on the plane, waiting to take off. That is a lot of extra time sitting in those small seats.

I was done with waiting for the day so we hopped off at the Boardwalk instead.

I like your diversion to Ample Hills. It worked out really well.

For our entrees Casey and I shared the Carnitas which is slow-cooked pork shoulder with garlic and lime, black beans refritos with queso fresco, guacamole, pickled red onions, salsa verde, and warm corn tortillas.

This sounds like it should be good. I'm surprised a restaurant like Frontera Grill wouldn't keep better track of what kind of food they were serving at one of their restaurants. We ate at his Chicago restaurant many years ago and the food was really good.

Not wanting to be left out Casey downed Grasshopper #2.

She said it tasted more like the chili salt it was in than well, a bug, but she ate it like a champ and more importantly ensured herself the top spot in the kid eating hall of fame.

Casey definitely deserves top spot. That was very adventurous of her.

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

Bummer that Frontera was a let down, but looks like it was a fun meal nonetheless! I would not be happy if I dropped that kind of money on a spicy margarita that wasn't spicy. Blatant false advertising!

 

[DLo]

Sorry Frontera didn’t meet your expectations but luckily you had good company . Hopefully , the food gets better from here

 

[disneyAndi14]

Sorry to here the food wasn’t the best, we loved the guacamole and black beans there. I love the forky rating system!

 

[Terra Nova guy]

Love your Forkys!
Too bad your meal wasn’t great. That chicken mole looks good but dry chicken is something that I really don’t enjoy.
Casey is awesome. My daughter would have run from that place just seeing a grasshopper on the plate. No chance she would ever eat one. Although if I’m being honest, I don’t think I would either.

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Ok I gotta say I’m amazed you guys hopped off at the boardwalk rather than sitting mindlessly on the ME waiting (and then waiting some more) to be delivered to your hotel I would never have thought to do that but it makes for a much more fun start to the trip and who wouldn’t want some ice cream to ease travel woes
Sorry the meal wasn’t great - makes the zero forky meal even more ominous now since you still gave Frontera Cocina 2!
Glad you had some craic with your sister family and yep Casey is top of the adventurous eaters/awesome pet namers tree

 

[buzzrelly]

Meet sushi.

And egg roll.

Aptly named by Casey Jo of course!

Aw, cute little rodents

Our flight wasn’t until noon so we had some time to do last minute packing and make videos of course.

We h

Aw, too bad Casey couldn't muster up some excitement for her trip

Turns out a group we saw downing Coronas at 11 am at the gate (which isn’t allowed BTW) was making some kind of disturbance and got kicked off the plane. Drunks removed they then couldn’t get the gate bridge to move. They finally did but then we waited on the runway because the plane in front of us hit a bird. Needless to say we arrived almost 2 hours late.

Oh my...not a great way to start out

But arrived we did.

Again, seriously, why so sad?

We made it to the Magical Express and took off in no time only to find out our resort – Caribbean Beach – was the last of 4 stops. I was done with waiting for the day so we hopped off at the Boardwalk instead.

What?? How do you manage that? Where was your "stuff?" We always have a crap ton of carry-ons that we need to ditch at Bell Services. I need a lesson on traveling from the great Kastoney Family

We started with the Bacon Guacamole and Chips which is of course avocado with bacon, tomatillos, toasted pepitas, cilantro and onions.

While this was a bit expensive at $13 it was fresh and delicious and the bacon was a really good addition.

Bacon in my guacamole? Yes, please

While we waited for food Casey had a great time hanging with Jenny’s niece Gia.

So sweet

To aid in washing down our dry entrees I got a couple of glasses of sangria (using Jenny's as the sangria stand-in).

Aw...great picture...it's only missing one thing...me! Well, two things...me and Ariane!

Clearly one of us was going much more authentic than the other.

Not wanting to be left out Casey downed Grasshopper #2.
She said it tasted more like the chili salt it was in than well, a bug, but she ate it like a champ and more importantly ensured herself the top spot in the kid eating hall of fame.

The next time Allie complains about some fixins' on her fries, I'm showing her this video

Go, Casey!

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Meant to say and then forgot- brilliant videos. Reckon Casey is more than a wee bit excited for her trip to Disney and love that she still feels this way! For the record I too dance around the house when I’m going to Disney ( sometimes for MONTHS beforehand just to drive eldest son and husband mad ) but I’m not nearly as cute as Casey so there shall be no video evidence . Wouldn’t want to give anyone nightmares even at Halloween

 

[2xcited2sleep]

I've had similarly disappointing visits to Frontera. I so want to love it. I love Mexican food and have long-admired Rick Bayless. But, other than the guac and tequila, I've felt meh about two visits. And while I am willing to give it another try, there are just so many great choices in Disney Spring that I haven't gotten around to it.

Ugh on all the delays. I'd have been itching to get off Magical Express too. Unfortunately I am an over-packer so I'd probably have had way too much carry-on crap to make it practical.

I cannot wait to hear what earned zero forkys and why!!

 

[kastoney]

Oh Frontera. I feel you on that place. We just had drinks there and an appetizer and felt about the same. I also get mad when I have to pay for salsa at a Mexican restaurant. A drink with fire in the name needs to bring it! Glad you all made the most of it and had fun with grasshoppers and alcohol in general. It does make everything a little better.

Frontera certainly has promise, they just need to deliver. I was glad we tried it though. Just will be a long while before we go back again for dinner. Though I'm sure Jason will want another date with his grasshopper and mescal.

Hopefully it gets better from here after the zero forks!

Yes we sadly start bad and end on a badish note but lots of good in-between.

Following along! Looking forward to see what next!

Thanks for joining in!

Those are cute names for her hamsters. Our kids had gerbils and named them chocolate, vanilla and butterscotch. I guess food names for small pets is the thing to do.

Apparently. She was sold cn having one named sushi and egg roll seemed to be a good accompaniment. We actually got them from a teacher at her school who had them in her classroom. She teaches special needs kids and her class this year too rough on the boys. I say this because before we got them they were named Ben and Jerry. So clearly food reigns supreme.

I like your diversion to Ample Hills. It worked out really well.

It was exactly what we needed.

This sounds like it should be good. I'm surprised a restaurant like Frontera Grill wouldn't keep better track of what kind of food they were serving at one of their restaurants. We ate his Chicago restaurant many years ago and the food was really good.

Yeah I was really surprised. We'd heard great things about his Chicago places, and of course had seen him on TV, but this was certainly not up to those standards.

Bummer that Frontera was a let down, but looks like it was a fun meal nonetheless! I would not be happy if I dropped that kind of money on a spicy margarita that wasn't spicy. Blatant false advertising!

Fun it certainly was!!!! I wasn't happy about the price nor the lack of spice, but was able to overlook it in the name of my first drink on vacation!

Sorry Frontera didn’t meet your expectations but luckily you had good company . Hopefully , the food gets better from here

It will get worse, before it gets better, but better is definitely coming.

Sorry to here the food wasn’t the best, we loved the guacamole and black beans there. I love the forky rating system!

The guac and beans were definitely the way to go. I would have given them 4 forkys for that but the other stuff just brought it down.

 

[kastoney]

Love your Forkys!
Too bad your meal wasn’t great. That chicken mole looks good but dry chicken is something that I really don’t enjoy.
Casey is awesome. My daughter would have run from that place just seeing a grasshopper on the plate. No chance she would ever eat one. Although if I’m being honest, I don’t think I would either.

Thanks Jeff!!! We're very lucky that Casey will try just about anything. I was actually a little disappointed he only got 2 grasshoppers because I wanted to try one too

Ok I gotta say I’m amazed you guys hopped off at the boardwalk rather than sitting mindlessly on the ME waiting (and then waiting some more) to be delivered to your hotel I would never have thought to do that but it makes for a much more fun start to the trip and who wouldn’t want some ice cream to ease travel woes

We knew our room wasn't ready and it was storming when we were on the bus, but started letting up so we figured why not??? No sense in going to the hotel just to drop some stuff off when ice cream could be had!

Sorry the meal wasn’t great - makes the zero forky meal even more ominous now since you still gave Frontera Cocina 2!
Glad you had some craic with your sister family and yep Casey is top of the adventurous eaters/awesome pet namers tree

I think all the craic certainly influenced the 2. Well the craic, and the guac, and the grasshoppers. If those hadn't been good then we may have been lower.

Aw, cute little rodents

We affectionately call them the stinky rats

Aw, too bad Casey couldn't muster up some excitement for her trip

I know, right? She's such a subdued child its hard to gauge her feelings on anything.

What?? How do you manage that? Where was your "stuff?" We always have a crap ton of carry-ons that we need to ditch at Bell Services. I need a lesson on traveling from the great Kastoney Family

I can't stand to carry stuff on the plane. Nothing annoys me more than people trying to cram their stuff up in the overhead bins and then never once needing it on the plane. I'm pretty sure I've never even used one. All we had was Casey's backpack with some snacks and entertainment and Jason had a small backpack too. I ended up carrying hers through Epcot but it wasn't bad since we travel light.

Aw...great picture...it's only missing one thing...me! Well, two things...me and Ariane!

I know, missed you both!!! Ariane comes in later in the trip but its a short visit too. Now I just need some Kelly in my life!

The next time Allie complains about some fixins' on her fries, I'm showing her this video

Go, Casey!

Meant to say and then forgot- brilliant videos. Reckon Casey is more than a wee bit excited for her trip to Disney and love that she still feels this way! For the record I too dance around the house when I’m going to Disney ( sometimes for MONTHS beforehand just to drive eldest son and husband mad ) but I’m not nearly as cute as Casey so there shall be no video evidence . Wouldn’t want to give anyone nightmares even at Halloween

Now I oddly want to pay off your husband to film that sometime!!!! Though you'll have to be wearing a shirt that is a poor excuse for pajamas and of course dancing with Mickey and Minnie!

I've had similarly disappointing visits to Frontera. I so want to love it. I love Mexican food and have long-admired Rick Bayless. But, other than the guac and tequila, I've felt meh about two visits. And while I am willing to give it another try, there are just so many great choices in Disney Spring that I haven't gotten around to it.

I'm so with you. I think if we ever do it again we'll stick to the bar and have an app and a drink and then meander somewhere else.

Ugh on all the delays. I'd have been itching to get off Magical Express too. Unfortunately I am an over-packer so I'd probably have had way too much carry-on crap to make it practical.

We overpack in the suitcases but I can't stand to carry much on! I'm actually traveling for work tomorrow for only 3 days so I'll just take a small suit case and have them put it under the plane. I'm already dreading trying to get through the airport with it.

 

[Jenny Sanders]

Sorry got a little distracted by the playoffs and World Series (Go Nats!) but we are finally ready for some forky fun….

Go Adam Eaton!!!! We Sox fans sure do miss him...

Turns out a group we saw downing Coronas at 11 am at the gate (which isn’t allowed BTW) was making some kind of disturbance and got kicked off the plane. Drunks removed they then couldn’t get the gate bridge to move. They finally did but then we waited on the runway because the plane in front of us hit a bird. Needless to say we arrived almost 2 hours late.

I remember you telling me this.

It was then time to get the heck outta dodge because we were late, late, for a very important DIS date!

Uh DUH!!!!

we eventually made it to Disney Springs for our hot dinner date with my one and only Sister Wife @Jenny Sanders and her family.

This was such a great way to end our August, Disney VACA!!!! I miss you soooooo much!!!!

Jason and Casey had only met Jenny briefly once so it was great that they got to meet the woman I’ll be leaving them for.

LOL!!!! At least I'm a good catch...

Dinner was at Frontera Cocina which was new to us, but we are big fans of its owner – Rick Bayless.

Me too!!!!

While we waited for food Casey had a great time hanging with Jenny’s niece Gia.

That is a super cute pic.

Apparently the sister wife bond can extend through generations.

I did not know this...

But on the flip side a full five forky’s for a forkin’ great evening with my sister wife, her real sister, her sons, and Casey Jr. – Gia. Our time together was way too short but hopefully we’ll be reunited soon.

We have to totally make this happen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Aw...great picture...it's only missing one thing...me! Well, two things...me and Ariane!

I agree 100% Kelly!!!!!