WDW Weekend Eats: Marathon Weekend Edition

Hello there Dear Dedicated Readers – once again it’s time to take a look at some edibles from a recent weekend at Walt Disney World, and this was the long weekend Miss Bonnie and I spent at the World for Marathon Weekend.

Despite it being a long weekend, we actually dined out around the World relatively little – since we were participating in a couple, yes, a couple, of races that weekend, we actually did a lot of cooking in our room at Kidani so we could better control what we had to eat (and hit the hay early for some extra rest) on the night before the races. That being said, we did have a few interesting things to eat while we were there, so let’s put on the digital feedbag, shall we?

One of the posters on the wall in the seating area of Boulangerie Patisserie

We arrived on Thursday, the same day that Boulangerie Patisserie, the quick service location in the France pavilion in Epcot, reopened after a refurbishment. Finding ourselves at Epcot late that night, and needing sustenance, we gave it a try…

Soupe de Potiron (Pumpkin Soup, top), Bisque de Homard (Lobster Bisque)

Much of the menu is the same as the former location, but a few more savory items have been added. We tried the two soups: the Lobster Bisque was very good (probably not the best version of that soup I’ve ever had, but very serviceable) and the Pumpkin Soup was thick and full of gourdy goodness – I’d make a trip back here just to have the Pumpkin Soup again.

Quiche Lorraine (top), and well, Quiche Lorraine

There are also a couple of traditional quiches now offered: Quiche Lorraine (with ham and gruyere cheese) and Florentine (with spinach and goat cheese). The Grand Plan was to try one of each, but as it was near closing when we got there (we did close the joint down, they locked us inside while we finished our meal), they only had the Quiche Lorraine left, so we got two of those. The egg-pies were good and filling, and paired with the two tasty soups made a nice meal – and at about $20 for two, not too bad a deal. We’re both looking forward to trying the French bakery again – maybe we can try that other quiche the next time…

Beverage Menu at Boulangerie Patisserie

There is also a separate dedicated beverage window serving coffees, wines, soft drinks and the like so you don’t have to go through the full line if all you want is too whet your whistle…

A cup of Plastic Cheese from Casey’s in honor of our good friend AJ…

Other than a trip to Casey’s Corner in the Magic Kingdom, most of the rest of our calories Friday and Saturday were consumed in house at Kidani, so we now move to the post-race feasting of Sunday…

Splitsville pre-opening concept art

Bonnie & I, along with BFF Laura & Lil’ Sis Lindsay, made our way to Downtown Disney West Side to try out the recently opened Splitsville.

Loaded Fries at Splitsville

This high-end, retro-designed bowling alley also features pool tables, dancing at night and a big menu of food items and beverages. This is the largest, and first two-story venue of the small chain, and initial reviews had been good (I’d also always heard good things about the food at the Tampa location). Having burned about a gazillion calories in the prior day-and-a-half-or-so, Bonnie and I started out with the Loaded Fries (Bonnie will rarely turn her nose up at any culinary use of the humble spud…). The menu listed (and our server echoed) and ingredients: french fries smothered with nacho cheese, bacon, ranch, scallions and love… we weren’t exactly so sure about how the love was added, but we gave them a try anyway… despite the addition of love, these really weren’t anything too special, not bad at all, but nothing to get overly excited about… we did still clean our plate…

Splitsville’s Sliders

Lindsay opted for the Sliders and a side of fries. The burgers were made with a special selection of ground meats and topped with an onion ring, on the side was “Special Slider Sauce” (maybe like the “love” that went into the Loaded Fries?). She shared these all around and I thought them quite good, especially the meat. The fries were the same typical crinkle-cut fries as in our loaded ones, but came with a good chive dip that Lindsay raved about.

The rest of us went the sushi route…

Spicy Tuna Roll

BFF Laura took the most traditional approach with a nice Spicy Tuna Roll, while Bonnie and I shared a couple of the over-the-top rolls on the menu…

Super Tuna Roll

the Super Tuna Roll has ahi tuna, tempura shrimp, cream cheese and is topped with seared ahi, avocado, eel sauce, tempura flakes and a spicy mayo sauce…

Crab Rangoon Roll

while the Crab Rangoon Roll has surimi (the imitation crab common in sushi rolls), cream cheese, water chestnuts, and chives which is rolled and then tempura fried and topped with Thai chili sauce and spicy mayo.

This is not the place to go if you’re looking for uni or toro – the menu doesn’t even list any nigiri sushi (although I’ve heard they will make it if asked)  – it’s all big, ornate rolls, and many feature cream cheese and/or are fried rolls. Most are in the $13-$15 range, and are big and tasty (at least the ones we tried), not exactly “challenging” sushi selections, but pretty darn good!

We wandered around he venue a bit after eating – this looks to be a really fun place and full of energy in most of the spaces – while the outside seating on the second level gives a great view of the area and a bit more laid-back vibe. We all loved it and are looking forward to coming back – BFF Laura was even ready to make a special trip up to the World just to hang out there!

Big Bamboo at Yak & Yeti

Our long Marathon Weekend ended on Monday with lunch at Yak & Yeti in Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

Pork Pot Stickers

Lori Loves Tigger treated Lil’ Sis Lindsay, Miss Bonnie and myself to a celebratory meal – a couple in our group started with the Big Bamboo, a fruity alcoholic concoction – then the table shared the Pork Pot Stickers.

Bonnie & I are both suckers for most any Asian-styled dumplings, and pot stickers are a particular favorite. The version here is quite good and we quickly wolfed them down – actually I could have had a couple of orders of this (or maybe three…) and had a happy lunch.

Lo Mein

Lori had a huge portion of Lo Mein, while Bonnie and Lindsay both had the Stir-Fried Beef and Broccoli.

Stir-Fried Beef and Broccoli

I had them add some extra spice to my order of Bourbon (of course!) Chicken…

Bourbon Chicken

and our obliging server even brought me an extra side of chili sauce in case I needed to kick it up some more (which I did). All the portions were generous and we shared and sampled all around. The mains weren’t anything spectacular, but all were pretty tasty and more than adequate. The restaurant and it’s decor is always fun, and our service was good. With the great company, it was a satisfying end to a emotional and eventful Marathon Weekend at the World… more on that Emotional and Eventful stuff when I give you a wrap-up of the Marathon Weekend itself… and there was some other stuff that went on besides the races themselves, but I’ll save that for the next time…

Back to the kitchen – see you soon!

WDW Odds & Ends

Along with about 65,000 of our closest friends, Miss Bonnie and I made our way to Walt Disney World a couple of few ago to take part in Marathon Weekend.

It had actually been quite a while since we had been there (for us, that is), and in addition to the race-related events we were able to find a few new odds & ends of things from around the World that I thought I’d share with you, my dear Dedicated Readers…

Of course our trips to WDW almost always include a visit (or two, or three, or…) to the World Showcase in Epcot, and this long weekend was no exception.

Above the entrance to the new version of Boulangerie Patisserie

The new version of France’s quick-service eatery, Les Halles Boulangerie Patisserie, had just opened in the rear of the pavillion with a newly expanded menu (more on the food from the weekend in another post…).

Inside the seating area of Boulangerie Patisserie

The indoor seating/dining area has some nice decor for a quick-service location.

Plastic utensil dispensers in Boulangerie Patisserie

Even the utensil dispensers are themed!

The former site of the bakery is closed and will reopen later in the year as an ice cream parlor.

The Phineas and Ferb fanaticism continues…

Sign at the Refreshment Port

and at the Refreshment Port you can still get the Agent P Cookie and wash it down with a new diabolical beverage served in a lab beaker: The Doofenslurper!

Now over to the Magic Kingdom…

New Magic Kingdom entrance area for use with the “Next-Gen” wristbands

a new entrance area is along the right side, replacing the “now-old-fashioned” turnstiles. This is for resort guests who have their park tickets tied to their reservations and are using the new super-duper MyMagic+ wristbands… (see the official Disney Parks Blog word on this on their post “Taking the Disney Guest Experience to the Next Level”). We’ll see more of these later at other parks…

More construction wall fun at the entrance to the Magic Kingdom!

The center section in front of the train station is now sporting construction walls – was told it was for new ticket-selling booths…

Sign in the window of the shuttered Main Street Bakery

And it wouldn’t be a day at the MK if we didn’t come across some new construction, closings or openings…

the Main Street Bakery is now closed for the refurb that will (controversially to some) add a Starbucks location to the park. I’m not all up in arms about this as some other people are (remember that Walt said that the parks would never be finished or stay static, and sponsored food/beverage locations do go back to the opening day in Anaheim…) I’ll reserve final judgement until it’s been open for a while… but for the time being I think it will be a good thing (and hopefully be the beginning of the end of the Nescafe stranglehold on Disney’s coffee-drinking guests).

Tomorrowland Terrace temporary breakfast menu

While the Bakery is down, they are serving breakfast at the woefully underused Tomorrowland Terrace location.

Tomorrowland Terrace temporary breakfast menu. Beignets? Fry me some up please!

Tomorrowland Terrace temporary breakfast menu. Flavored Iced Green Tea sounds pretty good – wish they had that in the heat of the day and not just for breakfast!

And construction continues in Fantasyland…

Rapunzel’s Tower

over at the former home of the skyway station in Fantasyland (to the left of Small World) is what’s is supposed to be the new restroom location for this section of the park (the current ones near Peter Pan will reportedly go away as that attraction gets one of the expanded/interactive queue lines). Themed after the film “Tangled” it has a large tower and what (from behind the walls) looks to be a fancy-dancy-extra-themed place to relieve yourself!

New “Tangled” themed restroom currently behind construction walls in Fantasyland

With all the work that looks like it’s going into this area, you’d assume something more than just a place to pee would be here… the assumption is that the tower will be a dedicated meet-and-greet area for Rapunzel, and I’m sure the ladies (and a few gents as well) hope this also brings Flynn Rider back to the parks full time… smoulder and all…

Entrance area to New Fantasyland expansion with construction on the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train ride evident in the background

And nearby in the New Fantasyland expansion area, there is more construction (and even a few non-construction things) to view…

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Construction Wall

the construction walls around the Mine Train area now feature some cool artwork…

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Construction Wall

including the Dwarfs tools and time cards as well as several pieces of concept art showing scenes from the finished attraction.

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Concept Art on the Construction Wall

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Concept Art on the Construction Wall

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Concept Art on the Construction Wall

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Concept Art on the Construction Wall

There are even some places with peepholes in the wall and you are actually invited to take a look at what’s going on behind the scenes!

Peephole in the Construction Wall of the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Ride

Not nearly as much fun to peek as when they don’t want us to look!

A look thru the Peephole in the Construction Wall of the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Ride

There were some new items already in the Bonjour Village Gifts – and the egoistical Gaston would likely be pleased with some of the new offerings (though he’s likely to think he should have a gift shop devoted solely to him!).

New Gaston Tee-Shirt

He sports a Lefou’s Brew mustache in one new tee-shirt…

Another new Gaston tee-shirt…

and his more-than-impressive biceps are shown off in another.

Gaston’s Tavern (I’m sure not for beer) Steins

And there are nice, heavy Gaston’s Tavern steins now for sale.

Belle and Beast “Relationship Status” Shirt

And a couple of cute Facebook-inspired shirts are now available.

And yet another Gaston shirt…

Our base of operations for the weekend was our favorite resort, Kidani Village at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. And of course one of our favorite things about the resort is viewing the animals on the savannah right outside the room…

Ankole Cattle at Kidani Village

and one of the most common critters on view here (and on the savannah at the Kilimanjaro Safari at Animal Kingdom) is the Ankole Cattle. Also known as Watusi Cattle, every time I see one of these surely-delicious ruminants one of my favorite songs runs through my mind: Watusi Rodeo by Guadalcanal Diary… but that’s neither here nor there…

New-and-improved (and much prettier) Ankole Cattle

what was there is a new piebald/mottled/pinto/whatever-you-want-to-call-it color variety of Ankole Cattle.

Much more attractive than the usually seen form, the three new animals were just introduced to the Kidani savannah the week we were there. I don’t know if this delicious-looking morph will make it’s way to the Kilimanjaro ride or not, but keep your eyes peeled… or just make a visit to Kidani…

Animal Kingdom entrance area

Like at the Magic Kingdom, the entrance to the Animal Kingdom park has the MyMagic+ area for those with the new wristbands for park admittance.

Castmember at the entrance to Animal Kingdom

Castmembers were stationed outside the entrance area doing their best to direct guests to the correct areas to enter the park. The gentleman above told me that the new system was working “pretty well”, but that some guests were getting into the “new” line and if they didn’t have the wristband for entrance some were becoming quite irritated at having to then again go and stand in line again to get into the park.

Inside the park we noticed one of the food kiosks along the path between Africa and Asia…

Note the massive lines for veggie cuisine…

and how it was now serving 100% vegetarian items.

Menu at “Safari Egg Roll” Kiosk in Animal Kingdom

We also took a ride on the Kilimanjaro Safari as we hadn’t been on it since the new zebra area was opened…

There’s something missing between my legs…

the first thing we noticed when sitting down in the ride vehicle was that the net bags to hold your random goodies had been removed from the back of the seats… were too many people leaving things behind in them? Was just our safari vehicle being re-done? Inquiring minds…

We had several close-up animal viewings on this safari ride, and then eventually got to the new zebra area…

you get a pretty close encounter with the striped-horsey-looking-critters, but considering how much work looked to being done during the construction I though the zebra space was kinda small… I guess size matters after all…

On this trip we also made our way over to Downtown Disney, made our first visit to Splitsville (more on that in another post), and while there we ambled into D Street and found some nice new shirts….

one features an image of Walt on the front…

and there are several with famous quotes from Mr. Disney emblazoned upon them.

And considering the popularity of the Turkey Leg shirts and other Disney-food related apparel, it’s not surprising we get another piece of garb featuring an iconic Disney edible…

popcorn!

Okay kids, with a food reference we’ll call it a post… hope you enjoyed this look at some Odds & Ends form the World!

Back to the kitchen, see you soon!

WDW Odds & Ends: 2012 Year End Edition, Part Two

A few days ago I gave you an “Eating-and-Drinking-Around-the-World-Style” look back at some of the goings-on around Walt Disney World in the first half of 2012 (if you neglected to spend your spare time reading around the New Year, you can go back now and peruse WDW Odds & Ends: 2012 Year End Edition, Part One, we’ll wait for you here while you do so…).

So now it’s time to pick back up with our review…

Walk… or fly?… this way…

After we regained our land legs, Miss Bonnie and I took a July trip to check out the further updates to Fantasyland in the Magic Kingdom, and the newly reopened (and multiplied) Dumbo was on our list…

We were mostly interested in checking out the new “queue-less-queue”…

we found the indoor play/waiting area to be quite cute and nicely themed…

Dumbo play/waiting area

but our real goal was to “fly high buddy” and get an elephant’s eye view of the construction ongoing at the New Fantasyland…

but even from upon high, the apparently strategically placed foliage prevented us from getting a clear elephant’s-eye-view of the construction…

The mostly obscured view of the New Fantasyland construction from Dumbo

And yes, the construction continued behind the walls…

Construction walls in the Magic Kingdom

With the Agent P Adventure now officially open over in Epcot…

Agent P World Showcase Adventure Kiosk

floral versions of Phineas and Ferb greet guests on their way to the World Showcase.

Phineas and Ferb Topiary on the walkway between Future World and the World Showcase in Epcot

And yes…

Miss Bonnie’s new Happy Place…

there was another visit to Tutto Gusto – it was on this visit we learned about the upcoming menu change – you can see the details on this revelation in the post “Go for the Gusto!“.

Sign at new exhibit inside the Mexico Pavilion

The new exhibit on Life in Ancient Mexico was now up inside the Mexican pavilion.

Wanna shoot some hoops?

How do you spell “H-O-R-S-E” in Spanish?

And at the Happiest Place in the Happiest Place on Earth (aka La Cava del Tequila) we found a couple of changes to the specialty Margarita list since our last visit.

La Cava del Tequila Specialty Margarita Menu

The Organic Skinny Lime and Coffee Margaritas were new additions.

La Cava del Tequila Specialty Margarita Menu

We sampled both – the Skinny Lime was fine, but nothing special, but the Coffee was a frozen/slushy concoction that was delicious – especially good on a hot day!

We did eat someplace other than Tutto Gusto in July…

Kouzzina Trio (Cinnamon-stewed Chicken, Greek-style Lasagna and Lamb Burger)

We had a really good meal at Cat Cora’s Kouzzina on the Boardwalk – it was Miss Bonnie’s first visit there and afterwards she dubbed it her New Favorite Restaurant!

Landscape of Flavors Food Court at the new Art of Animation Resort

We also got our first chance to eat at the new Landscape of Flavors Food Court.

Indian-inspired eats at the Landscape of Flavors Food Court

We were very impressed with the Indian-style food offerings at the Art of Animation Resort and looked forward to coming back to try some of the other eats there!

You can see details of our dining from July at Tutto Gusto, Kouzzina and the Landscape of Flavors food court in the post WDW Weekend Eats dated August 5, 2012.

New Wine Flights at Tutto Gusto

August again found us at Epcot (is anyone shocked?) and one again at Tutto Gusto to check out the new Wine Flights and “Gusto Plates”.

“La Siciliana” Plate – Caponata, Cacciatorini Sausage & Fresh Mozzarella

We also checked out some merchandise…

An Eating & Drinking Around the World shirt!

tried a sparkling Sake in Japan…

Hana Awaka Sake in Japan

and scoped out the construction walls inside the gift shop in France.

Part of the bakery expansion in France

Also in August we ventured over to the Hilton Bonnet Creek Resort for their second annual Barbeque Weekend.

There we sampled several types of chili in a competition between chefs from the various restaurants at the resort.

Chili Competition at Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek Resort

We also tried a couple of the specialty cocktails being offered up for the weekend….

Watermelon Crawlita and BBQ Honey Bacon Bloody Mary

This year each of the bars and restaurants were offering different cocktails for the weekend – last year each of the locations were serving the same drinks – this was a nice change!

Cocktail Menu at the lobby bar in Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek Resort for Barbeque Weekends

The restaurants were also featuring special BBQ-inspired dishes, unique to each…

Zeta Lounge and Sushi Bar specialty items for Barbeque Weekends

We also gave the poolside barbeque grill a try….

Barbeque & Bikinis!

Poolside Barbeque Grill Menu

and lunched on a couple of the “Gourmet Dogs”.

Brooklyn Dog & Nacho Dog

Back over in the World, we went to check out some merch at Downtown Disney, and at the Team Mickey store we realized that you can’t really escape the Platypus…

Agent P taking it to the hole…

and that Mickey is a fan of the Crimson Tide!

Roll Tide, Roll!

September found us making our first stay at the new Art of Animation resort as the Little Mermaid section (the only part of the resort with “regular”/non-suite rooms) opened for business the middle of the month.

We loved the decor and detail in the room…

Beds and headboards in Little Mermaid room

Sheet Music for “Under the Sea” on table in Little Mermaid room

we even found a couple of Hidden Mickeys!

“Classic” Hidden Mickey in Little Mermaid Room at Art of Animation Resort

Hidden Mickey Watch in Little Mermaid Room at Art of Animation Resort

And where were these Mickeys?

Pull back the curtain…

In the shower of course!

Inside of the shower in Little Mermaid room

The exterior of the resort was pretty cool as well!

A Not-So-Little Mermaid

And a big scary Ursula!

One evening while there we took the bridge over to the food court at Pop Century and partook of an overly indulgent dessert…

“The King”

the King – a huge chocolate cupcake in honor of Elvis (Presley, not Costello). Filled with banana custard, glazed with a peanut butter icing and topped with candied bacon (hell yeah!) and chocolate, this is an homage to Elvis’ favorite grilled peanut butter and banana sandwich.

Stir-fried Veggie Noodles at Captain Cook’s

One night we went to the Magic Kingdom to check on the construction progress of the New Fantasyland expansion, and on the way we stopped at the Poly for a quick bite at Captain Cook’s.

Hawaiian Flatbread at Captain Cook’s

At the Magic Kingdom, we found some of the construction walls down…

and the new walls that mark the entrance to the New Fantasyland were out in the open.

New Fantasyland entrance wall

Detail on column of New Fantasyland wall

And a new place to nap…

We once again made our way to Epcot…

and found a few sultry Princess pics at the Art of Disney Store…

hubba, hubba!

And there was a new Haunted Mansion-inspired figure from  Jim Shore….

So want!

Play that funky music, Ghost-boy!

Moving out to the World Showcase I kinda got that Special Feeling…

Terra Vegan booth with Craft Beer booth in the background

as the booths for the 2012 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival had started to go up around the lagoon.

Belgium behind the hedges

The official opening of the festival was a couple of weeks later, and there was yet another runDisney race then – the inaugural Tower of Terror 10 Miler.

And once again, those attending the race expo could find plenty of “sustenance”…

Tower of Terror 10K Race Expo cocktails

The lines to get into Epcot were predictably long the first weekend…

but with extra-tasty foods…

Grilled Lamb Chop from Australia Kiosk

and fun in the cranberry bog awaiting…

Having a good time in the bog Deb?

And how about you Ms. Wolfe?

no one was complaining too much… certainly not us!

Karaage Hand Roll and Spicy Hand Roll from Japan Booth

We sampled plenty of foods and beverages…

Fruit Wines at the Florida Local Booth

and checked out the new Chase Lounge (see WDW Odds & Ends: 2012 Year End Edition, Part One to find out what this room formerly looked like!)…

Chase Lounge in the Festival Center of the Epcot Food & Wine Festival

and the merchandise offered up in the Festival Center.

Just some of the merchandise at the 2012 Epcot Food & Wine Festival

You can see many more details and my thoughts on the first weekend of the festival in the posts Epcot Food & Wine 2012: First Tastes, First Thoughts… Part One and the cleverly named Epcot Food & Wine 2012: First Tastes, First Thoughts… Part Two.

September also marked the 30th Anniversary of Epcot’s opening day…

Panel of men who were involved with the building and opening of Epcot hosted by Jason Surrell

and we had the chance to attend the D23 Anniversary Celebration.

Food & Wine Classic Banner

October saw more fun at the Epcot Food & Wine Festival, and what has become our favorite event of the fall, the Swan/Dolphin Food & Wine Classic.

Just a few of the booths being set up for the Food & Wine Classic

The Classic features beverage seminars, tons of food…

Shrimp Cocktail Shooters

Pork Belly!

even more to drink…

Beer anyone?

and celebrity chefs… some meet-and-greets are by design…

Yours truly with Big-Time chef and restauranteur Michael Mina

and some just a bit of serendipity…

That Retro-Rad Chic Emily Ellyn showed up for the festivities and I quickly accosted her – she got rid of me by giving me a gift of cherry tomatoes to go away…

all in all, the Food & Wine Classic is a blast! You can see more food pics in the post Food & Wine Classic 2012: Food Photo Gallery, and I will strive to finally get a full post/review up on the event soon… just don’t hold your breath…

The same weekend we also got to check out one of the soft openings (aka “Dress Rehearsal” in Disney-speak) of the Enchanted Forest section of the New Fantasyland expansion…

Part of the mural in the load area of the new Little Mermaid ride

The Little Mermaid attraction is a cute dark ride with a great queue…

Hello Ariel…

and after that Miss Bonnie, Mamma Ginny and I got to meet the red-headed-gal-with-a-tail.

Lumiere and Belle

Enchanted Tales with Belle was a wonderful experience – great effects, fantastic animatronics (especially Lumiere) and lots of guest interaction. The queue and cottage are full of details to keep you busy while waiting to meet the literature-loving Princess.

Entrance to the Beast’s Castle and the Be Our Guest Restaurant

We also go to poke our heads into the (at the time) yet to open Be Our Guest restaurant….

Lunchtime/quick service ordering area at the Be Our Guest restaurant

the interior of the restaurant is spectacular, and yes Virginia, there is alcohol…

Beers from France and neighboring Belgium…

at dinner beer and wine will be served – a first for the Magic Kingdom – and following the theme of the restaurant, the alcoholic beverages are all from France (or beer from nearby Belgium)… with one exception…

this sure is a Conundrum…

the white wine list includes the wine blend Conundrum from Caymus… a wine I actually like quite a bit, but why the inclusion of one single bottle from California in a French restaurant?

Enchanted Forest area of New Fantasyland with the Beast’s Castle in the background

The whole area just looks fantastic – can’t wait to see how it all looks when the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train area is finished!

Who’s that guy in the red shirt?

Belle’s Village was also looking good…

Hey Gaston! Watch those hands!

but you have to watch out for handsome egomaniacs trying to steal your girl!

Exterior of Gaston’s Tavern

Gaston’s Tavern was open and serving that day!

Surprised that Lafou got that many…

Not surprisingly, there are also tons of details in this fairly small quick-service establishment.

Roasted Pork Shank at Gaston’s Tavern – tender, juicy meat inside, crispy skin outside!

We tried the roasted pork and gave it two-greasy-thumbs-up!

Another view of pig…

This is not a big venue, and the entrance/ordering area is cramped and not easy to get in and out of if there are more than just a few people in line… this is likely to be a popular spot with “Lefou’s Brew” (aka Disney’s answer to Butterbeer) being served there and the cute, detailed seating areas, but it’s gonna be crowded… mark my words…

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train construction

Work continues on the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train attraction…

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train construction

The construction over at the Storybook Circus section of the expansion looked to be pretty much completed by mid-October…

Storybook Circus Entrance

with the mandatory gift shop, Big Top Souvenirs, now open…

Big Top Souvenirs

and inside we found snacks…

Some of the “Big Top Treats”

and castmembers eager to teach guests how to juggle!

The new meet-and-greet area, Pete’s Silly Sideshow, was also open.

Entrance to Pete’s Silly Sideshow

Inside you can meet a couple of Lovely Ladies…

Sign inside the Sideshow

or a couple of not-so-lovely Gents…

Sign inside the Sideshow

The characters are in sideshow-appropriate garb and eager to meet their fans.

The Great Goofini in the flesh!

There is also a covered Fastpass distribution area with some shaded seating…

Storybook Circus Fastpass area

and nearby food carts for the famished while waiting….

Food cart in Storybook Circus

Anyone for a weenie?

A week later we had a step-up from hot dogs and pretzels…

Thanks to Mamma Ginny, Papa Harry and (especially) their Offspring Jen, Miss Bonnie and I got to attend the Party for the Senses for the first time.

A nice selection of cheeses and accompaniments

Diver Scallop with Pea Puree and Micro Greens

This over-the-top event features a great variety of exciting food items…

Fry me a Quail Egg please…

to go on top of my Duck Confit Burger

and great wines and beers…

A really nice Riesling from Chateau Ste. Michelle & Dr. Loosen

and performances from Cirque du Soleil! Just pretend I got a good picture of them…

To top it off I even got to talk Doctor Who with a real Brit! And speaking of the time-traveling Gallifreyan…

Doctor Who Tee-Shirt in the UK pavilion at Epcot

that same weekend I found the first evidence of Doctor Who merchandise finally showing up in the United Kingdom at Epcot (see The TARDIS has landed… for more).

The first part of November was filled with more Food & Wine Festival goodness….

Dessert Trio at Epcot Food & Wine Festival

and another runDisney event, the Wine and Dine Half-Marathon, coincided with the last weekend of the Festival.

Wine & Dine Weekend schedule of events outside the race expo

And once again…

Get ready for the race!

those attending the race expo could find plenty of sustenance!

I always enjoy how many revelers at the Food & Wine Festival like to come in special attire…

Not that there’s anything wrong with that…

and I think this might be the favorite shirt I saw this year!

The second weekend of the month marked not only the end of the Food & Wine Festival, but the beginning of the holiday season at the World…

Goodbye Food & Wine Festival – hello Christmas – the Epcot Christmas Tree goes up…

and the first night of the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights at Hollywood Studios.

In addition of the spectacular light display…

and a hidden Purple Cat to find…

Found it!

there were some special food items…

“Santa Mickey” Cupcakes

and cocktails to be had!

Holiday Cocktail Menu at High Octane Refreshments in the Studios

The Merry Margarita – nothing says the Holidays like Blue Curacao and a Glow Cube!

This would actually be the only Holiday Goodness we’d experience in the Parks for this year, but it wouldn’t be the last Disney Fun w would have in 2012.

The next Disney holiday decorations we’d see would be…

Atrium of the Disney Fantasy decorated for the holidays (photo by Miss Bonnie)

on board the Disney Fantasy as we set sail for our second Disney Cruise of the year.

Pool area of the Disney Fantasy at night (photo by Miss Bonnie)

The Fantasy was perhaps even most spectacular than the Dream that we had sailed upon earlier in the year.

Tequila Seminar in the Meridian Bar (photo by Miss Bonnie)

From drink demos…

Beef Tenderloin with two sauces at Palo

to fine dining…

Arrrgghhh… come with me wench!

to the frivolity of Pirate Night…

Mistress of the Fantasy

there’s just way too much to cover about a Disney cruise to squeeze into this already-too-long recap… so someday I’ll try and and give you some more details…

Okay, so there you have it – a look back at 2012 from an Eating (and Drinking) Around the World perspective – hope you enjoyed!

Now what will 2013 hold? We’ll see soon as this year’s Marathon Weekend at WDW is just days away…

Back to the kitchen… and the starting line! See you soon!

WDW Odds & Ends: 2012 Year End Edition, Part One

As the New Year looms it seems that most blogs, websites, etc have to have some sort of year-in-review post, and being the Internet Lemming that I am, I will follow suit… so here are some random things from this this past year around the World – many, of course, food & drink related.

Let’s hop into our TARDIS and go way back in time – all the way to January of 2012…

runDisney Event Medals

The first big event of the year at the Walt Disney World Resort is Marathon Weekend: thousands of runners, joggers, walkers and assorted hangers-on swamp the World to take part in the athletic endeavors that wind their way through property over the long weekend.

Disney Marathon Weekend Packet Pickup

One of the first stops for the participants is at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex to pickup their bibs and other race paraphernalia and to browse and shop at the race expo.

The best booth at the race expo!

And in case the runners need sustenance to make it up and down the crowded aisles of the expo, one can avail themselves of some fresh fruit, an energy drink, or, thank goodness, a glass of bubbly or a beer!

Marathon Weekend Cupcakes

The Main Street Bakery in the Magic Kingdom was in the Marathon Mood during the weekend with some specially decorated cupcakes… can you say Carb-Loading?

Lots of things were going on in the brief month of February…

Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom Banner above the Firehouse on Main Street

The new Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom interactive game was now in full swing in (of course) the Magic Kingdom.

Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom Training Session

Valentine’s is always a busy time at the World (what’s more romantic than a cozy ride for two through the Haunted Mansion?).

Wild Caught Jumbo Prawn and Crab “Hot-Pot” at Artist Point

Miss Bonnie and I shared a nice dinner at Artist Point in the Wilderness Lodge to celebrate Valentine’s Day.

House-made Sweet Potato Gnocchi at Artist Point

Another popular runDisney event. the Princess Half-Marathon, is held the end of February.

Princess Half-Marathon Snack Box and Medal

After the race instead of the usual “grab-a-bannana-and-a-bagel” line at most running events, the finishing Princesses (and Princes) were handed a nice little box of post-race refueling items.

Also that month there was a debut at the Kidani Village:

Makemba the Okapi at Kidani Village

Makemba (an African name for “Goddess”) is a female Okapi calf that was born on October 1 of 2011 and was just making her first forays into public view for limited times at Kidani Village.

Makemba with mama Zoe keeping a watch nearby

The rare and reclusive Okapi are kept on Pembe Savannah at the resort – this is the smaller savannah near the pool area. Even if you aren’t staying at the resort you can always stop by and try to catch a glimpse of these gorgeous creatures.

Construction at Tutto Gusto in Italy pavilion

In Epcot’s World Showcase the refurbishment in Italy continued as we eagerly kept checks on the soon to open wine bar…

Temporary food kiosk in Italy

A kiosk was set up on the promenade to help service guests Italian food needs while Tutto Italia was closed.

Fancy-dancy restrooms at the new Storybook Circus train stop

March saw the first part of the New Fantasyland expansion debut – sections of the Storybook Circus area, including the refurbished train stop (and perhaps the nicest restrooms in the Magic Kingdom!) were opened to the public.

The Great Goofini’s Ill-fated Rocket Flight

Also in March I had the opportunity to attend the Food Blog Forum event that was held on WDW property for the first time this year.

Food Blog Forum opening reception at the Grand Floridian

“Hanging” Salads at the Food Blog Forum opening reception

In addition to a day of great seminars and the opportunity to meet many food bloggers from all over the country (as well as re-connect with friends made before), the attendees got a couple of chances to see how the Disney chefs can really strut their stuff when given the chance! An opening reception was held the evening before the seminars at a lovely outside venue at the Grand Floridian resort.

Food Blog Forum lunch in the Millennium Village in Epcot

Lunch on the seminar day was held in the Millennium Village in Epcot. Chefs from restaurants around property served a huge variety of great dishes that emphasized the healthier side of dining while still keeping the taste and style high.

Spreads and Dips from Sanaa at the Food Blog Forum lunch

The sign says it all… I ate two of these without getting a good picture!

High-tech Soda making!

The Kitchen meets the Laboratory

Chocolate Ravioli in Cognac at Food Blog Forum lunch

March also saw the opening of the 2012 Epcot Flower and Garden Festival.

Cheers to the Flower & Garden Festival!

Haiti area at Flower & Garden Festival

This year’s festival featured an area devoted to Haiti.

Haiti Refreshment Kiosk

And yes, there were cocktails!

Haiti Refreshments Menu

April saw the continuation of the Flower & Garden Festival…

Dragon in China pavilion

Bonsai in Japan pavilion

Construction walls in Italy

and the continued construction at the restaurant in Italy.

New signage up behind the construction walls

But the new signs were up and the refurb seemed near to an end!

While impatiently waiting for the wine bar in Italy to open, we took advantage of the Wine Walk in Epcot and sampled several wines in three countries.

Sampling wines in France…

Italy…

and Germany

The Wine Walk is available all year and makes a fun (and relatively economical) way to sample several varietals as you make your way around the World Showcase.

Illuminations: Reflections of Earth

And of course the best way to end any day at Epcot (regardless of the time of year) is with a viewing of Illuminations!

Illuminations finale

Over at the Magic Kingdom an old friend returned…

Poster at the Magic Kingdom

The Sunshine Tree Terrace in Adventureland re-opened after a bit of a refurbishment…

Sunshine Tree Terrace

and along with it came the return of the Orange Bird character to the park.

“Little Orange Bird…”

And at the very end of April in Epcot…

Italy sans construction walls!

the walls were down in Italy!

Almost open… but not quite

But staff posted outside (along with signage) informed guests that the restaurant and adjacent wine bar weren’t quite ready to open to the public.

Sign outside Tutto Italia

Which brings us to the merry month of May….

Italy at night…

The first weekend of the month we got to stick out heads into the much-anticipated wine bar (you can see some pics from that visit in the WDW Odds & Ends post from May 24, 2012)…

Tutto Gusto entrance

but it would still be a while before we got to eat and drink there… we’ll get to that later…

The first weekend of May also included Cinco de Mayo…

Inside the Mexico pyramid…

and not surprisingly the lines were long at La Cava del Tequila in Mexico.

Why yes, I’ll have a cocktail…

That weekend was also the weekend that the Flower & Garden Festival was highlighting the “Fresh from Florida” agriculture in the Festival Center (aka the Wonders of Life Pavilion). With the “Real Job” coming under the umbrella of Florida agriculture, and our company hosting a display at the Festival Center that weekend, Miss Bonnie and I were invited to a small private function “after hours” upstairs in the Festival Center and once again, I got to see the Disney chefs stretch themselves (and we also found out how easy it would be to wander around backstage fairly unnoticed if one wished to do so… but that’s perhaps another post for another day…).

Peanut Crusted Beef Skewers

They tailored the food items to represent several of the groups and companies that were displaying during that weekend: a peanut farm (who knew we raised peanuts in Florida?); kumquat farmers; a couple of ornamental aquaculture suppliers; and of course strawberry farmers .

Panna Cotta with Kumquat Jam

Koi Colored Chocolate Drops with Sugar Coral (this was incredibly impressive from both an aesthetic and taste perspective)

Strawberries and Cream

As we exited the event and took the tiny elevator down to the first floor, Bonnie & I (like the true Disney-nerds we are) took the chance to nose around a little in the closed building and found a fun room…

“Carnival” room in the Epcot Wonders of Life Pavilion

“Carnival” room in the Epcot Wonders of Life Pavilion

“Carnival” room in the Epcot Wonders of Life Pavilion

“Carnival” room in the Epcot Wonders of Life Pavilion

“Carnival” room in the Epcot Wonders of Life Pavilion

“Carnival” room in the Epcot Wonders of Life Pavilion

“Carnival” room in the Epcot Wonders of Life Pavilion

This is the room that became the Chase Lounge at this year’s Food and Wine Festival, so sadly it no longer exists in the cool decor we saw… but we were excited to see it and I’m glad to be able to share these pictures with my Dear Dedicated Readers.

There is another “Carousel” room upstairs (see the post at Zannaland about this room) that Bonnie and I got to see after the Food and Wine Festival Preview last year – hopefully the decor in that room will stay around for a while!

And yes, there was yet another runDisney event that weekend – the Expedition Everest Challenge – Miss Bonnie and I declined to run in that event, but we did volunteer and had a great amount of fun helping runners out with the scavenger hunt clues!

Flower Power Concert Poster

A couple of weeks later we once again made our way to Epcot for the final weekend of the Flower & Garden Festival. I specifically wanted to see the performance of Micky Dolenz who was taking the place of the late Davy Jones. It was a fun, nostalgic, and at times emotional show as Micky talked about his friend and band-mate who had just passed away in February.

Micky Dolenz

After the concert we finally got the chance to have a nosh at Tutto Gusto…

Polenta Funghu e Fontina at Tutto Gusto

and Miss Bonnie quickly fell in love with the place! For more details on the eats we had there (and lots of other eats from that weekend as well!) check out the WDW Weekend Eats post dated June 1, 2012.

Star Wars Weekends stage in front of the “Hat”

Another popular event opened up that weekend: Star Wars Weekends at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

R2D2 filled with Churros

And yes, there was food there as well!

Lord Vader turns out to be a sweetie…

The June fun started in Animal Kingdom…

Safari Guide Tip Board at Animal Kingdom

with the Sundowner Celebration.

There was food…

Indian Wine

beverages…

Bollywood, baby!

and dancing!

Even though they could have made more of it, it was a fun event – you can see more in the post Sundowner Celebration: A First Look.

“Brave” Billboard in Hollywood Studios

The publicity machine for the soon-to-open film “Brave” was in full motion with huge billboards in the Studios…

“Brave” Billboard in Hollywood Studios

a Merida meet-and-greet in the Magic Kingdom…

Merida

and the Highland Games going on in Epcot.

Highland Games Banner in Epcot

You usually don’t get to chose your family!

“Brave” Sand Sculpture in Epcot

And already merchandise galore…

Just a small sample of the Merida/Brave merchandise available even before the movie hit the big screen

Another part of the Storybook Circus opened up in June…

with the very well-themed and very wet Casey Junior Splash ‘n’ Soak Station in the Magic Kingdom.

I dare you to stay dry!

While nearby the seemingly ever-present construction walls could hardly hide the advancing work going on for the New Fantasyland expansion.

Construction wall in Fantasyland

The middle of the month found the Harem at Animal Kingdom for another run at the Sundowner Celebration.

Cheers from the Wine Walk!

Who’s having more fun that This Guy?

Spring Roll Making Demonstration

Miss Bonnie explaining the virtues of Rice Paper to Mama Ginny…

Mama Ginny doesn’t look so sure…

There were also things goings on over at Epcot…

Sign up!

We got to play-test the new Agent P’s World Showcase Adventure which replaced the Kim Possible Adventure.

Goodbye Kim, hello Perry

Inside Mexico most of the entrance area had been cleared out…

Inside the pyramid again…

to make way for a new exhibit.

Coming soon to a pyramid near you…

And down in La Cava…

Looks good to me!

they had introduced a new high-end tequila flight!

What a name for a drink!

And I finally got a chance to try a new beverage at the Joy of Tea kiosk in China.

And what a drink it was! Two Quacks up!

Towards the end of June Miss Bonnie and I got our first look at the Art of Animation resort.

Art of Animation Resort exterior (photo by Miss Bonnie)

Light fixture in the entrance way of the Art of Animation Resort (photo by Miss Bonnie)

Part of the main pool area at the Art of Animation Resort

Radiator Springs section of the Art of Animation Resort (photo by Miss Bonnie)

And to end up the month we stepped outside the World…

and onto the Disney Dream…

Dream a little dream…

You can check out a few food & drink pics from that trip in the post “Life could be a Dream…”

Wow… it was quite a busy first half of the year! And since the second half wasn’t much less busy, let’s take a break for a cocktail… or two… or three…

So much for a short little post with some odds & ends…

See you soon for part two! Happy New Year!

Off to the bar…

Kindred spirit(s)

Like many of you I’m sure, several dead trees make their way into my (real physical) mailbox on a regular basis – as you might assume I do look forward to seeing such periodicals as Bon Appetit, Food Network Magazine, Cooking Light and so forth showing up – however only my handful of Dedicated Readers might not be surprised that one of my real favorite magazines is Runner’s World…

For the time being I’ll spare you the details of my various and heroic athletic exploits (okay, “athletic” may be a bit of an overstatement…), but many do involve events at Disney (for those of you who insist on a Disney connection to ever post)… anyway, Runner’s World is quite an enjoyable publication with info for runners from the neophyte to the experienced. Regular contributors include Run Disney coach and Olympian Jeff Galloway, Peter Sagal (host of NPR’s “Wait Wait, Don’t Tell Me“), and food writer Mark Bittman.

One of my favorite monthly features of the magazine is on the last page: “I’m a Runner”. On this page is a brief interview (there are longer versions online) with various celebrities/public figures/etc who also happen to be runners. Some of the diverse individuals profiled include Sir James Dyson (of vacuum cleaner fame), singer Alanis Morissette, U.S. Poet Laureate Kay Ryan, chef Bobby Flay,  Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and that Palin Power Couple: Python Michael and Tea Party darling Sarah…

Perhaps my favorite interview however was with a must be Kindred Sprit: actor Scott Bakula.

Scott Bakula (as Enterprise Captain Archer)

Best known for his sci-fi stints in the TV shows “Quantum Leap” and “Star Trek: Enterprise”, the fifty-something Bakula is also an accomplished amateur runner. But what endeared me to him was his answers to a couple of questions (one of which was in the magazine, and another in the extended interview online, which you can read here).

When given the line: “I celebrate a hard run with a delicious…”, he responded with: “I always come back and do like a big fruit shake. At the end of the day, a margarita works really well, too.”

So yes, we agree on the value of margaritas as a recovery drink!

And when asked “So you don’t run to eat?”, Bakula replied “No, I used to run to drink. When I was a kid, living in New York—have a couple beers and play some backgammon for a couple hours.”

Okay, run to drink… what a concept! And even though I love my margaritas, beer really is a great recovery drink – yes Dear Readers, I do know where to get a beer in Epcot at 9 Am at the end of a Disney race…

So Scott, we seem to be cut from the same cloth… if we’re ever at a race together drinks are on me… come to Disney for Marathon weekend and I’ll pick up the tab at La Cava…

Run, fat boy, run…

Along with the opening of this years Epcot Food & Wine Festival is the inaugural Wine & Dine Half Marathon.

The expo featured a booth I’d never seen at a race expo before…

Wine!!!

Okay, so it’s really more “walk pretty fast”, fat boy…

Details on the race to follow… Assuming I survive…

Epcot, you tease you…

Yes we know the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival is on the way, and if you don’t know by now, it is my favorite time of the year, and no, I can’t wait!

So they have begun to put teases around the park, I’m sure it’s just to irritate me… so this is part of what I observed this past weekend…

The Epcot version of a “construction wall” for many of the areas that will be prepped for Food & Wine is mobile vegetation strategically placed around the World Showcase.

Just what wonderful will be hiding behind that wall of portable foliage?

They will be coming from far and wide to make this truly an International event… even a sleepy little burg in Germany must have heard of the event!

A lovely little town along the Romantic Road...

and they even have a cheese purveyor in town...

so why are these obviously gastronomically wise Germans advertising the "other" Epcot festival???

I made the somewhat dubious decision to wander into the Trade City event in Epcot, an almost overwhelming event donated to pin trading, Vinylmation and the like…

I was rewarded by a first-hand look at (at least some) of the Food & Wine Festival pins for this year,

as well as the pin for the inaugural Wine & Dine race.

Okay, now I’m hungry… and tired… off to the kitchen, then to bed… more soon…

Mark your calendars!

Disney has announced the dates for the 2010 Epcot Food & Wine Festival! This year we will again be “Celebrating Culinary Adventures” and the dates will be from October 1, 2010 until November 14. 2010. The festival is starting a week later this year, but will again run for a wonderful, food & drink filled, six weeks (plus a couple of days, if you want to be picky…).

No details are available yet, but I’m already salivating… (okay, yes I know, I drool a lot anyway…)

The first weekend corresponds with the inaugural running of the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon. This race essentially replaces the Race for the Taste 10k (and the departed Tower of Terror races that were also held in the fall). This new 13.1 mile event is a night race that can either be run by an individual, or with a new twist for Disney races, as a relay for two runners. Also that weekend will be a 5K “Mickey’s Halloween Family Fun Run”.

For more details on the race weekend, check the Disney Endurance site here. For those of you participating in the race, they are offering some fairly good group rates at selected resorts for that weekend.

More to come….

Quick Bites – Two Good Meals…

A couple of weekends ago was Marathon Weekend at Disney – and it was, in a word, COLD!

I know, I know… those of you up north will think nothing of our record temps here in central Florida… but freezing temperatures and sleet do not make for a fun half-marathon…

Sometime in the future I’ll do a full trip report on the weekend, but for now, lets’ briefly go over a couple of the more pleasant parts of the weekend, and not surprisingly, they involve food…

Since I was staying at the Wilderness Lodge, and I’d never eaten there, a meal at Artist Point seemed to be a logical choice for my pre-half meal…

Considering I needed to be getting up about 3 AM, the semi-early bird time of 5:35 was selected for dinner time… joining me were my good friends Aileen and Ryan Wilson (Ryan is the Editor, Chief Cook and Bottle-Washer of the Main Street Gazette – http://www.mainstgazette.com). Miss Bonnie was invited, but was only able to join us at dessert-time (even though none of us actually had dessert…). Mistress Sandra likely would have been there, but she was otherwise occupied by a certain Mr. Bourdain that evening…

After a cocktail (big surprise) at the adjoining Territory Lounge bar, we were seated and began to peruse the menu… we put in our orders and awaited our starters…

I had the Venison Pot Stickers with tamarind Ponzu – the dumplings were more like an open-topped dim sum than the enclosed pot stickers I expected, but nonetheless the flavor was great – the slightly strong, mildly gamey venison matched well with the sweet sauce. Ryan’s choice of the Smoky Portobello Soup (which he graciously shared) was a flavorful winner, and Aileen’s Spinach Salad was nice, but was certainly considered among the diners as the least exciting among our choices.

Venison Pot Stickers

Smoky Portobello Soup

Spinach Salad

For main courses Ryan chose the Grilled Beef Tenderloin with roasted fingerlink potatoes, sauteed baby spinach, blue cheese fritter and port wine reduction, while Aileen and I both went for the Butter-poached Wild Boar Tenderloin with wild mushroom goat cheese bread pudding, fava beans and huckleberry au jus.

Grilled Beef Tenderloin

Ryan was pleased with his beef, and Aileen and I both enjoyed our boar, but we all agreed that the real star of the meal was our main side to the boar, the savory bread pudding was fantastic! Hopefully we can get hold of the recipe… I have experimented with a savory bread pudding inspired by this, but still working on it before I share…

Butter-poached Wild Boar Tenderloin

We also shared a side of truffle fries… no, they weren’t exactly horrible… mmmmm…

Truffle Fries

We were full, and with the early AM wakeup for the half marathon the next day (3 AM or so) we all passed on dessert, even though we were sorely tempted by the signature item there, the Artist Point Cobbler of seasonal berries and housemade black raspberry ice cream.

Service that night was a bit slow – not sure if it was due to our server or the kitchen – normally I prefer a nice, leisurely meal, especially with good company and conversation, but this night we all wanted to get to bed fairly early…

All in all we enjoyed our visit to Artist Point, and I look forward to dining there again.

The next night, while trying to recover from the frigid 13.1 miles of that morning, Mistress Sandra and I dined at the fairly new eatery on the Boardwalk from Iron Chef Cat Cora, Kouzzina.

When it was first announced that we were getting a new restaurant on property by Cat Cora, I was very excited. Sadly instead of a totally new dining location, or perhaps replacing a less-than-stellar establishment, we were loosing Spoodles, a well-liked eatery, by it being replaced by Kouzzina.

I had eaten breakfast there on the second day the restaurant was open, and had really enjoyed it, so I was looking forward to trying dinner.

As we made our way from the blustery Boardwalk, we had a fairly short wait for our ADR, but boy howdy, they are sure missing out by not having a bar…

As we were seated, the hostess mentioned that they served Iron Chef (we were constantly reminded throughout the evening that Cat was an “Iron Chef”) Cat Cora’s own “Coranation” Wines… our server soon arrived and presented us with our menus and asked us for or Adult Beverage choices. Mistress Sandra decided to try the “Cat Flight” of the Coranation Wines… our server said she had to check, as she was pretty sure they were out of one of the choices in the flight. When she returned, she apologized that they were actually out of two of the three selections in the flight… so the Mistress then chose the specialty drink “Cat’s Ouzo-tini” (a martini featuring Ouzo…) while I selected the Alfa Lager Athens Greek beer.

Strangely as the night went on, we heard the hostess mention to several parties about the Coranation Wines as they were seated… you’d think she would have been notified if they were out of an item they would normally be pushing on customers…

Anyway… the Ouzo-tini wasn’t a hit with the Mistress (even though she claims to like the anise-flavored Ouzo) – I tasted it, and well… I’d have to really want a drink to order that…

For an appetizer we shared the Vongole – a mixture of Manila Clams, Calabrese Sausage, Wine Broth, and Garlic Croutons… this was fantastic… the hit of the night (and the rest of the meal was pretty darn good…). Mistress Sandra stated that she would just be happy with nothing else than the broth infused croutons… and I couldn’t argue with her… my only complaint would be that the portion size for this might be a bit small for the price, but I tell you, if they served lunch (which they don’t), I’d gladly go there and order the Vongole and a beer (or three) for lunch…

So, I didn’t take a picture of the Vongole before we decimated it… so shoot me… instead here’s another random Muppet movie poster picture:

Not the Vongole... though there is pork involved in both

I did find the recipe for this dish online, and once we’re able to test the recipe in the Eating (and Drinking) around the World kitchens, we’ll share…

On to the main courses… Sandra chose the Fisherman’s Stew (a tasty blend of Scallops, seasonal Fish, Shellfish, Fennel, Grilled Bread, and Ouzo Butter) while I selected the Slow-cooked Lamb Shank (served with Oven-baked Gigantes Beans and Pepper Sauce).

Fisherman's Stew

Both were very good sized portions, and both were delicious… the lamb was literally fork-tender, and the large beans were a great compliment.

Slow-cooked Lamb Shank

Our server was pleasant and knowledgeable about the menu, though she did disappear for a while mid-meal (while I could have desperately used another brewed beverage… I needed that race recovery drink I’ll remind you…). When she did make her way back to the table she did at least acknowledge her absence and apologized (there was some excuse about the kitchen, but I don’t recall the exact reason…).

We were both full, so there were no desserts in the offing…

So, let’s see… two really good meals in what was a really good weekend (despite the weather…)… now some notes in case you don’t know…

Artist Point is one of the Disney “Signature restaurants”, therefore it ain’t cheap… with most entrees running in the mid-$30s to the lower $40s. But the quality of the food certainly warrants the cost. It’s obviously not an “every-night” (or even an every-trip-to-Disney) kind of place, but for a special dinner it’s well worth the expense (at least based on my one trip… so for you, dear readers, all three of you, will sometime take another one for the team and eat here again…).

Kouzzina (or as the complete name is presented: “Kouzzina by Cat Cora”) is a bit more reasonable, with most entrees in the mid-$20’s. Portions were nice, and the service was fine…
I’ve heard several complaints about the restaurant being overly noisy, but the night we were there it was fine… not a real quiet place for the most romantic meal ever maybe, but it wasn’t uncomfortably loud during our dinner…

So, a very good Marathon weekend, with some very good food, some even better friends, and another Donald medal…

Time to get back to the kitchen… see you soon…

I gotta get out more….

The weekend after Thanksgiving I ran (okay, we know that means mostly walking very fast…) in the Jingle Bell Run 5K Run/Walk for Arthritis in Tampa. The “Plaza Run” race was held this year at the International Plaza Mall. Now I don’t get to this mall, and the adjacent Bay Street dining area, often… even though I do live in the “Tampa Bay Area”, International Mall is a good 45 minute to an hour drive from lovely Riverview, and especially since there is now an Apple Store much closer in Brandon…

But I did discover something new since the last time I had been to Bay Street… Early in the AM on that Sunday, fueled only by a good amount of coffee and a Clif bar I wandered through the darkened dining area to find the registration area for the race… some early morning workers were around – walkway being pressure washed – the clatter of dishes through the open back door of a restaurant – and the inside lighted up of, yes, the Holy Grail of Sandwiches – an Earl of Sandwich!

Disney fans are practically unanimous in their praise of the store located in Downtown Disney – some even make special trips there for one of the tasty, hot sandwiches… I had really never given much thought to this being a chain (it’s almost too good…), but it is, and if one is near you, be sure to give it a try… freshly made hot and unique sandwiches, usually all under six bucks… and of course salads, chips, and various other fresh sides… mmmm…

http://www.earlofsandwichusa.com/

Even though I don’t get to that mall often, I do have to make a pilgrimage every so often to a nearby location, so I now may have to make a short side trip for lunch… and that nearby location? I like to refer to it as the “Disneyland of Alcohol” (or the DOA for short), but most people know it as Total Wine… the best likker store in the whole wide world (or at the least the best I’ve been into…)

http://www.totalwine.com/

And for full disclosure, we here at Eating (and Drinking) around the World have no financial arrangement nor have we received any type of remuneration from either of the above businesses for our praise heaped upon them… not that we would be adverse to same… we will gladly whore ourselves for food and drink… call us…

An unusual race aside: as you probably know, most races have one or more places where they provide the participants with water and/or Powerade/Gatorade (or other sports drinks). Volunteers usually hand out the liquid in crushable Dixie cups which are then normally strewn wildly about by the participants and left for the poor volunteers to clean up… this race was basically two-plus loops around the mall, and there was one water station that was passed twice – the first pass by was the usual Dixie cup… but on the second round it appears they must have run out and had to use whatever they could find:

Ohhh… if only they had be really handing out Jager Bombs at 9 AM…