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…