Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted November 22, 2013 Report Share Posted November 22, 2013 You think F&W has fancy-shmancy names for their food? You ought to try Victoria & Albert's... I have no idea what a Poulet Rouge, Gateau, or an amuse-bouche are but they sure were tasty. Cleaned my plate so good there wasn't anything to put in a doggie-bag! Well, I would expect the fancy-schmancy stuff at V&A. But they ought to keep the pig bung-hole with arugula and vinaigrette drizzle there. I wonder if anyone ever took a doggie bag out of V&A? TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jjbescher 17 Posted November 25, 2013 Report Share Posted November 25, 2013 Well, I would expect the fancy-schmancy stuff at V&A. But they ought to keep the pig bung-hole with arugula and vinaigrette drizzle there. I wonder if anyone ever took a doggie bag out of V&A? TCD Yes and they are very nice Doggie Bags. With a lot of courses, they do keep the portions small, but it will fill you up. jon Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nicki aka Rebelstand 272 Posted November 25, 2013 Report Share Posted November 25, 2013 Hey MONIQUE.... THE NATIVES WILL GET RESTLESS.... PureTcrazy...rita 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799 Posted November 25, 2013 Report Share Posted November 25, 2013 Aren't we always!?! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
h2odivers...Ray 952 Posted November 25, 2013 Report Share Posted November 25, 2013 Aren't we always!?!Yes! Yes we are!So post already! We miss you! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023 Posted November 26, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2013 Sorry for the delay, folks! Ok, so hijack comments... I like calamari and arugula. That is all. Moving on... Tea Party - part 1 One lovely afternoon, Nicki and The Cheese (not to be confused with BJ and The Bear) headed over to the Grand Floridian for tea at the Garden View Tea Room. I know some of you are saying "Tea?! More froufrou and little bits of fancy food that won't fill you up and you'll have to stop for a crappy pizza at TE on the way home just to be full" You would be wrong, sir! Aside from just a lovely, peaceful location in all the WDW hubbub, the food at GVT is actually quite delicious and plentiful as, depending on what you order, you get course after course of yummy food. On this fine day, I ordered the Princess Kate Tea. This is listed on the menu as..."Served with a classic dish of potted shrimp or tuna poke, this dish offers a medley of cheeses, an array of seasonal fruits and cheddar cheese biscuits. A scone, jam tart and a selection of delicate pastries are accompanied with a glass of Veuve Clicquot champagne and your choice of tea." It should be noted that you get an entire pot of tea. This time I got the Mad Hatter tea, which you can also buy in many of the shops around WDW. It's a fruity black tea whose ingredients include... "Premium blend of Indian Black Teas, Safflowers, Calendula petals, Ginger bits, Apricot bits, Peach & Apricot flavors" Yum! Your entire meal is served on beautiful china, and each pot of tea comes with it's very own hat (aka tea cozy). First courseWhile I'll try pretty much anything, there wasn't anything about the combination of the words "potted" and "shrimp" that sounded appealing to me, so I went with something I know I like - Tuna Poke. This is similar to the Tuna Poke served at Kona Sushi bar - marinated raw tuna with sesame and soy. A decent portion and very delicious. Second course is the cheese plate with fruit and cheddar biscuits. I've had quite a few cheese plates around WDW and this may be the best one. Clockwise from upper left - blackberries, roasted pears, walnuts, a blue cheese, cheddar biscuits, fig cake, layered English cheddars(?), raisins on the vine (best raising EVAH), creamy brie-type cheese, honey with edible honey comb. Sorry I forgot to make notes of exactly what kinds of cheese these were, but they were all delicious! Next course, scones and raspberry tartAccompaniments include (left to right) lemon curd, clotted cream and preserves. The lemon curd was definitely my favorite and the scones are fantastic - light and buttery. Oh but wait... there's still dessert! on the left is a Boston cream cake and on the right a fruit cake/tart And because it's oh-so-pretty, I also took a picture of Nicki's trifle... If you haven't had Afternoon Tea here yet, I recommend giving it a try. RANDOM BREAD PUDDING PHOTO... For those that don't know, this is the Bread and Butter Pudding at Raglan Road, Downtown Disney. It comes hot and nicely browned on top, along with warm caramel sauce and creme anglais. If you haven't had this you should go there. Right now if you can. Skip the meal and start with this and you probably still won't be able to finish it. Seriously, do it. And please pick me up along the way. :) So one night we had the pleasure of dining at Kona Cafe with the Rebel and Turkey Pants families. While waiting for our table, we of course had to have one of these from the Tambu Lounge... This is a Lapu Lapu and yes that is a real pineapple. There is rum in here - I'm pretty sure a couple of kinds. It is delicious. It seemed odd to actually sit at a table inside the Kona Cafe, as we've only ever dined at the sushi bar, but that didn't mean we couldn't still get sushi! So all the dishes above were repeats from our first visit (yes, it's that good) but we did try something new this time. This is the Nigiri.... This is listed on the menu as "Traditional-style with Salmon, Tuna, Hamachi, Seared Scallop, Eel and Yuzu Poached Shrimp." In order of appearance top to bottom, they are Eel, Salmon, Hamachi, Scallop, Tuna and Shrimp. (FYI - in the past this has been on the menu as simply "Salmon, Tuna and Chef's choice") Each piece of seafood is draped over a little "brick" of rice. The green stringy stuff is seaweed salad, which sounds weird, looks weirder, has an even weirder texture, and is extremely delicious. This was super with the scallop being the hands down favorite. Next up...A Random Park/Food DayA New Stop on the Bar/Lounge Tour andFood and Wine Part 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
h2odivers...Ray 952 Posted November 26, 2013 Report Share Posted November 26, 2013 Some of the best pood forn I've seen in a long time!Yum!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PureTcrazy...rita 380 Posted November 26, 2013 Report Share Posted November 26, 2013 :) Nicki sceered you didn't she! :hah: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nicki aka Rebelstand 272 Posted November 26, 2013 Report Share Posted November 26, 2013 :) Nicki sceered you didn't she! :hah:More than once... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted November 27, 2013 Report Share Posted November 27, 2013 Second course is the cheese plate with fruit and cheddar biscuits. I've had quite a few cheese plates around WDW and this may be the best one. Clockwise from upper left - blackberries, roasted pears, walnuts, a blue cheese, cheddar biscuits, fig cake, layered English cheddars(?), raisins on the vine (best raising EVAH), creamy brie-type cheese, honey with edible honey comb. Sorry I forgot to make notes of exactly what kinds of cheese these were, but they were all delicious! Wow, what a strange looking assortment of food. Raisins on the vine? Roasted pears? I've never. None of this gives me any interest in ever visiting that tea room. I'd much rather have a few slices of Cracker Barrel cheese and some Ritz crackers. I wonder if those GF folks look at a bucket of chicken and feel the same way I do when I look at this plate of weird cheese and nuts? TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547 Posted November 27, 2013 Report Share Posted November 27, 2013 That cheese plate looks delicious! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nicki aka Rebelstand 272 Posted November 27, 2013 Report Share Posted November 27, 2013 Wow, what a strange looking assortment of food. Raisins on the vine? Roasted pears? I've never. None of this gives me any interest in ever visiting that tea room. I'd much rather have a few slices of Cracker Barrel cheese and some Ritz crackers. I wonder if those GF folks look at a bucket of chicken and feel the same way I do when I look at this plate of weird cheese and nuts? TCD This should "help" then - I got the finger sandwiches and a jam tart. You'll have to ask Mo what the pate was like. I gave it to her. The fancy sandwiches were mostly yum. I, like last time, only made it half way through the salmon fishy one. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023 Posted November 29, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2013 Some of the best pood forn I've seen in a long time!Yum!!! Tasted even better than it looks! :) :) Nicki sceered you didn't she! :hah: She can be pretty scary. :heartsmiley: I wonder if those GF folks look at a bucket of chicken and feel the same way I do when I look at this plate of weird cheese and nuts? All I'll say is I can appreciate a bucket of TE chicken just as much as that weird collection of cheese and nuts. Variety is the spice of life, after all. That cheese plate looks delicious! Very delicious indeed. I'd order it all by itself. This should "help" then - I got the finger sandwiches and a jam tart. You'll have to ask Mo what the pate was like. I gave it to her. The fancy sandwiches were mostly yum. I, like last time, only made it half way through the salmon fishy one. Pate was ok. There was a spice in there I wasn't super keen on. I got the sandwiches later on in the trip (yes I went to tea twice, it's that good) and they were yummy. Weirdly enough the egg salad was my favorite. The salmon was good, but I'm not a huge salmon fan. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023 Posted November 29, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2013 And now as promised...A Random Park/Food DayA New Stop on the Bar/Lounge Tour There was a day of our trip that involved a few Fiend ladies, 4 parks, zero fastpasses, and a whole lot of giggling. But that is a story for another TR (yes, that's a teaser). As far as this quasi-TR goes, here are the items that were consumed during that day... When you arrive at HS for rope drop, ride a bunch of rides in a very short amount of time, and know you've still got a long park day ahead of you, you might want to consider a breakfast full of sugar. Starting at the top is the special holiday carrot cake cupcake, the fruit tart and the butterfinger cupcake from Starring Rolls bakery. This was actually more sugar than 3 people could handle, but we did our best. The carrot cake cupcake was good, with the frosting having a hint of orange flavor to it. Carrot cake cookie is better. FYI - we asked and they did NOT have the carrot cake cookie here. At least not this day. 2 parks and one more Fiend lady later, we found ourselves at AK around lunch time. This is the Hot Italian-style Sandwich from Pizzafari... It's listed on the menu as..."This mouth-watering Sandwich features layers of Ham and Turkey, Fresh Lettuce, Juicy Tomatoes, and slices of Swiss topped with Pesto and a Caesar Dressing. Served between two toasted slices of delicious Muffaletta Bread, with your choice of Carrot Sticks or Chips $9.19" Gotta say this is a tasty and very filling sandwich, and really hit the spot. The day went on (and on and on) and finally found us at MK where we were lucky enough to have picked up one more Fiend (not a lady this time) and landed at BOG for dinner. If you like wheat beers, this is a delicious one. So delicious that I had 2. Rack of lamb is a relatively new addition to the dinner menu at BOG. It looks like this... ...and it tasted DELICIOUS. The lamb was cooked perfectly for me and you could just about cut it with your fork. It is listed on the menu as"Herb-crusted Lamb Rack with a Stone-ground Mustard Demi-glace serve with Buttered Celery Root and Seasonal Vegetables $28.49" The seasonal veggie tonight was broccoli rabe. Both were very tasty, not just bland veggies thrown on a plate. I would very definitely order this again. Next up...A New Stop on the Bar/Lounge Tour Over the years, DH and I have discovered that there are quite a few bars and lounges around WDW that serve food where you do not need an ADR. Seating is first come, first serve. This trip we finally tried the bar at Yak and Yeti. We've never actually eaten here, and weren't starving this day, but were up for a snack and some beverages. The bar here is on the right as you walk in. It's not a big area, with maybe 8 or so seats. One plus here is that if you enjoy the Safari Amber beer that you can only get on WDW property, they have it here on tap. We ordered a side of fried rice and the"Seared Ahi Tuna Chilled, sesame-crusted ahi tuna, wasabi aioli and sweet chili slaw 11.99" YUM! And yes, we really did eat a whole lot of raw tuna in various forms this trip. Coming soon to not-really-a-trip-report near you...Food & Wine Again??Sanaa - Holy Yum, Batman!More Delicious Bar Food Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nicki aka Rebelstand 272 Posted November 29, 2013 Report Share Posted November 29, 2013 She can be pretty scary. :heartsmiley:Pate was ok. There was a spice in there I wasn't super keen on.Weirdly enough the egg salad was my favorite. The salmon was good, but I'm not a huge salmon fan.You know of you follow the "she's scary with a heart, people won't believe you. The egg salad was my favorite too Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DramaMama .......... Janet 75 Posted November 29, 2013 Report Share Posted November 29, 2013 We swore off Applebee's many years ago, but not because of service. The most disgusting restaurant experience ever. If I wasn't on the ipad I'd use that puking smiley.We agree with that list and add Denny's and Steak and Shake. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DaveInTN 3,247 Posted November 29, 2013 Report Share Posted November 29, 2013 Starring Rolls never has the carrot cake cookie as far as I know. I always get it at the shop next door to there....but I don't remember the name. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AC in A2......Aaron 693 Posted December 2, 2013 Report Share Posted December 2, 2013 I am loving the bar stuff because beer is yummy. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
alexwyattmommy 181 Posted December 2, 2013 Report Share Posted December 2, 2013 Some very yummy looking food. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023 Posted December 3, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2013 and now for the next installment of "We Ate The World" BRAZIL Crispy Pork Belly with Black Beans, Onions, Avocado and Cilantro$5.25 - DDP Snack Eligible Cerveharias Kaiser Brewery Xingu Black Beer The pork belly really just "crispy" on top, otherwise it was melt-in-your-mouth delicious. The whole dish worked together really nicely, from the beans to the salsa type topping. I know pork belly is the new hot thing, but this dish definitely lived up to the hype. The Xingu Black Beer was also terrific. It was very smooth for a dark beer, without any bitterness. I need to track this one down here at home. MEXICO Left: Taco de Ribeye with Salsa de Chipotle$5.50, DDP Snack Eligible Right: Shrimp Taco with Purple Cabbage$5.50, DDP Snack Eligible The beverage is a Mango-Habanero Margarita The tacos are repeats from last year and both are delicious. The beef is tender and flavorful and the shrimp is cooked nicely and seasoned well. They don't drown these in sauces or other stuff - just enough to add to the meat without burying it. The margarita was interesting. It was very mango-y and sweet, but the habanero was pretty subtle, maybe a little too subtle. Since we started on the Mexico side this time around, and it was still early, we ducked out of the heat and headed to La Cava del Tequila for some beverages... On the left is a regular margarita that DH got, I think with 1800 Anejo Tequila. On the right is the Pomegranate margarita. Nicely fruity but still tart like a margarita should be (IMHO) Back out in the World... SINGAPORE Lemongrass Chicken Curry with Coconut and Jasmine Rice$4.25, DDP Snack Eligible This dish was pretty much exactly as billed - nice flavor of lemongrass, curry and a bit of coconut. Chicken was nicely cooked and it all went really well with the fragrant jasmine rice. Next up, the first of the repeat favorites... CHINA Yes, that's another Mongolian Beef in a Steamed Bun Darn but these things are yummy! I need to find me some steam buns, and that sauce. This time we had this with the Kung Fu Punch with Vodka. Fruity and tasty with a bit of a kick, but a little too sweet for my liking. Hey, anyone want to know how the Food & Wine booths have all those tasty beverages just ready to pour into your glass when you order? Time to try a booth we've never tried before... SOUTH KOREA Lettuce Wrap with Roast Pork and Kimchi Slaw$3.50, DDP Snack Eligible The roast pork was very tasty and went well with the kimchi and the mayonaise-y sauce on top, but honestly this was kind of tricky to actually try and roll up in the lettuce to eat, so we just used a fork. Next up, the GERMANY-BREWER'S COLLECTION booth and the much anticipated Schöfferhofer Grapefruit Beer. Holy hannah but this stuff is fantastic! I can understand now why they sold out the year before. It's a wheat beer with just enough grapefruity flavor so that it still tastes like a good wheat beer, but you know there's grapefruit in there. I have to say this was probably our favorite beer of the festival this year - even beating out Sam Cherry Wheat on draft. We've already been looking around to see if we can possibly get some of this here in our neck of the woods. The final plate this time around is also a repeat favorite and needs no introduction... I'd give my pinky toe for one of these right now. :) That was it for F&W this time around. We did actually go one more time our last week, but since we mostly went back for our favorites, I don't have more F&W photos. I do however have random Trails End photos, including... PECAN ROLLS They'd just brought these out fresh when I snapped this photo. And yes, they are very definitely as good as they look. No stay at the Fort would be complete without the penultimate "camping at the Fort" meal, and arguably one of the best dining deals on Disney property... That, for those of you who may not know, is the Giddyup and Go, available for take out from Trails End at dinner time. 10 pieces of chicken (you can request light/dark meat) with your choice of biscuits or corn bread and 2 sides - in this case macaroni and cheese and mashed potatoes with gravy. For approx. $24 this is a deal you just can't beat. We had brought beverages with us and headed to the tables on the dock at the marina for a lovely waterside picnic. And then packed up the leftovers which we got another whole meal and a snack out of. I'll leave the next batch of pics to a new post, coming up in just a few minutes... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DaveInTN 3,247 Posted December 3, 2013 Report Share Posted December 3, 2013 You had to post those pecan rolls AGAIN, didn't you? Nicki aka Rebelstand 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023 Posted December 3, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2013 Sanaa ... or Holy Yum, Batman! I've been wanting to head out to the Animal Kingdom Lodge to try Sanaa pretty much since it opened, but we never quite made it. This year we finally did, and I'm just sorry we didn't go sooner. The decor here is beautiful (I'll dig up those photos and post later) and the windows overlook the savannah at AKL, which is separate from Animal Kingdom, but has a whole host of their own animals, including zebras, giraffes, ankole cattle, antelope, etc. Our server described the cuisine to us as African with a heavy Indian influence. You can check out the menu HERE. The day we were there the seasonal soup was squash. It was garnished with pumpkin seeds and a dollop of cottage cheese. This was the best squash soup I've ever had. Just sweet enough and extremely rich. The pumpkin seeds went with it perfectly, as did the cottage cheese which had some herbs mixed in. Since this was going to be our big meal of the day, we went all out and got the bread service with all the accompaniments. This is how it's listed on the menu... Choice of Three Breads - Traditional Naan, Garlic-Ginger Naan, Spiced Naan, Onion Kucha, or Pappadum.Accompaniments - Red Chile Sambal, Cucumber Raita, Coriander Chutney, Mango Chutney, Coconut Chutney, Garlic Pickle, Spicy Jalapeño-Lime Pickle, Roasted Red Bell Pepper Hummus, or Tamarind Chutney We got the Spiced Naan, Onion Kucha and Pappadum, which looked like this... The standard bread service normally comes with your choice of 3 of the accompaniments, but for $2 more you can get all 9. So we did... There was some seriously delicious stuff here ranging from fruity to creamy to big-time spicy. All of which incredibly flavorful. My favorite of all of these was the green one, which was the Coriander Chutney. Totally not something that I'd ever guess I'd like, nevermind want to eat by the bucketful. I would absolutely go back here to sit in their lounge and just order the bread service with extra bread. :) For our entrees we both went with the Slow-cooked in Gravy, Simple and Well-seasoned Dinner Choice of Two - Butter Chicken, Spicy Durban Chicken or Shrimp, Bison Masala, or Sustainable Fish with Goan Curry served with Basmati Rice or Five-Grain Pilaf I got the Butter Chicken and Spicy Durban Chicken or Shrimp, with the Five-Grain Pilaf... The butter chicken was as good as "butter chicken" sounds with the chicken tender and the sauce super flavorful and buttery. The Spicy Durban Shrimp was indeed very spicy, and I like spicy. But it was so tasty that you didn't mind the fact that your lips were tingling. Besides, there was some of the yogurt-based Cucumber Raita sauce left from the bread service that helped cool things down. The pilaf was very hearty, nutty and tasty. Luckily the dessert portions here are small enough that you can sneak it in even after all those plates of yum. We split Coconut Cheesecake with Spiced Berry Compote... Honestly may have been a fairly small portion, but it was just enough for us. And this was probably the creamiest cheesecake I've ever had. We didn't have an ADR for Sanaa and went on a Friday afternoon about 2-ish. It was not busy and we waited less than 10 minutes for a table. There is also a pretty decent lounge area here, with seats at the bar and some tables (photos to come). We'll definitely be putting this on our list of places to come back to again! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023 Posted December 3, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2013 You had to post those pecan rolls AGAIN, didn't you? I'm evil, evil I tell ya! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DaveInTN 3,247 Posted December 3, 2013 Report Share Posted December 3, 2013 I know that food is African, but it looks similar to Indian to me. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799 Posted December 3, 2013 Report Share Posted December 3, 2013 YUM!!!!!!!!!!!! Keep em coming! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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