F&W weekend and breakfast of champions-complete 11-3-18

[goofy78]

Hi everyone! DH and I just got back from our F&W adult only weekend. We stayed at The Swan for the first time and we really loved it! The location can't be beat and this was an EP only trip so it worked out perfectly! We were there from October 5-8. We arrived around 12:00pm and our room was ready so we dropped off our bags and headed right over to EP.

First stop for us was France. We got the Croissant aux Escargots: Escargot Croissant with Garlic and Parsley. We always love this and it was just as good as always.


We next stopped at Les Vins des Chefs de France for our absolute favorite- Grey Goose Citron Slush. Look how happy we are!


Perfect way to start our weekend!

 

[goofy78]

Next up was Brazil. We got the Pão de Queijo: Brazilian Cheese Bread and the Crispy Pork Belly with Black Beans, Tomato and Onions. The cheese bread was warm and cheesy and delicious. The pork belly was ok. We were going to Flying Fish for dinner this night and if anyone has ordered the pork belly from FF you know there is no comparison.




Next stop was Belgium. We got the Belgian Waffle with Berry Compote and Whipped Cream. Very good. The waffle was warm and slightly crispy on the outside.


After Belgium, we stopped at Morocco. We got the Hummus Fries with Cucumber, Tomato, Onions and Tzatziki Sauce. Great as usual. It doesn't say spicy in the name (as it did last year) but these were still spicy. Had quite a kick to them which we enjoyed.

 

[goofy78]

I will say we did ALOT of drinking this weekend. I only have a few drink pictures. Most of what we drank was beer and not a lot were from the F&W booths. Another thing we did was ordered dessert items from the booths this time. We usually don't try many since we are out right at opening and eating sweets early is tough for me but we gave it a shot this time. It worked out fine.

Continuing after Morocco we stopped at Hops and Barley and got the New England Lobster Roll: Warm Lobster with Fresh Herb Mayonnaise and Griddled Roll and Freshly Baked Carrot Cake and Cream Cheese Icing. Being from New England this lobster roll was delicious! And the carrot cake was awesome! Served nice and warm.




On our last few trips we've stopped at Choza de Margarita. The Mexico F&W booth didn't have anything that was making me want to go there over Choza. So we went to Choza and got the Guacamole - topped with mango and pumpkin seeds. Served with fried flour chicharron, salsa Valentina and lime. I also got the Lime Cucumber Margarita - Tequila Avion blanco, fresh cucumber juice, orange liqueur, agave nectar, and Tajin chili rim. I absolutely love this guacamole.





We ate as much as we could but by this time we were done for the afternoon. We headed back to the Swan to rest and get ready for our dinner at Flying Fish.

 

[goofy78]

After we showered, we headed over to the Boardwalk. We had dinner reservations close to 8:00pm but we really didn't want to wait until then. I asked the hostess if there was any way we could sit earlier and she took my cell number and said I would get a text when something came available. We sat at AbracadaBar and ordered a glass of wine while we waited. And before we even got the wine, I got the text! We aske about bringing the wine into FF and they said it was fine. They did pour it into plastic cups though.
We both ordered another glass of wine- DH a Cabernet and me my beloved Cakebread Cellars Chardonnay. We debated a bit over what appetizers to order. The pork belly is fantastic here and DH was definitely getting it. I have always wanted to try grilled romaine so I decided to give it a try.

Kurobuta Pork Belly
Gala Apple, Cherry Gastrique


Grilled Baby Romaine
Buttermilk-Crème Fraîche Dressing, Pecorino


The pork belly was delicious. This is one of our favorite items here. The grilled romaine was fine. I'm glad I tried it but not sure if I would order it again. For our entrees, DH decided on the Wagyu filet. One of the deciding factors was the return of the risotto. FF keeps on changing the side item that comes with the filet. Before we left home, we were looking at the menu and the filet was being served with a vegetable medley! No thanks! So VERY happy to see the risotto back. I ordered one of my favorites the Sea Bass. Both dishes were fantastic! We each had a bite of each others and both agreed this meal was one of our best!

Wagyu Filet with Asparagus and Sweet Onion Risotto and Truffle Sauce


Sea Bass
Leek Fondue, Cassis-Red Wine Reduction


We contemplated on ordering dessert. And we decided what the heck! We saw the new item that replaced the chocolate dessert (can't remember the name) and decided to give it a try. It was absolutely amazing! They bring over the cake and pour the warm chocolate ganache tableside!

Cocoa Breach
Chocolate-Hazelnut Cake, Warm Ganache


We finished our dessert and headed back to the Swan. We had a fantastic first day. We wanted to get up nice and rested for our first full day of F&W. Lots more to come!

 

[Hettie]

Following and enjoying!

 

[armerida]

For our entrees, DH decided on the Wagyu filet. One of the deciding factors was the return of the risotto. FF keeps on changing the side item that comes with the filet. Before we left home, we were looking at the menu and the filet was being served with a vegetable medley! No thanks! So VERY happy to see the risotto back.
Wagyu Filet Mignon
Vegetable Mélange, Savory Potato Beurre Blanc
View attachment 357399

This looks amazing! I was also perusing the menu and hoping for risotto for our trip next month. Do you happen to know what kind of risotto it was? I love the mushroom risotto at Le Cellier (it's better than the steak!)...

 

[siren0119]

I am suddenly having deep regrets about not visiting the margarita station instead of going to the Mexico booth!!!

 

[goofy78]

Following and enjoying!

Thanks for following!

 

[goofy78]

This looks amazing! I was also perusing the menu and hoping for risotto for our trip next month. Do you happen to know what kind of risotto it was? I love the mushroom risotto at Le Cellier (it's better than the steak!)...

Yes. I realized the description I posted was still the old one (from the Disney website). The filet came with asparagus and sweet onion risotto and truffle sauce. It was absolutely delicious. I don’t think I’ve had a risotto I haven’t liked no matter what kind it is.

 

[goofy78]

I am suddenly having deep regrets about not visiting the margarita station instead of going to the Mexico booth!!!

We really love it here. The empanadas are delicious as well. We just didn’t have enough room in our stomachs to get them this time.

 

[sanapp]

Your pictures from FF are making me wish I had booked it for my upcoming February solo trip. I have not been since the menu changed, but that fish looks AMAZING!!!!

 

[siren0119]

On a side note, visiting Bill the bartender at Flying Fish is a MUST DO. He is super knowledgeable, and a master mixologist!

 

[goofy78]

Your pictures from FF are making me wish I had booked it for my upcoming February solo trip. I have not been since the menu changed, but that fish looks AMAZING!!!!

I’ve had the Sea Bass the last few times we’ve gone. It has become one of my favorite meals in all of DW.

 

[goofy78]

We woke up on Saturday morning and decided to grab some coffee and then rope drop Soarin. We had FP's yesterday but ended up cancelling them to focus on F&W. We got to IG around 8:30 or so. Not too many people ahead of us. We got to Soarin and had a about a 10 minute wait. We haven't rode Soarin in the last few trips so I was glad to get on this time. It's always been one of my favorites. After the ride, we stopped for a quick bite at Sunshine Seasons. DH got a cinnamon roll (no picture) which he really enjoyed and I got the delicious cheese danish.



We headed back to the hotel after as I wasn't feeling quite right. Just a little tired and off. We hung out for about an hour and headed back to EP. That little rest was really all I needed. We headed to our first booth of the day, Flavors from Fire where we ordered the Charred Chimichurri Skirt Steak on a Smoked Corn Cake with Pickled Vegetable Slaw and Cilantro Aioli and the Smoked Corned Beef with Warm Crispy Potatoes, Pickled Onions and Blonde Ale Beer Fondue featuring BelGioioso® Romano and American Grana Cheeses.





The skirt steak was good but the corned beef with warm crispy potatoes (or as I like to call them potato chips) was amazing! They were so good we really didn't eat much of the skirt steak and completely finished these off! This was a repeat item the next day that's how much we enjoyed them.

Next up was Earth Eats. We ordered the Steakhouse Blended Burger: Blended Beef and Wild Mushroom Slider with Brie Cheese Fondue, Arugula, Truffle and Blue Cheese Potato Chip on a Brioche Bun. This was really the only item we got that we felt was a waste. Before our trip I had seen some pictures of this item and my comment was it looked dry and I hoped it tasted better than it looked. Well, it didn't. The bun was dry and the rest of the ingredients didn't have much taste.



We had a few bites and were done. Next we went to Coastal Eats so we could try the Baked Shrimp Scampi Dip with Sourdough Baguette. But they didn't have any. So we moved on and planned on coming back later or tomorrow. Next we visited Wine and Dine Studio and got the Butternut Squash Ravioli with Brown Butter Vinaigrette, Parmesan Cheese and Pumpkin Seeds. This was very good. We really enjoyed it.

 

[goofy78]

Up next after the Wine and Dine Studio we visited the Australia booth where we got the Grilled Lamb Chop with Mint Pesto and Potato Crunchies. We had this last year when the cut of meat was different and agreed this year's was better.



We headed over to the Canada booth. Always a favorite of ours. We only got the filet today and saved the soup for tomorrow. You can't go wrong with the F&W filet offering. Le Cellier Wild Mushroom Beef Filet Mignon with Truffle-Butter Sauce.



We backtracked and ended up at The Almond Orchard. We ordered the Creamy Spinach and Artichoke Dip with Pulled Chicken, Toasted Blue Diamond Almonds and Parmesan Cheese served with Nut Thins® Crackers. This was really good. The only thing I wish was different was the chicken. It wasn't pulled very much. It had two or three big pieces of chicken in there and while it was good, it was hard to eat as a dip. But again, we really enjoyed it.



We made our way back to Coastal Eats to see if they had the shrimp scampi dip yet and finally they did! I had been dying to try this after missing it last year and seeing all of the positive reviews. This was really good and on the top of our list of favorites. Baked Shrimp Scampi Dip with Sourdough Baguette.



This was our last booth of the day. We did ride TT at some point so two rides down this trip that we haven't done in a long time. We headed back to the Swan to get ready for our favorite restaurant, Jiko!

 

[goofy78]

We headed over to AKL by Lyft (not Minnie Van). I absolutely love this hotel. It is so beautiful. We planned on getting a drink at Victoria Falls Lounge before dinner. Our bartender was not the best but we had our drink and then headed to Jiko a little early but were seated right away. Our server at Jiko was AMAZING! She was from our home state and we talked a lot about how she likes living in Florida vs. Mass. DH and I always talk about heading South. Anyway we started off with their bread and butter. The rolls were sweet potato rolls and I forget exactly what the butter was but it was delicious. We had a hard time deciding on an appetizer. We decided to try something new which was the Inguday Tibs in Brik.

Inguday Tibs in Brik
Mushroom, Spinach, Cheese in crispy Tunisian Filo, Apples, Curry Vinaigrette



Wow! These were delicious! I think we've never ordered them before because they're described as similar to Spanakopita. But these were so much better than any spanakopita I've ever had. I'm so glad we tried these and they will be on our list to get again in May. We both decided to order the filet and since the side has changed again we subbed the mac and cheese. Our steaks were cooked perfectly.



We weren't sure on what dessert to get. Our server recommended her favorite so we went with her suggestion.

Safari Sunset
Carrot Cake, Cornbread Calamansi and Lemon Crémeux, Kenyan Coffee Streusel, Citrus Gel, Valrhona Dulcey Mousse, Candied Carrots



This was so good! So glad she recommended this. She also brought us out another dessert. I'm not sure if it was something from the menu but it was very good as well.



Another fantastic meal at Jiko! This is our favorite place to eat. We can't wait to go back in May! We headed back to the Swan via Lyft again. We planned on not getting up too early for our last day of F&W which turned out to be a great decision!

 

[Hettie]

Our bartender was not the best

I have never found the bartenders there to be friendly, in fact they are rather curmudgeonly. It’s a shame because it’s such a gorgeous lounge.

Loved hearing about your meal at Jiko.

 

[goofy78]

I have never found the bartenders there to be friendly, in fact they are rather curmudgeonly. It’s a shame because it’s such a gorgeous lounge.

Loved hearing about your meal at Jiko.

Thanks! I’m looking forward to your solo trip report!

It is too bad about the bartenders at VFL. I asked about a wine that we order when at Jiko even showing him a picture of the bottle to see if he had it or something similar and his response was “I have no idea what that is”. Really? I was shocked that he was so quick and rude with his response and wasn’t even willing to try and find out. He was very off putting. We would have ordered another drink but his attitude made us order only one and head to dinner early.

 

[goofy78]

For our last day at F&W we lounged around until about 10:15am and then headed over to WS. With it being only about 10:45am when we stopped at our first booth which was Ireland, I was kind of embarrassed ordering what I really wanted. I hesitantly asked for the Guinness and Baileys shake and the Warm Chocolate Pudding with Irish Cream Liqueur Custard. The CM taking my order looked at me and said "that is the best breakfast ever"! And she was right! This was our breakfast of champions! We sent a photo of us to our son and his response was a little sad.



He'll be coming to F&G in May so that made me feel a little less sad. Both of these items were delicious! The shake was very thick and so good. The chocolate pudding was awesome. I'm kind of mad we only got these once. We next moved on to Canada where we only got the filet the day before so today we got the Canadian Cheddar Cheese and Bacon Soup served with a Pretzel Roll. Always a favorite and a must do for us!



Next we headed to the Wine and Dine Studio to try the Seared Scallops, Truffled Celery Root Purée, Brussels Sprouts and Wild Mushrooms featuring Melissa’s Produce. These were so good! The scallops were perfectly cooked and the other ingredients went really good together.



Next up was the Chocolate Studio. I've read a lot of things about this one particular item, so we felt it was necessary to try it. I'll have to say we were slightly disappointed. DH loves anything chocolate so I was surprised he wasn't a huge fan of this. It was good but it wasn't anything spectacular to us so we only had a bite or two.

Liquid Nitro Chocolate-Almond Truffle with Warm Whiskey-Caramel


Since we were so close to Flavors of Fire, we decided that another order of Smoked Corned Beef with Warm Crispy Potatoes, Pickled Onions and Blonde Ale Beer Fondue featuring BelGioioso® Romano and American Grana Cheeses was needed. These were so good! We completely finished these off.

 

[goofy78]

Next we headed to China so we could get another favorite of mine. We ordered the Beijing Roasted Duck Bao Bun with Hoisin Sauce. This was good. Nothing special but we still enjoyed it and would definitely get it again. The beer I got from China was not good. I would not get it again but I did drink the whole thing.



We next made our way to France to get another Croissant aux Escargots: Escargot Croissant with Garlic and Parsley. Our son had asked what this was when I sent him a picture from our first day so I wanted to get another one to show him the inside. And because I just love these. Hopefully no one is terrified of this picture!



We circled WS again and eventually made our way back to The Cheese Studio. Another highly rated item that I wanted to give a try was the Maple Bourbon Boursin Cheesecake with Maple Bourbon Cream, Caramel and Pecan Crunch. We also got the Cheese Trio: Profiterole topped with Boursin Garlic and Fine Herbs Cheese and Orange Apricot Jam; Smoked Salmon Pinwheel with Boursin Shallot and Chive Cheese and Everything Seasoning; Strawberry Macaron with Boursin Pepper Cheese. The cheese trio was good but oh my god- the cheesecake was awesome! Definitely a favorite item of the weekend!