Impossible to see, the future is. - Nov 2020 Dining Report - Update 1/5 F&W Booths & California Grill (Complete)

[Dis_Yoda]

When: October 30th to November 8th, 2020
Where: Boardwalk Villas - Standard View Studio
Who: Dis_Yoda & Mr. Dis_Yoda

October 30th, 2020
Taste of Food & Wine Festival Booths
Swan & Dolphin Food & Wine Classic - Covid Edition

October 31st, 2020
Pecos Bill
Ale & Compass

November 1st, 2020
Yak & Yeti
Tiffins

November 2nd, 2020
Trattoria al Forno
Le Cellier

November 3rd, 2020
Baseline Tap House
Homecomin'

November 4th, 2020
Via Napoli
Teppan Edo

November 5th, 2020
Brown Derby
Topolino's Terrace

November 6th, 2020
Sunshine Tree Terrace
Auntie Gravity's Galactic Goodies
Narcoossee's

November 7th, 2020
Taste of Food & Wine Festival Booths
California Grill

November 8th, 2020
Nothing - Drove Home​

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Taste of Food & Wine Festival Booths

On our first day of the trip, we dropped the boys off a little after 7:30AM at their boarding facility. Qi’ra had already been driven up to her show handler two weekends before as she was entered in 13 shows over the back half of October and front half of November. We had little traffic on I-75 and just before 10:30AM we were driving under the gates and heading to our home for the next 9 evenings.





As our room was not yet ready, we left our luggage with Bell Services and headed straight into EPCOT to enjoy a leisurely paced lunch of the Taste of Food & Wine Festival Booths.

The first booth we stopped at was Brazil where both my husband and I got a dish. The pork belly was the right amount of crispy & fatty and there isn't many cheese breads I've met that I didn't like.


Crispy Pork Belly w/ Black Beans, Tomato & Onions and Pao de Queijo: Brazilian Cheese Bread

We ventured on and stopped next at Hops & Barley for the seasonal hard cider where currently was a Raspberry flavored cider from Starcut Breweries. We enjoyed the tart sweetness it had.




Next stop was Italy which we know can be a risky decision based on past performances. It was hearty enough to help make sure we had items on our stomach as we continued our drinking start to vacation. Would we specifically seek it out as a repeat? No but we would get it in a similar situation if needed.


La Classica: Cheese Tortellini with Ricotta, Provolone, Fontina, Parmesan, Vodka Sauce & Crispy Bacon, Italian Margarita and Bellini

We continued onto Germany where my husband enjoyed a beer and his apple strudel with vanilla sauce. He's always enjoyed the apple strudel which is why its one of his repeat dishes year after year. I can't remember which beer it was but we were happy that 12 ounce beers were being served once more!


Beer & Apple Strudel with Vanilla Sauce

We headed towards China where we again were happy with our choices. The drink might have tipped us over the edge of relaxed to buzzed but hey, its vacation!


Chicken Dumplings with Chinese Slaw and Happy Peach: Peach Liqueur and Dark Rum

Our final booth was Flavors from Fire where we had a hit and a miss. My husband was super happy with his corned beef potato chip nachos that have been a staple of the Flavors from Fire booth the past few years. I enjoyed the bites I was able to steal. The whoopie pie was a complete fail and most of it went in the trash for us. Oh well!


The Corned Beer Corner Route: Smoked Corned Beef w/ Crispy Potatoes, Cheese Curds, Pickled Onions and Beer Cheese Fondue
The S'mores Whoopie Pie-Ion: Smoked Chocolate Cake, Graham Crack, Marshmallow, Chocolate Ganache, and Candied Bacon

At this point, we were happily buzzed and we had already received the text message that our room was ready so we decided to call it and head back to the Boardwalk to get settled into our room for the next nine nights.

​

 

[princess aleya]

Great start! Can’t wait to read about the rest of your trip.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Great start! Can’t wait to read about the rest of your trip.

Thanks! I'm hoping to get through this quickly before we head back in January!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Swan & Dolphin Food & Wine Classic - Covid Edition


A couple weeks prior to our trip, I had received an email from the Swan and Dolphin hosting a different type of Food & Wine Classic for 2020 and they were calling it “Food & Wine Classic - Limited Edition.” They were going to host their causeway type event within the conference center on a much smaller scale. It was set up for 7 different food booths and 22 different wine kiosks that would have 2 to 5 choices. You had to prebook by calling the Swan & Dolphin Private Dining line. As this was the closest we could get to a Food & Wine Festival event during this trip, we decided to go for it.

Check-In went smoothly and we were given our wristbands along with our names on a table number holder so that when we decided where we wanted to sit, it would be ours for the evening. There were more than enough tables well spaced from one another that it was easy to maintain social distancing as you picked up food and drink and returned to your table. Masks were required anytime you weren’t at the table. We decided to go into one of the side rooms so that we could actually talk as the main room had a band playing but we didn’t want to sit outside because October weather in Florida meant I would be eaten alive but it was nice for people to have that option if they so chose. On the way to the room we picked up some bubbles as who doesn't want to start with bubbles?



We started with the BBQ station and the pork. We enjoyed this although probably didn't work well with the bubbles. We had seconds of this dish as the evening progressed.


Sorgum Glazed Heritage Pork Collar, Braised Greens, White Corn Spoon Bread, Caramelized Brussels Sprouts

The real winner of the savory options was Shula's. I won't admit how many times I tried this. It was more than these two shown. The beef was tender and the potatoes well seasoned.


Carved Standing Rib Roast, Roasted Fingerling Potato, Pearl Onion, Red Wine Sauce

Apparently I forgot the photo here but this was a pleasant surprise. It was a very light chili with huge chunks of pork inside along with rice. I was nervous about this dish as usually I'm against chili as I'm not a bean fan but no beans here either just seasonings.

Chili Colorado Bowl, Green Chili Braised Duroc Pork, Steamed Rice, Pickled App-Cabbage Slaw. Crispy Chicharrones

The Il Mulino dish was the loser of the night. Neither my husband or I could manage more than a bite. At least we tried it right?


Cocoa Chitarra Pasta, Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce, Parmesan Cheese

The desserts were also a winner. We had multiples of our dishes here as well. Can't go wrong with well made banana fosters and cookie panna cotta can you?


Bananas Foster, Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, Key Lime Frangipane
Cookie & Milk, Chocolate chip Cookie Panna Cotta, Milk Sauce, Micro Chocolate Chip Cookies



As you can tell, we started getting multiple wines as we visited stations so that we had to get up less since the pours were small. I was happy with the smaller pours as we got to try lots of things. For a safe F&W event, I think they did really well. Did I miss real plates/glassware/etc? Yes. Drinking wine out of plastic cups isn't the same but given 2020, we had zero problems adjusting if this is how we got to do something different and fun. There weren't enough people that you felt overwhelmed but we did wonder if they actually made money on the event. I'm guessing so since they are doing two more events later in the winter in a similar set up, one of them unfortunately the week after our trip.​

 

[lcc2]

Following along! Great start so far.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Love your reports! I was wondering about the Swan and Dolphin event. Glad to hear you felt comfortable from a distancing / safety perspective and that most of the food and wine was good. I will have to take a look at the upcoming events. I definitely missed that aspect of F&W this year. Fingers crossed we're back to a more normal festival next year. Looking forward to hearing more about your trip!!

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

Can't wait to hear the rest!

 

[NaplesKnitter]

Looking forward to following your tasty thread!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Following along! Great start so far.

Thank you for following along!

Love your reports! I was wondering about the Swan and Dolphin event. Glad to hear you felt comfortable from a distancing / safety perspective and that most of the food and wine was good. I will have to take a look at the upcoming events. I definitely missed that aspect of F&W this year. Fingers crossed we're back to a more normal festival next year. Looking forward to hearing more about your trip!!

Prior to the trip, it was probably the one thing we had planned that I was the most nervous about. I'm glad we did it and they did it smartly. This trip was so much different than our usual F&W trips but at least we made the best of everything and had fun! I hope we get a more normal festival too. I'm already booked for BWV from Nov 4th to 14th in hopes of Wine & Dine along with F&W festival time since I know Tuscany is out for 2021.

Can't wait to hear the rest!

Welcome!

Looking forward to following your tasty thread!

Yes, lots of tasty to come!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe

On Halloween, we headed towards Magic Kingdom with the intention of getting some various Halloween treats as we enjoyed the park. Magic Kingdom was the only park we needed to take the bus for since driving wouldn’t really let you avoid Disney Transportation in the first place since you have to take a ferry or monorail over. We could walk to EPCOT and HS and driving to AK is a breeze. We arrived about 20 minutes before the official park opening but we were focused on trying to get a lot of the major rides done this morning like Peter Pan, Pooh, Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain etc so that later in the trip, we could do the rush for Mine Train. We had decent success with getting a lot of things done this morning. Some of our photopass photos are missing but whatever. We have enough photos of us on some of those rides in general.






We didn’t really see any of the halloween treats speaking to us as something we were desiring but around 10:15AM (yeah I know early!) I was hungry and my husband was like, yeah I guess I could eat too so we did a mobile order at Pecos Bills since that is where we were near. I completely forgot to take a photo of his burger but it was a standard disney burger. My nachos were also good even with the lack of the toppings bar restricting me from more cheese and raw onions but it is what it is. Standard enough fare to sedate our hunger before we did another ride or two and headed back to the resort a little after noon. It had gotten crowded with Halloween crowds and people in costumes and taking a nap sounded like a great life choice.


Beef Nachos - Tortilla Chips topped with Queso, Seasoned Ground Beef, Lettuce
⅓ lb Angus Bacon Cheeseburger​

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Ale & Compass

After our nap and watching Episode 1 of Season 2 of The Mandalorian, we strolled over to the Yacht Club for this evening’s dinner. We checked in through the mobile app and waited until it was our time to be called in. It took about 15 minutes for us to be called and seated.



We were sat in one of the offset rooms from the main dining room near the kitchen entrance/exit. We were more than happy as there were only 4 tables in the area and easy to have our own space. There was a couple that was seated shortly after us that demanded a better table as it was too close to the kitchen. I really enjoy people watching.

We passed on drinking wine (crazy, I know!) and wanted all the food tonight. My husband started with the Lobster Bisque which he was a fan of. Not a ton of lobster chunks but enough. He wasn't a fan of their homemade oyster cracker though as it was hard. He instead stole some of my bread for his soup.



Lobster & Corn Chowder w/ Herbs & House-Made Oyster Cracker

I went with bread for my appetizer as you can't go wrong with pub cheese and citrus butter. I was happy with this and my husband enjoyed the two he had as well. So while the appetizer gives you 5 rolls, they will bring you out three more once these five are gone or close to gone for no extra charge. I took advantage of that and then put them in a to go container so I had breakfast the next morning!


Parker House Rolls w/ Spreads: Bacon Jam, Pub Cheese, Citrus Butter

I went with a second appetizer as my main. This was the perfect amount of food for me this evening! I loved the garlic butter for the shrimp.


Roasted Garlic Shrimp w/ House-made Focaccia

My husband went with steak and truffle fries. He doesn't usually get this cut of steak outside of vacations. He enjoyed this and the housemade steak sauce and was quickly a member of the clean plate club.


10 oz New York Angus Strip w/ Maitre d’hotel Butter, Truffle Fries, House-made Steak Sauce and Watercress Salad

Our waitress was a little spotty and slow but we weren't bothered by that too much. It was a leisurely paced meal and we had a nice walk back to the hotel afterwards.​

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Those Parker House rolls are . I'm so sad they aren't on the current incarnation of the breakfast menu (without the sides buffet option). Ale & Compass gets mixed reviews but I'm usually in the Epcot resort area and I think it's a solid, non-signature option (not that the signatures are open for dinner right now...).

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Yak & Yeti

We were up early to head towards Animal Kingdom for opening. I had a quick breakfast of my leftover Parker House rolls at 6AM. We drove to Animal Kingdom to avoid the bus. It was a little cooler this morning so as we arrived, we headed straight to the Safari. It was a great ride and we even got to see the Hippos be fed.



We had a close encounter.



And the flamingos were still on yesterday being Halloween even though Disney was starting to believe it was Christmas.





Afterwards we got Dinosaur, Everest, Navi River, Tough to Be a Bug, and some trails done before it was time for lunch!

I went for the Tuna Nachos after having seen them on the boards so many times and not really feeling like my usual choices. These things are huge! Even with zero appetizers, I felt like I left so much behind. I loved wasabi and soy glaze on the tuna and all the wonton chips.


Ahi Tuna Nachos - Sushi grade Ahi tuna, Asian Slaw, Crispy Fried Wontons, Wasabi Aioli, Sweet Soy Glaze

My husband had the Honey Chicken. As it was very quickly gone before my nachos even looked like I had put a dent in them, I would say it was a successful choice.


Honey Chicken - Tempura Chicken, Fresh Vegetables tossed in honey sauce served with jasmine rice

After lunch we headed back to the truck and the Boardwalk for an afternoon break. We had done all the rides we wanted to except for FoP and I was ready for my nap and my husband wanted to get a run in.​

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Those Parker House rolls are . I'm so sad they aren't on the current incarnation of the breakfast menu (without the sides buffet option). Ale & Compass gets mixed reviews but I'm usually in the Epcot resort area and I think it's a solid, non-signature option (not that the signatures are open for dinner right now...).

They are so good! It is a solid non-signature option but I want all my signatures back. Hopefully come next Fall all will be normal again.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Tiffins

Our reservation was the latest we possibly could get, right at 5PM so we left the Boardwalk a little after 4PM to drive over. Arriving that late meant we got to park wherever we wanted so we got an awesome spot in the front lot so we didn't have too far to travel to the front of the park.

We were very quickly sat upon mobile check in and were ready for our nice relaxing dinner. It wasn't busy at all inside since it was near closing time. We decided against appetizers or the bread service and just enjoyed the complimentary bread as we started our wine.


Bread

I have no idea what I said that caused him to make this face but here it is. It probably wasn't as good of a joke as I wanted it to be.


Judgy Husband

We got a bottle of wine because vacation. My husband's dish is why we went with a Sauvignon Blanc over a red. I really enjoyed this even with my meal! Constantia is rather famous winery known for a very sweet wine that was popular with Napoleon, and even made it into literature like Sense and Sensibility and The Mystery of Edwin Drood but this variety was not the one that made the history books. This one was full bodied and with lots of citrus notes.


Klein Constantia Sauvignon Blanc 2018

For my meal, I went with the short ribs after debating between this and the Shrimp dish. I'm so glad I went with this one. The short ribs were perfectly braised and that tamarind sauce was addictive.


Tamarind-Braised Short Rib, Parsnip-Potato Puree, Cauliflower, Cipollini Onion

My husband went with the Butter Chicken and was happy with this selection. The chicken was juicy and the sauce wasn't too overpowering. He also really loves peas so having them with the chicken made his day as that isn't something that we get often.


Butter Chicken - Chickpea-Rice Croquette, English Peas, Cauliflower, PIckled Onion

Despite only having one course, we took our time here and were inside for an hour and a half. We left the park after official closing so it was nice relaxing walk out to the car without too many crowds nearby, just the other stragglers from finishing their dinners or voyages on Flights of Passage.​

 

[hereforthechurros]

Is the tuna on the nachos seared or raw? Looks great!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Is the tuna on the nachos seared or raw? Looks great!

It is raw sushi grade tuna. So good!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

I've had those nachos on my list for a while now. They look and sound so good. I wonder if they'd ever make a half order. Nothing like a good vacation nap! Tiffins is such a great spot. I had those short ribs last time and loved them. Not only are they delicious but the plates are a work of art! It's too bad that so many people seem to be scared off by what they think is exotic or unapproachable food. Although I'm not going to complain about easily available reservations and these days ample space between occupied tables is very welcome!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

I've had those nachos on my list for a while now. They look and sound so good. I wonder if they'd ever make a half order. Nothing like a good vacation nap! Tiffins is such a great spot. I had those short ribs last time and loved them. Not only are they delicious but the plates are a work of art! It's too bad that so many people seem to be scared off by what they think is exotic or unapproachable food. Although I'm not going to complain about easily available reservations and these days ample space between occupied tables is very welcome!

They are so good. I don't think they'll ever make a half order but the cost isn't too unreasonable all things considered. I just feel bad wasting that much food.

The plates are such works of art! Tiffins has dumped their menu down some but not as bad as Skipper's which makes me sad. It really isn't that exotic or unapproachable in the first place - the naming just makes it seem that way and if it is still too much, Rainforest Cafe isn't that far away. As long as it doesn't completely change, I'll be happy.