~We seldom report of having eaten too little~ Updated 07/14 - Jiko!

[TinkerBelle_325]

We seldom report of having eaten too little...

Now there is an interesting thought (provided by Thomas Jefferson) and one that is very appropriate in this thread. How often have you read a dining review where someone opens with "Oh my god we were simply STARVING our whole week at Walt Disney World!"? That being said...

Welcome to the May 2011 - WDW here we come!! Edition of ~We seldom report of having eaten too little~!!​

TRIP BACKGROUND
WHEN: May 17th - 25th
WHERE: Disney's Coronado Springs Resort
WHY: This trip was booked on a whim. I received a fantastic PIN offer in late 2010 and thought "oh what the heck, maybe we will want a break in May!" Boy...was that an understatement.

The first few months of 2011 have been particularly trying and stressful on our family. To make an exceptionally long story very short, my Grandpa had to have emergency brain surgery in January 2011. In the months that followed we encountered complications and events beyond our control that resulted in my Grandpa being in hospitals and rehabilitation centers for about 8 weeks. The recovery process is still slow-going, but we are thankful that he is alive, home and getting back to his day-to-day life.

I'm not sure we have ever needed a vacation more! We are looking forward to spending time in our happy place, de-stressing and escaping our daily lives.

ABOUT ME

I'm Tink, I'm 26 and I have done a few Dining Reports in the past, most notably August & October 2009, March & Sept 2010. I also seem to be somewhat famous for *this* picture:

At which most people go and then when they discover this is NOT Yoshi's Deluxe Platter but our insane first experience with California Grill Sushi that set us back $100 LOL. It was soooo worth it but we've never ordered that much since. Typically we stick to 2 or 3 rolls now.

This will be my 41st trip to WDW. I am a true foodie and I love trying new restaurants and menu items. I take pictures of everything we eat each trip and love reviewing our meals.
Favorite Park: Epcot
Favorite Rides:
MK = Haunted Mansion & Splash Mountain
EP = Soarin'
DHS = Tower of Terror
AK = Kilimanjaro Safaris
Favorite Restaurants:
TS = California Grill and Victoria & Albert's
CS = Flame Tree BBQ & Wolfgang Puck Express
Favorite Snack: Dole Whip

My DIS-inspirations are MickeyNicki & oybolshoi. Their reports are fun, filled with pictures and great commentary

ABOUT DMOM & DDAD

DMom: Age withheld at penalty of death It will be her 46th trip to WDW. She is punctual and easy going at the same time (She had to learn to be with my DDad and I who are both well....stubborn and perpetually late)
Favorite Park: Epcot
Favorite Rides: Soarin & Impressions de France
Favorite Restaurants: California Grill, Kona Island Sushi
Favorite Snack: Champagne!

DDad: Age withheld as well. It will be his 45th trip to WDW. He is as much a Disney freak as me but hides it better. His favorite part of the trip is the food and spending time at World Showcase. As mentioned above...He is stubborn and perpetually late (like me).
Favorite Park: Epcot
Favorite Rides: Pirates of the Caribbean, Soarin
Favorite Restaurants: California Grill, Victoria & Albert's
Favorite Snack: Dole Whip

For the previous editions of ~We seldom report of having eaten too little~ please click here for 2009, here for March 2010, here for Sept 2010, and here for October 2010.

Disney Food Blog with LIVE Updates!

For all those interested, I have a blog, www.thedisneyfoodie.com, which features WDW dining news, articles of interest (such as "The Best Thing I Ever Ate....at WDW!") and LIVE updates from WDW!

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

Table of Contents​

ADR Plans and Rating System
22 Days to go!
Pictures from October 2010
13 days to go!
Updated Blog & Twitter
Kona Island Sushi Bar - May 17th
La Hacienda de San Angel - May 18th
Via Napoli - May 19th
California Grill - May 21st
Liberty Tree Tavern - May 18th/Raglan Road - May 20th
Jiko - May 23rd

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

ADR Plans and Rating System

Tuesday May 17th - Arrival Day
BREAKFAST - Toronto International Airport
LUNCH - Cracker Barrel
DINNER - Kona Island Sushi Bar

Wednesday May 18th
BREAKFAST - Kona Island Coffee Bar
LUNCH - Liberty Tree Tavern
DINNER - La Hacienda de San Angel

Thursday May 19th
BREAKFAST - In room
LUNCH - Flame Tree BBQ
DINNER - Via Napoli

Friday May 20th
BREAKFAST - In room
LUNCH - Red Lobster
DINNER - Raglan Road

Saturday May 21st
BREAKFAST - Sunshine Seasons
LUNCH - Chefs de France
DINNER - California Grill

Sunday May 22nd
BREAKFAST - In room
LUNCH - Wolfgang Puck Express
DINNER - Outback Steakhouse

Monday May 23rd
BREAKFAST - In room
LUNCH - ESPN Club
DINNER - La Cantina de San Angel/Kringla Bakeri/Karamel Kuche

Tuesday May 24th
BREAKFAST - Main Street Bakery
LUNCH - Columbia Harbour House
DINNER - Chefs de France

Wednesday May 25th - Departure Day
BREAKFAST - Pepper Market
LUNCH - Orlando International Airport

RATING SYSTEM​

For this edition of ~We seldom report of having eaten too little~ I find myself inspired by the petite chef Remy from Ratatouille who states:

"If you are what you eat, I only want to eat the good stuff!"

So I have decided to use a rating system of Ratatouille characters

5 Stars "A culinary revelation!"

Items ranked as 5 stars will be on par with Ego's experience eating Remy's ratatouille.

4 Stars "So good I'm afraid to share!"

Items ranked as 4 stars will be excellent, so much so that you would hesitate in sharing as it would mean less for you!

3 Stars "Solid, but anyone could cook this"

Items ranked 3 stars will be good, but not surprising. They go along with Gusteau's motto that "anyone can cook."

2 Stars "Just hork it down"

Items ranked 2 stars will be decent, worth eating once but not worth repeating. You would feel compelled to just hork it down as Emile so often does.

1 Star "Run away screaming!"

Items ranked 1 star will bad, either bland, or disgusting, but regardless you would prefer to run away from them.

 

[jacksonsmom]

Looking forward to this

 

[jecskc]

I'm in !!

 

[pinkxray]

I love Remy and was thinking of using the movie characters for my ratings too. Now, I'll have to think of something else.

Oh well, looking foward to your reviews. We will be there the same week.

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

I love Remy and was thinking of using the movie characters for my ratings too. Now, I'll have to think of something else.

Oh well, looking foward to your reviews. We will be there the same week.

Sorry! LOL

I was inspired by another DIS-er using Ratatouille ratings, so by all means, use him! He is such a cute character

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

Looking forward to this

I'm looking forward to it too! Keep your fingers crossed that we actually get to go

But if not, I have a trip coming up in Oct too! (171 days )

I'm in !!

Thanks for joining it!

 

[MickeyNicki]

OMG...we are gonna be there the same time AGAIN!

May 19-25 for us.....do I smell a cocktail meet??

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

OMG...we are gonna be there the same time AGAIN!

May 19-25 for us.....do I smell a cocktail meet??

ok we definitely have to try and meet! Maybe La Cava del Tequila?

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

I am in! I hope you get to go, and meet up with Nicki! I can have a cocktail vicariously thru both of you!

 

[butiflfeet]

Yay! I love your reviews

We'll be there for a long weekend from the 20th to the 23rd, just in time for the first Star Wars Weekend. We have some of the same places for our ADRs so I can't wait to get back and read your reviews!

 

[JJNikaPiot]

You've just got to love a foodie who can appreciate Cracker Barrel!

I love the rating system, but was guessing for dear old Dad (who eats garbage) for your level 1. (Of course Dad is happy to eat garbage, so maybe not.)

Here's hoping you get to enjoy the trip.

 

[lizzyb]

I'm in!

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

22 days to go!

​

We have decided that we are definitely going to WDW in May

This past week, my grandma was admitted to the hospital. Ironically, this made us decide that we definitely need the vacation.

You see, the procedure that my grandma had was relatively simple and has been a long time coming. We feel safer going now, knowing that she has received this procedure. In fact, she will likely be out of the hospital this afternoon, and well on the road to recovery by the time we leave.

We really feel that our bad karma has run out and it is time for good karma. What better way to start off our good karma than by going to WDW?

So in just over three week's time we will be "home"

We have found ourselves in a bit of a WDW Dining rut lately so the theme of this trip is "Keep it simple!"

For every dining reservation or destination we will ask ourselves "Why do we dine here?"

As an example: We eat lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern once a trip at least. Every time we eat lunch there we order the Tavern Fried Cheese AND the Spinach & Crab Dip. Why? Don't get me wrong, they are good appetizers, but do they WOW us? Nope. We order them out of habit and then we rarely finish our wonderfully tasty Pilgrim's Feast entrees and...*drum roll*....the reason we go to Liberty Tree Tavern is The Pilgrim's Feast!

By not ordering those two appetizers we will save $17...and a LOT of calories better spent on things like Dole Whip

So, at the beginning of each review, you will see the question "Why do we dine here" with an answer! I will also post savings based on what we would regularly order at the same location without answering that question.

Will this save us money on every meal? No. There are some restaurants where we truly order just what we like. But there are countless others were we order out of habit and walk away feeling overly full with our wallets slightly lighter than necessary

At the end of the day, the real purpose is for us to re-evaluate our favorite restaurants and to try a few new things along the way!

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

I am in! I hope you get to go, and meet up with Nicki! I can have a cocktail vicariously thru both of you!

Thanks for reading I hope that I get to meet Nicki too! You have no idea how many times we've been at WDW at the same time but just couldn't coordinate meeting!

Yay! I love your reviews

We'll be there for a long weekend from the 20th to the 23rd, just in time for the first Star Wars Weekend. We have some of the same places for our ADRs so I can't wait to get back and read your reviews!

Aww thank you, I'm glad you enjoy the reviews. I'll be trying to do as many reviews as I can live

You've just got to love a foodie who can appreciate Cracker Barrel!

I love the rating system, but was guessing for dear old Dad (who eats garbage) for your level 1. (Of course Dad is happy to eat garbage, so maybe not.)

Here's hoping you get to enjoy the trip.

LOL I love Cracker Barrel. Sometimes you just want good old fashioned comfort food.

I didn't even think of Remy's Dad! Good idea, but the picture of Remy screaming was just too cute to pass up

I'm in!

Thanks for reading!

 

[MickeyNicki]

It looks like we will be at MK on the 24th too...PM me your number and I will call you and see what we can do

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

Pictures from October 2010​

So, I thought that I should post a few teaser pictures for those that haven't read my reviews before (and to make the 21 days of waiting go by just a little bit faster )

Food & Wine Festival

Canada
- Cheddar Cheese Soup
- Maple Glazed Salmon
- Moosehead Beer (in background)

Greece
- Spanikopita
- Souvlaki & Pita
- Greek Salad

Cheese & Charcuterie
- Fondue (too runny)
- Smoked Meat Selection (ham, beef & duck)
- Mini Flute of Prosecco!

Ireland
- Lobster & Scallop Fisherman Pie
- Cheese Selection
- Chocolate Lava Cake with Bailey's Ganache (yum!!)


La Hacienda de San Angel

Sign

Lobby

DMom "Oh look, they have a cage for misbehaving children!" (actually for high chairs )

Place Setting

Tortilla Chips and Salsa (Green = milder tomatillo salsa, Red = spicier smokey chipotle salsa)

Looking from our table into the main room

Classic Margarita and Lime-Raspberry Margarita

Sol beer

Botana (cheese empanada, Chilorio sope (marinated pork) and chicken tostado)

Queso Fundido with house-made tortillas

Pollo al Pastor - Achiote marinated chicken served with roasted vegetables, beans and pineapple relish

Rice & Beans (served as sides with all entrees)

Helado - traditional Mexican ice cream (Tamarind, Pineapple & Strawberry, I believe)

Empanada de Manana - puff pastry filled with sauteed caramel apples and vanilla bean ice cream with Kahlua sauce

Overall, we loved Hacienda and can't wait to go back in May

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

I can't believe that our trip is less than 2 weeks away!! (13 days! )

Here are a few more photos to tide you over

Taste, Shake Indulge Seminar in France​

This was the first year that Grand Marnier presented the Taste, Shake and Indulge seminar. I believe it was $45/person and it was well worth it! They were quite generous with the alcohol.

This was our place setting as we arrived. In front was a place mat, marked with areas to put our tasting portions of Grand Marnier as well as our Grand Smash cocktail that we would be making later.

On the little plate to the left were 2 madelines, one with chocolate chips and one with candied orange. There was also a square of 70% dark chocolate.

The plate behind had mint leaves and lemon, to be used later in the cocktail making portion of the seminar.

Directly behind the place setting, there was a gorgeous cocktail shaker (sadly we got cheaper plastic ones to take home) a glass of water, a glass to shake the cocktail in and an adorable little bottle of Grand Marnier.

Close up of the madelines and the chocolate

Close up of the cocktail making items

Close up of the cutest napkin ever!

A hand painted bottle of 150th Anniversary Grand Marnier

Unfortunately, the other pictures appear to be on my iPhone.

However, the items in the seminar included:
- 1 shot of Grand Marnier
- 1 shot of Grand Marnier 100th Anniversary
- 1 shot of Grand Mariner 150th Anniversary
- 1 "Grand Mimosa" (Grand Marnier, Champagne and Orange Juice)
- 1 "Grand Smash" (Lemon & Mint, muddled and topped with Grand Mariner then shaken)
- the madelines and chocolate
- crepes suzette and a frozen grand mariner souffle

That is 5 shots of alcohol/person!!

Needless to say, we were feeling no pain when we left that seminar. However, it was unseasonably hot and lots of alcohol + lots of heat =

We abandoned our plan to stay in Epcot for the evening and decided to retreat to our air conditioned rooms.

However, later that night, my friend and I went to Jiko for dinner

Jiko​

Jiko is one of my absolute favorite Disney restaurants. I love the atmosphere and the food has always been outstanding. Plus, the flavor combinations and spice palette are not familiar to me, which is fantastic as I love trying new things.

Place Setting

Wine Menu

Flax Bread with Tandoori Butter - I swear, I dream about this butter! It is the perfect combination of rich, spicy, tangy, sweet...it hits every taste note and leaves you wanting more and more!

Barbeque Chicken Flatbread with Apples and Onions - Another favorite item. DMom & DDad aren't huge fans as they hate cilantro and it can be a fairly strong element of this dish. I tend to taste more of the smokey/sweet combo, so I love it!

Beef "Bobotie" Rolls with Cucumber Raita and Mango Atjar - This was a new item to us and it was AMAZING!! The spicy beef and the cool cucumber paired with the sweet mango were a fantastic combination.

Cheese Plate - Oddly enough, Jiko is where I fell in love with trying different cheeses. Our first server recommended the Cheese Plate and we were doomed....we instantly knew that we loved all cheeses. I cannot eat blue cheese, but I'll try ANY other cheese...goat, sheep, cow....runny and strong smelling, hard and crumbly, smooth and buttery...you name it, I'll try it

Side of Macaroni & Cheese - This was such a let down. Jiko had recently removed the mac & cheese from the Filet entree, but I heard you could still order it as a side. This was not the wonderfully creamy mac & cheese of the past. It was barely dressed in cheese, dry and oily. Not pleasant.

Zebratini - The. Best. Dessert. Martini. Ever! It is a sinful combination of Captain Morgan Spiced Rum, Godiva White Chocolate Liqueur, Frangelico, Amarula, and a shot of Espresso in a Chocolate Zebra-striped Martini Glass! Yummy!

Cape Malva Pudding - Warm Cape Dutch Cake with Vanilla Custard, Mango,
and Apricot Sorbet. This was wonderful as well. The spice cake is surprisingly light and the fruity sorbet it a wonderful pairing

Showing this Jiko review to DDad & DMom, who opted to stay at the resort rather than join Tania & I for dinner, made them crave Jiko. So, we have added Jiko for May! (Shh...I always knew we would eat there in May...but I had to convince *someone* coughDDadcough...)

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

Updated Blog & Twitter

For any that are interested, I have updated my blog The Disney Foodie.

I am starting two new projects

First, I will be doing weekly segments of "The Best Thing I Ever Ate...at Walt Disney World." Look for the first segment tomorrow night

Second, I will be writing free "Guides to Dining at Walt Disney World" These will be FREE and available in PDF format. The first guide will be Signature Restaurants and should be available in August 2011.

Also, my twitter account @thedisneyfoodie will feature live updates from the parks May 17th - 25th