Dessert before Dinner: a trifecta of dining reports? Update 9/22 LTT COMPLETE!

[alyssa18o6]

My husband always wants to try Morimoto and I always decline. However your food looked amazing, and I’d eat everything (aside from ribs) in a heart beat!

 

[ariane37]

Trifecta Trip #1 (but really #2) continued
First Night and Second Day
​

I didn't quite finish our first night, as we went to our first DAH event after Morimoto. We did HS DAH and loved it so much that I will totally do it again, as well as try it at MK and AK, the first chance I get. I wrote a little about it in my current/almost done TR, the link is in my signature if you want to check it out.
We did have Mickey bars and popcorn and soda (oh my!) and I have zero pics of all that. Still, Steve was in need a something a little heavier by the time we got back to our resort. Remember we were at All-Star Movies our fist night so our option was......the food court!

We arrived about 10 minutes before they closed luckily; and it was crowded. Lots of cheerleaders and their male teenage chaperones grabbing last minute goodies. I only include this because neither Steve nor I are fans of the huge crowds associated with Disney resort food courts, but I have to say when we do find ourselves at one the food normally isn't too terrible!



Yup just a burger and fries that Steve got, but he said it was really tasty. I wasn't that hungry so only got a soda, and sat and watched my



eat
We did end up in the food court once more before leaving as I needed to be sure I got Mickey waffles at least once, and we weren't in a huge rush to get anywhere that morning.



Mickey waffles for Steve, and a big ol' breakfast platter for me; yes that's mine! I'm a sucker for Disney eggs because, well, I'm gross I guess, plus I love breakfast in general. Everything was perfectly cooked and tasty although I don't eat (breakfast) sausage so didn't try that.

Now that I got the food court out of my system let's move on to more interesting stuff: Festival Food!!

One of the main reasons for this trip was because we'd never been to the Festival of the Arts. I'd actually been there last year for one night but did basically nothing but eat from the booth in Morocco. While I'd heard lots of negative reviews of the foods there I was interested in other things they had going on, as well as sampling some food for myself.

Right after breakfast we packed up, brought our bags to bell services to be transferred to Beach Club, and hit the bus to Epcot. Got there around 11:00 and spent some time in FW checking out the living statues before making our way to WS and painting 5 squares on the mural



This was quick and neat and we enjoyed walking by the mural later and seeing how far it had come!
Right after the mural we came to Steve's first booth. He looked for his sugar cane shrimp and I sadly informed him this is NOT the Flower and Garden Festival so he settled on this:
Shrimp Ceviche with Lime Mint Foam:



I'ts no shrimp skewer but he liked this. You can't see well but there were a decent number of shrimp in there, at least 7 or 8. He did say the foam was a little weird though.
I was seeing a few desserts I wanted to try but wasn't quite hungry enough yet as we went to the right for a change. Lo and behold, we found something else Steve wanted to try at Refreshment Outpost:



You guys may have seen this in my TR or on my facebook like, 3x, because this is called "The most awesome Bloody Mary ever, anywhere". A.K.A:
Glazed Pork Belly Bloody Mary:
Classic Bloody Mary with Absolut Vodka garnished with Maple IPA, Glazed Pork Belly, Pickled Carrots, Celery, Stuffed Olives and a Cherry Tomato
I don't usually do Bloody Mary's, I've had a few, so at first I wasn't interested in this. But after taking a sip of Steve's I marched right back up to the counter and got myself one!
And then we spent about 20 minutes trying to get a good selfie. A younger couple came up and offered us some tips; thanks younger couple, we will never again attempt a selfie in public



#selfiefail
#Iremembertapedecks
#AtariPong

Moving along, there were way fewer booths/items we wanted to try here than at either F&G or F&W, which I guess is a good thing? We took some pp pics at the special festival photo ops and just kept scanning the booths. I wasn't starving yet after breakfast and my Bloody Mary but there was something over in America that I WAS dying to try. Who watches Hell's Kitchen? The beef wellington always looks soooo good on there and they had it here at the festival! I've never had it so The Artist's Table was our next stop:
Beef Wellington with Mushroom Bordelaise, Fennel Cream, and Roasted Baby Vegetables:



This was..............absolutely................DISGUSTING. GROSS. Even Steve who has a wider and more appreciating pallate than I do felt that way. The meat was mushy and gushy, the outside wasn't flaky enough just mush. The meat was like, I don't know, not meaty? Just smooshed together and the consistency was like a matzoh ball. Nothing against matzoh balls but I didn't expect my beef to remind me of one. As you see we didn't like this and I highly do not recommend it to anyone going next year.

Sad and disappointed we moved on. I still wasn't all that hungry but wanted to have something GOOD, so we stopped in Morocco. Last year my friend Cathy and I tried the offerings here and they were pretty good; they were different this year though. I got:
Spiced Beef
with Pine Nuts and Dried Cherries, Hummus and Pita Chips
and
Chebbakia
Hand-twisted strips of Fried Dough coated with Honey, Rosewater, and Sesame Seeds:



I wish I had a better pictures of what was in the cup. I'll say that if the meat had had any amount of spice or even flavor, it would have been good because the consistency was way better than the wellington and the chips were good. Unfortunately it just tasted like unflavored ground beef. I don't think the chebbakia were really my thing even though they sounded interesting; they were extremely dry and I thought the honey taste was too much .
Festival food was not our friend today!

Steve wanted to get a grey goose slush and I decided to console myself with a drink also. We turned around and while Steve opted for a beer rather than the slush, I got my tried and true pear cider in the U.K.:
Magner's Pear Cider:



THIS, this was good

At picture limit! We still had a couple things to try today before heading back to the Beach Club to see our room; continued next time!

 

[ariane37]

DH and I were in Disney over President's Day weekend and had 3 of our 4 dinners at Disney Springs, one of them being Morrimoto's - and I had the "full rack" of ribs and it was only 6 ribs and they were delicious!!!

I think next time Steve and I will have to each get our own full rack! Glad you enjoyed them also, I hope you guys had a great trip It was a tad crowded wasn't it lol.

My husband always wants to try Morimoto and I always decline. However your food looked amazing, and I’d eat everything (aside from ribs) in a heart beat!

You need to accept his suggestion next time! I'm positive you won't be disappointed

 

[missjackiemcg]

Food court eggs are sort of tasty, for some reason!! LOL I never eat that sausage either though, those always end up on Rob's plate. I would love to know (or maybe not) how they make those eggs just the right consistency because I sure can't seem to master it at home LOL

 

[Wood Nymph]

Shrimp Ceviche with Lime Mint Foam:

This looks like one of the dishes that they serve in the Old Faithful Club. I agree that the foam would seem a bit odd but otherwise looks good.

Beef Wellington with Mushroom Bordelaise, Fennel Cream, and Roasted Baby Vegetables:

I'm glad that we didn't try this one. In fact, we weren't inspired by the food offerings at all.

 

[3disneylovers]

Following along. Love your reviews.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

I am here! I have to read all of your posts but I am here!

 

[Princess Meg]

Love it! Following along.....and for the record, I really like the bigger pictures. The small one's are so hard to see...these are proper size that have me drooling on the keyboard. lol

 

[Stacybaeasm]

Whew! Caught up. I had to go to a convention (not in Orlando ) and missed both of these entries. LOL at the selfies. I'm the same way so now I just make my students take shots of me. And I'm so sad about the Wellington. I love me some Hell's Kitchen and always want to try this. Now, I will hesitate.

 

[Cloe Colton]

I'm here!

Thanks google! I'd wanted to try this place but Steve never seemed interested, although when I mentioned it to him for this trip he said no way, he'd have been fine eating here before Communication is key to a marriage, ladies and gentlemen!

This always happens with me and my sister lol she'll say she doesn't want to do something once and then I never book it only to find out later she doesn't care! lol

Sake Sangria
sake, light white wine, plum wine, asian pears, apple, plum, tangerine juice

I definitely want to try this! I love me some sangria so I'm sure I'll like it!

These were perfect and we debated ordering more but thankfull decided to wait until we had a few more dishes!

This happens to us a lot too! We think let's order more and then feel sick once the rest of our food comes out lol

Shrimp Tempura
asparagus, spicy mayo with choice of white or brown rice

Adding this to my list to try too!

Next came what I like to call the epitemy of wonderfullness: Morimoto ribs:

The waitress DH and I had in December was almost mad when we didn't order the ribs lol we will have to next time!

 

[Tracy161]

Lots of cheerleaders and their male teenage chaperones

This actually made me LOL

I'm a sucker for Disney eggs because, well, I'm gross I guess

This did too. Also... I'm gross as well

And then we spent about 20 minutes trying to get a good selfie. A younger couple came up and offered us some tips; thanks younger couple, we will never again attempt a selfie in public

Who watches Hell's Kitchen? The beef wellington always looks soooo good on there and they had it here at the festival!

Yes! I used to watch this all the time! I've never had a beef wellington so I was excited when you mentioned it and then...

This was..............absolutely................DISGUSTING. GROSS.

Oh. Darn it! Such a missed opportunity there, Disney. Gordon Ramsey would NOT be pleased. On another note, can you imagine if he toured these festivals and gave his animated opinion on everything?!

 

[ariane37]

Food court eggs are sort of tasty, for some reason!

I'm glad you're with me on this! I know others think they're gross but like you said, they just always seem to be cooked perfectly.....probably because they aren't real eggs!

I'm glad that we didn't try this one. In fact, we weren't inspired by the food offerings at all.

To be honest, there weren't many we thought looked good, either. But some did sound ok and those are the ones we tried, but then after a number of disappointments we gave up I am seriously looking forward to my F&G visit with the GOOD offerings!

Following along. Love your reviews.

Hi and and also thank you for your nice words. Happy to have you here again

I am here! I have to read all of your posts but I am here!

Yay!!! Thanks for joining in Ariella

Following along

Hi and for joining!

and for the record, I really like the bigger pictures. The small one's are so hard to see...these are proper size that have me drooling on the keyboard. lol

Well thank you, that makes me feel better I'm lucky I even manage to get pictures in my reports, trying to figure out why they're still huge after being resized is beyond my technological reach

Whew! Caught up

Ha! Luckily I'm moving slow with my report AGAIN, so there wasn't much catching up to do!

LOL at the selfies. I'm the same way so now I just make my students take shots of me.

My boys get embarrassed when I attempt to take any type of selfie around them because I can't even figure out how to hold the phone right Steve and I spent almost 10 minutes trying to get that half crappy one!

 

[ariane37]

I'm here!

Glad you're here Cloe!

This always happens with me and my sister lol she'll say she doesn't want to do something once and then I never book it only to find out later she doesn't care! lol

Why won't they just say, "I don't feel like it now" or "this time" instead of making us think it'll always be a no? Or, maybe it's us

The waitress DH and I had in December was almost mad when we didn't order the ribs lol we will have to next time!

Our server actually smiled and nodded when we ordered them; I guess they find it strange when someone doesn't lol

This actually made me LOL

What I'm here for

Also... I'm gross as well

We are just ALWAYS in sync with each other

On another note, can you imagine if he toured these festivals and gave his animated opinion on everything?!

OMG that's a show I'd watch!

 

[Wood Nymph]

I am seriously looking forward to my F&G visit with the GOOD offerings!

The pink slushy drink at France is my very favorite drink in all of Disney. I wish we could slip in a trip during Flower and Garden. I know you like it, too.

 

[disneyAndi14]

The eggs at Disney get a bad wrap, I have always had really good scrambled eggs there. I’m a simple gal

Those Bloody Mary’s sure look delicious! It’s always nice to eat and drink your cocktail

 

[ariane37]

Trifecta trip #1 (but really #2) continued
More of day 2 and night 2!
​

When I left off we were in WS trying to find some decent festival foods and turning to alcohol in our disappointment. I forgot to tell you the beer Steve got in place of his slushie:
Weihenstephaner Original Lager, Freising, Germany
No picture sorry! It was from the Masterpiece kitchen booth near Canada and he LOVED it. We also picked one of these up at the same booth:
Wild Mushroom Risotto, Aged Parmesan, Truffle Shavings and Zinfandel Reduction (V)



This was probably the best thing we had at the festival, but we still would only rate it like a 6 or 7 out of 10; it really didn't have much flavor at all except for the parmesan on top so we were fighting for that.

We took our beer and cider and watched the then-band performing in Canada:



I SO wish I could remember their name because they were so awesome! Best band since Off Kilter. We actually went up to them afterwards to tell them how much we enjoyed them and found out sadly that they were only there for 3 weeks but would be back during F&W. I'll be down there for work in Oct. and am really hoping to catch them again!
Our next stop didn't involve food but I need to share, although some of you may have seen this already in my TR. We walked all the way around WS to my favorite smelling pavilion next, Norway, so I could pick up my bottle of Laila-essence of Norway by Geir Ness I know the smell overpowers the pavilion but I LOVE it and always get compliments on it. Well lucky for me, Geir was there signing his perfume and mingling with fans! I did meet him there a few years ago and he signed a card but it was packed that day so we didn't really talk; this time it was emptier so not only did we talk, he lubed me up with his lotion and massaged me:





Hello my Norge friend Anyway I bought my perfume with the special bag and lotion and left a happy girl.

We were ready to leave and check in to our room at the Beach Club! But, with all the disappointing eats I thought I'd try a good looking dessert before leaving so we got the
Almond Frangipane Cake layered with Raspberry Jam and Callebaut Belgian Chocolate (V)



I thought, and some of you that visited the festival or saw pictures of this may have thought the same, that it would be something like those wonderful 7 layer Italian cookies I can eat 15 of at a sitting. It was, NOT. As with many of the other festival items we tried I felt this had no taste and Steve agreed. He took one bite; I ate some of the chocolate on the outside.

No worries because we had an awesome dinner coming up that night! We went back to the IG (lots of backtracking today but since it was only 50 degrees it wasn't bad) and walked to Beach Club where our room was ready:



A tad different than our room the previous night at AS Movies, complete with a piece of popcorn left for us on the couch......really we loved the room and it was very close to the elevator on the 3rd floor. We unpacked a bit, chilled for a bit, and eventually got ready for dinner at one of our favorite signatures.

 

[ariane37]

Those Bloody Mary’s sure look delicious! It’s always nice to eat and drink your cocktail

Ha ha right? It's a drink AND a snack!

They have a different Bloody Mary on the F&G menu at the Refreshment Outpost. It has shrimp with it which I don't eat but I think I'm going to try it in May anyway!

 

[KathyM2]

Right after breakfast we packed up, brought our bags to bell services to be transferred to Beach Club, and hit the bus to Epcot. Got there around 11:00 and spent some time in FW checking out the living statues before making our way to WS and painting 5 squares on the mural

@DonnaBeeGood how did we miss this??? Would have been fun to do this! Oh well, next time!! Glad you got to do this @ariane37 !

so we got the
Almond Frangipane Cake layered with Raspberry Jam and Callebaut Belgian Chocolate (V)

I'm so sorry this wasn't all that great! It sure looks pretty!!

 

[DonnaBeeGood]

.

 

[wdwnut61]

We did HS DAH and loved it so much that I will totally do it again

Looking forward to trying this in May. We have EMM booked at HS and MK for our March trip.

Yup just a burger and fries that Steve got, but he said it was really tasty.

Glad Steve liked his burger.

Glazed Pork Belly Bloody Mary:
Classic Bloody Mary with Absolut Vodka garnished with Maple IPA, Glazed Pork Belly, Pickled Carrots, Celery, Stuffed Olives and a Cherry Tomato

Yes I remember this beauty from your TR!

This was..............absolutely................DISGUSTING. GROSS.

I love Hell's kitchen sorry this wasn't good.

Magner's Pear Cider:

Very refreshing

Wild Mushroom Risotto, Aged Parmesan, Truffle Shavings and Zinfandel Reduction (V)

This was probably the best thing we had at the festival, but we still would only rate it like a 6 or 7 out of 10; it really didn't have much flavor at all except for the parmesan on top so we were fighting for that.

This looks delicious

Lucky I'd like a handsome Swede to lotion my hands