If It Sinks, We Drinks: Spring 2018 Dining Report *Complete 7/29 Les Halles & Via Napoli

Happy Birthday Asher!
Happy 3rd to your boy! It's a sweet and fun year!

The characters started coming by before Chad made it back to the table and Asher was swooning over Daisy. There was a lot of flirting and smoochy noises from her, it was super cute.
The expression on his face is adorable!!!

Our server was great and made sure we were both back at the table and ready for him to bring out a birthday cupcake for Asher. He led the surrounding tables in singing “Happy Birthday”, it was sweet and Asher was thrilled to be able to blow out the candle on his cupcake. He also received a card signed by all the characters.
Love this!

Jose Cuervo Gold Tequila, Grand Marnier, fresh Lime Juice, and Sweet-and-Sour $11.00
This was my DH's fave when we stayed at YC/BC.

Seafood Roll - on Parker House Bread with Citrus Mayonnaise. Served with French Fries or Apple Slaw $11.29
And this darling was his favourite lunch although I do believe it had lobster in it as well. He raved about it all week. Hurricane Hannah's has some nice options!

Asher had a kid’s cheeseburger bucket and was pleased.
My then 14 year old boys happily ate the kids cheeseburgers as well. They don't always have the biggest appetite and that was a good option for them. Now at 16, they would 4 of them to feel full!
 
Sometimes cancelling day-of reservations is really the way to go and it does end up working out well. Glad Asher's birthday seems to be going good so far!
 
Happy Birthday Asher!!!!!!!

Looks like Cape May was a great place to have breakfast. Loving the pic of him and Daisy.

You totally have me ready for our stay at Beach Club now. I can't wait to spend a day or two poolside and now know to go the Margarita route. Glad to hear Hurricane Hannah's was good too. I'm sure we'll eat there at least once.
 
Hopping over from your last report. Just a little behind ; ) .

I went to Cape May fir dinner for the first time a couple of weeks ago . I went right when it opened so it was pretty empty but can see what you are talking about as it was much more crowded as I left .

If we go again, we will definitely go at opening to avoid the madness. That will probably be many years from now due to the price for kids.


Whoa that's A LOT of food! Glad he finished it and you all enjoyed your meal there. Steve and I ate there a couple years back when we went without the boys, last minute decision like you, and we were pleasantly surprised at how much we liked the food and atmosphere.

When we were there we actually watched Illuminations from the deck outside the dining room! Awesome view. I like Illuminations however it' not my favorite; I've already been to Disney 3x this year but keep missing it. I'd like to see it at least once more before they change it (IF they change it) so hoping it's still there in Nov.

This is adorable, it does sound like the perfect start to a birth-DAY :goodvibes We've never done breakfast there but I love the cute character outfits!

We watched from that deck a long time ago and it was very nice. It was too crowded this time because we were getting out there at the last minute.

Cape May for breakfast is such a low-key character meal, and anywhere you can meet Daisy is awesome!

Yes, we loved it and I was so excited that they added Daisy right before our trip.

So you were able to do this on the same day as the reservation without penalty? That is good to know.

Instead of cancelling, I used the trick to modify (we were still a couple of hours from ADR time) and changed the date, then I cancelled. I didn't feel bad about doing it that way because I'm sure someone was THRILLED to see a last minute ADR for Beaches and Cream pop up. I'm sure they didn't have any trouble filling our spot.

Happy Birthday, Asher!!!

Thank you!

Happy 3rd to your boy! It's a sweet and fun year!

This was my DH's fave when we stayed at YC/BC.

And this darling was his favourite lunch although I do believe it had lobster in it as well. He raved about it all week. Hurricane Hannah's has some nice options!

Thank you! Ohhh, lobster would have been delicious in that salad. It was good enough with the shrimp and scallops, that would have taken it over the top.

Happy Birthday Asher!!!!!!!

Looks like Cape May was a great place to have breakfast. Loving the pic of him and Daisy.

You totally have me ready for our stay at Beach Club now. I can't wait to spend a day or two poolside and now know to go the Margarita route. Glad to hear Hurricane Hannah's was good too. I'm sure we'll eat there at least once.

Thanks! The margarita is a safe choice, don't know if you're a "salt" or "no-salt", but when the bar was super busy, the bartender made a hot mess and slopped the salt all over. WAY too salty, so maybe opt for no salt if they look overwhelmed. Another drink that sounds good, that I didn't notice until I looked at the menu at home (GAH! Don't you hate that???) is the Frose. I think I've seen that on other bar menus too, maybe you've tried it before?
 


Day 4 Dinner

After nap and a bath (which Chad had to coerce Asher into by telling him the presents wouldn’t be delivered until after), it was present time! I only have videos of the present opening, but the first one was a treasure chest containing a pirate hat, hook, eye patch, and some other accessories. pirate: He would have been perfectly satisfied with just that and he didn’t even notice that there was another package until we brought it to his attention.

pirate ship.jpeg

Needless to say, he was thrilled. I immediately questioned my judgment on buying something that included so many tiny pieces and we made the executive decision to put away most of the pieces so they wouldn’t get lost. We let Asher play awhile but it was getting late and we were hungry. It was too late to mess with an ADR and I wanted a super chill dinner experience anyway. We decided to wander over to Crew’s Cup Lounge, which was a first for us and it ended up being the perfect end to the day with the nautical theme.

I like how this lounge is separate from the restaurant and has a decent amount of space, including some booths and proper dining tables. We still decided to sit at a couch and chair area to be more relaxed. I brought some substantial snacks for Asher to eat, but the server let me know they had some kid’s menu items available on request if needed.

The lighting wasn’t great for photos with my old iPhone. We started with drinks, a glass of Domaine Chandon sparkling for me and a Dark & Stormy, AKA ginger beer and Gosling’s rum, for Chad.

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We decided to get an assortment of appetizers. I just looked at the menu on MDE and the Yachtsman signature bread is on the menu now!!! I would have totally gotten that! I don’t think it was on the menu that night or I would have noticed. Anyway, the appetizers started coming out quickly.

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Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail
Old Bay-poached and House-made Cocktail Sauce --$19.00

This was a good (albeit expensive) shrimp cocktail and the cocktail sauce had a nice bite from the horseradish. We gobbled these up instantly.

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Charcuterie and Cheese Board
House-made Charcuterie and Artisanal Cheese -- $19.00

This was good, I don’t remember anything being spectacular, but a solid protein choice. Since Chad doesn’t eat much cheese, I ate all of it and let him have the bulk of the meat.

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Pancetta Deviled Eggs
Pimento Cheese, Pickled Pancetta, Candied Jalapeño, and Parmesan Crisp -- $8.00

These were pretty great, the flavors went well together and I especially enjoyed the candied jalapeño.

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Oysters Rockefeller
Cottage Bacon and Creamed Spinach -- $19.00

This was tasty but a pretty standard oysters Rockefeller at a rather exorbitant price since a few of the oysters were miniscule.

Looking back, I realize we got all protein, which isn’t unusual for us and I upped the carbs with a glass of King Estate Pinot Gris. It was a rather expensive lounge meal, we wouldn’t have spent much (or maybe not any) more if we had gone to Yachtsman, but the casual atmosphere was refreshing and necessary after so many hectic meals. I will definitely return when I get a chance.

Chad wasn’t feeling completely full, so we went over to the Ale & Compass Market to pick up a snack for him. He grabbed some sort of curry chicken salad and scarfed it down on the way back to the room. While we were in there a very sweet College Program CM learned it was Asher’s birthday and said he could pick out anything in the store for free! Wow! We could have taken serious advantage of that offer, but it might be suspicious if he “picked out” a bottle of pinot grigio. :rolleyes1We kept it reasonable and chose some of those Mickey crackers that are like goldfish crackers. I chatted with the CM for a bit about the College Program and some of my experiences in it- ahem- long ago. When I calculated how long it had been, I was a little shocked. It certainly doesn’t feel like it’s been that long.:o

Oh, and I spotted this snickerdoodle cupcake that I couldn’t resist as snickerdoodles are my childhood favorite cookie.

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Sadly, the idea was better than the execution. It was fresh and moist, but the flavors kinda fell flat. I ate half and Chad ended up polishing it off after it sat in the fridge for a couple of days. Asher played with his new pirate gear for a bit and we turned in early to rest up for our planned Epcot rope drop the next morning.

All in all, it was a successful birthday for Asher. Chad and I aren’t really “birthday people” and certainly not “birthday party people”, so destination birthdays have been our choice for Asher thus far. If he insists on a party when he gets older, I will oblige, but we’ll keep doing trips of some sort for as long as we can get away with it.
 
Your review is so timely as I was just thinking about our August trip and how Crews Cup would be a good option for a no fuss meal. I've heard their burgers are great and I'm always down for a charcuterie board.

We'll be there for my birthday too so maybe someone in the store will let me get away with a free bottle of pinot :-)
 


I love Crew's Cup for the ease of eating there.

Looks like you had a decent appetizer meal even if it didn't save you any money. It is nice to get to have a little bit of different things even if it is all protein ;)

Travel for birthdays are the best!
 
:bday: Asher!

That Mickey pirate ship play set would have been right up my son’s alley when he was that age. He loved play sets like those. I remember a Tarzan treehouse set he got for his third birthday. The Disney movie had just come out. LOL!

The Bento box looks like a deal. I was never tempted to dine there, but after reading your review, it’s a definite possibility.
 
I like how this lounge is separate from the restaurant and has a decent amount of space, including some booths and proper dining tables. We still decided to sit at a couch and chair area to be more relaxed.
We love Crew's Cup as well, such a great spot!

Looking back, I realize we got all protein, which isn’t unusual for us and I upped the carbs with a glass of King Estate Pinot Gris. It was a rather expensive lounge meal, we wouldn’t have spent much (or maybe not any) more if we had gone to Yachtsman, but the casual atmosphere was refreshing and necessary after so many hectic meals. I will definitely return when I get a chance.
All your choices look delicious!

While we were in there a very sweet College Program CM learned it was Asher’s birthday and said he could pick out anything in the store for free! Wow!
That's so kind!
 
Loving your report so far! We are taking our almost 3yo and 5.5mo in August. He has celebrated every birthday so far at Disney as we are NOT party people. I really enjoy your perspective and effort to get a mix of adult + child friendly meals. Our 3yo didn't do so well with some of our TS last year, so we're relying heavily on AYCTE type restaurants this time with a few of our favorites sprinkled in. Plus, it's his last time being free and I know we won't want to pay for him to eat at buffets next year (4 toddler sized bites is not worth $30).
 
I'm all caught up. Thanks to your reviews, I booked LTT lunch for my trip in August and am seriously considering Tokyo Dining for my November trip.

I love that Storm Chaser cocktail at Hurricane Hannah's
 
Sounds like a fantastic, relaxing day.

It was EXACTLY my kind of birthday!

We'll be there for my birthday too so maybe someone in the store will let me get away with a free bottle of pinot :-)

I can't imagine why you shouldn't??? :confused3 LOL!

I love Crew's Cup for the ease of eating there.

Looks like you had a decent appetizer meal even if it didn't save you any money. It is nice to get to have a little bit of different things even if it is all protein ;)

Travel for birthdays are the best!

Crew's Cup is definitely on our return list, I love to find quiet spots at WDW.

Those look like yummy options! I love doing apps for dinner :)

They have some other good apps on the menu, but we were avoiding large amounts of cheese.

:bday: Asher!

That Mickey pirate ship play set would have been right up my son’s alley when he was that age. He loved play sets like those. I remember a Tarzan treehouse set he got for his third birthday. The Disney movie had just come out. LOL!

The Bento box looks like a deal. I was never tempted to dine there, but after reading your review, it’s a definite possibility.

Thank you! Asher is still playing with pirate ship every day and he almost constantly wears his pirate hat and HOOK. I mean, he's learned to do many tasks while wearing that hook and you can imagine the things I've had to tell him NOT to do with the hook.:eek:

We love Crew's Cup as well, such a great spot!

I'm surprised it isn't always packed, but I guess it's one of those hidden gems for those that are in-the-know.

Loving your report so far! We are taking our almost 3yo and 5.5mo in August. He has celebrated every birthday so far at Disney as we are NOT party people. I really enjoy your perspective and effort to get a mix of adult + child friendly meals. Our 3yo didn't do so well with some of our TS last year, so we're relying heavily on AYCTE type restaurants this time with a few of our favorites sprinkled in. Plus, it's his last time being free and I know we won't want to pay for him to eat at buffets next year (4 toddler sized bites is not worth $30).

AYCTE and buffets worked pretty well for us on this trip. The only one I struggled with finding a variety of food for him was Biergarten, but I haven't gotten to that one in my report yet. He doesn't eat some of the typical "kid" food like mac & cheese, which presented a problem there. I found a HUGE difference in the ease of restaurant dining from Asher being almost 2.5yo to being 3yo. It wasn't terribly difficult last fall, but it was SO much easier on this most recent trip. Hopefully you will have a similar experience!

I'm all caught up. Thanks to your reviews, I booked LTT lunch for my trip in August and am seriously considering Tokyo Dining for my November trip.

LTT is great choice for August, you can get out of the MK heat and relax for a bit. I hope you enjoy it!

Love your detail in your reviews! Asher is darling!

Thanks so much!
 
Day 5 – April 28
But we really do like China
We had an Epcot rope drop morning planned so it was a quick breakfast in the room morning. Our first order of business was to meet Baymax since Asher had been watching Big Hero 6 on repeat. He was a little taken aback by how huge Baymax is in person and came down with a case of sudden shyness, but he did manage to do a fist bump at least.

baymax.jpg

Chad was “starving” so we went over to Sunshine Seasons for a quick breakfast for him and coffee. He got a bacon and egg croissant, no cheese and said he would share with me, but he gave me only the tiniest little wedge. It was a pretty standard quick service breakfast sandwich, but the croissant was fresh.

We spent the morning doing Future World attractions and then tried out the Road to the Florida 500 play garden which ended up being a bust due to a rude little girl who collected every single ring for the ring toss game and wouldn’t let any other children have any. The adult figures with her halfheartedly told her to share, to which she replied, “NO!” and then they just went about their business. She wouldn’t even let her little brother have any. Asher took it all in stride, but Chad did not. Did I mentioned how stressed he was??? Anyway, he scooped Asher up and stormed out of there. I tried to act like I didn’t know him until I looked down and remembered we were all wearing our BnL shirts that day—DOH! So I skulked out to find them out in the gardens and Chad was explaining to Asher that he hadn’t done anything wrong. We went over to the Cool Wash station, which wasn’t open for drink sales and Asher had the place all to himself to play for awhile, which ended up being more fun anyway. So, na-na-na-boo-boo, mean little girl!

cool wash.JPG cool wash car.JPG

We tried to watch the Jammitors because Asher loved them last trip, but he wasn’t feeling it this time. We were starting to get thirsty and hungry and made our way back to World Showcase after I convinced Chad that we should make an ADR for Nine Dragons for lunch. He was a wary but I had been seeing so many great reviews and there was plenty of availability. On our way, we had a couple of items on our list to try at the Berry Basket booth.:drinking1

berry basket.JPG
JDub’s Brewing Company Blueberry IPA – $4.25
Twinings Green Tea Berry Mint Julep – $8.75

I loved the Blueberry IPA, very refreshing with a natural blueberry flavor. Chad liked the flavor of the mint julep, but we could hardly taste the bourbon, I think we got a measly pour. I almost went up to ask if they had forgotten the bourbon in it but then Chad said he was able to taste it a bit after stirring the drink.

Asher spotted the Mexico pavilion and announced, “There’s Mexico, it’s so HANDSOME!” I don’t know where he came up with that, but I have a feeling it will always be handsome to us from now on.

We stopped at gardens along the way to look for that bee and add stickers to our map. Asher enjoyed this activity and I was glad because it kept him interested in World Showcase throughout the trip.

A little back story-- one time we were standing next to a British family at Epcot and the parents told their young boy that they were going to China and he loudly replied, “AWWWR, I HATE CHINAAAR!!!” and something about it was just so hilarious, the parents looked at us and we all cracked up laughing. We still say it every time we approach China at Epcot. Anyway, it was time to check in for our ADR and we were trying to get Asher back in the stroller, telling him that we were going to China to eat lunch, to which he responded, “I NO LIKE CHINA!” which made Chad and I crack up. :laughing: The tradition continues!

They were ready to seat us right away at Nine Dragons, but we had to wait for another lengthy bathroom trip for Chad and Asher, I’m sure there was more arguing. The restaurant was gloriously calm and quiet at lunch, which was one of the draws for me. There were just a few other tables seated when we arrived and then more diners slowly streamed in while we were there.

empty 9 dragons.JPG

We had never dined here before, like many people we used to not want to bother with Chinese food while at Epcot, but lately we don’t eat much Chinese cuisine. I have gotten sensitive to MSG and the only authentic restaurant in our town isn’t in a convenient location for us. So Chinese was going to be a treat and several menu items sounded great.

We started with drinks, of course.

drinks.JPG
Ginger Zinger
Ginger Liqueur, Light Rum, Ginger Ale, Lemon Twist -- $10.50
Chenin Blanc Dry Creek, California
Refreshingly crisp and juicy tropical fruit - an exceptionally versatile wine -- $10.00

Chad loved his drink, light and refreshing but with enough booze to make it fun. I love chenin blanc and always order it if it’s on a menu since that doesn’t happen often. This was a nice one, I enjoyed it.

We hemmed and hawed about what to order and finally landed on sharing a couple of appetizers and one entrée. I wanted to try a few different things but I knew I couldn’t finish an entire entrée myself. Sometimes Chad balks at the sharing suggestion, but he is always glad that we did after the fact, I have to remind him of this constantly.

Here’s my portion of our first dish, I forgot to take a photo before divvying them out:

dumplings.JPG
Sichuan Dumplings
Chicken, Chili Oil Sauce -- $13.00

These were tasty and the flavors were spot on with the Sichuan dumplings at our local authentic place, there just weren’t nearly as spicy, which is understandable. They were hot and fresh, as was our next dish:

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Pork Belly Bao Buns
Red Braised, Sweet Chili Aïoli -- $10.00

I love bao buns, pork belly and red braised Chinese pork, so these were a no-brainer for me. They did not disappoint and were absolutely delicious. The pork belly was well prepared to the perfect texture and the crunchy vegetables went nicely with it.

Asher’s “entrée” was brought out with our appetizers:

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Vegetable and Egg Fried Rice --$4.00

I figured he would mostly just eat rice if I got him a kid’s meal, so I saved a few bucks and just ordered him the side of fried rice. He loved it after we picked out the peas and carrots and there was plenty of egg for a bit of protein.

We had trouble deciding between two of the shrimp entrees and landed on this one after discussing with the server and learning it would be easier to share:

shrimp.JPG
Typhoon Shelter Shrimp
Fried Shallots, Garlic, Jalapeños, side of Sweet Chili Aïoli -- $21.00

I had already divided it into two portions and it was plenty for both of us, quite a large serving. It was delicious too—the shrimp were fresh and crispy, there were some strips of red peppers and onion, jalapenos for some light heat, and the fried shallots added some saltiness. Now there is a hefty amount of unadvertised cilantro in there, so beware if you have an aversion. The sauce went nicely with everything and added some more moisture to balance the fried components. Perfectly shareable and a bargain IMO. We were all stuffed.

The service was great, friendly and efficient, able to give helpful information about the dishes. The food was fresh and delicious, the atmosphere so pleasant, and a great drink and wine list. And a bargain—our bill was just $70 with our TIW discount. What’s not to love? We avoided this spot for years after hearing bad reviews and thinking it was going to be generic, Americanized Chinese food and that seems to have been a mistake, at least with the current menu. We’ll be back to try more of the dishes and this may end up one of our Epcot must-dos, it was that great!

Continued in next post…
 
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Day 5 continued...
Rather than have dessert at Nine Dragons, I had something else in mind:

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Frozen Brown Elephant
Frozen Coca-Cola® and Amarula Cream Liqueur -- $11.25


This is from the African Outpost refreshment stand and I hadn’t had this drink previously. I have a long-repressed love for frozen Coca-cola and was intrigued by the addition of Amarula. It was pretty great, I love the combination of slushy and cream. This is my kind of dessert.

Chad said he didn’t want anything, but when I saw the Mango Starr: Mango Purée and Starr African Rum -- $10.25, I didn’t figure he would complain.


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I was correct.

The drinks cooled us off for the walk back to the room for naptime. Asher took a whopper of a nap and at some point we decided we would brave the Studios that evening so that we could watch Fantasmic. We’ve been skipping the Studios for several years, there just hasn’t been much for us to do there with a baby/toddler, it’s never been our favorite park, and I’m not crazy about the dining options. We figured we could just eat dinner, maybe see one show if there was time and see Fantasmic.

We took the boat over from Beach Club and made our way into the park. Chad decided he thought Asher would like the Indiana Jones show, I wasn’t so sure and I don’t like it much myself, but I took one for the team and we walked into a show that was just about to start. Having never seen this show from the perspective of parents with a young child, we were not aware how incredibly LOUD the show is. Asher was holding his hands over his ears with a distressed look on his face and we quickly slipped out the exot, having had the good sense to sit in the back.

Since we hadn’t seen the Frozen Sing-a-long, we thought that would be a good choice instead and we had about 15 minutes until the next showtime. I suggested we grab beers at Baseline Taproom to drink while we waited.

I don’t have any food photos from the rest of the evening, it ended up being pretty frustrating. Even though we were short on time and these were supposed to be walking beers, Chad insisted on getting a pretzel at the taphouse. It was okay, the beer cheese was disappointing, not much flavor. We each got a different IPA, the Angel City and the Stone, we weren’t in love with either of them. Between Chad’s pretzel and another frustrating bathroom trip with Asher, there was no way we could make the next Frozen showtime, which meant there wouldn’t be time for a decent dinner if we went to the last show. I was not excited about the prospect of a QS meal at the Studios and this made me grumpy, plus I was getting tired of Chad’s unpleasant demeanor and Asher’s bathroom antics. So I just pulled out my phone and found quite possibly the most disgusting QS menu in the place, Min & Bill’s Dockside Diner. Alright, let’s go eat chili dogs.:mad:

My expectations were low and they were met. We shared one foot long chili dog, a kid’s nacho meal, and a single margarita because I had a feeling it wouldn’t be great. It tasted like Country Time lemonade with a tiny splash of tequila. I ate about a third of the chili dog and let Chad have the rest. It was edible, that’s about it. Even the cheese sauce was flavorless. I’ve had good chili dogs at WDW (at The Mara) and this one was not even close.

Oh well, we managed to get some food in our bellies and make it to the last Frozen show. It was a huge hit with Asher and we all enjoyed the antics. After that it was time to head toward the theater for Fantasmic. I tried to find a drink to enjoy along the way and didn’t see anything but beers that I don’t like (Bud and Sierra Nevada) and sugary mixed drinks, another reason I don’t like the Studios. The bleachers were almost full for Fantasmic, but we got a seat way over on the side. Asher enjoyed it and it wasn’t way too scary for him. We made our way back to Beach Club and got ready for bed quickly. Well, after some of this action…

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I wanted to be ready for the next morning and my most anticipated meal of the trip!
 
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