Restaurant Rewind: Memories of more Magical Times. February 2020 Dining Report. UPDATE 13th OCTOBER - CALIFORNIA GRILL DINNER!

Finally joining in. Everything sounds lovely. I want one of those cookies right now.

Glad to have you here! And I do too it was amazing!

I’m so hungry reading your posts! I want to do the Tomorrowland dessert party now!!

Haha! You’ll have to have snacks on hand when I update! And definitely book it - it was awesome fun xx

Love your reports. Please keep them coming. :)

Thank you so much! Will do my best!

Haha! That was my response too after reading the review!

Desserts for all!

That cookie...OMG!

It was heavenly! Definitely worth queuing for!

I am loooooving your report so far!! It's such a welcome distraction! That Polite Pig corn is the best thing I ate on our last trip. So delicious! Looking forward to reading more!

I’m so glad there is another person who thought that corn was the greatest - I thought people would think I was crazy for saying it was the best thing we ate there but it really is fantastic! Thanks for following along!

Love the report. You had me LOL when you mentioned having the pizza in the room in case you returned from MK like children after a birthday party with a sugar rush. :laughing: I get like that myself after too much sugar so I understand!

Haha glad it’s not just me that crashes like a toddler after sugar! Thanks for reading along!

Love this idea!!!!!


Wow, how have I never heard of these. Burnt ends and meatballs all in one? Sounds and looks amazing


Speaking of amazing Mexican street corn how to I love thee. Oddly I actually really don't care for corn, but slap some mayo and cheese on there and I'm all in. Think if I go to the frig now some will be in there :confused3


Wow, that is a testament right there


How have I never heard about this cookie or a cookie craze???? Think this might magically appear in my frig too? I'm not even a huge dark chocolate fan but man that looks like cookie perfection

If you find this magic fridge please let me know cause I’m requesting them too! Thanks for following along!

Your trip to Disney Springs (forever known to me as Downtown Disney) looked fantastic! I'm from the South and the food from Polite Pig looks just as good (if not better) then what we get here. I have that on my list of places to try. And that cookie...I am in love!
Sign me up for that cake from Sunshine Seasons. I love anything PB related. Love the beautiful design as well!

It’s so great when something so pretty tastes delicious to boot! Definitely a winner. And I’m glad Polite Pig is on your list it was really great!

I just added Polite Pig to the list for next time. The burnt ends meatballs sound amazing.

Yay! You won’t regret it it was a great meal. Have a meatball for me when you’re there!

This sounds delicious! We rarely stop in Sunshine Seasons so I never even saw this so I'll have to be sure to look next year!

I hope it does come back or at least gets put at a festival booth cause it was such a winner!

Loving your report! Your writing style always has me LOL! So entertaining, and descriptive. I'm drooling over that Boma sticky bun. I've been wanting to try and see if we can grab one of those Gideon's cookies, but so far our timing hasn't been right, but we do love the Polite Pig! Your dessert party treats look scrumptious! One of these days we're going to try Blaze Pizza. There's just so many choices we can't fit them all in. Have you done D-Luxe Burger yet? We've only eaten there once, but loved it. Can't wait to read more!

Thank you so much for the sweet comments about my writing that means so much! Glad I’m bringing some joy! I haven’t done D-Luxe yet but only because our DS day got so ambitious and we got full quicker than anticipated! Definitely on the list for next time though! Thanks for reading xx
 
VIA NAPOLI

Today we got to experience a restaurant that was a first for us but a cult favourite - Via Napoli!

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We were so excited to give this a go. We’d eaten at the little wine cellar restaurant across the way on our very first trip and enjoyed it so we had high hopes we’d have another great experience in Mini Italy!

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We arrived and checked in at the podium for our 2.30pm reservation and our bottoms barely hit the cushions before our names were being called and we were whisked into a sweet little side room right next to a window and some bloody lovely air conditioning. I know this was February so y’all might think I’m being a big old baby but for the weeks we were there it was actually incredibly warm! Not September warm like our last trip (thank god - I actually cried from being too hot. Total. Toddler. Meltdown.), but still warm enough to be grateful for a good air vent and a nice cold drink.

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We met our waitress who was lovely and from Milano which was where I did my Italian language placement back when I was 16. It was nice having a chat about it - but we weren’t here to reminisce, we were here for the eats.

On our servers recommendation we started with their bread service which was a garlic focaccia bread.


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This was so buttery and soft and you just know that it was so bad for you yet so right. It was pillowy and had a strong garlic flavour but the buttery spread they had on it was heavenly. I tried to pace myself with this one as I knew we had more coming but Emily ate her share with gusto and thought it was amazing. Definitely recommended if you’re a garlic bread lover (which who isn’t?)

We were seated next to a large table that had about 5 adults seated on it. When we ordered our pizza we hadn’t seen the size of them yet but just went by the recommendation that a large pizza served 2-3 and that would be plenty with maybe a bit left over. All good. No panicking.

UNTIL THIS ARRIVED NEXT TO US

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Oh my god. Emily and I could not remember what size a “large” was but we immediately panicked. Because two large pizzas and a medium sounds approximately right for 5 people in Australian sizes. We were slightly panicking that we were going to look like two insane ladies carrying out a pizza plank like two people carrying a pane of glass in a comedy special when ours arrived


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Phew.

Ok this was not a small pizza by any means but at least we weren’t going to be using it as a table runner.

We decided to go half/half on the flavours and get

MARGARITA -
Tomato sauce, mozzarella, basil.

And

QUATTRO FORMAGGI -

White pizza - mozzarella, fontina, parmesan and provolone.

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Oh my word this was some good pizza - you Dis’ers weren’t messing around. Not to toot our own horns either but I think we did a cracking job at our topping selection.

The Quattro Formaggi was rich and decadent and everything that you want out of a white base pizza. I loved the kick of the strong cheeses with the smooth flavour of the lighter ones and the whole thing just blended together into a creamy cheesy dream.

And to cut through all that richness we were smart enough to pair it with the margarita that with the acidity from the tomatoes and freshness of the basil just gave the right balance and compliment to the other side of the pizza. This was fantastic and we enjoyed almost every bite. (Emily had to forfeit her last price due to the previous focaccia loving gorge sesh)

Overall we would definitely come back to Via Napoli but only if we weren’t on the dining plan. It was great for the first part of our trip when we were paying OOP because we could share a pizza and not feel worried about credits and how all that complication goes down. Getting to share here is a big part of the experience I think and we’d definitely do it again as an OOP treat.

UP NEXT: Karamell-Küche
 


Yum! That pizza! :love: I've had some good pizza in my life, having grandparents right off the boat, as well as growing up in an Italian neighborhood in South Philly, and now living in South Jersey, but we love Via Napoli! Our choice is always the Carciofi Signature Pie- white pizza, artichoke, fontina, mozzarella, truffle oil, and then we add arugula on top (learned the arugula trick from Kari @kastoney)! It's crazy that we've never been to Tutto Gusto Wine Cellar. We always say "we're doing it this trip!", and then it never gets done. We're slackers, I guess.
 
Do continue with the distractions. Sounds like you had a wonderful trip. You now have me convinced to try the Polite Pig. We have wonderful BBQ where I'm from, so I'm reluctant to try it on vacation anywhere, but your descriptions make me really want to give it a shot.
 
Yum! That pizza! :love: I've had some good pizza in my life, having grandparents right off the boat, as well as growing up in an Italian neighborhood in South Philly, and now living in South Jersey, but we love Via Napoli! Our choice is always the Carciofi Signature Pie- white pizza, artichoke, fontina, mozzarella, truffle oil, and then we add arugula on top (learned the arugula trick from Kari @kastoney)! It's crazy that we've never been to Tutto Gusto Wine Cellar. We always say "we're doing it this trip!", and then it never gets done. We're slackers, I guess.

We did almost get the famous @kastoney pizza but I’m not keen on arugula or artichokes and I just didn’t want to go out of my comfort zone this time! Next time we might give it a crack as it still looks so awesome and gets great reviews!

Do continue with the distractions. Sounds like you had a wonderful trip. You now have me convinced to try the Polite Pig. We have wonderful BBQ where I'm from, so I'm reluctant to try it on vacation anywhere, but your descriptions make me really want to give it a shot.

I really loved Polite Pig and glad it’s inspired you to give it a go. It’s so hard at Disney when there’s so many food choices to narrow it down! We definitely pick more things we don’t have at home too! Thanks for reading.
 


KARAMELL-KÜCHE

Hello friends! Hope you’re all doing well and that everyone is keeping well in these turbulent times. In my personal life I’m about to celebrate a grim, but safe, quarantine birthday. So what better way to celebrate than fondly remembering the sweet, heavenly goodness of Karamell-Küche.

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Full disclosure - these snacks happened over multiple days but because they’re all from the same place I’ve bundled them into one so we can have a sweet treat together.



Caramel Butter bar:

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This was actually Emily’s choice and it was a very good choice indeed. The sort of rich, buttery, slightly salty short bread contrasted well against the little river of caramel and they complemented each other superbly. I think if we went back again this bad boy would be high on the list for a repurchase.


Chocolate and Caramel dipped Strawberry:

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I know this might seem like a boring choice, particularly when presented with their bakery case full of dreams, but this should not be overlooked. Fresh and sweet, this is the perfect complement of chocolate caramel and fruit all rolled into one. The caramel and chocolate are just enough to let the Florida strawberry shine without taking away any of the delicious natural strawberry goodness. Definitely one to go for.

Caramel Popcorn:

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This was a crunchy, salty sweet delicious treat. If you’ve had caramel corn before then you’ll know what it’s like - it’s not so unique that it’s a definite must get but if you like caramel popcorn normally it’s definitely one to try. It was also a great use of a snack credit as it was quite expensive at over $6 for the bag.

Chocolate Caramel Square:

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This tasted like a giant version of a sweet you got at the local milk bar/corner store when I was a kid called “mates”. I also think it’s like what you guys have in the states called Milk Duds? Anyway it was big and chewy and very caramelly with a nice chocolate exterior. It’s super sweet and decadent and if you’re looking for a good idea of what Karamell-Küche is all about - this is a great sample of their caramelly goodness.

Caramel Pecan Bar:

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I was surprised Emily actually went for this because she usually hates nuts but just felt compelled to try it. And she ended up really loving it. It had a similar salty/sweet thing going on like the butter bar but the texture of the pecans gave it a nice crunch. Overall she really enjoyed it and would get it again.

We enjoyed all the fun eats and treats we got from Karamell-Küche and know we’ll definitely be back in the future for more sweet treats.

UP NEXT: BEACHES AND CREAM
 
I just discovered your report & am loving it!! We have a trip planned for December with several of the places you visited on our list. Thanks so much for sharing! And for bringing a smile to my face with your writing style! :)
 
Hope you have a good birthday! :cake:

I was so excited to see an entry devoted to Karamell Kuche. As I dream of Disney, I can now practically smell the amazing caramel. I have never tried the cookies, but that pecan bar is going on my list. I actually made caramel popcorn early on in the quarantine—very dangerous!
 
I love Karamell Kuche! I mean you can’t go wrong with caramel and chocolate! I think my favourite is the chocolate strawberry. Yum!

Haha by your user name I’m not surprised Karamell-Kuche is a love of yours! And glad you like the strawberry too - delish! And thanks for the birthday love!

Happy Birthday and thanks again for your wonderful reviews!

Thank you so much for the birthday wishes it means a lot!

I just discovered your report & am loving it!! We have a trip planned for December with several of the places you visited on our list. Thanks so much for sharing! And for bringing a smile to my face with your writing style! :)

What a beautiful comment, thank you so much for the writing compliment it means so much to me. I hope the reviews keep you excited til December when you can eat the food yourself! Xx

I want that chocolate covered caramel! Happy Birthday :)

Thank you so much! And I want another one too it was amazing!

Hope you have a good birthday! :cake:

I was so excited to see an entry devoted to Karamell Kuche. As I dream of Disney, I can now practically smell the amazing caramel. I have never tried the cookies, but that pecan bar is going on my list. I actually made caramel popcorn early on in the quarantine—very dangerous!

Thank you so much for the birthday wishes and glad you were excited for a Karamell-Kuche post. I almost did it as different snack but thought this would be more fun. Oh that popcorn was so good if I was any good in the kitchen I’d try to make it too but I’ll heed your warning!

Great reviews!

Thanks so much for reading along!

Via Napoli looks so good. I am torn between that and the Edison for our next trip.

I’ve never tried the Edison but it’s a contender for us too! Via Napoli was awesome so definitely keep it in mind!

Happy Birthday!!! Really enjoying your review.

Thanks so much for the birthday love and thanks for reading along!
 
BEACHES AND CREAM

After a fun Epcot afternoon and our first viewing of EPCOT forever - which I’ll do a more detailed review of in my Frozen Dessert Party post, we were headed off for a cheeky late night dinner at Beaches and Cream at the Beach Club Resort!

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We had stayed at the Yacht Club on our last trip and the walk along the beach area to these resorts just filled me with all sorts of love and nostalgia. I love that area, particularly at night when you can see the boardwalk all lit up and magical - it’s a very special resort and I suggest staying there if you get the chance.

For tonight, though, it was just for dinner and that was fine by me! We hadn’t seen the restaurant since their renovation and were eager to look at how they’d transformed the location.

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I think it looks great! Yes it’s disappointing that they don’t have booths and a bit of that cosy soda shoppe feel has gone, but I think they really needed to accommodate more guests and they did a great job marrying that need while keeping the charming 50’s feel.

But what about the food? Had they massacred our beloved menu and all our favourite ice-creamy treats? It was time to find out!

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We started off by trying a soda with an old fashioned syrup added. I’m sorry I neglected individual photos of these but you can see cheeky peeks of them in the background of some forthcoming photos. Emily got a coca-cola with vanilla syrup and I got a Strawberry Lemonade. Oh my gosh a real Vanilla Coke is so good guys. It was amazing and definitely beat my strawberry lemonade hands down.

For my entree I got a staple that I had loved before the renovation and was eager to get again.

GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICH WITH TOMATO SOUP DIPPER.

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There is something so comforting about this dish. When I was little and it was Dad’s night to cook he’d always make “Dad’s World Famous Toasted Cheese Sandwiches” - which honestly at at four I was pretty impressed with their popularity and wide ranging fame. I’m sure everyone has those memories of cosy easy meals and this is a nice take on that sort of comfort food that just makes your heart happy.

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The tomato soup is nice and creamy and very smooth. It’s a great amount as well - just enough that it’s a decent portion but not overwhelming. The grilled cheese blend inside is very tasty and has a nice sharp tang. The bread is a standard white which is good. Unfortunately mine was a tad soggy but not enough of a deterrent for me to not scoff the whole thing so take that with a pinch of salt.

Overall this is a nice easy peasy dish for picky eaters or those who have ambitious dessert goals for later in the meal. We are at an ice cream shop after all!

I have to be real with you though. I had terrible jealousy this evening. As I poured over the menu I was tossing up between getting the grilled cheese or the French dip sandwich. I was umming and ahhing because while the grilled cheese was a comforting standard, the French dip had gotten such great reviews I really wanted to give this ago. Watching me writh in anguish, Emily valiantly threw herself on the sword and offered to get the French Dip so that I could try it, but if I didn’t like it I still had my cosy back up - what a champ.

FRENCH DIP SANDWICH

Toasted French roll served with Thinly-sliced roast beef, Swiss, and Au Jus topped with crispy fried onions.


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Except she totally came out the winner here. This sandwich is one the best things I’ve ever eaten. Holy heck it was good. Despite it being almost 10pm when we were eating dinner, the beef inside this sandwich was moist and felt like it had been freshly sliced and cooked just for us. The cheese delicately melted on top and the addition of the little onion straws (and I HATE onions just for reference) gave a nice textural crunch while letting the beef still be the star. The bread was toasted perfectly and the integrity of the bun was enough to hold up to the au jus which was packed with flavour and just completed the whole dish.

Mad. Sandwich. Envy.

Emily was incredibly kind and let me have a good portion of the second half of her sandwich and if 15 years of friendship hadn’t been enough, this gesture firmly planted her in my top favourite people of all time.

Ok enough about sandwiches (but like, I love you, Sandwich), and onto dessert.

The last time we’d come to Beaches and Cream I hadn’t really had a concept of size when it comes to their sundaes. I’d heard people say they were big and all that but had thought they’d be a reasonable size for a single human to digest.

I was wrong.

I am a mere mortal. I cannot take down a Beaches and Cream sundae on my own. I am easily defeated by their delicious dairy challenges and I admit it.

Emily does not admit defeat. She is the ice cream queen and hasn’t let one beat her yet.

We decided to order a No Way Jose sundae to “share”.

NO WAY JOSE SUNDAE

A peanut butter and hot fudge delight featuring chocolate and vanilla ice cream, peanut butter and chocolate morsels, whipped cream and a cherry.

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This is huge. Huge. Many fish could live in it happily. It is a beautiful cacophony of chocolate, peanut butter and vanilla, packed with chocolate chips and whipped cream with a cherry to boot.

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I love the flavours in this. The chocolate fudge and peanut butter sauce are so great and just lift this to a next level of decadence. While I can’t manage a lot of it, I do think this is my favourite ice cream sundae I’ve ever had and would definitely order it again. In fact, we did. Spoiler alert!

Emily took this down. By the end of the meal, you might’ve mistaken it for clean dishes. She was a very happy camper and waddled out of the restaurant delighted with her dessert challenge accomplished.

Overall we loved Beaches And Cream and highly recommend it. I would say it’s a great middle ground if you like a bit of entertainment in a restaurant (with the Kitchen Sink buzzer going off and birthday shout outs) but without having to be involved if you don’t want to. We’re shy people and often don’t like getting involved in shenanigans but we always shout “a whole can!” with the crowd here because it’s just a fun, relaxed environment.

UP NEXT: LOUNGING AROUND HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS!
 
Great review of Beaches and Cream. I hadn't seen photos since the refurb so thank you for sharing those! And I agree on the No Way Jose. My oldest son and I split the smaller version once and even that was enough for the both of us!
 

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