“Told you I did. Reckless is (s)he.” - November 2017 Trips - 12/30 Bonus - Magnolia (Italy Trip)

[franandaj]

Looks like a fabulous meal at Le Cellier, I haven't had a Porterhouse since we decided that we were Rib Eye kind of gals!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Le Cellier looks so good! I finally tried their booth this year and loved everything! I have yet to try poutine! My BFF from Toronto is running the marathon with me so maybe I’ll try it in January and see how she thinks it adds up to home. Just finished a 13 mile training run and could totally devour that porterhouse! Yum!

The poutine is really good there! They usually have their classic red wine/cheddar cheese one and usually at least 1 or 2 special offering poutines. Can't go wrong with yummy toppings for the fries!

Something after long runs just makes me crave meat so I get being able to devour the porterhouse yourself! We both totally rolled out of there that afternoon!

Hope you get to try some in January!

Thank you for these, We'll be at le collier next week, and DH and I plan to split the porterhouse!

Enjoy the steak! Sticker shock to the price may happen but when you compare it to getting 2 steaks and a side - its in line with that.

Your meal at Le Cellier looks awesome!

It was! Steak, Pork Belly, Whiskey, Risotto and Bread! All wonderful things to have in one's stomach!

Looks like a fabulous meal at Le Cellier, I haven't had a Porterhouse since we decided that we were Rib Eye kind of gals!

Ribeyes are tasty too! I usually am a Filet gal but the Porterhouse was a good selection for that as I still got my filet and Shaun got the other side of the steak! Mmmm...my protein bar isn't looking too good right now after thinking about all those yummy foods!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Champagne Seminar

Fully stuffed from Le Cellier, we went on the new version of Mission Space and the rest of the rides had too long of a line so we explored the festival center for a bit before checking in for our champagne seminar. Neither of us really wanted to be there as we wanted to relax in the room but our room wasn’t available yet since we had to check in/check out of different view types.

The seminar was for Drappier. I was glad that the seminar was hosted by a member of the Drappier family and not just a distributor of the wine. This at least brought some more life and history to the talk as you knew she was truly passionate about it and not just a paycheck. Each of the champagnes were enjoyable but as I’m writing this almost a month later - I don’t really remember enough about the tastes for them to be remarkable. I believe I enjoyed the rose the most. I’m glad I at least tried them though as it was good for killing time as well since we were without a room. With my husband's new job - he's getting to try all different types of champagnes and has found some better ones.

Host

Champagne

As we were leaving this seminar, we got the text that our room was ready so we headed back to the Boardwalk to check into our room for 1 night and take a nap!​

 

[DrunkJam]

The poutine is really good there! They usually have their classic red wine/cheddar cheese one and usually at least 1 or 2 special offering poutines. Can't go wrong with yummy toppings for the fries!

Something after long runs just makes me crave meat so I get being able to devour the porterhouse yourself! We both totally rolled out of there that afternoon!

Hope you get to try some in January!



Enjoy the steak! Sticker shock to the price may happen but when you compare it to getting 2 steaks and a side - its in line with that.



It was! Steak, Pork Belly, Whiskey, Risotto and Bread! All wonderful things to have in one's stomach!



Ribeyes are tasty too! I usually am a Filet gal but the Porterhouse was a good selection for that as I still got my filet and Shaun got the other side of the steak! Mmmm...my protein bar isn't looking too good right now after thinking about all those yummy foods!

We're on DXDP. So we're all done with sticker shock. We're really looking forward to it!

 

[Sailormoon2]

I fell really far behind on this report. LOL! Just wanted to say that I LOVED your race outfit! InB is the best
I also really appreciate all your reviews, especially of the special events.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Looks like a yummy lunch at Le Cellier! I ate there in Oct for the first time in at least probably ten years but unfortunately between not being that hungry and ordering badly it wasn’t that great. Will give it another go. Speaking of sticker shock, while I was there a group of 6 came in, got waters and menus and then told their server they couldn’t stay. Who doesn’t look at the menu before heading in, especially if you have some restrictions? So odd.

The champagne seminar sounds fun. I did a prosecco one, also done by a family member. I’m sure it’s a lot of work but doesn’t it sound glamorous to own a vineyard? My only “complaint” is how small the pours have gotten over the years. Certainly don’t expect a full glass but in our session it was barely 2 sips.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

We're on DXDP. So we're all done with sticker shock. We're really looking forward to it!

DXDP is nice to have everything pre-paid except for tips! We're more Tables in Wonderland people as we tend to vary how much we eat along with how much alcohol we drink. Have a wonderful trip!

I fell really far behind on this report. LOL! Just wanted to say that I LOVED your race outfit! InB is the best
I also really appreciate all your reviews, especially of the special events.

I get that! I'm so behind on other people's reports as well. My last month has been constant movement. I'm actually shocked I'm finishing up the report for Trip #1 today but I need to get this done before January's trip or else I'm going to be having 2 reports going at once!

Looks like a yummy lunch at Le Cellier! I ate there in Oct for the first time in at least probably ten years but unfortunately between not being that hungry and ordering badly it wasn’t that great. Will give it another go. Speaking of sticker shock, while I was there a group of 6 came in, got waters and menus and then told their server they couldn’t stay. Who doesn’t look at the menu before heading in, especially if you have some restrictions? So odd.

The champagne seminar sounds fun. I did a prosecco one, also done by a family member. I’m sure it’s a lot of work but doesn’t it sound glamorous to own a vineyard? My only “complaint” is how small the pours have gotten over the years. Certainly don’t expect a full glass but in our session it was barely 2 sips.

Not being hungry and ordering badly will make even the best restaurants just blah!

I've seen people get and up and leave before a few times at Disney at some of the nicer places. I guess at least with them showing up - they didn't get charged the $60 for no show!

It does sound glamorous to own a vineyard but then I think of the amount of work involved. My husband now is a manager for a large alcohol sale store so I'll get to enjoy some of the fruits of that labor now! Pours have gotten a lot smaller over the years along with the fact they don't serve a glass of wine with the food demos anymore! No need to sign up for those now! I also miss being able to get larger size beers!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Food & Wine Booths

After a nice long nap for my husband and a short one for me, we headed back into EPCOT at 7:30PM for the evening + after party for Wine & Dine Half Marathon. We decided to start towards the front and work our way around for wine & dine.

Earth Eats

My husband went with a peanut butter dessert to enjoy first. He was happy with this as I didn’t even get to have a photo of it before he dug in! It was gone in no time.

Peanut Butter & White Chocolate Mousse w/ a Caramel Drizzle

Coastal Eats

While my husband was enjoying his peanut butter mousse, I went with back to Coastal Eats to enjoy one of my favorites from Labor Day Weekend. The Shrimp Scampi Dip was not as good this time around but at least it was filling!

Baked Shrimp Scampi Dip w/ Sourdough Baguette

Odyssey Center

We took a spin on Spaceship Earth and decided to skip the fireworks and relax in the Odyssey Center as people watched the fireworks and filtered out of the park before the “Wine and Dine” part of the party would begin. To spend my time wisely, I enjoyed some cotton candy as I’m a 31 year old child at heart. I haven’t had cotton candy in a while and it was nice sugar rush before we would be out a bit more.

L’Orange Cotton Candy

Refreshment Cool Post
After the day crowds had left, we left the Odyssey Center and started walking counterclockwise around the World Showcase. My husband didn’t feel like stopping at any of the food booths as he wanted ice cream. The Cool Post had soft serve so he decided to go for that. I went with whiskey and frozen coke. Both of us enjoyed our frozen delights in our own ways. I think he was a little upset he didn’t get any French Ice Cream this trip.

Ice Cream Cone

Bain’s Cape Mountain Whisky and Frozen Coke

After our snack, we wandered and I noted that the Adventurer’s Club would be putting on a show at 10:15PM at the Morocco Stage. My Pleasure Island Deprived Self was excited for this as I only got to experience Adventurer’s Club twice as a legal adult before it was closed forever for us. 10 years later, I was very happy to see their mini show!

Adventurer’s Club!

My husband was done for the night after the show so we walked back to the hotel and went to bed. I was glad we didn’t pay for my ticket to the party as I had traded photo downloads for it since we didn’t make very far into the party despite the afternoon nap!

The next morning we packed up and made our way home after picking up our dogs from camp. That’s a wrap for Trip #1!​

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Disneyland Festival of the Holidays

During the week of November 13th to 17th, I was traveling to Southern California for work to finish out my mentoring program. I’m not going to break out the entire visit and all the food I had as for the most part - it was a typical business trip but here's the fun stuff from Festival of the Holidays! I did get to sneak over to Disneyland/California Adventure a bit - especially on the day I arrived and the day the mentoring program ended (my mentor even joined me Thursday evening for some fun in Disneyland!) I got to experience the Festival of the Holidays at California Adventure for the first time and try a couple different options over the various visits.

Chips, Breads & Holiday Spreads
From this booth, I decided for the option that made me the happiest and warm gooey cheese would make me the happiest. The chorizo gave it a nice kick as well. My only complaint is that there weren’t enough chips to enjoy all the queso and thus I was left with throwing out yummy cheese dip as I wasn’t going to eat cheese dip with a spoon. Had I had more alcohol in my system, that opinion could have been changed most likely.

Chorizo Queso Fundido w/ House-Made Tortilla Chips

Making Spirits Bright
Mimosas are super popular right now so seeing a mimosa flight made me happy! All three of these were non-traditional mimosas which were a nice spin on the normal. The pear one was a bit weird but I don’t usually drink or eat pears so it was more an unfamiliar flavor profile to me. The White Cranberry was my favorite!

Flight of Mimosas - White Cranberry, Pear, Blood Orange

A Twist on Tradition
I’m a sucker for blue drinks and this was no different! Rose is a very trendy wine at the moment so seeing it frozen and mixed with blue curacao wasn’t unexpected for a Disney “Twist on Tradition” I got this cocktail and headed to the single rider line at Radiator Springs which was a great way to spend my time in line!

Frosty Frose - Frozen Rose, Blue Curacao w/ White Cranberry Juice with a Mint Sprig

Spicy Celebration
I got this margarita when I first arrived to the park as it had been a long day of travel. It wasn’t really spicy but the sea salt did give a nice balance for the sweetness of the pomegranate.

Pomegranate Margarita w/ Chipotle-Smoked Sea Salt Half Rim

Blissyful Braised
This dish was my absolute favorite of the dishes I tried! I even became a member of the clean plate club here! The pork belly was nicely braised and the garlic fried rice was the perfect texture balance for it. It also was a decent sized portion that really filled me up so that I didn’t even get to try as many things as I wanted!

Braised Pork Belly Adobo w/ Garlic Fried Rice

Grandma’s Recipes
Bourbon? Does anyone think I wouldn’t like warm bourbon cider? So good! The only person that didn’t like it was the character handler for Donald/Goofy as I was enjoying it while in line for Goofy. I had to have it done before I could take the photo!

Warm Bourbon Cider w/ Bourbon-Infused Marshmallow
​

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Looks like a fun last night with some sweet treats. I never got to experience Adventurer’s Club but it sure has passionate fans. It’s nice they can bring it back periodically. How awesome you got to visit Disneyland! All of your drinks and snacks look delicious!! Love the idea of a mimosa flight- hope that makes its way to Florida!

 

[Sailormoon2]

So much food and really cool drinks!! Thanks for such a great report!

 

[TeeterTots]

Ooh, all the drinks look fun, especially the mimosas and margarita!

 

[Texans_loyal]

Spicy Celebration looks so good!

 

[tnbrowne2004]

I may need to visit the festival of the holidays one of these days, that pork belly looks delicious! The mimosa flight looked enjoyable, I do like to make mine at home with normal cranberry juice but now I think I want to try and find white cranberry juice. The tray also looked lonely with the one missing drink, they should have put a grapefruit one into the mix.

 

[kastoney]

They must have finished along side as he started in C right? I must have seen him pass as I was watched at the Boardwalk!

Yeah, I'm pretty sure he was in C for the half and B for the 10K

Ottawa Apple - Crown Apple Maple Whisky, Apple Infusion and Cranberry Juice

I'm not a huge whiskey fan but with the apple and cranberry this sounds awesome!

For my appetizer, I got the Pork Belly. This was perfectly tender. You didn’t even need a fork! The parsnip was a nice balance for the richness of the pork.

Yum!!!! This looks awesome.

As we looked at the entree selection for the menu, we ended up decided to get the Porterhouse for 2 as it was close to the price as getting two filets and it came with some nice side options and bearnaise sauce which is my favorite steak sauce. The steak was cooked to a perfect medium rare and all the onions on top were the perfect amount of crisp. I enjoyed my risotto once I picked out the mushrooms and my husband enjoyed his lobster mac&cheese. Neither of us could finish all of this though and we left the restaurant really full!

Wow, that all looks delicious. Especially like the ideas of the onions on top. How does Le Cellier stack up to Yachtsman? We love Yachtsman so much we've never ventured beyond it.

Each of the champagnes were enjoyable but as I’m writing this almost a month later - I don’t really remember enough about the tastes for them to be remarkable. I believe I enjoyed the rose the most. I’m glad I at least tried them though as it was good for killing time as well since we were without a room. With my husband's new job - he's getting to try all different types of champagnes and has found some better ones.

What kind of job does he have that he gets to try champagne at it???? I want that job!

While my husband was enjoying his peanut butter mousse, I went with back to Coastal Eats to enjoy one of my favorites from Labor Day Weekend. The Shrimp Scampi Dip was not as good this time around but at least it was filling!

Great minds think alike on this one

My husband didn’t feel like stopping at any of the food booths as he wanted ice cream. The Cool Post had soft serve so he decided to go for that. I went with whiskey and frozen coke.

I think one of you choose correctly

During the week of November 13th to 17th, I was traveling to Southern California for work to finish out my mentoring program. I’m not going to break out the entire visit and all the food I had as for the most part - it was a typical business trip but here's the fun stuff from Festival of the Holidays!

Wow, you really get around! Funny my brother was in Disneyland at the same time.

I’m a sucker for blue drinks and this was no different! Rose is a very trendy wine at the moment so seeing it frozen and mixed with blue curacao wasn’t unexpected for a Disney “Twist on Tradition” I got this cocktail and headed to the single rider line at Radiator Springs which was a great way to spend my time in line!

This sounds awesome!

I got this margarita when I first arrived to the park as it had been a long day of travel. It wasn’t really spicy but the sea salt did give a nice balance for the sweetness of the pomegranate.

Wow, Disneyland has some serious drink game

Bourbon? Does anyone think I wouldn’t like warm bourbon cider? So good! The only person that didn’t like it was the character handler for Donald/Goofy as I was enjoying it while in line for Goofy. I had to have it done before I could take the photo!

NO chance you were passing this up. I"m really impressed with all the drinks they have!!!!!!! WDW needs to step up their game big time

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Looks like a fun last night with some sweet treats. I never got to experience Adventurer’s Club but it sure has passionate fans. It’s nice they can bring it back periodically. How awesome you got to visit Disneyland! All of your drinks and snacks look delicious!! Love the idea of a mimosa flight- hope that makes its way to Florida!

It does have very passionate fans! I wish they would bring it back but at least the recent upgrades to Disney Spring have brought life back to that area of Disney.

That mimosa flight was enjoyable! I'm glad I got to spend some time in Disneyland and enjoy it!

So much food and really cool drinks!! Thanks for such a great report!

No problem! Still got Thanksgiving and a summary of Memphis and some Italian extras to go! My goal is to get through most of this before January's marathon weekend! We'll see how that works out!

Ooh, all the drinks look fun, especially the mimosas and margarita!

They had such great options for the drinks around California Adventure! I do think the Bourbon was my favorite though!

Spicy Celebration looks so good!

It was good! Not too spicy but a nice kick with it!

I may need to visit the festival of the holidays one of these days, that pork belly looks delicious! The mimosa flight looked enjoyable, I do like to make mine at home with normal cranberry juice but now I think I want to try and find white cranberry juice. The tray also looked lonely with the one missing drink, they should have put a grapefruit one into the mix.

I wish I had more time to really enjoy the holidays at Disneyland but at least I got a good sample of it! That pork belly was amazing! Definitely one of the best food dishes I've had from any Disney festival.

They should have had a 4th drink! I'm sad they seem to keep flights to three drinks now rather than 4! The white cranberry was good but normal cranberry is just a good!

Yeah, I'm pretty sure he was in C for the half and B for the 10K

I can't remember - are you guys doing Dark Side again next year?

I'm not a huge whiskey fan but with the apple and cranberry this sounds awesome!

Oh it was! Even if you aren't a whiskey fan, it didn't taste overly strong!

Yum!!!! This looks awesome.

It was!

Wow, that all looks delicious. Especially like the ideas of the onions on top. How does Le Cellier stack up to Yachtsman? We love Yachtsman so much we've never ventured beyond it.

Yachtsman is more of a traditional steakhouse experience and relaxing. I don't find going to Le Cellier as relaxing since you have to travel inside a park and you are seated at tables that could be really close to each other (sometimes not as bad as others). You also see people in park clothes more so than Yachtsman. The food is usually excellent (they had some issues shortly after they went from a 1 TS DDP to a 2 TS DDP as they were trying to find their footing). Its a good place for us post races as we want good food and a table service option! This is why we usually end up here at a lunch and we keep Yachtsman more for dinner.

What kind of job does he have that he gets to try champagne at it???? I want that job!

He's now a manager for a very large wine & more retailer. (I'm sure you have some of them in your area as they are headquartered in Maryland). No more electronic discounts for us but the new benefits of this job work out really well! He now enjoys whiskey/scotch/bourbon after he came home from his management on boarding training. I was shocked!

Great minds think alike on this one

We do! One of the best items of the festival this year!

I think one of you choose correctly

I did! Can't go wrong with booze!

Wow, you really get around! Funny my brother was in Disneyland at the same time.

This sounds awesome!

Wow, Disneyland has some serious drink game

NO chance you were passing this up. I"m really impressed with all the drinks they have!!!!!!! WDW needs to step up their game big time

That is too funny that your brother was there as well! It was weird though being 'offsite' as I was at my hotel near the Orange Country airport and having to drive along with paying for parking. Being onsite there is definitely a better experience. Hope your brother had a great visit!

The drinks were awesome there! Totally more creative with lots of options. I had to restrain myself from trying too many of them since I was driving. I missed out on lots more awesome selections!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Bleu

Thanksgiving Morning, my husband and I went to IHOP for breakfast. I decided to embrace my inner child and enjoy the 2 stack of the cupcake pancakes (with bacon and hashbrowns as my husband took the eggs from my plate) along with a gingerbread hot chocolate.

IHop Breakfast!

I left him at little after 8AM to drive to Orlando to meet my mother at the Ritz Carlton Grand Lakes. She had arrived in Orlando on Sunday and switched from the Marriott to the Ritz on Wednesday. They had apparently upgraded us to a suite and gifted us with a spa treatment each. My appointment for a facial would be at 2:30pm. This was a good start for the weekend, considering last year, we spent our Thanksgiving in Hospice. After I got settled in the room, we headed downstairs where they were giving out glasses of champagne or mimosas. I went with a Rose and my mother went with the Brut. Who doesn’t like free champagne?

Champagne - Rose & Brut

I was then hungry for real food so we headed down to the pool restaurant as the other two restaurants were doing an expensive Thanksgiving Meal which we didn’t want. I ordered another alcoholic beverage as why not? The mojito was really refreshing as well!

Watermelon Mojito

My mother and I decided to split a *half* order of the pulled chipotle chicken nachos. I had loved these in July and I still enjoyed them now. It is crazy how large the half portion was - we attempted to make it all go away but failed miserably at it.

Pulled Chipotle Chicken Nachos

We headed back to the room and relaxed until I left to head to the spa to enjoy the sauna, whirlpool and steam rooms! My facial was lovely! A much more relaxing experience than my last facial that I had after Irma which was more of a deep cleaning experience (10 days of no power/water in the middle of September will do bad things to your face!)

 

[kastoney]

I can't remember - are you guys doing Dark Side again next year?

No, unfortunately not. We said we were gonna skip WDW next year in favor of a trip to Disneyland before they mess up the original with Star Wars land. But the thought of not going to the world is already starting to build up. Whichever we do, it won't be until August.

IHop Breakfast!

Looks like Casey on a plate and in a cup. IHOP is her all time favorite place to eat. She and my Dad go so often that they apparently know her and she knows what specials they have each day. Being the good mother I am, I've never taken her

y facial was lovely! A much more relaxing experience than my last facial that I had after Irma which was more of a deep cleaning experience (10 days of no power/water in the middle of September will do bad things to your face!)

Ritz Carlton and Spa? Yes please and thank you! Sounds like a perfect Thanksgiving to me!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Well you are continuing to sell me on the Ritz. I “need” to try it. How marvelous to get the suite upgrade and complimentary champagne sounds like perfection. The spa looks very relaxing. All in all looks like a lovely Thanksgiving!

 

[Sailormoon2]

Nice spa day. And I love pancakes with eggs, it is my most favourite breakfast, and those looked amazing!