He Just Came For The Food: A March 2018 Dining Report *update 9/22 S. Hollow/GF Cafe

[buzzrelly]

However as we moved towards our apps it began to fill up which was nice because it made it more......pleasant. OK, that was a dumb sentence. Anyway I prefer there to be a decent amount of other diners in a restaurant when we're there, I feel weird when it's close to empty. That's it.

I get that…it feels weird and kind of awkward to be in an almost empty restaurant. Plus it makes me wonder why more people aren't eating there, like it might be bad, or something.

you know I DON'T eat mushrooms! But so many people here raved about this soup, I had to try it and was so glad I did.

You need to stop saying that. You obviously LOVE mushrooms since you order them all the time

Artisanal Cheeses:
Handcrafted Breads and Seasonal Accompainments

That looks amazing…right up my alley!

Ricky's app which was the

Steamed Mussels:

Of course!

7-oz Filet Mignon
Choice of House Side

You'll see as a side I got mashed potatoes. Now close your eyes and look at this picture again; close them one more time, and look again, because myself, Steve, and Chris all got the filet with mashed potatoes. We've had our share of excellent filets at signatures and this was right up there as one of the best as were the potatoes, which were second only to Citricos. I honestly have trouble rating all the filets because other than a couple not so perfect ones at non-signatures, mine have always been wonderful. These did not disappoint!

Looks delicious, and probably what I would have ordered too. But jeez, could they spare the mashed potatoes?

Along with his entree Steve ordered a House Side:

Crispy Brussels Sprouts
Fermented Bean Vinaigrette

They look grotesque don't they? Steve said they were awesome but no way was I trying something that looked like that Chris attempted and declined to try anymore. But regardless they made it on to the "delicious" list with everything else.

I actually think they look good, though I've never tried Brussel Sprouts in my life. I think I would like them because I love most veggies, I just don't know how to cook them and I'd like to try them prepared by someone who does.

Dear lord it took me about 5 minutes to figure out the eye closing thing. I kept thinking if you looked ate the picture the right way you saw the Messiah or something. Come to think of it the leek does look a little like a halo

HaHa! I was confused too! I kept thinking she was going to say something about her tiny little pile of potatoes

 

[FSU Girl]

There is a rumor they are adding a character breakfast at AP so I wonder if that's the issue with ressies.

Oh interesting. Do you think the menu would change with that?

 

[ArielSRL]

Oh interesting. Do you think the menu would change with that?

As far as I have heard it would just be for breakfast and I don't think they currently serve breakfast...so I'm not sure if it would affect other meals.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Now they are backpedaling! I have received a few emails and a phone call from Disney about it.

I have seen that now as well. They are now just toning it down. I have a feeling they totally under estimated how many people like that aspect of the restaurant.

There is a rumor they are adding a character breakfast at AP so I wonder if that's the issue with ressies.

Hmmmm Who did they used to have there? Do the rumors include who it would be? Woodland Animals maybe?

 

[ArielSRL]

Hmmmm Who did they used to have there? Do the rumors include who it would be? Woodland Animals maybe?

There’s used to be Pooh and friends. No clue if anyone else and no specifics to the rumor. But AP will be closed from late Oct through late Nov maybe? So it could just be a refurb.

 

[Lsdolphin]

There’s used to be Pooh and friends. No clue if anyone else and no specifics to the rumor. But AP will be closed from late Oct through late Nov maybe? So it could just be a refurb.

Be nice to have Pocahontas.

 

[ariane37]

love mushrooms, please don’t hate meThat soup looks amazing! I am so excited to stay at WL for the first time in August. I would love to eat there one night, I need to check out the menu to see if Andi will try it!

I'M so excited for you to stay at WL lol! You should check the menu, especially since they're closing for parts of Oct/Nov. I don't think they're changing the dinner much but if you end up back down there (and really, who are we kidding?) that wouldn't be an option then.

How nice to have bonded with wait staff at Citricos, I think you must go to WDW often

Yeah but I know others who rival our # of trips per year!

I did see that! @ArielSRL is VERY angry about it!

Isn't she??? I was reading some comments between @ArielSRL and Humphrey on FB, not very friendly lol

Most of the signature menus don't always wow me. But I def think I want to try one or two next time.

There are a couple that don't "wow" me, like there's one dish I'd eat but I still want to try them. Flying Fish is one and people are raving about the new menu but there's like no apps I'd like and one entree, but one day I'll get there Unless you don't like steak, maybe start with Yachtsman?

Don't you hate it when you lose your phone? That and keys are the worst things to lose..

The other day I got a text from a client to call her; I texted back I would call in 30 minutes as I was in the middle of emailing with another client. Well, then I put my phone.............somewhere and couldn't find it! So I emailed that client that I'd call here whenever the hell I found my phone About 3 hours and tons of curses later I went downstairs to get the laundry; have to pass through the family room and happened to notice my phone on the edge of the pool table. I had no recollection of putting it there but I guess I did #nolongeryoung

Your food looks great at Artist Pointe. I wanted to try it for my trip in November, but there aren't any reservations available, I'm wondering if it's closing for a refurbishment when I'm there.

Yeah, you must be going during the refurb, that stinks! Not sure what exactly they're doing but I think it has more to do with adding that rumored character breakfast than changing dinner. As long as they don't remove the smoky mushroom bisque I'm ok with it!

when I was younger someone told me they were fungus and I didn't touch them for a decade.

Now they are backpedaling! I have received a few emails and a phone call from Disney about it.

I know we are reading the same stuff and yes, now that so many are complaining they're saying they will just "tone it down" Liars!

There is a rumor they are adding a character breakfast at AP so I wonder if that's the issue with ressies.

I believe the rumor and I must say I'm kind of excited about it.

You need to stop saying that. You obviously LOVE mushrooms since you order them all the time

lol, I was checking out some new menus tonight for our next trip and saw a mushroom soup on another menu, and I got excited!

Oh interesting. Do you think the menu would change with that?

As far as I have heard it would just be for breakfast and I don't think they currently serve breakfast...so I'm not sure if it would affect other meals.

Yeah I'm thinking they'll just add the breakfast? I mean, maybe tweak the dinner menu? But for the most part I hope they leave it alone because we loved every single thing we had.

Hmmmm Who did they used to have there? Do the rumors include who it would be? Woodland Animals maybe?

When the rumor was first posted here, someone thought having Woody and the gang would be good - Wilderness Lodge, wild west? I don't think they really fit.

Be nice to have Pocahontas.

I agree! Pocahontas, Meeko, Thumper and Ms. Bunny, I would LOVE Br'er Fox, Bear and Rabbit!!!!

 

[Steppesister]

Such a delightful review of AP. I did that on my last family trip and that soup! I could swim with my mouth open in that soup. YUM!! Got that cheese plate too and it was truly wonderful. Thanks for the yummy photos!

 

[jdd]

Great report! I'm more of a lurker, but always enjoy your trip reports. Stumbled on this one as I'm in the midst of "re-planning" our meals for our August trip. I set most of them up at 180 days, but now I'm moving them, and tweaking them, and adding more Looking forward to more

 

[T00dles]

The Black Cherry Lemonade was my favorite for years. When we were there last May, I went to Hurricane Hanna's to order one from one of our favorite bartenders, Tom, only to be informed that it had been removed from the menu and he offered the Blueberry Lemonade. While I like blueberries, I didn't find this drink to come close to the loveliness of the Black Cherry Lemonade. Tom let me know that they still had most of the ingredients and he made me the Black Cherry--not as great as before, but it worked.

I was so hoping it would return by our October 2017 trip, but no such luck. I really hate when Disney removes items completely. Why in the world can't it stock the items necessary to make the "retired from the menu" drinks--they are full bars after all.

BTW, do not make the mistake of ordering a Black Cherry Lemonade at Martha's Vineyard--not a fan of whiskey, bourbon and the like. The Black Cherry Lemonade there was made with whiskey and was quite a shock to my taste buds.

I loved that drink too! I found a list of the ingredients. Looking at it I'm surprised they didnt have the ingredients.

"The Black Cherry Lemonade consists of Grey Goose Cherry Noir Vodka, Odwalla Lemonade, fresh lime juice, Grenadine and a splash of Sprite."

 

[ariane37]

A LITTLE FLOWER AND GARDEN
VIA NAPOLI PART 1​

Two months in and I'm up to our 3rd day - yeah, I'll have this done in 2018. After that awesome AP dinner, beautiful Easter basket surprise and some fun Roaring Fork snacks, we slept well and woke up to visit our 3rd park of the trip -



A little overcast but I think it's a neat shot! We spent some time in FW Soarin' high above a strangely shaped Eiffel Tower and on a hydroponic boat ride where I tried not to laugh out loud at the shape of these



before moving over to World Showcase. We had a lunch reservation there but still had about an hour to kill, and we were all VERY. HUNGRY. I didn't want anyone fulling up, but with this booth directly to our right and memories of our 2 visits to the F&G festival last year, there was no way Steve was passing up a serving of his beloved:




If you don't know what it is that he couldn't pass up, it's the dish he had about 15x between our two visits last year, the Sugar Cane Shrimp Skewer:
served with steamed rice and coconut lime sauce



He cannot get enough of this and this year, was able to introduce Chris to it! Chris took one bite and ordered his own. I love that he tries different things. I opted to skip this booth but Ricky was also hungry so he got an order of the Jamaican Braised Beef:
served with Pigeon-Pea Rice and Micro-Cilantro



Looks so juicy All I have for you here is, "Ricky do you like it, is it good? "Yeah it's really good". Which I can only translate as there was no fat on the meat or he would have been spitting it out.

We walked while they ate, but in a counter-clockwise direction. I was as hungry as they were but determined not to ruin my appetite before lunch! So we went to the U.K. and I opted for this to kill time:



I don't have a picture of the booth sign but you can see by the card what it was, their cider flight. I've become a big cider fan over the last year or so and these didn't disappoint! The pineapple was by far my favorite followed by the black cherry; I was "eh" on the apple orange but of course didn't let it go to waste We hung out at a table there for a bit before continuing our journey towards Italy and our lunch at Via Napoli.

I was really looking forward to this; the last time we ate here was in 2015 on our Thanksgiving trip. Unfortunately it was the day after the wretched stomach virus had ruined the holiday for me, and while I'd gotten through breakfast at CRT and most of the day ok, as soon as we sat down to dinner at Via Napoli that night my stomach said "NO WAY" again. I ordered but couldn't take one bite, so this was a re-do!

I started with another drink since those cider flights come in small cups:

Peach Bellini:



I would love to give you the ingredients but this is not currently on the VN menu? And while I'm sure they're simple I'm not positive what goes into a bellini, but whatever it is, this was. It was ok; nothing special and didn't actually have much of a taste. Yeah, I drank it.

With the exception of Chris we all ordered appetizers and now you'll see why I used the word "cute" in the chapter title....

Steve got the
Mozzarella Caprese
vine-ripened tomato, fresh milk mozzarella



It looks so cute and tiny in his hand! It wasn't a big amount by any means but it's an app, no special presentation, but fresh tomatoes and very fresh, soft, delicious mozzarella. Adorable.

Ricky got the same app he had in 2015 which he remembered well as he loved it
Arancini
fried risotto balls filled with mozzarella and meat ragù



I know you expect me to make some kind of adult-only comment, but I took care of that with my LWTL picture I had a bite and while they weren't as creamy as the Arancini at Citricos they were close, and I love the sauce here. On to my app which I think is the cutest of them all however we got a little chuckle when it was delivered to the table:
Salame e Provolone
dry cured sausage, imported provolone cheese



It looks kind of sad, doesn't it? Cute, and sad. Like I made this plate up at a buffet and didn't like any of the other choices. Again it's lunch and it's an app, and honestly everything was delicious! Steve and I love fresh provolone and this was fantastic as was the salami. Funny thing, Ricky though the pepper was a tomato and popped the whole thing in his mouth and bit into it. He doesn't eat peppers of any kind and no spicy foods, so he was a bit shocked to find out this was not, in fact, a tomato. He grabbed and ate it so quick I couldn't tell him! Plus I was pissed because I wanted that pepper with some of my cheese so serves him right.

We were extremely happy with our apps, finished them all and waited for our entrees. I'm at my picture limit so I'll continue this in my next post.

 

[ariane37]

VIA NAPOLI CON'T

If you've eaten at VN and anyone in your party has ordered pizza, you know they tell you the pizza may take longer than other entrees due to the nature of how they cook it; in those cool big face ovens. The boys and I all ordered pizza but Steve did not, and his food came out almost 20 minutes before ours. This was the only negative about our meal and we can't say they didn't warn us. Still Steve wasn't happy because he won't ever eat until everyone has their food. He got

Pollo alla Parmigianana
breaded chicken breast, tomato sauce, parmesan, and mozzarella served with spaghetti pomodoro



Yes, he went with the chicken parm and he thought it was very good. He'd tried the Arancini also and knew he liked their sauce; it's not overly tomato-y which neither of us like. The chicken was tender, but I will say he still thinks Il Mulino has the best chicken parm on property.

Finally our pizzas arrived! Mine first It's one I've been dying to try since my good friend Kari @kastoney always always gets it; my version was just minus the yucky part she adds.
Carciofi Pizza - Individual
white pizza - artichoke, fontina, mozzarella, truffle oil




Ah, heaven! Better than I imagined. I feel this particular pizza is perfect for being wood-fired, the components also just go together perfectly. Delicioso! Oh and what Kari adds is Arugula, or as I call it .
Steve tried mine and said it was good but he's a marinara sauce on his pie guy. The boys weren't interested so the rest was all mine.
The boys had more traditional pizzas and enjoyed them:
Chris:
Pepperoni Pizza - Individual
tomato sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni



And Ricky
Margherita 10" Individual
tomato sauce, mozzarella, basil - add additional toppings



A very enjoyable and pleasant meal at Via Napoli and a restaurant I recommend often. It's loud; yeah. If you want a quiet Italian restaurant you need to go to Tutto Italia (or better yet, Il Mulino). VN is all open so there's no quiet area to sit, but doesn't bother us. Neither does pizza made in wood-fired ovens but I do see reports here from people who say their pizza was burnt or just didn't taste good. It's a different taste to a point and there will be char on the bottom because of how it's cooked, so if you're totally against that don't go. I agree a burned pizza is no good but you will have a bit of light black, so beware!

After we ate we meandered around a bit but didn't see anything we wanted to do. FP's had been used and as was the general theme of the trip, #nofpsleft. We attempted to take a boat ride in Mexico but the line was almost to China lol. Instead we opted to go back to WL before going to our next destination.

Since I still have picture room here, figured I'd share a few from our arrival day earlier this month! We began at AK after meeting up with Whitney @Whit64130 at POP, and then later came to Epcot to see the Garden Rocks concert and have dinner. But first, a little F&G:

​

A blurry picture of Steve's scallops from........Canada? I don't have my F&G booklet and am too lazy to look up what this was, but it's scallops and I'm fairly certain they were had over the Canada way. He loved them, hadn't had them on our March trip. While he waited in line I moseyed over to the U.K; you may recognize this because #tinycups



It's some beer Steve got and then my cider! I didn't get the flight this time, just a (slightly) larger version of the pineapple cider from the flight I'd had back in March, as you could get each one individually. Still just as good! We walked with these towards America and grabbed a seat for Herman's Hermits. Not my first choice but we'd seen him before and I do enjoy some 60's music; these guys were great! Next up was dinner at La Hacienda de San Angel which included the lovely Avocado Margarita for me and a Dos Equis for Steve:



I didn't take food pics since I knew I wasn't doing a whole food review, but we weren't impressed with our meal. Steve did like his entree but I didn't like my app and my entree was ok, think I ordered wrong. Overall we prefer San Angel even though that didn't blow us away either.

After dinner we circled around again and I finally got a picture of the Capt. Hook and Peter Pan topiary. It's not the best but the couple times I tried during the day, the sun was always glaring off Peter. This is the first year I've gone to the festival and not seen him on top of the building in the U.K. I do like that they change it up:



Thanks for letting me share! ​

 

[ariane37]

Such a delightful review of AP. I did that on my last family trip and that soup! I could swim with my mouth open in that soup. YUM!! Got that cheese plate too and it was truly wonderful. Thanks for the yummy photos!

Thank you! I know, and right now I don't have it booked for our next trip It's just so hard with so many great places to eat! Steve and I have been to more signature than the boys and I want them to try ones we've gone to without them and loved.

Great report! I'm more of a lurker, but always enjoy your trip reports.

Aw I'm glad you decided to come out and say hello!

Stumbled on this one as I'm in the midst of "re-planning" our meals for our August trip.

lol don't we all do that?? I still have some days I haven't booked anything for and I change and change and change till I can't change anymore! I love when Steve and I go by ourselves and I don't have every day planned; it's fun to see where we end up as weird as that sounds!

Looking forward to more

Hope you enjoy the rest!

I loved that drink too! I found a list of the ingredients. Looking at it I'm surprised they didnt have the ingredients.

"The Black Cherry Lemonade consists of Grey Goose Cherry Noir Vodka, Odwalla Lemonade, fresh lime juice, Grenadine and a splash of Sprite."

So simple I think it was more a case of that particular bartender not wanting to make something off the menu But I'll be making it at home I think!

 

[kastoney]

Two months in and I'm up to our 3rd day - yeah, I'll have this done in 2018.

Man, you're moving at my snail pace

Sugar Cane Shrimp Skewer:
served with steamed rice and coconut lime sauce

I think at this point this dish should just be named after Steve, I can see Sugar Steve Shrimp Skewer on the menu now

All I have for you here is, "Ricky do you like it, is it good? "Yeah it's really good". Which I can only translate as there was no fat on the meat or he would have been spitting it out.

Ricky is so my kinda guy. I love me some beef, but it can keep its fat to itself.

I was really looking forward to this; the last time we ate here was in 2015 on our Thanksgiving trip. Unfortunately it was the day after the wretched stomach virus had ruined the holiday for me, and while I'd gotten through breakfast at CRT and most of the day ok, as soon as we sat down to dinner at Via Napoli that night my stomach said "NO WAY" again. I ordered but couldn't take one bite, so this was a re-do!

Oh I remember hearing about that fateful day. Glad to see you are finally getting back. Hopefully it redeems itself for you.

I know you expect me to make some kind of adult-only comment, but I took care of that with my LWTL picture I had a bite and while they weren't as creamy as the Arancini at Citricos they were close, and I love the sauce here.

I'd make an adult but I got a violation on here a few weeks ago so I'm trying to stay on my best behavior. But we know what we are both thinking

he boys and I all ordered pizza but Steve did not, and his food came out almost 20 minutes before ours.

Wow, that is some seriously off timing. I get its hard to too, but oddly since the pizza only takes about 90 seconds to bake I'm surprised there was that much lag.

t's one I've been dying to try since my good friend Kari @kastoney always always gets it; my version was just minus the yucky part she adds.

The "yucky" is arugula and its perfection!!!

Ah, heaven! Better than I imagined. I feel this particular pizza is perfect for being wood-fired, the components also just go together perfectly. Delicioso! Oh and what Kari adds is Arugula, or as I call it .

Oh I'm so glad you loved this. I always worry when someone orders something I rave about in case it doesn't live up to their expectations. Good news this pizza would never have that happen. Though it is better with arugula

Sorry the meal was a bust, but how was the margarita??? The last few I've had seem to be mass produced and don't taste nearly as good

 

[ariane37]

I just texted you, too

I think at this point this dish should just be named after Steve, I can see Sugar Steve Shrimp Skewer on the menu now

He would SO love that. I'll talk to Disney and see if I can make that happen lol

I'd make an adult but I got a violation on here a few weeks ago so I'm trying to stay on my best behavior. But we know what we are both thinking

WHAT!!! I can't wait to hear why, I've gotten a couple over the years, too which shouldn't surprise you. #friendswhoviolatetogether

Oh I'm so glad you loved this. I always worry when someone orders something I rave about in case it doesn't live up to their expectations. Good news this pizza would never have that happen.

I feel that way also, I want people to love what I love but worry they'll go somewhere based on my reviews and hate it. But what can you do? That's why we all read reviews and it is what it is.................

Though it is better with arugula

That's a BIG.FAT.

Sorry the meal was a bust, but how was the margarita??? The last few I've had seem to be mass produced and don't taste nearly as good

It was good but yeah, not as good as my first one or two. I think they've gotten too popular unfortunately

 

[disneyAndi14]

We tried the beloved sugar cane shrimp this year, yum! We are going back to Via Napoli this August!
The appetizers do look cute and little
The Arancini look ballrific
We really enjoy the pizza here as well
Good description of the sauce there.

 

[disneyAndi14]

Oh I'm so glad you loved this. I always worry when someone orders something I rave about in case it doesn't live up to their expectations. Good news this pizza would never have that happen. Though it is better with arugula

I have always enjoyed all the food we have tried because of your reviews!!
As well as Ariane’s reviews!!

 

[Raeven]

Looks so juicy All I have for you here is, "Ricky do you like it, is it good? "Yeah it's really good". Which I can only translate as there was no fat on the meat or he would have been spitting it out.

I feel the same way about fatty meat, it's actually one of the reasons I didn't try that dish because I had read mixed reviews about the quality of the meat.

It looks kind of sad, doesn't it? Cute, and sad. Like I made this plate up at a buffet and didn't like any of the other choices.

that is what it looks like!

Plus I was pissed because I wanted that pepper with some of my cheese so serves him right.

#friendswhoviolatetogether

This hashtag

 

[dolewhipandpixiedust]

Once again late but I’m here now! Loving it so far!!

 

[Jenny Sanders]

Hi Arianne! We have Via Napoli ressies for October. We haven't eaten there in a couple years, and I thought Gia would love it (she's a big pizza eater). Your artichoke pizza looks divine!!!!