Just the two of us...no dining plan, no discounts, no allergies...lots of pics! COMPLETE

[tweetylori]

$19 for the same kind of flatbread we had just paid $8 for, y'all!! I was so glad I was full, and since alcohol dollars are really entertainment dollars, not food dollars, Husband got the $15 Magic Hattan, while I did a simple glass of Chardonnay that if I remember correctly was in the $11 range.

 

[tweetylori]

It was worth it though, because Husband gets a kick out of anything magic-related, even though only slight things happened. TIP: Keep an eye on this poster. And one other that is on a different wall.

 

[tweetylori]

Before we knew it, we were ready to venture back to All-Stars Music, which is the only time on this trip we opted to use Uber. We went to the front of the Boardwalk hotel and presto, it didn't take long to get one, and we were soon taking the last night trek to our Country Fair room

 

[tweetylori]

Mousekeeping did a great job all week for us. I had suggested to Husband that we do away with housekeeping and take the gift card, but knowing he had the birthday surprise for me he had insisted we keep it all week, and it was very nice to not only come back to a tidy room, but like on this night, this put a smile on my face:

 

[tweetylori]

Earlier in the week, the first night or two, I had purchased this, and there was no way I was going to waste what was left:

 

[tweetylori]

Up next...saying goodbye to our resort, spending our last Disney hours at Disney Springs (we had an ADR for lunch), the BEST airport restaurant, and a surprise extra night.

 

[armerida]

Up next...saying goodbye to our resort, spending our last Disney hours at Disney Springs (we had an ADR for lunch), the BEST airport restaurant, and a surprise extra night.

Ooh, I have a guess on best airport restaurant...we stop every time for their amazing cocktails, burgers, and bbq! (C&L?)...: )

 

[tweetylori]

Ooh, I have a guess on best airport restaurant...we stop every time for their amazing cocktails, burgers, and bbq! (C&L?)...: )

I actually don't think we're talking about the same place. But I'd love to know what yours is!

 

[Sam'sMom0126]

It didn't take me long to learn the mantra that spared Servers breath and time: "no dining plan, no discounts, no allergies". (although I did end up with one very nice discount, and one not-so-very-nice allergic reaction) . I am also a bit of a Dis'ers groupie. I've read all the reviews, seen all the pics, read all the menus. Honestly, 99% of the time I knew what I was going to order in each place before we left Raleigh NC. (although one place had the nerve to drop the one item I was going to order...gasp!) On our 6 night Orlando vacation that turned into 7, we ate and drank and were merry most of the time. We experienced some "most-bang-for-the-buck" moments, as well as some "never-again-waste-of-money" times. I am a food porn lover, so I have pics of everything, and assuming I don't have problems uploading them, they are coming as fast as I can do this thing while being back at work.

What can I say? I love food & drinks. As much as I would like to say this review will be California Grill, Takumi-Tei and Albert & Victoria, neither of us have won the lottery yet, so this review will be more like The Edison, Grand Floridian Cafe and Via Napoli. We are more "bang-for-the-buck" kind of people. I love to score deals on travel, food and drinks. Which is not easy to do in Mouseland. A few years ago we did get a "free" dining plan four-night adventure that we enjoyed very much, staying at Port Orleans. But let's face it, there doesn't seem to be an off-season anymore, so this January vacation meant no free anything. Husband managed to score a somewhat decent price for a stay at the All Stars Music, so off we went.

Yes, just the two of us celebrating my darn big birthday with the big zero. (thank you Husband!)

Leaving Raleigh we start at the only sit-down restaurant in the Southwest Terminal at RDU with drinks and the Pimento Cheese Fritters.View attachment 469035

They also have pretty amazing Brussels sprouts there!!!

 

[armerida]

I actually don't think we're talking about the same place. But I'd love to know what yours is!

Oh! Haha we think that Cask and Larder (near the 100 gates/Southwest) is amazing! I think they have a local spot in Orlando and then opened the airport one. It’s so pretty - trees growing in the middle, a kid of shabby chic/rustic decor, and aaaaamazing food! Local, gluten free, etc. their blue cheese bacon jam burger is to die for! We look forward to our final meal there every Disney trip!

 

[tweetylori]

They also have pretty amazing Brussels sprouts there!!!

I love me some Brussels! (Husband won't do them though)

 

[tweetylori]

Oh! Haha we think that Cask and Larder (near the 100 gates/Southwest) is amazing! I think they have a local spot in Orlando and then opened the airport one. It’s so pretty - trees growing in the middle, a kid of shabby chic/rustic decor, and aaaaamazing food! Local, gluten free, etc. their blue cheese bacon jam burger is to die for! We look forward to our final meal there every Disney trip!

Ahhh, gotcha...let's just say that's what we SHOULD have done.

 

[tweetylori]

So Saturday morning arrives. Check out day. Boo hiss! Also known as "try to cram everything into the suitcases we brought" day. AND time to not waste anything day. (except for what was left of kimchi sandwich...that had to be sacrificed.)

The last plastic cup of wine and the last cupcakes could not be left behind, however. A perfectly respectable last morning breakfast, right?

 

[tweetylori]

Surely I am not the only one to cling to the last crumbs of one's 60th birthday celebration as it winds to a slow halt? Do know that we did clean up this mess. Did not leave it for Mousekeeping, except to empty the trash.

Check out time was 11, so at 10:50, we said goodbye to the room, and did the last long trek to the lobby and bus stop. I don't know if you remember, but the day we checked in, we saw this beautiful bird. Ironically on this day as we were checking out, we spotted what was probably the same beauty on the way out. The ONLY two times we saw it the whole week.

 

[tweetylori]

It took us mere moments to checkout, then we got to the bus stop to go to Disney Springs, as we had a noon ADR. There was a Disney Springs bus right there, as if it was waiting for us. Pixie Dust for us! We patiently waited in line for our turn to get on the bus, and WAH, it drove off without us! What the heck? Uh, after a week of dealing with buses, you would have thought we'd have had this down by now. We were in the wrong line! Did we feel STUPID or what? Cost us a good 20 minutes of standing there doing nothing, waiting for the next one. I would say we learned our lesson, but it was really too late in the game for the lesson to mean anything.

 

[tweetylori]

We still managed to make it to Disney Springs in time to only be a few minutes late for our ADR, and honestly it was a gigantic restaurant that was almost empty anyway, so it really didn't make any difference. We were happy to be seated at a table for four by the window downstairs at Maria & Enzo's Ristorante.

 

[tweetylori]

What drove me into Maria & Enzo's was this description on their menu:

Spaghetti alla Chitarra con Polpette
Thick-cut Pasta, Marinara Sauce, Maria's family recipe Meatballs, Calabrian, Chili, Parmigiano-Reggiano. Chitarra, meaning guitar in Italian, is a square-cut spaghetti very traditional of Abruzzo. The dough is traditionally rolled over a box strung with metal guitar strings at even spacing, producing a pasta of square shape

$26.00

I was very intrigued by the guitar pasta. Now I'm Italian, and I had never heard of Chitarra before.

We started with iced tea for me and a diet Coke for Husband. Honestly, I barely looked at the menu because I was so sure that I needed to experience whatever Chitarra was. Husband finally decided on:

Lasagna Bolognese
Thin-layered Egg Pasta, Braised Short Rib Ragù, Béchamel, Fior di Latte Mozzarella

$26.00

When our Server came over and I mentioned that I had never heard of Chitarra before and was excited to try it, she looked at me like I wasn't too bright and said "it's just spaghetti and meatballs". Uh, it doesn't SOUND like traditional spaghetti and meatballs. I mean, "pasta of square shape", sounds different to me. Anyway, I was still in denial at this point that I wasn't about to experience something truly unique, so I ordered it anyway.

Soon, some very good bread and olive oil arrived:

 

[tweetylori]

And it didn't take long for our entrees to appear:

 

[tweetylori]

Someone came around and offered grated cheese. We both accepted, and received a couple spoonfuls. Husband LOVED his lasagna. He allowed me one small bite, and I could see why it would be his thing. It was very meaty. More meat than cheese or sauce. Made him VERY happy.

And guess what? Server was correct. My "chitarra" was indeed just spaghetti and meatballs. Nothing square about it. It was, however, very GOOD spaghetti and meatballs. Well executed. Tasty sauce, nice balls. But darn, it didn't live up to the fancy description, especially for $26. Suggestion to Maria & Enzo...just call it spaghetti and meatballs and don't get expectations up so high!

Overall though, it was a very good meal. Way over-priced. But good quality. Husband got an espresso, but we were both too full for dessert.

 

[tweetylori]

Oh, and this was the view from our table. Up next, trying out another new-to-us Disney Springs place.