Welcome to Carbapalooza ~ Oct 2016 Dining Report - Completed 8/13 (Updates x18, OMG!)

[cinderkelly]

All the foods! I should know better than to look at this at 10:00pm. Dang it. Now I'm hungry.

 

[jesswindsor]

Can't wait to read the rest of your reports!!

 

[OasterP]

Billie!!! Why were you gone?? So glad you came back.

The Daily Poutine
Disney Springs
Friday, October 22, 2016
Snack

I'd never tried poutine before but had been hearing about it for years from my Canadian homies, so I figured now was the time! I went with the Classic Poutine (French Fries, Beef Poutine Gravy and Cheddar Cheese Curds):

What did I think? Honestly, I'm a little underwhelmed. I thought the cheese would be somehow more gooey and warm. INstead it was just cold little cheese nuggets, impervious to the heat of the fries or the warmth

I'm not sure that looks good - melted cheese would have been better probably.

Superstar Catering Food Truck
Disney Springs
Friday, October 22, 2016
Snack

After the moderate let-down of my poutine, I went on a search for more delicious fare. And man, did I ever find it!

This perfectly hit the spot! Shrimp & Lobster Macaroni & Cheese - with Gouda Lobster Bisque Sauce. Jaysus, was this delicious! The evening was a little chilly and this was hot and creamy and oh-so-delicious.

This, however......YUM.

International Food & Wine Festival

I don't even know. Baklava, maybe?
.

Looks like spanakopita, but I'm not sure if that was there. Either way - delicious!!

Please don't stay away!

 

[Deanie1]

I've gained 5 lbs just reading your TR! The F&W items look soooo good!

 

[brandyleeann]

I just have to say that you are HILARIOUS! I have been laughing non-stop catching up on your reviews. All the while, hanging onto my boobies lol!!!

 

[carolnog]

I almost feel I'm at Disney, thank you for your amazing report!

 

[Elevationist]

Thank you for all the comments, ya'll! As usual, I've been away from the DIS again for so long that it would take all night to reply to you each individually, but honestly I do LOVE reading your comments and they make writing these reports worth while!

 

[Elevationist]

Ohana
Disney's Polynesian Village Resort
Saturday, October 23, 2016
Dinner

Awww yeah, son! It's OHANA time! One of my triply must-do's! (Though I'm not doing it on my next trip, and I don't have a good reason why other than I can't fit it into the schedule anywhere, SIGH.)

Anyhow... feast your eyes upon this feast!

Dat nommy nommy Ohana welcome bread.

God, I miss bread so much right now, ya'll.

Umm. Salad. But like... WHY THOUGH? Honestly, I can't tell ya'll much about this because I didn't touch it. I was saving room for the good stuff.

Now THAT is more like it. Pot Stickers, Lo Mein, and Chicken Wings. I could honestly make a meal off just these three things right here. (Oh, and there's some veggies on that plate too, but whatever.)

Oh, there's MORE!!! Shrimp, Steak, and Chicken. Sooooo delicious.

And of course, dessert! That super wonderful Bananas Foster Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce and Vanilla Ice Cream. I want to fill up a bath tub and just swim in this stuff for reals.


Okay, so I was gonna do more food posts, but now I feel compelled to go work on my plans for my next trip and try and work Ohana in somewhere. BYE.

 

[Elevationist]

Tusker House
Disney's Animal Kingdom
Sunday, October 24, 2016
Breakfast

...Just kidding, I'm still here. I'm determined to wrap this report up this afternoon, so get ready for ALL the food!

I was really into croissants on this trip. (And Mickey Waffles, but that's nothing new.) I think I recall that ham & cheese fritata thing being crazy tasty, too. Apparently my phone charger thought so, too.

More bacon (I love floppy bacon!) and fritata and some eggs and... Is that fruit? That's weird.

More waffles and croissant and I think some bread pudding. Oh, and a Krispy Kreme donut hole, because WHY NOT.

 

[Elevationist]

Beaches & Cream
Disney's Beach Club Resort
Sunday, October 24, 2016
Lunch


So I ate actual food here, I think. I vaguely recall loaded fries maybe and a some kind of sandwich. I can't remember honestly and there's no photos, so I'm screwed... Sorry!

Anyhow, I did remember to take a photo of the most important part:

Milky Way Sundae! Which I think has since been replaced by the Snickers sundae, but whatever. I do remember this bad boy, and it was AMAZEBALLS.

 

[Elevationist]

Friar's Nook
Disney's Magic Kingdom Theme Park
Sunday, October 24, 2016
Dinner

Pot Roast Macaroni & Cheese. OH MY GOD YA'LL. This was so freakin' goooood. Sadly, it's no longer on the menu, but it was so good that on my next trip I'm still going to come back here for the BBQ Chicken Mac & Cheese (which will probably be a disappointment after the Pot Roast, but I'm willing to give it a chance.)

 

[Elevationist]

Hurricane Hanna's
Disney's Beach & Yacht Club Resorts
Monday, October 25, 2016
Brunch

This was a sleep-in day for me, and sleep I did. However, I was up and at-em and ready to eat by 11am, so I was the very first customer of the day. (No, really, I was standing there waiting for them to open. I was THAT person.) And what better way to start my day but with fruit?

Shut up. Cocktails totally count as fruit. I think this was a Banana Cabana, but who knows?


And then one of the main reasons (other than the bar) than I wanted to come here, after reading so much about this guy...

The Seafood Roll, with Lobster, Shrimp, and Scallops. Hands down the very BEST sandwich of this type that I have ever had!


And let's just talk about the portion for a moment...

I seriously had to do calculus to come up with a formula for fitting this sandwich in my mouth. And I suck at math, so I wound up wearing half of it. #worthit

 

[Elevationist]

International Food & Wine Festival
Epcot
Monday, October 25, 2016
Lunch???

Okay. Seriously, you guys. I'm exhausted (and starving) from writing this post, and I haven't even started it yet. Just looking at the photos and uploading them about put me in a food & beverage coma. You've been duly warned.

AUSTRALIA: Lamington (Yellow Cake Dipped in Chocolate and Shredded Coconut)

AUSTRALIA: Grilled Lamb Chop with Mint Pesto and Potato Crunchies

NEW ZEALAND: Seared Venison Loin with Wild Mushroom Marsala Sauce and Kumara Dumpling

FARM FRESH: Chicken and Dumplings: Stewed Chicken with Mushrooms and Spinach

FARM FRESH: Two Henrys Elderberry Hard Cider

CHINA: Black Pepper Shrimp with Garlic Noodles, and Happy Peach with Dekuyper Peach Liqueur and Myers’s Dark Rum

SOUTH KOREA: Korean-style BBQ Beef with Steamed Rice

GERMANY: Schinkennudeln: Pasta Gratin with Ham and Cheese

GERMANY: Apple Strudel with Vanilla Sauce

JAPAN: Garlic Shrimp: Marinated Shrimp sautéed with Garlic and Butter and served over Rice

MOROCCO: Kefta Pocket: Seasoned Ground Beef in a Pita Pocket

BELGIUM: Beer-braised Beef served with Smoked Gouda Mashed Potatoes

BELGIUM: Belgian Waffle with Warm Chocolate Ganache and Whipped Cream

BRAZIL: Crispy pork belly with black beans and tomato

FRANCE: Boeuf Bourguignon: Cabernet Sauvignon-braised Short Ribs with Mashed Potatoes


And then I suddenly remembered that alcohol gets you drunk, and went back to my room for an impromptu nap.

 

[Elevationist]

Monsieur Paul
Epcot
Monday, October 25, 2016
Dinner

This one was kind of a let-down, not gonna lie. I had a horrible table (again), and was practically sitting in the laps of the party of 4 beside me. Super awkward. It was also extremely warm in the restaurant, which made the whole experience even more uncomfortable. At least the food was mostly enjoyable!

You know, because getting trashed at F&W and having to go sleep it off isn't enough to teach me a lesson or anything.

The butter to bread ratio here cracks me up.

This isn't on the menu anymore, so I couldn't tell you exactly what it was called. Lobster something or another. (I thought this was just okay, but that could be my own fault for going with the server's recommendations instead of my instincts.)

Bar Noir Écailles de Pommes de Terre (Black Sea Bass): Black sea bass in potato "scales", fresh spinach, rosemary sauce. (For my entree I did stick to my first choice, and oh my god I'm so glad I did. This was absolutely delicious, and that sauce was incredible!)

The above-mentioned spinach. I like spinach.

Le Moelleux: Warm chocolate almond cake with raspberry coulis in the center, hazelnut crust, hazelnut ice cream (This was the shining star of the entire meal! This dessert was absolutely heavenly!)

After I took the first bite. Just look all that warm chocolatey-raspberry goodness pouring out of the cake. SO YUMMY.

 

[Elevationist]

Captain's Grille
Disney's Yacht Club Resort
Tuesday, October 26, 2016
Lunch

This surprisingly ended up being one of the very best meals of the entire trip. When I was there, they were trying out a new menu, and everything I tried was just sensational!

Magic Star Cocktail. Because, well, you know...

...Day drinking.

Lump Crab Cake, with Fire-Roasted Corn Succotash and Lemon Emulsion. (This was SO GOOD. Okay, I totally could have lived without the veggies, but I was a good girl and ate them. But the CRAB CAKE, holy moly! And I come from a small coastal town with amazing seafood, but THIS was the best crab cake I've ever had in my life! That lemon sauce was pretty fantastic, too.)

Yacht Club Burger: Signature Blend Beef, Swiss Cheese, Brandy Peppercorn Sauce, Bacon, Sauteed Mushrooms. (Normally I avoid cheeseburgers while on vacation because I eat plenty of them at home, but this looked too good to resist. Oh my god. If it's not the best burger I've ever had, it was extremely close. And look at those FRIES! Not your normal Disney fries, but big thick steak fries. YUM.)

Cookies and Cream Brownie: Whipped Vanilla Panna Cotta with Cookies & Cream Mousse and Mini Oreos. (I loved this! The little mini Oreos were so fun, and that vanilla panna cotta on top was the perfect compliment to the mousse. I'm usually leery of brownies because I don't like when they're too hard or dense, but the brownie back of this was just perfect.)

 

[Elevationist]

Yachtsman Steakhouse
Disney's Yacht Club Resort
Tuesday, October 26, 2016
Dinner

FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD! This honestly was the meal that I was looking forward to the most out of the entire trip!

Blue Glowtini. See, it was dark in the restaurant, and I needed something to help me read the menu. Yep.

This bread! This butter! This GARLIC! It haunts my dreams, ya'll. For real, I would go back JUST for this!

Charcuterie Board. (Yeah, even with the above descriptions, I mostly had no idea what I was eating. They should include little photos for numbnuts like me.)

16-oz Prime Rib-Eye Steak, with Brioche, Bone Marrow, Point Reyes Blue Cheese Butter. (THE MAIN EVENT... was kinda disappointing. I know, I'm super sad about it too. The steak itself was perfection, the butter was delicious, and it was cooked to a perfect medium rare... But whatever rub they use on it most have been like 90% salt. It was just too much for me. I still ate the whole thing, but with a tiny tear in my eye.)

Sauteed Mushrooms, in Garlic Butter and a Sherry Wine Sauce. (DELICIOUS!)

Truffle Macaroni & Cheese, with Orecchiette Pasta and Reypenaer. (SUPER delicious, maybe my favorite part of the whole meal!)

Pumpkin Cheesecake, with Cranberry Compote, Gingersnap, and Spiked Diplomat Creme. (This was a seasonal dessert, and it was absolutely wonderful!)

 

[Elevationist]

Crystal Palace
Magic Kingdom
Wednesday, October 27, 2016
Breakfast

I started with an omelet, because Billie loooooves omelets. Especially when they're made like this, with the egg super thing and tri-folded.

The croissant trend continues, as do the Mickey waffles (no surprise there). And of course, the infamous breakfast lasagna, which I was super in love with!

All the meats! And eggs. And potatoes. And biscuits & gravy. Mmmm.

 

[Elevationist]

Auntie Gravity's Galactic Goodies
Magic Kingdom
Wednesday, October 27, 2016
Snack

Vanilla Iced Coffee Ice Cream Float. (Ya'll, don't hurt me, but this is 110% replaced the Dole Whip for me. This was absolutely delicious, as much as I drink iced coffee at home, I can't believe I never thought of it myself. pretty sure I got at least two more of these before the trip was over.)

 

[Elevationist]

Liberty Tree Tavern
Magic Kingdom
Wednesday, October 27, 2016
Lunch


This meal. Ugh. Ya'll. I really so desperately wanted to love this meal. But just there were so many problems. The way they "announce" you to the room when your table is ready is really kinda awkward for us solo travelers. And then I was shocked to find out that they too had just changed their menu that week, however I wasn't at all thrilled with any of the options. Add all that to the fact that my waiter was really really rude, and I'm saying that as somebody who is incredibly kind and patient with servers. And then, the cherry on top... I know I've mentioned getting sat at a lot of bad tables on this trip (#soloproblems), but I've never before nor since been literally sat in a closet:

And then the food...

I went in all ready for my crab and lobster dip, which it turns out they were completely out of. Nice. Okay, I'll take the Clam Chowder, no crackers. This is what got plunked in front of me. It doesn't even look appealing, nevermind that it's loaded with oyster crackers (which I spend the next 10 minutes trying to pick out). I would have sent it back but my server (I wish I could recall his name now) was being such a douchebag that I decided it wasn't worth it.

For my entree, they had reduced the menu down to only three options: Freedom Pasta, Colony Salad, or a Bason Cheeseburger. Sigh. Okay, fine, bring the cheeseburger. Ya'll, look at it. Look at that patty. This is some straight-up Quick-Service quality B.S.

And for dessert, of course, the famous Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake. I won't lie, this stuff was DELICIOUS. And I wish that I could tell ya'll that it was so good that it salvaged the entire meal, but that just ain't so. While I enjoyed this dessert, the whole experience had pretty much been ruined prior to it's arrival.

So I won't say I'll never return, but it will likely be a very very long time before I'm willing to give Liberty Tree Tavern a second chance.

 

[Elevationist]

Kringla Bakeri og Kafe
Epcot
Wednesday, October 27, 2016
Snack


So I decided to give a visit to an old friend, one which I hadn't partaken of since 2009...

Norwegian School Bread: Sweet Cardamom Bun filled with Vanilla Crème Custard and topped with Glazed and Toasted Coconut. (Every bit as delicious as I recalled! What ya'll don't see is on the opposite side where I'd already dug in before remembering to take the picture. Creative camera angles for the win!)