Yes, It IS About the Food OR Two Foodies Do WDW From Table To Table--TR About This Page:

[Her Dotness]

I really should have told Wicked Stepmom at 1900 PF the whole truth about why I keep Drew around. He indulges me shamelessly, he really does. Virtually all the fun money spent thus far has gone for stuff I want. He's only gotten the Haunted Mansion floppy-brim gray fedora which looks fantastic with the suspenders and bowtie he enjoys wearing for touring. Gotta love that man for repeatedly saying, "Whatever you want." Well, within limits. He STILL won't buy me the Arribas brothers crystal-encrusted replica of Cinderella's castle that "only" costs $37,500, funniest thing.

I got the most cunning black leather-look purse yesterday at Japan's Mitsukoshi department store. It's a crescent moon-shaped hobo bag with a fabric panel diagonally across about a fourth of it that features swimming koi done in metallic embroidery. So distinctive. We love to feed the koi at the Missouri Botanical Garden and are nutty about Japan from food to customs to arts to anime and manga. Sadly, neither of us can eat Asian food anymore since rice is so essential to the meals. Too many carbs, and it's easier to avoid Asian cooking than limit ourselves as much as we'd have to do to continue eating it.

There were so many gorgeous dishes on display.

A few years ago, we ate mostly Japanese and Chinese dishes after I began tinkering with Chinese and then Japanese cooking. The Japanese mix plates and bowls of various shapes and patterns at a meal instead of all matchy-matchy as Americans typically do. And they choose colors to reflect the season. Fall means earthtones whereas spring demands pastels and delicate patterns suggesting budding plants.

We had begun collecting Japanese dishes to do this to some extent. Honestly, it spoke to something in us, really enhancing our enjoyment of seasonal ingredients. So, I wandered wistfully through the dinnerware displays thinking about how enjoyable doing that had been before health issues put a stop to eating carb-laden rice and high-sodium Asian dishes.

But, I digress from mentioning the blue-on-white gaiwan I bought (lidded tea-brewing mug) in an all-over bamboo pattern. Those are great for efficient teamaking for self as well as keeping the tea warm for leisurely sipping. There's a gunpowder green blend at our local tea room I've been meaning to try, and a gaiwan will be perfect for brewing it easily.

Got some tabi socks which are great for extending the wearing season for a favorite pair of sandals. Almost bought a pair of geta but decided that was silly as much as they cost at $70/pair. They were lovely but something I'd wear only occasionally. Not worth it.

Let's see, today's meals start at Akershus where I WILL have my autograph book! Then, it's a Via Napoli lunch and yumminess of YUM, Monsieur Paul for dinner. We glanced at the latter's posted menu yesterday and were immediately drooling. Sure wish more health issues didn't prevent us both from having wine with that one! I was imagining the sort I'd like with each course. Could have specified the vineyard and vintage once when I learned about wines as a young married after losing most of a fabulous bottle of chianti my ex and I couldn't actually afford when my much-loved Siamese hopped onto the table and knocked the bottle over. That chianti was an impulse buy that turned out to be magnificent and inspired me to learn which affordable wines were better than you'd think for the price.

Sure do miss my wine-drinking days now that one glass per week is my limit. Oh, well, you either whine as I was just doing or find other delights to compensate--like lots of Basin White bath bombs and patterned soaps. Mmmmm-HMMMMM

Feeling sleepy. Gonna say buh-bye for a while and try to sleep if my sinuses will let me.

[Her Dotness]

Originally Posted by lauriep

I'm surprised but pleased that Captain's Grille got such a rave from you! Maybe they've changed the menu and style, because my last time there it was just a plain old hotel restaurant, nothing special.

Not no more, apparently.

I had a very nice lobster omelet with multiple chunks of lobster throughout, sauteed onion and asparagus bits, the last somewhat overcooked but fresh-tasting and tender without mushiness so excusable. It was accompanied by perfectly fried hash browns ("Savory hash browns" as listed on the menu). Again, lots of what tasted like Vidalia onion maybe.

Mini-rant digression: The GF Cafe should follow CG's example by dropping its hideous switch from a decadent piece of clawmeat atop the GFC's Lobster Eggs Benedict to an abomination called "a bed of lobster hash." What lobster hash actually means, I sadly discovered last year, is loads of finely diced cheapo veggies with too few minute lobster dices. Used to have a half dozen or so nice-sized chunks of lobster atop it with a piece of intact clawmeat as garnish.

Captain's Grille did that lobster omelet totally right. BIG clawmeat garnish with a watercress and grape tomato side salad topped with a stunning lemon vinaigrette.

Drew had blueberry-ricotta-lemon curd hotcakes and the most fabulous grits I think I've ever tasted. He doesn't ordinarily want any lemon curd, he explained, having had some once that was too sour and lemony. This was fantastic! I adore lemon curd but can't recall ever before having had any as perfectly balanced as that was. Smooth, velvety texture--simply perfect.

And the grits he had with the hotcakes? O. M. G. Creamy, powerfully flavorful--the very essence of grits which I'm not all that fond of typically. I nearly stole these from him!

So, CG may have done a huge turnaround since you last were there.

P.S. Lied again in prior update. Can't get back to sleep. Gonna try out that Jacuzzi tub. Bet you've never read a TR that included a bathtub review. This one will.

[lauriep]

Thanks, Dot, for the details on Captains Grille. I am definitely giving this one another try as soon as I can! It's fun reading along as you hop from pleasure to pleasure! Wishing a click of the heels could transport me to WDW. There's no place like home....

[Angela531]

So fun following along on your food travels. Looking forward to Via Napoli review. That lobster sounds so good!

[chezp]

Originally Posted by Her Dotness

I had a very nice lobster omelet with multiple chunks of lobster throughout, sauteed onion and asparagus bits

Oh wow, that does sound good!

Wow, you certainly have a lot of eating ahead of you today - three table service meals in a day... we've only done that once and swore never again. Now we just stick to the two table service places a day.

[princetoaprincess]

I've enjoying following your food trip. Reading about it just gets me more excited about our trip (which we leave for in 4 weeks from today).

[Her Dotness]

Originally Posted by chezp

Wow, you certainly have a lot of eating ahead of you today - three table service meals in a day... we've only done that once and swore never again. Now we just stick to the two table service places a day.

Most of our three TS days this trip have included a buffet as one.

As we're most of us aware (Certainly, you and Mark are!), character buffets don't involve WDW chefs' best efforts by any means. "It's for characters, not great food, folks."

So, we find it pretty easy to eat lightly at character ones and make selves be good at the others, usually successfully. A few things at 1900 PF were relatively good, the rest forgettable if not bypassed to start with.

Sad to say, I found the fabled strawberry soup not to my liking. Looked to me like melted red lipstick and was too sweet. I expected it to be more like the strawberries and cream at Afternoon Tea, just nice fresh berries with mildly sweetened whipped cream.

Akershus, I thought, was really pretty good, but I behaved myself and ate only gluten-free so oinked out on the fish dishes and was served a deelish g-f blueberry muffin. Yummy pickled herring! Drew said the link sausages were so good he was asking for more. I sampled a wee bite, and he was quite right--excellent!

Tip for managing three TS/day: Eat about half as much as you actually want. And politely refuse offers to box the extra.

Takes some trial and error, but that's what we've been doing (except last night at Yachtsman. I honestly waddled out, I was THAT stuffed. Totally, fantastically wonderful!)

[Her Dotness]

Originally Posted by Angela531

So fun following along on your food travels. Looking forward to Via Napoli review. That lobster sounds so good!

< heavy sigh > Exceedingly sorry to have to report that I skipped VN due to a significant case of "touchy tummy." I'll see if I can recruit Drew to give me his detailed impressions when I get to the point of fully reviewing VN as he'll have plenty to do plugging in food pics. His pizza looked wonderful via text photo even though I was back in the room feeling not so hot, having bailed out of touring shortly before lunchtime.

Roaring Fork's tuna salad was very so-so, certainly not made with chopped Maille brand cornichons and Hellman's mayo as I do. It was gooey instead of my preferred chunks of tuna, not smooshed into a paste, and only moistened with mayo with sliced green onions and a good-sized dash of dried thyme with a little fresh-ground pepper.

Why do I do that??? Now, I want some!

[Cam22]

Your DH sounds very much like mine, and I'm quite happy to be spoiled.

[Her Dotness]

The @$%€#¥ thing doesn't work!

So, it's early yesterday afternoon that a guy shows up to fix it. Pretty speedy response to our request.

Not long after that, the CL concierge calls to ask if it will be okay for someone to come in to fix it. I explain there's already a guy attempting to do so who just appeared. Drew later learns Appeared Guy failed to follow procedure.

We are further unhappy because I wasn't feeling well, had crawled into bed, and was thus awakened twice in short succession.

Three guys eventually examine it, one an engineer we learn, and then leave after about a half hour. Appeared Guy says they'll be back shortly to finish fixing it.

So much for napping. Sure, we could have said not now but A) REALLY want it fixed and B) Have only two days left in which to use it.

Drew later learns from the concierge that the engineer mentioned a part would have to be ordered. Did he see fit to tell us this? You know the answer already. Is it likely to be fixed over a weekend? You and we likely know the answer to that one, too. Oh, and did I mention that they left water over a foot deep in the tub which we ended up draining upon our return from dinner?

We, regal we meaning me, are SO not amused.

And now, more fun. I had called to cancel the turndown service for that evening. As we were hustling to dress for dinner at Monsieur Paul after all this tub-not-fixed, guess who knocks? AT FOUR-THIRTY! She'll probably show up at 3:15 today at this rate!

Wilderness Lodge in our estimation is a Deluxe wannabe with not much of a clue how it ought to be done. Except for the CL concierges who are marvelous.

O well...Upon every Florida vacation, you know some rain will fall.

Edit to add--Saturday morning: As if we needed more tub trauma, Drew discovered the Three Stooges non-repair crew left a big patch of grease on the tub bottom which wasn't, of course, evident under that foot-deep water they also left.

The concierge will get an earful.

Edit again: Disney was VERY Disney and had already given us a $100 credit, Drew learned, when he explained what all occurred.

However, upon learning that a man who walks with difficulty had to clean out the tub in order to shower safely, Disney added on a half-day refund.

Which is partially why we all love this place so much, huh?

[Her Dotness]

Christmas tree light necklaces being worn at night in the MK going flash-flash
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The little girl propped up against the chest of the Casey figure outside Casey's Corner. Looks like he's about to reach his arms around her for a big hug
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Traffic moving FAR better around the Hub on MVMCP nights. Lots more CM's stationed strategically and working hard to keep traffic flowing
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IllumiNations which we finally had an opportunity to see--sort of--from the windows of Monsieur Paul. Well, I did. Drew and the gentleman at the table directly at the window hadn't a good angle at all. The women got a tremendous view. HooooRAY!
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But.....SNIFFLE! Had to pass on Osborne Lights which we could see only on Monday night when we decided we were too cold and tired to bother dodging moderately steady rain that quickly became a mini-downpour. No way to get back for it without rearranging ADR's. And you know how we feel about the food...
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Dashing into the MK to hit Memento Mori yet **again**, we see a young girl about to enter for the MVMCP dressed top to toe in a Mary Poppins Jolly Holiday costume. Soooooo cute! And then, a little boy steps to her side, undoubtedly her brother, who is dressed as Bert!
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Riding the boats from WL to MK. Peaceful, relaxing--and last night, delayed a short while at MK because the Water Pageant was coming past the dock. Two gorgeous Disney views--WP and the MK train station lit up.
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Ummy-YUMMY, Yachtsman! A knowledgeable server, charming as well. Just perfectly fabuloso food! Absolute best thus far.
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The lofty upward expanse of WL's lobby. As majestic as the towering pines of our National Parks, but sadly with the beautiful view of the main pool currently marred by the extensive pool refurbishment. Should be impressive when finished.
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Memento Mori loot! We got placemats, a musical jewelry box, the Three-Ghost-Stickpins-In-Hatband of the floppy brimmed fedora Drew bought, my purple lace-patterned handbag. He looks sooooo debonair in a slightly creepy way when wearing that hat. I got a really attractive white long-sleeved top with a black lace wallpaper pattern panel doen the front.

Oh, dear me! Did I forget to mention--WE GOT SPIRIT PHOTOS!??? They are so ghoulishly COOL we're going back today to get two more as holiday gifts for Drew's parents. (Are we too weird or what? <---- Obvious rhetorical question )
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Huge Epcot park Christmas tree lit at night. Just gorgeous! DHS tree prettier in daytime, sez me.
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How tremendously FUN, FUN, FUN Toy Story MM and Buzz Lightyear are!
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Unexpectedly delicious breakfast at Captain's Grille. Also, how impressed we were with Yacht Club, so much so that we may stay there sometime. Stately, elegant--charmed us from the moment we entered the lobby to spot the huge Christmas train layout.
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Chatting up fellow boat and monorail passengers. The startled gasp of a little girl in the darkened monorail car last night when we displayed our spirit photos to her family. < evil snicker > Then, her laugh of delight. Did I mention we got these done, and how VERY cool they look? ::::giggle:::::
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Chocolate-iced Christmasy krispie treat with tea while sitting in front of the big WL fireplace. Mmmmmmmm
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Gummy bears from the midday CL lounge. And more gummy bears! A bread and butter plateful of gummy bears even. Some of them pineapple. Mmmmmm-
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Cracking up at Princess Ariel's role-playing at Akershus.

She inquired how we advised her to travel to visit our kingdom of St. Louis after we told her it was a far distant one. Whereupon we suggested a riverboat up the Mississippi River. Swimming upriver could be unpleasant, we advised her. But how to get such a boat, she puzzled.

"You could use the MK riverboat to transport you there," we suggested.

"Oh, do you think I could do that?" she mused.

"Of course! You ARE after all a Princess! Order it to take you to visit our Kingdom of St. Louis."

As much fun as role-playing with 1900 PF's Wickeds!
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Mountainscape watercolor on one wall of our room in shades of navy and charcoal.

A towelie animal EVERY DAY! We've gotten the classic Mickey, an alligator, a crab and yesterday, a millipede, each of the critters with sticker eyes even. And the millipede had pipe cleaner antennae.

The CL concierge said we've a Mousekeeper who's a recent grad of Mousekeeping School and evidently learned lots and lots of towelie animals. The concierges said they've never before seen an alligator one.
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Great Movie Ride was such fun, and we'd never before done it, can you imagine? We competed to see who could name the most movies of the series of flashing shots from various ones. Stupid me COULD NOT think of the name of that Jimmy Stewart one where he was shown desperately hugging and kissing his kids. Yeah, like it's only my all-time favorite Christmas movie no less!

Walt's Dream was also really fun, especially since we live not far from Marceline, MO.
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Too many more to list, but there are some of this trip's magical Disney moments. Hope you enjoy vicariously at least somewhat as much as we did in reality.

[chezp]

Oh boy - that really was a saga with the Jacuzzi and, by the sounds of it, it's not over yet either.

[Her Dotness]

On a brighter note, Monsieur Paul was very good but not in our estimation as pleasurable as Yachtsman. As you remarked once about the former, Cheryl, the food is so terribly rich. We felt the portions were twice as large as need be but delicious.

Full review will detail the table-to-table "show" as the gentleman at Drew's right ordered the white chocolate sphere dessert. Spectacular presentation! Our desserts were just splendid but nowhere near as dramatic.

Breakfast today at Kona Cafe. Ravenous so no pics, but details to follow.

Quality? GREAT coffee, of course, but all in all, Captain's Grille beat Kona by miles, we thought.

[chezp]

Originally Posted by Her Dotness

On a brighter note, Monsieur Paul was very good but not in our estimation as pleasurable as Yachtsman. As you remarked once about the former, Cheryl, the food is so terribly rich. We felt the portions were twice as large as need be but delicious.

Full review will detail the table-to-table "show" as the gentleman at Drew's right ordered the white chocolate sphere dessert. Spectacular presentation! Our desserts were just splendid but nowhere near as dramatic.

Oooh, that sounds intriguing - looking forward to seeing that show.

[Her Dotness]

Should have clarified: No pics of our momentary neighbor's dessert. The CM server's back was to our table, and I felt it rude to ask her to stand to one side in order for us to take a photo.

A word picture will have to suffice. :/