pepperandchips
[melinda]
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2014
Somehow I got my replies out of order so I am really sorry if I missed anyone. In real life news, we have been looking for a house and we found one this week and are under contract! So if I ghost you guys at any point, rest assured, I'm coming back, we are just super excited but a little overwhelmed with the prospect of buying our first house and moving.
March 31, Continued:
"We have the stars to guide us - guitars here beside us, to play as we go. We sing and we samba - we shout 'aye caramba! What means aya caramba? ... Oh yes, I don't know"
After our magical morning we monorailed over to Epcot for lunch and festival-ing.
Our first stop was actually at Rose and Crown, where we each got a mixed draft pour with R opting for the Blacksmith (Smithwicks and Guinness) and I chose the Snakebite (cider and Harp). They were each $9.75 and we remarked that we needed to stop into Rose and Crown more often as they accept Tables in Wonderland at the bar.
With our discounted beers in hand, we headed to La Isla Fresca to grab some food.
(is it even a festival if you don't photograph your food on a trash can?)
We had the Jamaican-braised Beef with Pigeon Pea Rice and Micro Cilantro — $6.00 and the Sugar Cane Shrimp Skewer with Steamed Rice and Coconut-Lime Sauce — $7.00. Of course, the shrimp are better known around these parts as the "Steve Shrimp", which we'd later get to enjoy with the man himself.
For now, we enjoyed both dishes. The shrimp continue to please with a large portion of delicious shrimp coated in a tasty sauce. I think the rice has been better in past years but we enjoyed this nevertheless. I wouldn't have picked the braised beef based on its appearance, but R wanted to try it and I ended up being pleasantly surprised by the tasty and slightly spicy beef. This was also a nice-size portion.
Next, we headed into the Odyssey to try an item we were too full for on the previous day, and were surprised to see how empty it was on Sunday afternoon compared to Saturday.
This booth is technically named "Arbor at the Gardener's Terrace", which seems unnecessary, but I got over the silliness and went with a strawberry rose cider and we split the Fried Green Tomatoes with Blue Crab-fennel Salad, Remoulade and Smoked Paprika Oil – $6.00
I've since learned that this item is very dish-specific as to whether it's good, based on how fresh your serving is. This one was particularly hot, fresh, and tasty. The cider was also delicious and went down easy (all 6 oz
).
We hadn't been to la Cava del Tequila in a while so we decided to head there for cheese dip. There was a bit of a wait but we were willing to stand, so once a table became available we were sent to a sharing standing table. Our tablemates ended up being a bachelorette party, which was fun since I'd been on my bachelorette almost exactly a year before. They were fun to chat with. I got this real gem of a photo
We each had a margarita but I no longer remember which ones and your intrepid reporter (who wasn't planning to write a dining report) didn't take photos. So I will say, they looked like margaritas?
The cheese dip hit the spot, but not wanting to spend too long intruding on bachelorette celebrations, we moved on. I paid my regular homage to myself in art form: Fancy Grandma
And I took this picture to document how long the line was to get the specialty cotton candy at the China booth
Real winners, these pics. At some point I did come to my senses and put the Ollo Clip back on to document the beautiful day
Lady and the Tramp topiaries had a different home this year than in past years
R decided he needed a dessert, so we stopped at the Taste of Marrakesh for the Walnut Honey Baklava — $4.50 which ended up being fairly flavorless and dry. I did warn him.
Don't worry though, we redeemed ourselves to our sweet teeth at the nextbeeth booth:
Where I apparently decided to undertake creation of a photography opus dedicated to the World's best slush: LA VIE EN ROSE (not that the traitor @ariane37 will enjoy my piece de resistance but I am posting it anyway)
I even took a crappy selfie with it!
And this concluded our visit to Epcot.
The best thing about staying at the Crescent Lake resorts is the convenience to walk to so many wonderful entertainment and dining options. And paramount among these options is the unrivaled access to ICE CREAM! Yes, that's right. You could go classic and have a No Way Jose at Beaches and Cream, you could go off the beaten path and have a sundae at The Fountain in the Dolphin, you could go fancy and get L'Artisans de Glacees at Epcot, or you could go with the BEST OPTION and have Ample Hills scoop you up a flight...
Like so... ($10.64 including tax) R says I should mention this is the best $10 you will ever spend at Disney. I totally agree.
I don't remember exactly which flavors we had but every visit's must do flavors include Nonna D's Oatmeal Lace (my favorite, remember, fancy grandma?), the ooey gooey butter cake, the dark chocolate, and I can see that at least one of these is a cookies and cream. Of course, all the flavors were amazingly delicious and this ice cream is such high quality goodness, I always love visiting!
'sho nuff.
Once again, when we returned to the resort, we decided to take a dip in the pool and hot tub just outside our room. This isn't my best photo either, but we were excited to find that the hot tub was once again hot.
We also had friends visiting WDW that weekend so we decided to meet up with them for dinner, and arranged to meet at Sanaa and sat in the lounge.
Of course we ordered the bread service, which is served with all breads and all dips for $17
I think we also had samosas and possibly the salad sampler, but we were just excited to be with our friends in the most magical place on earth so I didn't take any notes or additional pictures. Sanaa, as always, was a hit. And aside from a very delicious pastry breakfast we procured from the Market at Ale & Compass the next morning, that wrapped up the Disney dining portion of this trip. For the next 5 days we did this...
and a LOT of eating! I'm going to drop a bunch of yummy food pics in the next post and I'll spare you all from the write up of our sea voyage but suffice to say we put our drink packages and unlimited signature dining to good use! We had a WONDERFUL cruise and I would highly recommend the ship and the itinerary to anyone.
March 31, Continued:
"We have the stars to guide us - guitars here beside us, to play as we go. We sing and we samba - we shout 'aye caramba! What means aya caramba? ... Oh yes, I don't know"
After our magical morning we monorailed over to Epcot for lunch and festival-ing.
Our first stop was actually at Rose and Crown, where we each got a mixed draft pour with R opting for the Blacksmith (Smithwicks and Guinness) and I chose the Snakebite (cider and Harp). They were each $9.75 and we remarked that we needed to stop into Rose and Crown more often as they accept Tables in Wonderland at the bar.
With our discounted beers in hand, we headed to La Isla Fresca to grab some food.
(is it even a festival if you don't photograph your food on a trash can?)
We had the Jamaican-braised Beef with Pigeon Pea Rice and Micro Cilantro — $6.00 and the Sugar Cane Shrimp Skewer with Steamed Rice and Coconut-Lime Sauce — $7.00. Of course, the shrimp are better known around these parts as the "Steve Shrimp", which we'd later get to enjoy with the man himself.
For now, we enjoyed both dishes. The shrimp continue to please with a large portion of delicious shrimp coated in a tasty sauce. I think the rice has been better in past years but we enjoyed this nevertheless. I wouldn't have picked the braised beef based on its appearance, but R wanted to try it and I ended up being pleasantly surprised by the tasty and slightly spicy beef. This was also a nice-size portion.
Next, we headed into the Odyssey to try an item we were too full for on the previous day, and were surprised to see how empty it was on Sunday afternoon compared to Saturday.
This booth is technically named "Arbor at the Gardener's Terrace", which seems unnecessary, but I got over the silliness and went with a strawberry rose cider and we split the Fried Green Tomatoes with Blue Crab-fennel Salad, Remoulade and Smoked Paprika Oil – $6.00
I've since learned that this item is very dish-specific as to whether it's good, based on how fresh your serving is. This one was particularly hot, fresh, and tasty. The cider was also delicious and went down easy (all 6 oz
). We hadn't been to la Cava del Tequila in a while so we decided to head there for cheese dip. There was a bit of a wait but we were willing to stand, so once a table became available we were sent to a sharing standing table. Our tablemates ended up being a bachelorette party, which was fun since I'd been on my bachelorette almost exactly a year before. They were fun to chat with. I got this real gem of a photo
We each had a margarita but I no longer remember which ones and your intrepid reporter (who wasn't planning to write a dining report) didn't take photos. So I will say, they looked like margaritas?
The cheese dip hit the spot, but not wanting to spend too long intruding on bachelorette celebrations, we moved on. I paid my regular homage to myself in art form: Fancy Grandma
And I took this picture to document how long the line was to get the specialty cotton candy at the China booth
Real winners, these pics. At some point I did come to my senses and put the Ollo Clip back on to document the beautiful day
Lady and the Tramp topiaries had a different home this year than in past years
R decided he needed a dessert, so we stopped at the Taste of Marrakesh for the Walnut Honey Baklava — $4.50 which ended up being fairly flavorless and dry. I did warn him.
Don't worry though, we redeemed ourselves to our sweet teeth at the next
Where I apparently decided to undertake creation of a photography opus dedicated to the World's best slush: LA VIE EN ROSE (not that the traitor @ariane37 will enjoy my piece de resistance but I am posting it anyway)
I even took a crappy selfie with it!
And this concluded our visit to Epcot.
The best thing about staying at the Crescent Lake resorts is the convenience to walk to so many wonderful entertainment and dining options. And paramount among these options is the unrivaled access to ICE CREAM! Yes, that's right. You could go classic and have a No Way Jose at Beaches and Cream, you could go off the beaten path and have a sundae at The Fountain in the Dolphin, you could go fancy and get L'Artisans de Glacees at Epcot, or you could go with the BEST OPTION and have Ample Hills scoop you up a flight...
Like so... ($10.64 including tax) R says I should mention this is the best $10 you will ever spend at Disney. I totally agree.
I don't remember exactly which flavors we had but every visit's must do flavors include Nonna D's Oatmeal Lace (my favorite, remember, fancy grandma?), the ooey gooey butter cake, the dark chocolate, and I can see that at least one of these is a cookies and cream. Of course, all the flavors were amazingly delicious and this ice cream is such high quality goodness, I always love visiting!
'sho nuff.
Once again, when we returned to the resort, we decided to take a dip in the pool and hot tub just outside our room. This isn't my best photo either, but we were excited to find that the hot tub was once again hot.
We also had friends visiting WDW that weekend so we decided to meet up with them for dinner, and arranged to meet at Sanaa and sat in the lounge.
Of course we ordered the bread service, which is served with all breads and all dips for $17
I think we also had samosas and possibly the salad sampler, but we were just excited to be with our friends in the most magical place on earth so I didn't take any notes or additional pictures. Sanaa, as always, was a hit. And aside from a very delicious pastry breakfast we procured from the Market at Ale & Compass the next morning, that wrapped up the Disney dining portion of this trip. For the next 5 days we did this...
and a LOT of eating! I'm going to drop a bunch of yummy food pics in the next post and I'll spare you all from the write up of our sea voyage but suffice to say we put our drink packages and unlimited signature dining to good use! We had a WONDERFUL cruise and I would highly recommend the ship and the itinerary to anyone.
Luke!
Much granny love.
I'm sad I missed out on the Shrimp Party, I think we were looking for Donald Duck in Mexico on the Grand Fiesta Tour at the time?
