If It Sinks, We Drinks: Spring 2018 Dining Report *Complete 7/29 Les Halles & Via Napoli

Your brunch looks fantastic. Someday, we will book a brunch there, but I'm not sure how much my husband would enjoy it so I can't justify it right now. I'm glad you had such a great experience, though!
 
I know that skirt, I know it :wave:

I had to find that skirt on Poshmark since it was sold out.

Your brunch looks fantastic. Someday, we will book a brunch there, but I'm not sure how much my husband would enjoy it so I can't justify it right now. I'm glad you had such a great experience, though!

Yes, I feel it's necessary to be excited about this brunch to justify the price.
 
I'm going to update my report ASAP because I have to get this finished...so I can focus on planning my solo trip this fall!!! :cool1:I'm pretty excited about it, after 3+ years of SAHM-ing, I am in need of a little break. I would rather be going on a kid-free trip with my husband, but since we don't have anyone that can watch Asher overnight, I am instead going on a 3-night solo trip to get some R&R Disney style! :earsgirl: :drinking1:sunny: I'm a little nervous about leaving the boys, but I'm sure they'll be fine without me.

I'll be staying at Pop Century, which is a new one for me. I don't plan on spending much time in my room as I'll be busy fitting everything into two full and two half days, so I went with a value resort for the first time. I also want to keep busy so that I don't get too lonely. I'm an only child and crave solitude, but I haven't had any in so long that I'm not sure how I'll feel about it now. :confused3

I'm excited to come up with fun dining that I can't normally do with the young boy in tow. I'm thinking I should do more lounge/bar meals and snacks. We do plenty of table service as a family and I don't want to spend a ton of time sitting in restaurants since it's such a short trip. I do have the French Family Meal Traditions lunch booked as my one special F&W event because I have been drooling over that for awhile and it's not something I would do with the whole family.

Does anyone have any other suggestions??? Here are my ideas so far:

1) As mentioned, the French lunch will be my major table service event
2) Definitely want to ride FOP again if I can get a FP+ and while at AK will visit Nomad Lounge for sure
3) I'm sure I won't be able to resist some F&W booth stuff once the menus/reviews are out, but I don't want to spend all my time/stomach space on booth items
4) Thinking about doing a mini lounge crawl at DS (like, two places since I will have noone to share with), but not sure if I want to spend the time there because our next trip is tentatively planned to be more DS focused
5) I might try to see HEA since I haven't seen it yet, but the only night possible is Saturday and I'm sure it will be a madhouse. I don't really want to spend $69 on the dessert party either. Not sure if I will brave it or not.

Any lounges at Epcot other than La Cava and Rose & Crown Pub that I should try? Maybe Tutto Gusto Wine Cellar would be a good one to check out. I don't think I'm going to want to spend the transportation time getting to other resorts since I will be busing it. I could walk over to the Epcot area resorts from the IG though.

I would love to hear ideas from adult, solo, kid-free travelers...or just anyone who dreams of a solo/kid-free trip like I have been! :hyper:
 
When are you going?

All my trips are kid-free! I go solo about once or twice a year too (except this year as my solo trip was joined by my best friend)

Tutto Gusto is a good lounge although their menu is a lot less special than it used to be as it used to have a lot more small plates. Spice Road Table also gets good reviews.

Instead of the dessert party, are they offering the sip and sparkle at California Grill that night? Its $99 but unlimited booze and sushi as well as desserts!
 


I love my kiddo and hubby, but how glorious does some solo time sound! If I were traveling solo I'd be all about the bars and food. On the few nights Jason and I have been solo and Casey at the (RIP) Childrens Activity Centers, these have been our priority. Almost all the signatures have a lounge you can eat in which is nice. Jiko is probably our favorite because its never crowded and totally chill. And hello its Jiko. We also enjoyed a night bar/appetizer crawling in DS that was a ton of fun. We did Morimoto, Jock Lindsey, Paddlefish, and Homecoming and had a great time.
 


I have gone solo a couple of times and enjoy it . If you were there longer , I would suggest a tour but don’t think you will have time for that and your other plans. Nomad Lounge is on my to do list too . I think you have some good ideas. Enjoy ! And I will be watching to see what others suggest for my next solo trip . I will say I feel guilty when I am at F & W - I waste so much food /drink as I want to try so many different things that I don’t finish most things so I will have room for other things - but that is the on,y downfall. I enjoy the freedom of doing what I want and being able to change plans on a whim .
 
Yay for your solo trip :cheer2: I haven't done one of those yet, closest was going with my friend/fellow TA for a couple days before our Universal training in Feb. So solo from my family lol but not completely solo :goodvibes
Can you fit in a tour? We love doing them and I missed not doing one on our adults only trip in May. Still debating adding one for Sept but we do have MNSSHP......and I definitely suggest Jock Lindsey's, that place is neat!
Oh and how about an amphicar ride? Steve and I watched those things take off for awhile in May and after not really giving them a second thought, now we think we may want to do one! Technically you wouldn't be alone since you could talk to your driver/captain :sail: so I still think it would be enjoyable solo.
 
When are you going?

All my trips are kid-free! I go solo about once or twice a year too (except this year as my solo trip was joined by my best friend)

Tutto Gusto is a good lounge although their menu is a lot less special than it used to be as it used to have a lot more small plates. Spice Road Table also gets good reviews.

Instead of the dessert party, are they offering the sip and sparkle at California Grill that night? Its $99 but unlimited booze and sushi as well as desserts!

I'll be going later in October. We used to always be kid-free of course, prior to Asher's existence, then we adjusted our touring and dining style for traveling with him. Now I get to relive the kid-free experience for a few days!

I checked out the Tutto Gusto menu and you're right, it's not as appealing to me as it used to be. I might skip that one.

The CG dessert party sounds like a better value, but I want to see the projections if I can manage it. I've only seen HEA from a distance thus far.

I love my kiddo and hubby, but how glorious does some solo time sound! If I were traveling solo I'd be all about the bars and food. On the few nights Jason and I have been solo and Casey at the (RIP) Childrens Activity Centers, these have been our priority. Almost all the signatures have a lounge you can eat in which is nice. Jiko is probably our favorite because its never crowded and totally chill. And hello its Jiko. We also enjoyed a night bar/appetizer crawling in DS that was a ton of fun. We did Morimoto, Jock Lindsey, Paddlefish, and Homecoming and had a great time.

I've been wanting to check out Flying Fish since the renovation, I wonder if they have a lounge there? I love Jiko and for some reason Chad never wants to go there, so that might be a good option. It's pretty romantical though, I might get depressed there all alone. :sad1:

I need to look through the DS restaurant menus and figure out which spots won't work for the whole fam-damily and make those my priority. I don't know if I'll be able to hit up more than two spots though since I won't have anyone to share food with. Those chicken biscuits at Homecoming are calling my name!

I am headed to the CG Brunch in October! You just made me so much more excited!

:yay: It totally lives up to the hype, you won't be let down!

I agree with Kari! We always make time for Jock Lindsey's...

I haven't been there yet, so I will check the menu and determine if it will be better solo or with all of us. Asher would love the decor in there though.

I have gone solo a couple of times and enjoy it . If you were there longer , I would suggest a tour but don’t think you will have time for that and your other plans. Nomad Lounge is on my to do list too . I think you have some good ideas. Enjoy ! And I will be watching to see what others suggest for my next solo trip . I will say I feel guilty when I am at F & W - I waste so much food /drink as I want to try so many different things that I don’t finish most things so I will have room for other things - but that is the on,y downfall. I enjoy the freedom of doing what I want and being able to change plans on a whim .

Yeah, I think a tour would take up too much time on such a short trip. F&W booths are going to be a challenge for the reasons you stated. Once the full menus are out, I'll narrow my choices to absolute must-dos, new stuff or returning favorites that I haven't managed to try yet.
Yay for your solo trip :cheer2: I haven't done one of those yet, closest was going with my friend/fellow TA for a couple days before our Universal training in Feb. So solo from my family lol but not completely solo :goodvibes
Can you fit in a tour? We love doing them and I missed not doing one on our adults only trip in May. Still debating adding one for Sept but we do have MNSSHP......and I definitely suggest Jock Lindsey's, that place is neat!
Oh and how about an amphicar ride? Steve and I watched those things take off for awhile in May and after not really giving them a second thought, now we think we may want to do one! Technically you wouldn't be alone since you could talk to your driver/captain :sail: so I still think it would be enjoyable solo.

I don't think I can manage a tour, my few days are already overplanned and I've just gotten started. :blush: The amphicar is a fun idea and that wouldn't take up much time, so I'll keep that in mind.
 
Oh, I feel you! I was an only child, too. I crave alone time, but with kids and a husband it happens very rarely. My husband and I are planning a couples trip in February and we're wanting to do a lot of bars/lounges. I've heard good things about Wine Bar George. What about the Grand Floridian tea?

I think I would enjoy a solo trip. Way back in the day when I worked at Disney on the college program, I would hit the parks by myself all the time. It was always nice to find a place to sit by the water and just people watch or read a book.
 
Day 7 – April 30
I’m a boat captain:sail:

Monday was a break from rope drop and it was time to do laundry. We all chilled in the room most of the morning while I made trips to the laundry room. Chad had been talking about renting a pontoon all week. He and I rented one at WL several years ago and had a great time. We decided to put together a picnic lunch and have a pontoon picnic. Chad went over to Ale & Compass Market to buy our food since they have a nice grab-and-go selection. As is typical when he shops without me, there were photos sent of the options, then phone calls to discuss the details. I should just do these things myself. We decided Asher should have something with a name along the lines of “Kids’ Protein Plate,” but I’m not sure that was the exact name. It’s in this photo on the middle left, but you can barely see it.

protein plate.JPG

It was a nice option, it had some mozzarella balls, tomatoes, hard-boiled egg, grilled chicken strips, hummus and vegetables. We also got him a cup of fresh strawberries.


Chad and I wanted a panini, but he was told they weren’t serving them yet. In the midst of us trying to choose something else, a CM came over and said they could go ahead and make us paninis. We chose the Italian Panini: Capicola, Mortadella, Ham, Provolone, and “Giardinere {sic}”. (The misspellings on Disney menus are baffling to me? Isn’t anyone proofreading this content???)

panini.jpg

I had to borrow the photo from Josh at Easywdw.com because I failed to take one. Ours however didn’t look quite like this because apparently the panini press takes hours to heat up and they had to just heat ours in the oven. I’m sure there was no effect on the flavor, but it would have been easier to eat if it were pressed and we probably missed out on some crunchy texture on the outside of the bread. I was just glad we were able to get them because they were delicious and spicy from the giardiniera. It was a satisfying lunch and of course the sandwiches were huge, but Chad balked at my suggestion to share one. He ate the second half of mine for breakfast the next day.

You’re not supposed to take wine on the boats. That’s all that I’ll say about that. :rolleyes1

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I didn’t get a ton of photos on the boat because we were supposed to keep Asher seated and that was difficult. It was also windy and Chad had to stay on top of maneuvers in addition to dodging the transportation boats. Bay Lake/Seven Seas Lagoon is a much better place to rent a boat, I wouldn’t recommend doing it at Epcot area resorts, it’s too crowded and there isn’t as much to see. It was still a fun little trip and a nice change of pace from the parks. :boat:
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After our boat trip and naptime, we had some pool time that we had promised Asher. The sand is just brilliant for keeping toddlers and preschoolers occupied.

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We finally made it over to Epcot and headed straight for Yorkshire County Fish Shop as it was getting past our dinner time.

Chad and I each enjoyed a Bass Ale, our tradition here.
Bass Ale.JPG
Shew, I look rough. All the photos of me are pretty bad from this trip, especially if taken close enough to see how exhausted I look. After we returned home, I found out my thyroid meds needed to be increased, so no wonder I looked so deflated.
King_Triton_Sea_Polyp.jpg

I shared my fish and chips with Asher as there were some F&G booth items that I knew would be great to finish out my dinner.
fish and chips.JPG
Continued in next post...
 
I continued my dinner tour in Canada.

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Seared Scallops with French Green Beans, Butter Potatoes, Brown Butter Vinaigrette and Apple-wood Smoked Bacon – $6.50

Maple Popcorn Shake with Crown Royal Maple Whisky – $11.75

I had read many positive reviews of the scallops and I absolutely concur that this was a not-to-be-missed dish if you like scallops. The green beans were cooked more done with some caramelization the way I like them and the potatoes were great for soaking up the vinaigrette. Great little mini-meal.

The shake was delicious too, I love maple anything and the maple whisky has a nice flavor. This could have been my dessert, but I had my eye on something else.

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Local Wildflower Honey-Mascarpone Cheesecake with Orange Blossom Honey Ice Cream garnished with Fennel Pollen Meringue Kisses – $4.75

Now this was really something special. First off, the presentation is amazing for a booth item, just gorgeous. Second, this is exactly the kind of dessert that I love—creamy, lightly sweet, and a little fluffy. I highly recommend this if it returns next year.

While I enjoyed my dessert, Chad and Asher found a spot to run around.

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Then we relaxed and enjoyed the scenery. (Looks like I had another blueberry IPA).

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Before we knew it, it was time to head back to the room and enjoy the balcony (and certainly some wine) while Asher played for a bit.

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Our last full day is coming up!
 
The decor is very cool. If you sit outside, Asher can watch the boats...

Yes, boats, obsessed we are. And now that I think about it, Chad loves Indiana Jones, so I may save this one for our next family trip.

Oh, I feel you! I was an only child, too. I crave alone time, but with kids and a husband it happens very rarely. My husband and I are planning a couples trip in February and we're wanting to do a lot of bars/lounges. I've heard good things about Wine Bar George. What about the Grand Floridian tea?

I think I would enjoy a solo trip. Way back in the day when I worked at Disney on the college program, I would hit the parks by myself all the time. It was always nice to find a place to sit by the water and just people watch or read a book.

Wine Bar George is a must-do I believe. I haven't seen any full reviews yet, but it's wine, so...ya know.

I did the college program too and went to the parks by myself often. It seems my roommates never had the same day off. Then when Chad and I lived in Orlando, we each would go by ourselves if the other was working. Sometimes we would meet up later on, it was fun. I'm looking forward to just doing whatever I feel like and riding the coasters, etc. that we've been skipping lately.
 
I've been wanting to check out Flying Fish since the renovation, I wonder if they have a lounge there?
They do have a pretty decently sized bar you can eat at. Jason and I did that once eons ago before the kiddo made an appearance.

Chad and I wanted a panini, but he was told they weren’t serving them yet. In the midst of us trying to choose something else, a CM came over and said they could go ahead and make us paninis. We chose the Italian Panini: Capicola, Mortadella, Ham, Provolone, and “Giardinere {sic}”. (The misspellings on Disney menus are baffling to me? Isn’t anyone proofreading this content???)

panini-jpg.338093
Yum! This looks good. I'm a sucker for a panini (even if it comes out of an oven) so that would be right up my alley.

You’re not supposed to take wine on the boats. That’s all that I’ll say about that. :rolleyes1
:-) Love the pontoon picnic idea!

bass-ale-jpg.338088

Shew, I look rough.
You do not. You look like a woman who wants no one getting near her beer :drinking1

scallops-jpg.338099


Seared Scallops with French Green Beans, Butter Potatoes, Brown Butter Vinaigrette and Apple-wood Smoked Bacon – $6.50
Double Yum! I don't recall seeing this before. I love, love, love scallops so this would be a no brainer.

honey-cheesecake-jpg.338095

Local Wildflower Honey-Mascarpone Cheesecake with Orange Blossom Honey Ice Cream garnished with Fennel Pollen Meringue Kisses – $4.75
How beautiful! Looks and sounds more like a signature dessert vice something come out of a booth.
 
Day 8 – May 1
Feeling the Epcot Love


***In reviewing my receipts, I realized that I forgot to mention one item we had the previous night. We stopped by the Bauernmarkt to try the Toasted Pretzel Bread topped with Black Forest Ham and Melted Gruyère Cheese – $5 which unfortunately did not live up to the hype it received earlier in the festival. It was dry and salty. We were not impressed. I did enjoy the Hugo-Charles De Fere “Organic” Brut with Elderflower and Mint however, it was a nice glass of sparkly.***


This morning was an AK rope drop(ish) day. We had been tending to arrive a few minutes after park openings, but it never really mattered since we weren’t rushing to any attractions first thing. Instead I was rushing to a bloody Mary, but the Dawa bar wasn’t open yet. We killed some time looking at animals on the Gorilla Falls Trail and then we loitered around the Dawa Bar waiting for it to open. The bartender was late opening and Chad walked up and cracked some kind of joke about it, which didn’t seem appreciated in the least. No sense of humor that guy. :rolleyes2

As soon as the tarps went up, I was doing this. First customer of the day! :drinking1

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African Bloody Mary
Snow Leopard Vodka, Loaded Bloody Mary Mix, and Spicy African Berbere Sauce, garnished with Candied Bacon, Celery Stalk and Carrot -- $10.75

This was a good, I enjoyed it. The bacon and celery made for a nice snack. Chad got another Ngumu Jungle Juice and I just saw on MDE that it has been changed from Myer’s rum to vodka and peach schnapps. This is terrible news, Chad will be devastated.

We just wandered around for awhile waiting for our FOP FP+ window to open up. This was my first experience with this attraction and I LOVED IT! The poor little girl next to me, however, DID NOT. She was absolutely terrified and screamed the entire time. I was so concerned about her that I wasn’t able to fully enjoy myself. Chad and I switched off and I took Asher over to the Boneyard to play while we waited.

By the time Chad caught up with us, we were starving and headed straight for Yak & Yeti. The lobby and outside were jammed with people waiting and our Landry’s card worked wonders for getting us a table quickly. This was our first visit to Yak & Yeti and I’m so glad I got the Landry’s card, it’s a no-brainer if you want to eat there.

We were seated upstairs in a side room corner with a lovely view from two windows. We loved where we were seated and it was much quieter in the smaller room.

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First off, drinks of course!

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Pink Himalayan

Tanqueray Gin, Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice, Passion Fruit and Lemon Grass Flavors, Salt Rim -- $10.00

South Seas Traveler
Created by the Yak and Yeti Bartenders...Myer's Original Dark Rum and Captain Morgan Spiced Rum, Monin Lychee Syrup, and citrus juices -- $10.00


I asked our server which cocktails were least sweet and the Pink Himalayan was one of her recommendations. It was a refreshing drink with the grapefruit juice and I enjoyed it.
Chad said he enjoyed his drink too. According to him, it was a little sweet but not too sweet.

We got Asher started with a kid’s side of grapes.


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Our server was so nice and very pretty, Asher quickly came down with a case of infatuation shyness.:flower3:

As we had done at Nine Dragons, we went with a side of fried rice for him rather than a kid’s meal. The fried rice had chicken too and was a bargain at $6.99.

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I tried his rice and it was really good, I think next time I might get the house fried rice.

Chad and I shared this wondrous mountain of food:

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Ahi Tuna Nachos
Sushi grade Ahi, Asian slaw, crispy fried wontons, wasabi aioli, sweet soy glaze -- $16.99

I’ve been trying to avoid tuna because of the mercury content, but this was absolutely worth the risk. We easily devoured this and loved every bite. Highly recommend.

Since we were having the appetizer, I went with something on the small side for my entrée:

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Dim Sum Basket
Pork pot stickers, shrimp siu mai, cha su bao and pork siu mai steamed on a banana leaf, soy lime dipping sauce -- $15.99

This came out piping hot, unfortunately that is the moment when Asher needed to make a lengthy bathroom visit and by the time we returned, my food was cold. Everything had a good flavor though and I think the shrimp siu mai were my favorite.

Chad went with a proper entrée:

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Malaysian Seafood Curry
Scallops, little neck clams, mussels, shrimp, zucchini, roma tomatoes, red curry-coconut broth, jasmine rice -- $25.99

He loved this and had mostly polished it off by the time we returned from the restroom. I just asked him if it was spicy and he says he doesn’t remember it being very spicy, but this is coming from someone that eats habanero sauce from a spoon.

There was a drink on the special menu that I wanted to try, it was an apricot sour made with rum:

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Our server warned me that this was very strong and I was like “Awesome!” :thumbsup2 She was right, it was very strong and would made a nice after dinner drink.

We were very impressed with the service here and thought it was a nice touch that a manager stopped by our table to welcome us and thank us for being Landy’s Select members. The food was great all around and I can’t believe we waited this long to try it. This will definitely be a regular stop for us from now on, it’s so nice to get out of the AK heat and into some AC.

Continued in next post...
 

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