This Is Halloween, This Is Halloween...Figment's 2017 Trip to HalloweenTime, Continued
Carnation Cafe, Dinner
Carnation Cafe is a nice place to have a relaxing dinner.
Fried Pickles with Dipping Sauce - Dill Pickle Spears dipped in Parmesan and Panko, Fried Golden Brown and served with a House Sauce. Figmen really likes pickles and he enjoys this appetizer. Nice and crunchy on the outside and pickle-y on the inside...yum!
Baked Potato Soup - with Bacon, Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Sour Cream, and Chives. This soup is very rich, but has a lot of good flavor. It's great on a cold day (and it's pretty good on a warm/hot day too!
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Homemade Meatloaf - Our special blend of Beef and Pork served with Ketchup Glaze, Mashed Potatoes, Mushroom Gravy, and Seasonal Vegetables. This is one of the only meatloafs Figment likes; it has a nice blend of meats so that it's not mushy and has really good flavor. He likes to ask for extra gravy to mix with the mashed potatoes.
Cafe Orleans, Fantasmic Dining Package, Lunch
Figment and family decided to try the Fantasmic Dining Package at Cafe Orleans. With F! only being presented on Saturday and Sunday evenings, they figured the crowds would be high for the show. They had reservations for lunch, but were able to request FPs for the second show (it sounded like there were still packages available for the second show, so that might be why we were able to get FPs for the second show even with a lunch reservation).
Mint Julep - While he misses the green color of the original mint juleps, Figment has gotten used to the clear color of the new drink. It still tastes good, but slightly more lemon-y/lime-y than the old recipe.
Pommes Frites - Traditional French Fried Potatoes tossed with Parmesan, Garlic, and Parsley served with Cajun Spice Rémoulade. This was not included with the F! dining package, but Figment was able to order as an extra item. He can't go to Cafe Orleans and not have the pommes frites. Still yummy!
Gumbo - A Rich, Flavorful Stew with Chicken, Andouille Sausage and Tasso Ham, Served with Cajun-Style Dirty Rice. The gumbo was one of the appetizer options for the package. It's still very tasty.
Seafood Gratin - Creamy Blend of Lump Crab, Shrimp, Spinach, and Cheese served with Seasoned Croutons. This was avilable for an additional $5 as part of the F! dining package. Figment decided to try it and it was well worth it. It had a lot of crab and shrimp and was really tasty. It wasn't very creamy (which was fine with Figment), but there was a lot of really yummy broth to soak up into the croutons.
Lobster Cobb Salad - Lobster tossed with Mix Greens, Roasted Corn, Cherry Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Bacon, and Avocado Vinaigrette. Figment generally likes salads and this was one was very good. It had a fair amount of lobster.
Shrimp and Grits - Creole-spiced Shrimp served atop Cheese Grits, Spiced Sausage-Fava Bean-Corn Relish and Shrimp Sauce. Figment really likes Brennan's Shrimp & Grits, so he decided to give this one a try. It was good (very mild), but the grits had a bit too much cheese in them for his tastes.
Bourbon Street Chicken - Honey-kissed Chicken with Hoppin' John, Seasonal Vegetables, and Bourbon Sauce. The chicken was okay; it was a bit sweet.
Maleficent Dragon “Fantasmic!” Dessert - with a milk chocolate crunchy base, spiced dark chocolate-blackberry ganache center, caramel mousse and orange-vanilla sauce. This was a really good looking dessert and it had good flavor. The chili-spice wasn't terribly noticable at first, but it definately built as the dessert was eaten. Figment liked this dessert, but could have done with a little less spiciness.
At the end of the meal, you're given the FPs for admission into the reserved viewing area for F!. The FP tells you when and where to go and, in theory, which section to sit in. When we got to the second showing, they did have us queue up by dining location, but once inside the viewing area, they did not seem to care where you sat. We did notice several ECVs in the back of the viewing area (against the walkway) and everyone was sitting on the ground (except those in the very back, next to or behind the ECVs). We did not see any strollers within the seated area, but there were a few in the back (with the ECVs).
A larger version of the menu