I can’t tell you what it tastes like because I’ve been unable to procure a box. If I wanted 14 boxes of it I would be all set, because that’s how Amazon sells it. But considering when I manage to get a hold of Christmas Crunch I don’t even finish one box, 14 seems like it might be a bit wasteful. I’ll try to take one more look for Halloween Crunch when I go grocery shopping this weekend, but I’m not hopeful. I’d rather have Christmas Crunch anyway…

Garden View Lounge – Afternoon Tea

So my fiance has a thing for tea. Just a minor love affair with the beverage, which you can read about at her blog. So a fancy afternoon tea in the Garden View lounge at the Grand Floridian was required. This was not part of the dining plan, so we paid out-of-pocket for this, but it was worth it. We each had:

• Buckingham Palace – Our traditional tea sandwiches, scones and jam tarts complemented by fresh strawberries and cream, or a selection of freshly baked pastries, along with your choice of tea.

Now the tea was good, not that I’m the best at evaluating teas, but I think I had about 3 cups of it. It was served in some fine china tea set complete with tea cozy.

Garden View Afternoon Tea

The traditional tea sandwiches ranged from ok to nausea inducing. The cucumber one was ok, but what caused me to almost throw up was the stinky cheese one. I don’t know why I took such a big bite. There was also a chicken curry one that I knew not to even touch due to my intense dislike of curry. The scones and jam tarts were better, especially the scones with the butter and jam on them. Best of all were the strawberries with cream. Fresh strawberries smothered with dollops and dollops of cream. It almost made up for the horrible sandwiches.

That night we headed to Epcot again (of course) for dinner in the mexican pavilion at

San Angel Inn

This was one of my favorite meals. The San Angel Inn is inside the pyramid at the Mexican pavilion, next to the water for the boat ride and a fake volcano. This is where we were sort of tricked into ordering an appetizer of guacamole, our waiter had a mexican accent and I had a little bit of trouble understanding everything he said. He asked if we like guacamole and I said yes and so we ended up with a side order of guacamole that we had to pay for. It tasted really good so I’m almost glad we were tricked into ordering it.

View from our table at the San Angel Inn

For my entrée I choose:

• Sirloin con Chile Relleno – Grilled beef sirloin with chile ancho sauce, served with a beans and cheese stuffed pepper, poblano rice, and fried plantains

I love mexican food like this, I love the flavorful steak, the rice, and the beans. I could probably eat a meal like that everyday. I devoured my food. For dessert, I don’t remember. It didn’t compare to the main course whatever it was. San Angel Inn is definitely on my return list for the next time we head back to WDW.

The next night was one we had been looking forward to for a long time, our meal at

Narcoossee’s

This was the first reservation I made. For one reason, LOBSTER. I wanted lobster and this was the place for lobster on the dining plan. The catch is it required two dining plan credits, but since didn’t use any credits the day we went to Universal it all evened out. Narcoossees’s situated at the edge of the Grand Floridian at the dock where you can catch a boat over to the Magic Kingdom. We came here for the lobster, so it shouldn’t be such a surprise that we both had:

• Steamed Whole Maine Lobster – Baked Sherry cheddar Orecchiette pasta and asparagus.

And I took a picture of it:

Steamed Whole Maine Lobster at Narcoossee's

Our waiter was a little odd, he had extremely shaky hands and at one point had spilled wine or something all over his pants and had to leave to go change. So we had a bit of a wait before we got any bread or even a chance to order. The lobster was delicious and the I really liked the beach house ambiance of the restaurant. For dessert I had the Creme Brulee Duo – Key lime and Coconut custard finished with caramelized sugar. The key lime one was very good, the coconut was so-so. Tal had the Gelato Sampler – chocolate, raspberry, pistachio and cappuccino. Which unlike the “gelato” from Mama Melrose was actually real gelato. Her favorite was the pistachio. We also had coffee (for me) and tea (for Tal), which they bring to the table in individual french presses. We both really enjoyed those.

Narcoossee's (at night from the dock)

After dinner we took the boat over to the Magic Kingdom for the evening. The next day was our last full day at WDW, we started with an early dinner at:

Boatwright’s

This was unfortunately the worst meal we had at Walt Disney World. The worst. Boatwright’s is the restaurant at the Port Orlean’s Riverside, the sister resort of the French Quarter where we were staying. When we made this reservation we had looked online and it seemed like a good place, we were excited to have some southern-style food since there aren’t many southern restaurants in Canada. We were let down.

The meal started with some corn bread. This was the high point of the entire meal. The corn bread was actually pretty good, deceptively good compared to the rest of the meal. We both had the Andouille-crusted Catfish – with cayenne butter sauce and chive aioli, and it was not good. It tasted extremely fishy, not in a good way. And I usually like catfish, but not this one. For dessert I had Pecan Pie, and it was dry and tasteless. Pecan pie is one of my favorite desserts and this was the worst pecan pie I’ve ever had. We will never be going back to Boatwright’s.

Thankfully our day didn’t end at Boatwright’s, we had reservations for something special later that night at the Magic Kingdom for the:

Tomorrowland Terrace Fireworks Dessert Party

This was without question the hardest reservation to get. At the Tomorrowland Terrace in the Magic Kingdom is a dessert buffet with a private viewing area for Wishes! the fireworks show. They have three tables set up with desserts and one table with various beverages. We got a reserved table complete with our name on it. There was a nice variety of desserts including fruit, cheesecake, tiramisu, cookies, cakes, mango shooters, and cannolis. What you are really paying for is reserved space for watching the fireworks. By going to the dessert party we got to sit and enjoy desserts before leisurely walking over to the railing to view the fireworks. Had we tried to seeing them outside of the dessert party we would had to start waiting at least a couple of hours for even a decent fireworks viewing spot. Totally worth it.

View from Tommorwland Terrace Dessert Party

We had so much fun at WDW (and Universal), we stayed ten nights and some ways it just wasn’t enough (although we were pretty tired at the end). We probably won’t be able to go back until at least a couple of years, but we will definitely be going back to Walt Disney World!

The next was our Disney’s Hollywood Studios day and we had lunch at:

Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano

We had the Fantasmic! Dining package which gave us reserved seating for a showing of Fantasmic! that evening. The cool thing about the Fantasmic! package was that it included an appetizer even though we were on the regular dining plan which normally does not include an appetizer. So Tal and I decided to start with Crispy Calamari for Two, this was the only time we intentionally ordered an appetizer, it was a huge serving of calamari and very tasty. For the main course I think I had:
Chicken Pipette Wood-grilled Chicken – over Pipette Pasta tossed with Artichokes, Peas, Roasted Peppers, and Sweet Onions in a Basil Four-Cheese Cream Sauce
I can’t remember for sure, even looking over online menus, but this sounds like what I remember eating. It was pasta in a cheese sauce with chicken, and was so-so. There was nothing at Mama Melrose’s that sounded really exciting to me, I only picked it so we could get the reserved Fantasmic! seating.

Pictures of "Celebrities" at Mama Melrose's that don't appear to have changed since 1989

For dessert I had Mama’s Tiramisu, and Tal had Gelato. Although the gelato was really just ice cream. Mama’s is not going to be on my must return to list unless it was for the Fantasmic! tickets, because it is totally worth it for those. Fantasmic! is an amazing show and a must-see at WDW.

The next we actual left Disney property, GASP! We headed to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure so we could check out the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Tal went a little Harry Potter crazy and picked up a ton of cool Ravenclaw merchandise while we were there. It was crazy busy at the WWoHP, but thankfully by some fluke of luck the tickets we had let us enter an hour earlier than the scheduled opening. So we got to enjoy the WWoHP before it go too crazy, including some tasting beverages:

Butter Beer

Butterbeer or Butter beer? Either way it tastes like a mixture of cream soda and butterscotch. We had the frozen butter beer because apparently it tastes better, and possibly because it’s hellishly hot in Florida. It was very refreshing, although maybe a little too sweet. Tal loved it so much she has even looked up recipes on how to make it at home.

 We didn’t eat at any sit-down restaurants at Universal, although there seemed to be a couple of interesting one, we just didn’t have the time. We were trying to get the highlights of two parks in one day. Maybe next time we will spend a couple of days at Universal and maybe eat at the Three Broomsticks. We were ready to head back to our hotel relatively early, so we called for our shuttle pick up and burdened with many souvenirs headed to the Universal City Walk and find something to eat. First we headed to the NASCAR Cafe, but I didn’t like the look of the menu. So we instead went to

Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.

I’m a big fan of the movie Forrest Gump (I saw it at least 4 times in theaters), so it’s surprising I had never been to a Bubba Gump restaurant before this. The restaurant is decorated with a ton of Forrest Gump stuff, including this:

"I musta drank me 15 Dr. Peppers"

Since we were at the shrimp company we pretty much had to order shrimp. So I had some grilled shrimp tacos and Tal had a Shrimp po’boy. To wash down our shrimp we needed something thirst quenching, and possibly coming in a souvenir glass. So we had some Louisiana lemonade in souvenir glasses.

Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. souvenir glass

And with that we concluded our Universal adventure and waited for the shuttle back to the Port Orleans. The next day we headed back to Epcot (there are a lot of cool restaurants in Epcot) for dinner at:

Rose & Crown Pub Dining Room

This was one of the better meals we had. I really like the England pavilion at Epcot overall, and was excited to eat at the pub. To start I ordered a Harp Lager in a souvenir glass. I had expectations of a glass like the ones we got at Bubba Gump the day before, so I was a little let-down when I received my beer in an over-sized plastic mug. It’s neat and all with a Union Jack and everything and I probably would have been thrilled had I not just gotten an awesome souvenir glass earlier. Oh well. For my entrée I selected:

• Surf and Turf – Grilled Steak and Fried Fish with Yorkshire Pudding, Irish Potato Gratin, seasonal Vegetables, and Shallot Gravy

Tal had the Fish & Chips if I recall correctly. The steak was good, the fish was really good, and the Yorkshire pudding was awesome. We both ordered the No Sugar Added Fruit Trifle for dessert. I wish I had gotten something else. After the heavy meal I wanted something lighter, but the Trifle was not a good idea. I think the no sugar part is what did it for me, I feel sorry for diabetics and anyone else that has no choice but to get the no sugar desserts.

That’s it for part two, it looks like this is going to be a three-part posting. For the final part of What I ate at Walt Disney World there will be TEA, LOBSTER, and DESSERTS! Stay Tuned!

In 2010 when Tal and I went to Walt Disney World we chose the Quick Service Dining plan. It gave each of us 2 snacks and 2 counter-service meals per day. With that plan we didn’t need to make any reservations, because we didn’t want to be tied to a schedule on our first visit. This time we knew there were a number of restaurants that we had seen last time and said we would like to eat at. So for this trip we had signed up for the Disney Dining Plan, giving us one table-service meal, one counter-service meal, and one snack per person per night booked. Anyway enough background, let’s talk about food!

Raglan Road Irish Pub

We went to Raglan for dinner the first full day we were in WDW. I had the Mighty Mixed Grill – lamb chop, Guinness banger, sirloin steak, black pudding, chicken drumstick and bacon. The variety is what drew me to this menu item, I love buffets not because I stuff myself (I really don’t) but to get the variety of food choices. Going in I was prepared to not eat the lamb chop, I’ve never had lamb that I liked. Until that night at Raglan Road. The lamb was  by far the best part of the meal! Next time I go Raglan Road I will be get the full order of lamb. FYI, I ate it all except one bite of the steak (including the black pudding). As for desert, Tal had Ger’s Bread & Butter Pudding (which is amazing), but my desert was not as memorable as the main course because I don’t remember what I had (even after looking at the menu).

Dining Room of Raglan Road

The next day (Sunday if it matters), we headed on over to the Grand Floridian for breakfast at

1900 Park Fare

Featuring characters from Alice in Wonderland, Mary Poppins, & Winnie the Pooh. While there we were visited by Winnie the Pooh, Alice, and the Mad Hatter. Winnie the Pooh may have kissed my girl. I wanted to eat at 1900 Park Fare because I like buffets (variety) and I like breakfast. There are other breakfast buffets in WDW, including ones that would have been easier to get to from our hotel, but I wanted to go to 1900 for lobster eggs benedict. Unfortunately I was let down. They did have lobster eggs benedict, but they were dry and not very tasty. Compared to the breakfast buffets I’m used to when I visit Las Vegas, 1900 Park Fare is a bit of a disappointment. Still, we did meet some interesting characters.

Tiger's back at 1900 Park Fare

We ate so much for breakfast I don’t think we really had much else before we went to Epcot for dinner at:

Les Chefs de France

We didn’t take any pictures at Les Chefs, so if your skimming this just to look at the pictures you can move on to the next restaurant. Les Chefs de France is not surprisingly located in the World Showcase at Epcot. It looks a lot like restaurants found in Paris, complete with french waiters and waitress. We both had the Prix Fixe 3 Courses Menu for which I choose:

• Bisque de Homard – Lobster bisque, which you would expect a cup of soup for an appetizer, but not in America, you get a giant bowl of soup.
• Demi poulet fermier roti, pommes rissolees et tomate grillee – Half a roasted chicken, rissole potatoes, and grilled tomato. Another giant serving, I didn’t really need half a chicken after the giant bowl of bisque. It was decent enough chicken, but nothing to write home about. Realistically nothing to blog about either…
• Creme brulee – Standard creme brulee, but whoever caramelizes the tops needs some more practice.

We weren’t too impressed of Les Chefs, the atmosphere was neat but the food was so-so. It won’t be on our list of places to return to.

We returned to Epcot the next night, this time heading to Future World for dinner at:

Coral Reef Restaurant

This is one place I was really excited to visit. This is a restaurant inside the Seas pavilion, basically sitting inside the largest aquarium in the USA. It’s pretty cool seeing random fish and the occasional turtle swim by while you eat some fish.

View from our table at the Coral Reef Restaurant

We both had the Pan-seared Seasonal Catch, but I don’t remember what kind of fish it was. That’s not that I can’t remember now a month later, I couldn’t remember about ten minutes after we ordered. It was very tasty that mystery fish, very rich and yet light tasting. Although I don’t remember what it was called, I do have a picture!

Fish at the Coral Reef

We both agreed that it was one of the best meals we had the whole trip. For desert I had a key lime mousse that doesn’t appear to be listed on any menus I can find online. I do have a picture of it though:

Key Lime Mousse at the Coral Reef

It was surrounded by mango and little chocolate balls. I was pretty full after the fish, but I managed to finish it off. One bad thing about it for me is it made my tongue sting. I sometimes bite my tongue during the night, and this was a pretty acidic key lime mousse, and my tongue stung. But it was totally worth it.

That’s it for part one of this hopefully multiple part blog post. Coming in part two will be shrimp! beer! tea! and more! Stay tuned!

http://dimensionz.imgur.com/walt_disney_world__universal_may_2011

Hopefully I’ll have time and energy to write a more detailed post about the trip sometime soon.

Hostess Strawberry Cup Cakes

Now that I look at the photo I’m doubting my ability to spell cupcakes. I’ve always thought it was “cupcakes”, but that box clearly shows “cup cakes”. No matter how you spell it the taste of these sucks. Hostess products never taste that great to begin with, I think it’s more the nostalgia factor that causes me to purchase them more than anything else. I had high hopes that strawberry cupcakes would taste ok, but they don’t. They smell very strongly of fake strawberry, almost like some horrible perfume. And I failed to taste even the smallest similarity to the strawberry flavor that Hostess used and a real strawberry.

Much more exciting is the fact that in 10 days Tal and I will be in Walt Disney World in Florida! We went there last year shortly after I had lung surgery and had a lot of fun. This time we will stay for longer and I won’t be still recovering and we will have even more fun. We’re even heading to Universal for one day to check out the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

Here are some photos from last year’s trip:

I’ll share some pictures from this years trip when we get back!

When it comes to the Cola wars I am generally allied with Coca-Cola. If given the option between the normal versions of Coke or Pepsi I will choose Coke every time. My allegiance to Coca-Cola only wanes when presented with the option of real sugar Pepsi. Throwback Pepsi has been available sporadically since at least the summer of 2008. I always by a case or two when given a chance. Mexican Pepsi is something I’ve only found recently at one grocery store in Bellingham, WA that stocks a large amount of Mexican foodstuffs. I’ve been buying cases of Mexican Coca-Cola from Costco in Bellingham for years now, but I had never seen Mexican Pepsi until just last month.

Pepsi Showdown!

For pure appearance it’s obvious that Mexican Pepsi is the winner, glass bottles are superior to aluminum cans. Although for nostalgia the can does remind me a lot of the Pepsi cans I would see as a child. In terms of taste I’m still undecided, I’ve had a lot of cans of Pepsi Throwback but only have drank two bottles of Mexican Pepsi. They both taste much better than normal Pepsi, but I’m having a hard time declaring one the winner.

Actually, scratch that, I already knew the winner before I even started:

The Winner: Mexican Coca-Cola!

I choose Mexican Coca-Cola as the winner of the Pepsi battle. I can do that because I made up the rules of my taste test. It has the classic Coke bottle look, and the best taste of any of the real sugar soft drinks I’ve had. Check Costco near you, or go to Mexico, to find some and taste for yourself.

Magic Milk Straws!

got milk?

These are plastic straws full of magic flavor balls, use them to drink milk and you have flavored milk. Simple. We have two flavors here, cookies & cream and cocoa. With the cocoa I was expecting chocolate milk, instead I got cold hot chocolate, or cocoa. I really should have expected that. As for the cookies & cream, you would have to ask Tal because I didn’t try it. They also had strawberry, but I didn’t get those because fruit flavored milk is just weird. I have my standards.

straw full of flavor!

I found these at the grocery store, so keep your eyes open if you want to try some. Just don’t buy the strawberry because it’s weird.

Time for the first post of the year. Starting with frozen cheeseburgers: 

White Castle Cheeseburgers

Now most people have at least heard of White Castle, most people from the movie Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle. White Castle is the oldest fast-food burger chain in the US. They only have 422 location across America, mostly in the Midwest. For everyone outside the 11 states featuring actual White Castle restaurants they produce a line of frozen burgers. They are the same as the fresh ones minus the pickles (pickles do not freeze well apparently).

Cheeseburger!

They taste better than they photograph. I used to get these all the time when I was a teenager. The Cost Cutter in Blaine, WA used to only carry the Hamburgers and I would have to add my own cheese. Sometimes I would use spray cheese. The best part about White Castle burgers are the little onions, they taste delicious.

Christmas Wrap-up:
Christmas kind to me this year. Tal got me an amazing back massager. It is a shiatsu massager with heat. Feels so good for my back.

Back Massager

I was going to write more but it took me like twenty minutes to get that last picture to appear correctly, so I’m going to call it a post.