We Smelled It...It Had to be Eaten, Part II ... Ding, Dong, Done!!!

[cntkg1]

Hmmmmm,what can I say B? Looking forward to your next review??

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

I remember Lori saying in her review how you and Jay were placed in the outer limits for this event. Its really a shame because the event had the potential to be great for everyone. Back in 2005 we had done a lunch and learn with Ming Tsai and they held it in the Odyssey. No interlopers and everyone there could see and hear everything that was going on. Maybe they will reevaluate the kitchen conversations and hold them someplace different this year, although I probably wouldn't hold my breath. Disney seems so determined to make use of the old Wonders of Life Pavilion for the F&W events now. I am totally amazed by the differences in dishes from one person to the next. Maybe somebody in the kitchen thought it would be cute to cut the salmon up into a variety of shapes and sizes?

 

[oybolshoi]

I'm soooo disappointed in reading that review this is the man who got on volunteers because something was placed wrong on the plate during a Dinner Impossible episode, that salmon looks horrendous!(for the record i'm not muh of a salmon eater either!) I'm sorry you forked over so much money for such a blah experience wow that sucks I love Robert Irvine and was sad to see him replaced on Dinner Impossible but seriously I heard him say a milion times on that show he wasnt serving anything halfway under his name what happened?!!! even if the salmon was perfectly cooked its not a very creative dish

Yeah, I was surprised at the lack of presentation and the inconsistency of the food quality. And I recall hearing him make that kind of comment about not serving "icky" stuff unger his name, too. My guess would be that Disney drove a dumptruck full of money up to his house to change his mind.

And you make a great point - it wasn't a very creative dish at all. I was disappointed by that.

Thanks for reading!

So I take it that Bobby (not Flay) didn't cook everyone's dish individually??? He does so much better in a half hour on TV... go figure...

They definately need to do those events in private... like they couldn't find someplace to have it...

& take your time with Citricos... we need to make it last...

Yeah, they definitely need to move these events back to the Odyssey but I doubt that will happen because it would cost them more money to do that.

It will be a few days at least for Citricos but once it's done I'm taking a break. I don't have a choice really - the workplace is getting wacked out lately and ain't likely to change through the end of the second quarter.

Hmmmmm,what can I say B? Looking forward to your next review??

Thanks for reading Goosie ... the next review will be worth your time!

I remember Lori saying in her review how you and Jay were placed in the outer limits for this event. Its really a shame because the event had the potential to be great for everyone. Back in 2005 we had done a lunch and learn with Ming Tsai and they held it in the Odyssey. No interlopers and everyone there could see and hear everything that was going on. Maybe they will reevaluate the kitchen conversations and hold them someplace different this year, although I probably wouldn't hold my breath. Disney seems so determined to make use of the old Wonders of Life Pavilion for the F&W events now. I am totally amazed by the differences in dishes from one person to the next. Maybe somebody in the kitchen thought it would be cute to cut the salmon up into a variety of shapes and sizes?

We definitely were seated in the outer limits. You said the same thing that Jay did - the event had a lot of potential. And I agree that the Odyssey would have been the perfect venue for this although I did hear from people who attended other Kitchen Conversations during the Festival who didn't have the same problems that we did. That might be because they weren't as heavily attended but I'm just guessing.

 

[whogirl'smom]

I'm so sorry this was such a disappointment, but you had me all the way through! Did you reach back and smack the people's heads that had poked through the trees? Unbelievable.

I am sure your cat would have appreciated the salmon dish--my cat won't eat it. Isn't that weird? He sure loves some peas, though!

 

[Robert P]

Two off topic whacky comments:

1 - you saw Salmon Tongue, I saw McRib. If we combine those ideas, we could call it McTongue. (it even had a garnish of pickles on the plate).

2 - "Nobody puts Bendy in a corner".

Still, loved the review.

 

[cdtommie]

Brenda, 75 bucks for a salmon sample a mile away from the chef is crazy (conundrum is fine by me - we buy it by the case)...I miss the old lunch and learns for the same price with three courses. I bet the tab will only be worse this year when we go (Oct 17-27). Deb's shows price increases for the California F&W events so it's likely WDW will follow.

 

[ChelleinNC]

Yeah, I was surprised at the lack of presentation and the inconsistency of the food quality. And I recall hearing him make that kind of comment about not serving "icky" stuff unger his name, too. My guess would be that Disney drove a dumptruck full of money up to his house to change his mind.

Yeah, they definitely need to move these events back to the Odyssey but I doubt that will happen because it would cost them more money to do that.

We definitely were seated in the outer limits. You said the same thing that Jay did - the event had a lot of potential. And I agree that the Odyssey would have been the perfect venue for this although I did hear from people who attended other Kitchen Conversations during the Festival who didn't have the same problems that we did. That might be because they weren't as heavily attended but I'm just guessing.

Things like this are making me wonder if DH & I should come this fall to try out F&W

I'm so sorry this was such a disappointment, but you had me all the way through! Did you reach back and smack the people's heads that had poked through the trees? Unbelievable.

Smacking the poking heads love that!

Two off topic whacky comments:

1 - you saw Salmon Tongue, I saw McRib. If we combine those ideas, we could call it McTongue. (it even had a garnish of pickles on the plate).

2 - "Nobody puts Bendy in a corner".

Still, loved the review.

1. eewww
2. I wanna see Bendy dance

Brenda, 75 bucks for a salmon sample a mile away from the chef is crazy (conundrum is fine by me - we buy it by the case)...I miss the old lunch and learns for the same price with three courses. I bet the tab will only be worse this year when we go (Oct 17-27). Deb's shows price increases for the California F&W events so it's likely WDW will follow.

 

[Hedy]

Briarmom!!! We are booked October 14th (Wednesday) - October 24th (Saturday morning checkout).

Come visit us and lets have some slushies in France!

I get in 10/22.

Sorry the Robert Irvine thing was a bust.

 

[MickeyNicki]

The salmon tongue had me laughing my pants off...and at work that is not a pretty sight!

Cannot wait to hear all about Citrico's, thinking of trying that in Oct.

 

[D&R love Disney]

Thursday, October 16th - Wurra! The Final Day Arrives and We're Still Hungry!

In the continued interests of trying new and potentially scary eating establishments, Jay and I hoofed it over to Downtown Disney for breakfast on this sunny, warm, and humid morning. We had discussed dining here before ever leaving Stinktown to embark on our delicious voyage of food discovery and the conversation went something like this:

Brenda: Peeps on the DIS rave frothy about WPE QS; you know, at DTD.

Jason: Huh?

Brenda (very loudly): PEEPS ON THE DIS RAVE FROTHY ABOUT WPE QS; YOU KNOW …AT DTD!!!

Jason: In English – you know I’m acronym averse!

Brenda: Uh, no; actually I didn’t know that. Anyway, I've noticed lately there seem to be a lot of people on the restaurant forums who have really good things to say about Wolfgang Puck Express; I thought we could give it a try for breakfast one morning since it’s within easy walking distance of the resort.

Jason: I should have known you were talking about food.



Since the restaurant doesn't open until 9AM we basically had the place to ourselves when we arrived. I was not feeling well at all this day ... I suppose the previous day's gluttony and overly rich food was finally catching up with my intestinal tract. And it didn't help that I was suffering from a bout of the end-o-trip blues, either. So what did I do in my infinite wisdom, knowing that the Crohn goblin was stirring and it was going to be a hot, sticky day?

I ordered a Belgian Waffle with whipped cream. It was served with fresh fruit and a miserly portion of maple syrup.

It looks better than it tastes

In retrospect I should have been more picky and demanding when I placed my order. For one thing, I don't really like whipped cream on my waffles. That was easily disposed of however; I just used my fork to transfer the whole glob into my coffee cup. I like a little bit of butter and a whole lotta syrup for my waffles, neither of which I received. I also should have asked for my fruit to be served on the side - it would have been much easier for Jay and me to share. The waffle was well cooked and had a light, sweet flavor but it was on the dry side and there was just not enough maple syrup in that weensy plastic container to drown the dry. I suppose I could have asked for more but when I get into this kind of moody funk the fewer people I interact with the better.

Jay selected Wolfgang’s Breakfast Pocket for his morning meal: scrambled eggs, peppers, Niman Ranch bacon, onions, mushrooms, mozzarella and cheddar cheeses baked into Wolfie’s signature pizza dough.

On a different day, sans mushrooms, I might have ordered something like this
The husband really enjoyed this - he said it was like eating a great omelet that's been tucked inside perfectly baked pizza dough. Right now it sounds pretty tasty but that morning the sight of it made me want to hurl.

From Downtown Disney we snagged a ride on a bus over to the Boardwalk and then made our way into Epcot through the International Gateway. Once the World Showcase opened our first stop was at Ireland for a quick caffeine infusion - I don't know about the rest of you, but frozen alcoholic coffee always makes me feel better.

Frozen Irish Coffee … that’s what they called this. I think it’s coffee, melted ice cream, and a splish of Bailey’s. It’s good but I’m always on the fence as to whether or not it’s $7.50 worth of good. Especially since they didn’t even serve it in a cute little plastic coffee cup like they did last year. So that means we’re being charged a lot for even less boozinated caffeine and that makes me sad.

Do you know how hard it is to drink something like this in cup with no handles?
Along our wanderings we stopped in Buenos Aires, Argentina because Jay likes the kind of stuff they serve at their booth. We ordered the Beef and Corn Pie and the Grilled Beef with Chimichurri Sauce

Meh...
Time for some brutal truth: the beef and corn pie was nasty - overcooked with chewy chunks of some kind of meat. I found this disappointing because it could have and should have been so much better. Our other choice wasn't bad as long as a certain someone could eat around the violently green sauce but I thought the beef was a little stringy. Also, in years past when this has been served at the F&W Festival it usually was resting on a bed of some kind of tasty, mashed vegetable which we both really enjoyed; sadly this year the mash was missing.

We also paid a visit to Santiago, Chile, where we purchased some Shrimp with Cilantro Salsa. This was just as disappointing ... prior festival samples of this item yielded generous servings of shrimp with a lightly spiced salsa. Our sample had three shrimpies and a whole lotta of runny salsa which tasted of vinegar.

Not at all good

Blech! After trying this I was just about ready to drink one of those nasty wine coolers from China to wash the awful taste from my mouth. And speaking of China ... by the time we arrived there my intestines seemed to have straightened themselves out and I was hungry ... still very tired but definitely in need of a pick-me-up. The Chicken sha-cha has always been a safe bet so I parked myself on a shady bench and waited for my lovey to return to me with chick-on-a-stick and a beer.

Chicken Sha Cha Cha

The beer that Jay purchased was Yanjing Beer - the other official beer of the Beijing Olympics. Michelle and Steve had suggested that we give it a try and they were spot on - it was quite good and much better than the singing toe beer that usually is sold at the China booth. My chicken was OK - a little overdone and chewier than usual, but it still had nice flavor, in part thanks to the sauce it was drizzled with.

And then to finish up our grazing before heading over to the Festival Welcome Center and our Kitchen Conversation with Robert Irvine, we stopped in Australia to sample a taste treat called Wattleseed Mousse!

Weetles wattle and then end up in dessert

How best to describe this? It was light and custardy and sweet but the taste actually reminded us of coffee. It wasn't bad but it was a little odd ... I think it might have been better on a less warm day when it wasn't being digested on top of 12 ounces of Chinese beer.

I'm glad we tried it because with a name like wattleseed it demands to be eaten but I'm not sure that we'd eat it again. I always find the dessert options in Australia to be a disappointment ... if they're not making something that's crawling with macadamia nuts they're offering up desserts made from seeds named after birds. Maybe next year ... ooops, now that's this year ... they can offer up a chocolate covered dingo delight.

And thus ended our F&W snacking for the trip. We disappointed ourselves because we didn't hit up every booth, although some of that was from choice. Canada hasn't offered anything new in so long that we don't even stop to look at their menu board and South Africa isn't much better. And while we wanted to try the booth from Austria their food choices just never sounded all that appealing to us when we happened to be there. Overall we were pleased with much of our grazing - there were some misses but for the most part we enjoyed our snacking and thought much (not all) of the food was well prepared and tasty. We're looking forward to trying to eat the entire World Showcase one last time in October 2009!

Next up: a review of Kitchen Conversations ... Turn up the Volume!

I've been a fan of WPE since we found the little hole in the wall back in 1996. Never tried breakfast though. I love waffles but don't want whipped cream on them unless they are a dessert waffle.

Your booth foods didn't look very appealing, not a very good day for Disney dining for you

Thursday, October 16th - Celebrity is as Celebrity Does ... Could You Please Turn Up the Volume???

In retrospect I booked this event for all the wrong reasons:

1) We can actually purchase Caymus wines in Stinktown ... even Conundrum of which everyone seems so fond.
2) We don't collect "celebrity" cookbooks.
3) Generally speaking we're not all that impressed by famous people.
4) Trying new things isn't always what it's cracked up to be.

Epcot officially describes this event as follows: Discover how an acclaimed television personality enjoys life inside - and outside - the kitchen. Culinary demonstration, single-dish tasting, and an autographed copy of the celebrity's cookbook are included; $75 per person, plus tax (gratuity included).

Yep.

Reading back over that description tells me everything I needed to know about where the Disney Dining Borg are planning to take our beloved F&W Festival in the years to come. Why I was so slow on the uptake is beyond me, but since it provides a convenient excuse I will blame it on a combination of bad eyesight, too many prescription medications, and a burning desire to try a new Festival event.

I realize now that burning sensation was actually a new chronic inflammatory issue making its presence known.

This is one of those rare instances where we actually did enjoy the celebrity guest's show on Food Network and thought the event might be a lot of fun. For those people who got good seats and could actually hear the conversation it probably was fun. For those stinky relations like us, who were stuck in a corner (see ... sometimes Bendy does get put in a corner), it was about as much fun as a screen door on a submarine.

Lemme 'splain what happened. The program was scheduled to begin at 2pm - Jay and I finished up some last minute giftie shopping and then made our way over to the Festival Welcome Center (The Wonders of Life Pavilion) to check in. Since we all paid in advance to attend I did not dream that Jay and I (or anyone else) would need to line up days before the event to be seated at a good table.

How stupid of me.

Our penalty for booking on the first day of F&W availability and daring to show up with mere minutes to spare was to be seated at the very back table of the venue ... tucked amongst the potted plants and the peepers who didn't pay to attend but felt no compunction at sticking their heads through the foliage to take in the "show" while loudly discussing everything from their personal moment of spewth on Mission Space to the merits of boxed versus bottled wine.

There were two other couples at the table with us and it was pretty obvious that they weren't pleased with the arrangement either. To be fair I will comment that there were large flat-screen monitors set up near our table so that we could watch events unfold on stage but we didn't pay $150 + tax to watch a television show, thanks anyway.

You all need some pictures before I continue with my rancorous review.

Table setting … at least the wine glass was fairly generously filled

Robert Irvine makes his appearance ...

How far were we seated from the stage and the demonstration kitchen?

In a galaxy far, far away ...

I'll give Robert Irvine some credit; he was personable and charming and larger than life ... with those tables where he actually stopped to talk to guests. He only wandered so far amongst the tables and never crossed the state line to greet any of us. I wonder if the camera angles were too crappy and if he was told not to go past a certain point? I would like to tell you more about the conversation Mr. Irvine had with the facilitator (Pam Smith?) and all that happy crap but I can't ... it's not even a memory issue this time because we really couldn't hear much of what took place during the 90 minute program. I know the dish he was "preparing" was salmon and he wandered around between tables interacting with guests and there was some discussion of the featured wine for the event - Conundrum - but the finer details are dust in the wind.

Look; it's a conversation! I wonder what they're talking about?

Our fabulous food?

Pan Seared Salmon with Bok Choy and some stuff. I want to apologize to you in advance because the servings we received were not at all appetizing. Furthermore, the quality of the food was not good - most of the guests at our table received over-cooked, dry salmon. It's the irony of ironies that I received a decently prepared piece of fish when I'm not a big fan of salmon.

Salmon Tongue?

This looks like a mistake ...

And this looks like Fancy Feast ...

From what I understand the food quality at this event was uneven across the board and I think that's absolutely unacceptable. There is no excuse for that kind of poor quality from a culinary team that is supposed to specialize in event preparation and cooking. The next time Jay and I want to overpay for poorly cooked salmon at WDW we'll go back to Artist Point - at least there we can drink more than one glass of wine. Yeah, now I'm snarking at Caymus Wineries ... how about a refill you miserly bastiches?

There was one cool aspect of the afternoon and it was this: Caymus was giving away a monster-sized bottle of Conundrum to one lucky guest (read: not us) who could recite back to Robert Irvine the procedure for properly cooking the dish we'd all been served.



I love irony.



One of the couples seated at our table won the prize! Of course, Irvine couldn't make it all the way back to our table in the forest primeval so the winner had to walk up for the meet and greet and smile for the camera moment. Still, it was pretty cool seeing one of the shunned take home a giftie that every single one of us would have gladly given our pan seared salmon for!

The winners and their big big bottle of wine! I hope they don't mind my using this image here.

How do you explain this to the TSA?

One last picture ... Lori was also at this event but we weren't able to hook up before seating and thus spent the event separated by the vast open space between the welcomes and the not-welcomes. She got a much better table and was even on the receiving end of a hug from Mr. Irvine. I'm glad someone had a good time!

Oybolshoi & BriarRosie ... bluezoo was better!

For a different perspective on the same event, click on this link to read BriarRosie's excellent review:

Lori liked it just fine!

Our final verdict is that it wouldn't matter who was featured at this event in the future - there is no way we will ever attend a Kitchen Conversation again. The event needs to be held in a private area and attendance needs to be more limited; quite frankly I would have rather been told the afternoon was sold out than pay that kind of money for us to get so little enjoyment from the event. I don't really fault Irvine for much of this, but I do fault the F&W planners who most certainly should have known better than to schedule a program like this in a venue where non-paying guests could wander around to their hearts content unintentionally disrupting the event for some attendees.

I was very disappointed to leave Epcot and the F&W Festival on such a down note, especially since we were going home the next day which was also my birthday. Jay was disappointed too, which is rare ... I'm usually the one with expectations so high that they have no alternative but to come crashing to earth at the speed of sound. But we talked our way through it as we waited one last time for our Disney chariot to whisk us back to the resort. We were having dinner at Citricos for my birthday and we refused to let a poor Festival experience put the exclamation point on our vacation.

Coming soon ... the last review of the trip: Citricos gives Bluezoo a real run for its money!

Bummer on the event all around. I like watching Robert on tv and his food is interesting but that salmon looks terrible and not very edible. And, don't they know it's just not right to put Bendy in the corner

Looking forward to Citricos, I think we'll be going there in September based on your recommondation since it's been about 5 years since we last ate there.

 

[BriarRosie]

Thursday, October 16th - Celebrity is as Celebrity Does ... Could You Please Turn Up the Volume???

In retrospect I booked this event for all the wrong reasons:

1) We can actually purchase Caymus wines in Stinktown ... even Conundrum of which everyone seems so fond.
2) We don't collect "celebrity" cookbooks.
3) Generally speaking we're not all that impressed by famous people.
4) Trying new things isn't always what it's cracked up to be.

Epcot officially describes this event as follows: Discover how an acclaimed television personality enjoys life inside - and outside - the kitchen. Culinary demonstration, single-dish tasting, and an autographed copy of the celebrity's cookbook are included; $75 per person, plus tax (gratuity included).

Yep.

I like Conundrum and Robert Irvine, so I thought it was a nice fit when I booked it.

Reading back over that description tells me everything I needed to know about where the Disney Dining Borg are planning to take our beloved F&W Festival in the years to come. Why I was so slow on the uptake is beyond me, but since it provides a convenient excuse I will blame it on a combination of bad eyesight, too many prescription medications, and a burning desire to try a new Festival event.

I realize now that burning sensation was actually a new chronic inflammatory issue making its presence known.

Well, I really miss the Lunch and Learn. You got 3 courses with wine, and they charged the same price. That was the thing that got me when I first saw these Kitchen Conversation events. I tried hard to convince myself to go, and I probably wouldn't have if it weren't the wine/chef combo we had.

This is one of those rare instances where we actually did enjoy the celebrity guest's show on Food Network and thought the event might be a lot of fun. For those people who got good seats and could actually hear the conversation it probably was fun. For those stinky relations like us, who were stuck in a corner (see ... sometimes Bendy does get put in a corner), it was about as much fun as a screen door on a submarine.

Lemme 'splain what happened. The program was scheduled to begin at 2pm - Jay and I finished up some last minute giftie shopping and then made our way over to the Festival Welcome Center (The Wonders of Life Pavilion) to check in. Since we all paid in advance to attend I did not dream that Jay and I (or anyone else) would need to line up days before the event to be seated at a good table.

How stupid of me.

I was equally as stupid. I was running late and knew it should be a good idea to get in line early for seating. I knew better and should have mentioned it at Toddy's Place. At least somehow I lucked out as a "single" and made it to a decent table.

Our penalty for booking on the first day of F&W availability and daring to show up with mere minutes to spare was to be seated at the very back table of the venue ... tucked amongst the potted plants and the peepers who didn't pay to attend but felt no compunction at sticking their heads through the foliage to take in the "show" while loudly discussing everything from their personal moment of spewth on Mission Space to the merits of boxed versus bottled wine.

There were two other couples at the table with us and it was pretty obvious that they weren't pleased with the arrangement either. To be fair I will comment that there were large flat-screen monitors set up near our table so that we could watch events unfold on stage but we didn't pay $150 + tax to watch a television show, thanks anyway.

I probably would have said something about the looky-loos to the cast members who worked the event. They might have been able to rope off the area or something.

How far were we seated from the stage and the demonstration kitchen?

In a galaxy far, far away ...

I'll give Robert Irvine some credit; he was personable and charming and larger than life ... with those tables where he actually stopped to talk to guests. He only wandered so far amongst the tables and never crossed the state line to greet any of us. I wonder if the camera angles were too crappy and if he was told not to go past a certain point? I would like to tell you more about the conversation Mr. Irvine had with the facilitator (Pam Smith?) and all that happy crap but I can't ... it's not even a memory issue this time because we really couldn't hear much of what took place during the 90 minute program. I know the dish he was "preparing" was salmon and he wandered around between tables interacting with guests and there was some discussion of the featured wine for the event - Conundrum - but the finer details are dust in the wind.

Wow, I would have said, "We can't hear you back here!" I'm not shy. Pam Smith does host all these events.

Look; it's a conversation! I wonder what they're talking about?

Our fabulous food?

Pan Seared Salmon with Bok Choy and some stuff. I want to apologize to you in advance because the servings we received were not at all appetizing. Furthermore, the quality of the food was not good - most of the guests at our table received over-cooked, dry salmon. It's the irony of ironies that I received a decently prepared piece of fish when I'm not a big fan of salmon.

Salmon Tongue?

This looks like a mistake ...

And this looks like Fancy Feast ...

From what I understand the food quality at this event was uneven across the board and I think that's absolutely unacceptable. There is no excuse for that kind of poor quality from a culinary team that is supposed to specialize in event preparation and cooking. The next time Jay and I want to overpay for poorly cooked salmon at WDW we'll go back to Artist Point - at least there we can drink more than one glass of wine. Yeah, now I'm snarking at Caymus Wineries ... how about a refill you miserly bastiches?

1. The Salmon. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that when your prep kitchen is located a few floors above you and there's transport time to be factored in, the quality can suffer. Oh yeah, it did take a rocket scientist to figure it out. The guy sitting next to me who works at NASA mentioned this.

He gave up his plate to me out of some whacked out sense of chivalry, because the server didn't have enough plates for our table. It turned out he got the "good" batch of fish when they came back to serve him, as we got a dry batch at our table. He tasted his wife's fish, and then told us to try his. It was a big difference.

The irony was that Robert Irvine did talk about preventing dry salmon by making sure it was seared well first before putting it in an oven. He did also get on the case of the guy in charge of the kitchen because he asked if we did get dry fish.

2. Those stingy bastages at Conundrum didn't bring enough wine to the event to give any refills. That didn't go unnoticed at our table, either.

There was one cool aspect of the afternoon and it was this: Caymus was giving away a monster-sized bottle of Conundrum to one lucky guest (read: not us) who could recite back to Robert Irvine the procedure for properly cooking the dish we'd all been served.



I love irony.

I was too busy in conversation with NASA man and his wife to pay close attention to the cooking process.

One of the couples seated at our table won the prize! Of course, Irvine couldn't make it all the way back to our table in the forest primeval so the winner had to walk up for the meet and greet and smile for the camera moment. Still, it was pretty cool seeing one of the shunned take home a giftie that every single one of us would have gladly given our pan seared salmon for!

The winners and their big big bottle of wine! I hope they don't mind my using this image here.

How do you explain this to the TSA?

ROFL! I thought about the TSA when I saw that ginormous bottle, too!

One last picture ... Lori was also at this event but we weren't able to hook up before seating and thus spent the event separated by the vast open space between the welcomes and the not-welcomes. She got a much better table and was even on the receiving end of a hug from Mr. Irvine. I'm glad someone had a good time!

Oybolshoi & BriarRosie ... bluezoo was better!

And I'm modeling the official Festival tshirt from the prior year, the one we both had issues finding. But you didn't have a friend who found the shirt for you a week later like I did. And I like this photo better than the sweaty self-portrait one of me and my BFF Robert.

For a different perspective on the same event, click on this link to read BriarRosie's excellent review:

Lori liked it just fine!

Well, I liked it "just ok" for the most part. I had issues with the food and the wine, but getting the greeting by Robert Irvine made up for it. I will not book this event again, as I really didn't perceive the value in it for what we actually got.

Our final verdict is that it wouldn't matter who was featured at this event in the future - there is no way we will ever attend a Kitchen Conversation again. The event needs to be held in a private area and attendance needs to be more limited; quite frankly I would have rather been told the afternoon was sold out than pay that kind of money for us to get so little enjoyment from the event. I don't really fault Irvine for much of this, but I do fault the F&W planners who most certainly should have known better than to schedule a program like this in a venue where non-paying guests could wander around to their hearts content unintentionally disrupting the event for some attendees.

That's why I'm using the money I would be paying for special events (with the exception of the Party for the Senses) for lots of good dinners instead. Moving events from the Odyssey building into the Wonders of Life space was a mistake, too.

I was very disappointed to leave Epcot and the F&W Festival on such a down note, especially since we were going home the next day which was also my birthday. Jay was disappointed too, which is rare ... I'm usually the one with expectations so high that they have no alternative but to come crashing to earth at the speed of sound. But we talked our way through it as we waited one last time for our Disney chariot to whisk us back to the resort. We were having dinner at Citricos for my birthday and we refused to let a poor Festival experience put the exclamation point on our vacation.

Coming soon ... the last review of the trip: Citricos gives Bluezoo a real run for its money!

Oh good, you ended your trip on a high note!

 

[wilma-bride]

Nobody puts Bendy in a corner

Sounds like a pretty naff experience to me Brenda

 

[Tatania]

Bendy, you outdid yourself in the "Kitchen Conversations with Robert Irvine" review. By the time I got to the "Fancy Feast" caption, I was literally howling with laughter and the other folks in the house were giving me very odd looks. How do you come up with lines like: "as much fun as a screen door on a submarine."?

Anyway, I was telling my sister the other day but I'm toying with the idea of going to the 2009 F & W Festival - though taking a business leave from work during these economic times is looking less feasible by the week. She's never been to Disney World and immediately chimed in that she'd love to go to the Festival because she heard how amazing it is. Well, after reading your reviews and those of other attendees, I had to bring her down to earth quickly by telling her that the festival seems to have changed for the worse as the years go by. The overcrowded cooking demos, the ever shrinking portions accompanied by higher prices at the food booths, and the pandemonium at events like "Dining for the Senses", is probably not the best introduction to Disney World for someone who's never been there.

 

[oybolshoi]

I'm so sorry this was such a disappointment, but you had me all the way through! Did you reach back and smack the people's heads that had poked through the trees? Unbelievable.

Well, it could have been worse but it sure could have been a lot better. I'm glad you enjoyed reading about it ... I always try to poke fun, even when I'm upset about something. As for those peepers ... I wish I had smacked them on their heads!

I am sure your cat would have appreciated the salmon dish--my cat won't eat it. Isn't that weird? He sure loves some peas, though!

Oh yes - Handsome Pete would have been all over that salmon. He loves salmon (and tuna). And he also likes fresh spinach ... I think he'd get along just fine with your kitty.

Two off topic whacky comments:

1 - you saw Salmon Tongue, I saw McRib. If we combine those ideas, we could call it McTongue. (it even had a garnish of pickles on the plate).

2 - "Nobody puts Bendy in a corner".

Still, loved the review.

Thanks for reading!

McTongue ... It could be a seasonal item on WacArnold's menu!

And the corner comment ... I thought I was going to soil myself I laughed so hard.

Brenda, 75 bucks for a salmon sample a mile away from the chef is crazy (conundrum is fine by me - we buy it by the case)...I miss the old lunch and learns for the same price with three courses. I bet the tab will only be worse this year when we go (Oct 17-27). Deb's shows price increases for the California F&W events so it's likely WDW will follow.

Yeah, it was overpriced for the end result, that's for sure. Of course the autographed cookbook was definitely factored into the event cost but it's not that good a cookbook, ya know what I mean?

I wish we could have attended the event that featured one of the chef's from Commander's Palace in Nola. That's one of our favorite restaurants and a cookbook from that place would already have slop stains from my recreation efforts.

Ah well, live and learn. This year we'll use that money for a tasty dinner somewhere. And I think you're spot on about the price increases this year - I noticed that the DL F&W prices had jumped this year, too.

Things like this are making me wonder if DH & I should come this fall to try out F&W

Oh no ... don't change your plans because we pre-paid for a special event that turned out to be not-so-special. You two will have a great time just eating your way around the WS food booths and you might be able to catch a free cooking demo or wine tasting. Unfortunately it's just the special events that have become something of a crapshoot over the last few years - they used to be as reliable as a bowel movement after a dose of Exlax, but now you just never know.

Smacking the poking heads love that!

I thought that was a pretty good idea, too - wish I'd actually done it!

1. eewww
2. I wanna see Bendy dance

Actually if you ever saw me dance you'd just reverse the order of your numbers in that last part of your post.

I get in 10/22.

Sorry the Robert Irvine thing was a bust.

Excellent - another October friendie! Bob was a bust but at least we tried something (and know never to try it again!). Thanks for reading!

The salmon tongue had me laughing my pants off...and at work that is not a pretty sight!

Cannot wait to hear all about Citrico's, thinking of trying that in Oct.

Hiya Nicki! Thanks for reading - glad to hear I was able to give you a laugh! You will love Citricos ... amazing food and if I do say so, our pictures are oh-so-yummy!

 

[oybolshoi]

I've been a fan of WPE since we found the little hole in the wall back in 1996. Never tried breakfast though. I love waffles but don't want whipped cream on them unless they are a dessert waffle.

I guess I shouldn't complain too much about WPE breakfast - Jay was very happy with his choice, and all of our other dining experiences at Wolfie's establishments on the WestSide were outstanding. It just wasn't my morning - sometimes that happens.

Your booth foods didn't look very appealing, not a very good day for Disney dining for you

Yeah ... it was an icky morning. The good news is that we finished strong at Citricos ... I can't wait to share that with everyone!

Bummer on the event all around. I like watching Robert on tv and his food is interesting but that salmon looks terrible and not very edible. And, don't they know it's just not right to put Bendy in the corner

The salmon was not enjoyable and neither was the event - and we like Dinner Impossible quite a bit. Irvine did seem like a pretty decent guy but I don't think he had much control over anything that afternoon.

Bendy in a corner ...

Looking forward to Citricos, I think we'll be going there in September based on your recommondation since it's been about 5 years since we last ate there.

Citricos was amazing and I think you're going to be very happy with your decision to dine there. At least, I hope you're going to be happy because if not I'm really going to feel terrible.

I like Conundrum and Robert Irvine, so I thought it was a nice fit when I booked it.

Us, too.

Well, I really miss the Lunch and Learn. You got 3 courses with wine, and they charged the same price. That was the thing that got me when I first saw these Kitchen Conversation events. I tried hard to convince myself to go, and I probably wouldn't have if it weren't the wine/chef combo we had.

I think we would have liked that event a lot better, especially for the pricetag. And I wanted to try something new so badly and was so disappointed that F&W eliminated most of their signature dinners that I went a little crazy looking for a replacement. We would have been happier spending one last afternoon at the pool ... won't make the same mistake twice!

I was equally as stupid. I was running late and knew it should be a good idea to get in line early for seating. I knew better and should have mentioned it at Toddy's Place. At least somehow I lucked out as a "single" and made it to a decent table.

I was getting worried about you when we arrived and couldn't find you. You just have good karma, Lori - I'm glad you aced a good a seat!

I probably would have said something about the looky-loos to the cast members who worked the event. They might have been able to rope off the area or something.

That's a great idea but I don't recall seeing any CMs hanging out near our table. They probably needed a map to find us.

Wow, I would have said, "We can't hear you back here!" I'm not shy. Pam Smith does host all these events.

I do know that one lady at our table did get up and find a CM to complain about the sound issue but nothing really changed. I applaud her for taking the initiative to do so ... which is more than I did. The only time I got up was when I had to sneak through those potted plants to visit the bathroom.

1. The Salmon. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that when your prep kitchen is located a few floors above you and there's transport time to be factored in, the quality can suffer. Oh yeah, it did take a rocket scientist to figure it out. The guy sitting next to me who works at NASA mentioned this.

He gave up his plate to me out of some whacked out sense of chivalry, because the server didn't have enough plates for our table. It turned out he got the "good" batch of fish when they came back to serve him, as we got a dry batch at our table. He tasted his wife's fish, and then told us to try his. It was a big difference.

The irony was that Robert Irvine did talk about preventing dry salmon by making sure it was seared well first before putting it in an oven. He did also get on the case of the guy in charge of the kitchen because he asked if we did get dry fish.

2. Those stingy bastages at Conundrum didn't bring enough wine to the event to give any refills. That didn't go unnoticed at our table, either.

That's a riot ... you were seated with a rocket scientist! And he was smarter than the entire F&W culinary team ... no surprise there.

And I do recall Irvine talking about not over-cooking the salmon. That part came through loud and clear. It's just too bad that the irony wasn't delicious.

I have the same beef with Caymus that I have with Banfi ... be a little generous with the damn wine - it's not like we all didn't pay to be there.

I was too busy in conversation with NASA man and his wife to pay close attention to the cooking process.

I think that guy read all about it in the handy little recipe flyer they gave us (and which we misplaced on purpose). Good for him ... I'm glad someone at our table had something to show for their overpriced 90 minutes.

ROFL! I thought about the TSA when I saw that ginormous bottle, too!

Great minds!

And I'm modeling the official Festival tshirt from the prior year, the one we both had issues finding. But you didn't have a friend who found the shirt for you a week later like I did. And I like this photo better than the sweaty self-portrait one of me and my BFF Robert.

I didn't have anyone that I knew well enough that I could have asked to find me that shirt after we were home. And I like the photo of you and Bob - it's cute!

Well, I liked it "just ok" for the most part. I had issues with the food and the wine, but getting the greeting by Robert Irvine made up for it. I will not book this event again, as I really didn't perceive the value in it for what we actually got.

That's why I'm using the money I would be paying for special events (with the exception of the Party for the Senses) for lots of good dinners instead. Moving events from the Odyssey building into the Wonders of Life space was a mistake, too.

Oh good, you ended your trip on a high note!

I agree with you completely - this fall we're using our money for table service unless something really jumps out at us and we just feel like throwing money away. And I don't think that's going to happen this year.

Nobody puts Bendy in a corner

Sounds like a pretty naff experience to me Brenda

Another corner comment ... I love it! It wasn't worth the money, that's for sure. But I did hear that other Kitchen Conversation events were very good ... so go figure.

Bendy, you outdid yourself in the "Kitchen Conversations with Robert Irvine" review. By the time I got to the "Fancy Feast" caption, I was literally howling with laughter and the other folks in the house were giving me very odd looks. How do you come up with lines like: "as much fun as a screen door on a submarine."?

You always make me smile! I'm glad you enjoyed the review and have this mental picture of you cackling madly at your computer while others look on with mild concern. OK ... I'm projecting ... that's what used to happen to me when I could still access the DIS from work.

I don't know where some of the things I write actually come from ... I just pull 'em out of my alcohol-fueled whimsy machine, I suppose ... BUT, I must give credit where credit is due ...

the submarine line is something that my step-father said to me while I was in high school and the visual image struck me as so comical that it has stuck with me ever since.

Anyway, I was telling my sister the other day but I'm toying with the idea of going to the 2009 F & W Festival - though taking a business leave from work during these economic times is looking less feasible by the week. She's never been to Disney World and immediately chimed in that she'd love to go to the Festival because she heard how amazing it is. Well, after reading your reviews and those of other attendees, I had to bring her down to earth quickly by telling her that the festival seems to have changed for the worse as the years go by. The overcrowded cooking demos, the ever shrinking portions accompanied by higher prices at the food booths, and the pandemonium at events like "Dining for the Senses", is probably not the best introduction to Disney World for someone who's never been there.

I hope you do get a chance to attend F&W this fall, expecially if our dates overlapped a bit. It would be terrific to meet a real writer (as opposed to me ... a wanna-be who never actually does anything about being a wanna-be).

You know ... in your sister's case, she might like it just fine as it is now because she wouldn't actually have a real-life frame of reference. Those of us who've been attending pretty frequently are always the ones to point out the changes (for the worse) over the years but newbies don't know what they're missing and still seem to like it just fine.

Keep us posted on your plans and thanks for reading!

 

[honeybee30]

Crunked up? Is that a good thing?

It's a good thing. Crunk is sort of an overused hip-hop term, which is probably way out of date, and if I used it in front of my students, they would all roll their eyes at me. Etimologically speaking, it's a combination of the words crazy and drunk, which your dining reviews almost always are!

 

[oybolshoi]

It's a good thing. Crunk is sort of an overused hip-hop term, which is probably way out of date, and if I used it in front of my students, they would all roll their eyes at me. Etimologically speaking, it's a combination of the words crazy and drunk, which your dining reviews almost always are!

Excellent! Now I can tell Jay that our food reviews are crunky, just like that candy bar we like to laugh at in Japan-mart.

 

[mickeys#1fan]

Wednesday, October 15th - Sweeping the Seas Clean at Bluezoo






Does the Maytag Man drink these?

OMG!! (Did I just write that?) My dream drink. I'd like to fill my bathtub with this.

Lori and Jay chose the same appetizer: Teppan Seared Jumbo Sea Scallops served with braised beef short rib and silky cauliflower puree.

General consensus?

Outstanding!

Scallops so well cooked that they practically melted in my mouth and cauliflower puree so creamy and good that I'd eat cauliflower every day if it were served up like this. I actually found myself wishing that I'd ordered this instead of the shrimp, in part because of the fennel overdose in my dish.

Scallops and beef and veggie puree'

Love this! Best scallops I've had anywhere. At first you think scallops and shortribs are a weird combo, but it works.

Bluezoo was an amazing experience. The food and the service absolutely lived up to our expectations and not only do we plan to pay them another visit this fall, but we now offer them our highest food review rating: Monstrous Fine!

Friends, lurkers, occasional readers, random well wishers, and DISers who wish I'd just shut up already and give someone else a chance to share their food reviews ... I'm here to tell each one of you who love seafood that you must pay Todd English a visit. It's expensive but worth every dime; they provide a creative, grown-up menu in a sophisticated setting. We cannot wait to go back and stuff our faces there again!

Couldn't agree more! Bluezoo is quite possibly the best restaurant on Disney property. But I've said before and I'll say again, AVOID THE DANCING FISH.

On a non-food review note, I dig the way you write. You obviously know food, and people who know food tend to write stuffy reviews. But not you - you're a fun read, and if we ever get the chance, my wife and I would love to eat with you and your husband. Heck, we might even get drunk with you, which I usually hate doing.

 

[BriarRosie]

Couldn't agree more! Bluezoo is quite possibly the best restaurant on Disney property. But I've said before and I'll say again, AVOID THE DANCING FISH.

On a non-food review note, I dig the way you write. You obviously know food, and people who know food tend to write stuffy reviews. But not you - you're a fun read, and if we ever get the chance, my wife and I would love to eat with you and your husband. Heck, we might even get drunk with you, which I usually hate doing.

First, I am intrigued about the "beware the dancing fish comment". Love to find out why.

And boy, that last part is a compliment of the first order, I'd say!
I can attest to their fun quotient, but I did not get smashed in their presence.

 

[Tink rules]

Hey Lori... do you think we should just tell them to show up in October???