Hey! You had your trip, this time I'm in charge! Nicki & Todd LIVE!! Completed :(

[TigerKat]

Do you have any idea how much I wish you guys were staying a few days longer?? We had so much fun with you and Johnny and I cannot wait to see you again...maybe I can convince Todd to get away in Feb again! Even just for a weekend would be great! Love you both and safe travels tomorrow...

Pss....did you leave me any sangria?? Can I still get some at the window or what?

Yes, we left you some of the sangria. We had a bottle of wine and Godiva chocolate martinis!!!!!!

If you can't do Feb (I'll help you convince him any way I can), how about F&W again next year????? Love y'all!!!!

 

[MickeyNicki]

My husband calls me his little Energizer Bunny..I keep going and going and basically never shut up or turn off Trust me, he means this in a loving way, I think? Well my friends, I think my batteries are conking out on me because I am TIRED! The suprise that we all felt when Todd said he is full...thats the same thing for me to say I'm tired!

Time came to leave for dinner

Todd - Nic, wake up

Me - Please go away

Todd - We have to leave

Me - I said please....did you not hear me?

Todd - But its pasta night

Me - So what, I'm tired

Todd - But (this is where I cut him off)

Me - Babe, I am tired, I would like to sleep...can I pull a "todd" and skip dinner, you do it all ...(this is when he cut me off)

Todd - Pumpkin Funnel Cake

Me - I'm up, lets go! What are we waiting for??

And away we went! Epcot looked very busy tonight but the food booths were not crowded...most people were just walking around with beer.

Gin Blossoms where playing so we listened to them for a bit and then went to Tutto early to see if we could get in...its around 5:30 or so and the entire waiting area is empty, most of the restaurant is empty so guess what? We were seated right away

Here is the latest menu

We had some cutie patootie waiters and they were very attentive. One thing that DH mentioned that at VN and TI the waiters pay attention to me and me alone..they never even glance at him...I think he is a bit jealous

The bread basket and basil butter as well as olive oil were produced and it was wonderful, everything was delicious. The little dish of marinated olives and mushrooms, well I heard they were good but cannot tell you for myself because I didnt get to try any....someone ate them all before I had the chance!

The waiter came over to discuss the menu and overheard us talking about salads..see the couple across from us had the caesar and it was loaded with shaved parm cheese and Todd was saying that I would not be able to have any and the waiter thought I had food allergies and he went to get the manager. Now I never mentioned my lactose thing on the reservations because I knew what to stay away from and for the most part I did...and the pills helped and so far so good right?

I told them no, its not a food allergy, I just stay away from dairy blah blah blah. She was very nice and offered to make adjustments and I told her that I would be fine...can I get some sliced tomatoes without the cheese? Sure, she said. Do your mashed potatoes have cream? Yes, she says. Ok then, I am good to go

Todd did get his caesar and loved it...he said it was 100% better than at Shula's and the crostini with the olive tapanade was a huge hit with him

They did serve me a plate of sliced tomatoes with basil and some really good balsamic vinegar and olive oil....OMG this was like eating from a backyard garden..so fresh and wonderful, and yes I was forced to share with the envious beast sitting across from me!

DH had the spaghetti and veal meatballs, the enjoyed them but said mine are better...well of course they are! Two points for you hon! I had a small bite and thought the meatballs were tasty but dry and the pasta was a bit too salty for me. I took my bites before he mixed all that good cheese in!

I made the brilliant choice to go with the short ribs...clearly this is a "Todd" dish but I didnt see anything else I could go with. Since the potatoes were made with cream I knew I could not eat them but that was fine with me. The greens are swiss chard and were very good, at first I thought it was escarole but either way I loved them. DH said the potatoes were very creamy and buttery...the short ribs? Heaven, just pure meat loving heaven! The red wine and veggies they were cooked in added so much flavor and they were tender and no fat at all....I could eat this every single night

All was going along well, for me anyways, but I noticed my side kick looking a tad bit sad.

Me - Whats up pup...eat your pasta

Todd - Can I have some

Me - Sure, you can have all the taters, knock yourself out

Todd - Ha ha, you had your fun now pass da plate

Me - Nope, this time I think sharing is out

Todd - I will sleep in tomorrow and ruin all your plans

Me - I will leave your butt in bed and go without you, but here, take the plate, have a taste

Todd - Thats all you left me? You are one mean wife!

What a kidder, I did leave three huge bites! He proclaimed it better than Citricos and you guys know how much he loves Citricos!

The waiter wasnt too shocked to see that we were going to skip dessert, afterall the entire dessert menu is heavy on the lactose. But have no fear...pumpkin funnel cake was in our future! We walked all the way around the countries to digest a bit and make it back in time for the concert, I wanted to see the entire thing.

Grabbed a cup of coffee at the stand by USA but just water for me. Then it was pumpkin time! The sign said it does contain dairy so I popped a pill and started in! Made fresh to order they take just a minute or so. The smell, oooh buddy the smell, think of being in a pumpkin dessert factory and time that by a million...yeah there you have it! Very very very good, tons of pumpkin and cinnamon flavors.

Todd - You know what would make this perfect?

Me - If I didnt have to share with you?

Todd - Vanilla ice cream

Me - Now who is being a big meanie???

Tomorrow we are getting up early, taking a cab to Kona for breakfast and then going to MK for the day....I have a wake up call set, a cab scheduled (I dont feel like driving or bussing) now lets see if we have the energy to do it!

 

[Tinkerbellah]

Omygosh!! Those tomatoes look heavenly!! I miss August tomatoes already about now. ~wonder if they grow those in Epcot..

Well, youguys have fun @ Kona & MK,can't wait to check back 2m night, like a good book!!

 

[MaryAz]

Way to rock the slushies!!!

I the Gin Blossoms!!!

Ok, if you and Todd are going to sneak up for a quick weekend, I think it should be the last one in Jan, please

And I think you have almost convinced me to change our Sep trip to an Oct one for F&W and stay at Beach Club. You and jeff could celebrate ur bdays together No BWV-creepy clowns are not my thing. Now to convince Kathy........

 

[librarygeek]

Tutto looks great! Your appetizer looks so good, I love tomatoes and basil and olive oil.

 

[Tink rules]

Yes, we left you some of the sangria. We had a bottle of wine and Godiva chocolate martinis!!!!!!

If you can't do Feb (I'll help you convince him any way I can), how about F&W again next year????? Love y'all!!!!

February???

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Wow that pumpkin funnel cake looks incredible, and everything at Tutto also looks great. I haven't been there in a while, but maybe it's time to go back!

 

[Linda67]

I was seriously beginning to worry that the Pumpkin Funnel Cake wouldn't be able to live up to expectations

I can now rest easy knowing that you loved it

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

DS and I had a nice lunch at Tutto in '08 but we haven't been back since. I hear they are renovated next year so I may have to schedule it in for next trip. That short rib looks delicious!

Hoping one of you tries the Samoan at Kona ... it was amazing!

 

[LisaKeys]

OK, I've been following this report daily, and haven't seen Shula's. I just went through every page again seeing where I missed it, and I still don't see a review (but saw where you were going to be booking it for this trip), yet I have two new posts talking about how wonderful your review of Shula's looked. HELP!!! Can someone please tell me the post #? thanks for helping an old gal out. hehehe

 

[AshClan]

Post #440, Lisa

Nicki, you continue to amaze me. I can't imagine how you find the time to update us so often. It is WONDERFUL!! Truly makes us feel like we are there with you!

I can't believe Todd doesn't like the chimichurri sauce...that's the best part!!! Mmmm I don't care if it looks yucky, that Coq au Vin in France was so delicious! Glad to hear you liked the Cosmo slushie too! It IS a lot sweeter than the Grey Goose, though, so I can understand Todd liking that better. I remember we all said the same thing about that chocolate torte...it was TINY!!!

For our next trip (in April), I've decided to go with Via Napoli instead of Tutto, but now I want to try that short rib! It looks heavenly. I had the short rib at the Wave a few weeks ago, and that was really really good, too!

Bless you for keeping us up to date. Hope you have another great day today! I love Kona breakfast.

 

[CrystalCastle]

Pumpkin Funnel Cake time! So glad you enjoyed it! I could almost smell it from your description. I love that smell and now feel the need to bake a pumpkin pie.

 

[lovethattink]

Pumpkin funnel cake is now calling me...

 

[sydneysmom]

I'm in fooooooodie heaven reading this !! it's always a fun ride to join you both on vacation.....

okay, I have to ask, how do you like Boardwalk ?? If you think of it, can you post some pics and do a mini-Boardwalk review ? ( I know it's a food review, but I'm so curious about Boardwalk !) We're thinking about trying either BW or YC next trip.....

oh, and the pumpkin funnel cake.... ahhhhh........looks divine.

 

[Shleedogg]

Ugh, only 3 more days until that funnel cake is in my belly! Every review I read of Tutto looks so good, and service reviews are always good. We must have hit it on a really off night. I guess I'll have to give it another try on a future trip. This time we're trying Via Napoli, I can't wait! Hopefully I like the arancini more than Todd does.

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

Oh, that pumpkin funnel cake looks good! When I was there 2 weeks ago, my kids got funnel cakes but they wouldn't get pumpkin. Since they can barely finish a half of one by themselves (and they REFUSED to share with each other), I decided to just eat off their plates rather than get the pumpkin one. I wish I had gotten it though, especially after your review!!

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

First off, what planet have I been on that I missed this much of your review??

Sorry that I'm checking in late, I've had Disney Mom's Panel on the brain as I'm waiting to see if I made it to Round 3

We were both intrigued by the loukoumades or Greek Donuts and knew that since we were there we might as well try them....they are little donuts that are covered in honey and cinnamon and served with a raspberry and chocolate sauce to dip in.

Neither of us liked these....they were hard and dry and covered in honey that has hardened. I had one bite and that was more than enough. Todd ate one and tried the others to see if they were softer but they were all like little rocks so he gave up. The raspberry sauce was very tart and he said the chocolate sauce was like Hershey's syrup.

Ok, those don't look ANYTHING like the loukoumades I've had before! We have an amazing Greek restaurant about 10 minutes away and I've never tried Kouzzina because I'm afraid it won't measure up.

The loukoumades at our restaurant is leftover pita dough, cut into thick strips, fried, drizzled with honey and cinnamon and topped with ice cream and apples! It's like funnel-cake on crack

 

[deenbrad]

OMG I want a pumpkin funnel cake

 

[LisaKeys]

Post #440, Lisa

Thanks for the heads up, Susan! Found it with your help.

 

[MickeyNicki]

Yes, we left you some of the sangria. We had a bottle of wine and Godiva chocolate martinis!!!!!!

If you can't do Feb (I'll help you convince him any way I can), how about F&W again next year????? Love y'all!!!!

We miss you already!! Hope you had a safe flight home...Oct plans are 19-29 back at the BWI!

Omygosh!! Those tomatoes look heavenly!! I miss August tomatoes already about now. ~wonder if they grow those in Epcot..

Well, youguys have fun @ Kona & MK,can't wait to check back 2m night, like a good book!!

Tomatoes are really DH thing, I can take them or leave them but when they are so flavorful I can eat alot of them!

Way to rock the slushies!!!

I the Gin Blossoms!!!

Ok, if you and Todd are going to sneak up for a quick weekend, I think it should be the last one in Jan, please

And I think you have almost convinced me to change our Sep trip to an Oct one for F&W and stay at Beach Club. You and jeff could celebrate ur bdays together No BWV-creepy clowns are not my thing. Now to convince Kathy........

Mary, I was feeling great! Love those slushies! Would love to come up in Jan and Feb! If you do decide to come up in Oct we will be here 19-29 and hope to stay at the BWI again, AP discounts will decide that, but we never visit the clown pool!

Tutto looks great! Your appetizer looks so good, I love tomatoes and basil and olive oil.

It was fantastic!

February???

Maybe

Wow that pumpkin funnel cake looks incredible, and everything at Tutto also looks great. I haven't been there in a while, but maybe it's time to go back!

The entire nights meals was amazing, I heard they are closing TI from Jan through April.

I was seriously beginning to worry that the Pumpkin Funnel Cake wouldn't be able to live up to expectations

I can now rest easy knowing that you loved it

It sure lived up to the hype Linda!

DS and I had a nice lunch at Tutto in '08 but we haven't been back since. I hear they are renovated next year so I may have to schedule it in for next trip. That short rib looks delicious!

Hoping one of you tries the Samoan at Kona ... it was amazing!

Yes they will be under reno for 4 months! Kona coming up...the plan was to get the Samoan but....

Nicki, you continue to amaze me. I can't imagine how you find the time to update us so often. It is WONDERFUL!! Truly makes us feel like we are there with you!

I can't believe Todd doesn't like the chimichurri sauce...that's the best part!!! Mmmm I don't care if it looks yucky, that Coq au Vin in France was so delicious! Glad to hear you liked the Cosmo slushie too! It IS a lot sweeter than the Grey Goose, though, so I can understand Todd liking that better. I remember we all said the same thing about that chocolate torte...it was TINY!!!

For our next trip (in April), I've decided to go with Via Napoli instead of Tutto, but now I want to try that short rib! It looks heavenly. I had the short rib at the Wave a few weeks ago, and that was really really good, too!

Bless you for keeping us up to date. Hope you have another great day today! I love Kona breakfast.

I am so happy you are enjoying them! I get a second wind late at night so I dont mind posting pics and such..plus if I do it right away I wont forget a thing! Wish I had another night to eat at TI again...or maybe Shulas??

Pumpkin Funnel Cake time! So glad you enjoyed it! I could almost smell it from your description. I love that smell and now feel the need to bake a pumpkin pie.

As soon as I get home I am baking some pumpkin bread!