Tuesday, May 5th: the final chapter
When dinner time rolled around, we were actually growing a little bit hungry (a sensation not experienced on our vacations….there’s always so much food, we only ever seem to be hovering in various states of fullness). We had tentatively had 4 Rivers scheduled in for this night, but we were feeling kind of slovenly (this was our “down day”, after all) and neither of us felt like the half hour drive to get there, nor the half hour back. We discussed our alternatives…..which is always entertaining, because there are so many choices…..and I suggested perhaps we give Carrabba’s a try. It had received a lotta love on my PTR, it was literally just around the corner from the Vistana, and we had a $5 off coupon from the Welcome Package that we received at the resort when we checked in. Plus, we had already had one meal of barbecue on this trip, and a second planned for one of the next few days (Bubbalou’s was one my must do’s, especially when it’s so close to Universal), so the idea of an Italian feast held a definitive appeal.
We weren’t visiting Steve’s beloved Olive Garden this trip (by mutual agreement…..this was our vacation to be new and innovative and exploratory), so in his mind, Carrabba’s would be the next best option.
It wasn’t super busy when we arrived, nor was it empty…..maybe half full. Staff where whisking about and the smells from the kitchen were divine. We were seated in a booth by one of the greeter and a few moments later, Maximillian arrived to introduce himself as our server.
Young Maximillian was a master at his craft. He was easily the best server of our trip, nudging out Marian at Finnegan’s by a teeny tiny margin (no to take away from her awesomeness, though, as she was simply fabulous too). But Max was personable, efficient, attentive, helpful, and cute as a button. He knew the menu backwards and forwards, made the most helpful suggestions, appeared quietly at all the right moments with all the right things, and somehow made us feel like we were the only table he was looking after at any time.
First off was our drink order. Maximillian talked him into a beer (I think it was happy hour, so it was ridiculously inexpensive), though he didn’t need much coaxing. Steve’s not a big drinker, but over a nice meal, occasionally he does enjoy partaking in a cold alcoholic beverage.
I wasn’t looking for anything alcoholic, nor did I want something super sweet, so Max suggested one of their housemade Italian sodas. He made it sound so darn good, I figured I’d give it a try, picking raspberry as my flavour of choice (there was another flavour offered as well, though I can’t remember what it was).
First off, you’ve gotta love it when a drink is not only tasty, but also pretty. But while this little darling was all pink and sparkly and girlishly adorable, it was also super light, super refreshing, and so nicely flavoured. Max assured me it was low calorie enough to enjoy abundantly without guilt (apparently it is mostly soda water….which oddly enough, I normally despise). I think I drank four of these babies over the course of our meal, with Steve’s occasional sip here and there.
Since we had only had donuts for lunch, we splurged and ordered an appetizer to enjoy before our entrees. Maximillian disappeared to put our requests in with the kitchen, and appeared a few moments later with some fresh warm bread with oil and spices for dipping.
So, so good. The bread was fairly light, and I didn’t feel like I was ruining my appetite for my entrée by enjoying some. Perfect!
As we neared the end of our bread basket, our appetizer made its appearance: mozzarella sticks with their house made marinara sauce (Jake would be oozing with jealousy if he knew….these are his favourite). Piping hot, crispy outside, stretchy on the inside, and the marinara was exquisite. So yummy. I had two, Steve polished off the rest of the plate.
Both entrees came with our choice of soup or salad. Steve opted for the salad, I chose the soup (in this case, a Sicilian chicken)…..he knew I’d never finish mine, so by selecting the salad, he was going to get the best of both worlds. Steve raved about the salad (though he was hoping for a larger portion) and my soup? Spectacular. I could have made a meal on that soup alone.
As more raspberry Italian sodas kept magically appearing and Max cleared our table in preparation for the arrival of our entrees, we were just commenting on how full we already were (why did we even bother to order main courses, anyway?). This is why elastic waste pants were created.
Arriving steaming hot from the kitchen, our entrees looked so delish that our appetites magically reappeared. Steve had ordered “The Johnny”, which was a boneless chicken breast, a small steak, and a side of fettuccini alfredo:
I had the fettuccini alfredo with chicken……adorned with a generous amount of freshly ground mozzarella:
Olive Garden, eat your heart out. This meal, from start to finish, was superb: it had them beat in quality, service and even atmosphere by a significant margin. We had just discovered a new favourite
.
Dessert was a physical impossibility, unfortunately…..I couldn’t even finish my fettuccini (thank goodness for take-out boxes, a full sized fridge and a microwave). The spirits were willing, but the bellies were at capacity. We covered our bill ($56 including tax, excluding tip), personally stopped to thank Maximillian for all his service of the evening and hand him a generous gratuity, and rolled ourselves out the door.
My lord, did we need some pool time tonight
.
The evening was spent (like pretty much all the others) with a swim under the stars and a marvellous soak in the hot tubs. Life is good
.
Until 3 am. In the dark of the night, we restrained ourselves from strangling our neighbours
.
Coming up next: our Wednesday at Universal Studios.....all bleary eyed and tired.
.
.
.
.
Regularly $19.99 plus tax per person, we paid 2 for $24 via Groupon, then less an additional 20% with a promo code. Total $19.20 for two.
, I will agree, but gross in the most awesome way possible, if that makes sense 
.
).
).
.
.
.
. Didn't you realize how dull my report gets without your perfectly timed spurts of wit and sarcasm?
