Today dawned fresh and clear at Port Orleans Riverside. In some ways it was like coming home. We had so many great memories from our last trip here. We spent a whole lot of time at the pool on Old Man Island so I was looking forward to coming back this evening and splashing around. The big bites seemed to have eased up. I had dropped into the medical aid center at Epcot last night and scored some calamine lotion with benadryl in it and that made a huge difference. I finally was getting some relief. We took our time and had breakfast at the Riverside Mill again splitting our plates. I stopped taking pictures of breakfast (if I had ever remembered) since it all pretty much looked the same. Mickey waffles, pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausage and bacon. Nothing new or exciting here. By the time we got to the bus stop, it was already 10:00 and as had been happening all week, a bus for Hollywood Studios pulled in just as we arrived.
We squeezed in as much we could into the morning we had left making sure to fit in some little kids stuff and some mommy and daddy time on the Rockn Rollercoaster (taking turns of course) and then we had just enough time for lunch at Toy Story Pizza Planet before heading over to the Stunt Show Spectacular. This is a favorite for the girls because they recognize it from the Toy Story Movies and I actually like the pizza here. Also, DD5 is a bit of a gamer and loves the arcade part of it. We ordered a couple of Woody meals. Basically you have a choice of cheese, pepperoni or vegetarian pizza so not a lot to choose from, but the meals comes with a nice crisp garden salad and a cookie, sliced apples or a rice crispy treat. For some reason I am always surprised at how much I enjoy this pizza and the salad is really crisp and fresh. There are several choices of dressings too. I prefer the ranch. We wolfed down the food once again sharing two meals and then DH fit in one nascar game with DD5 before we hot-footed it over to The Stunt Show Spectacular.
We had a long hot afternoon at the park and were really looking forward to the slower pace of the Boardwalk. We had 5:30 adrs at Spoodles but we only got to the Hollywood us Depot at 5:10. Not good. It got worse when we realized that there was no bus to the Boardwalk from HS!
Oh but wait there is a boat and it is coming in right now. We ran down to the dock and managed to get on the boat and enjoyed a nice cruise towards The Dolphin and The Swan. When we arrived at the dock for those hotels we were told that we could either stay on board for another half hour to get to the Boardwalk or we could get off and walk for maybe 10 minutes. Off we got! It was actually a really nice walk to the Boardwalk from there. We actually made our adr right on time.
We arrived right on time and were seated almost right away. It wasnt too busy here but I found I really liked the décor. It was very colorful. We were hot and the kids had a long day so I wasnt sure how this meal would work out. We placed an order for drinks. I ordered a nice refreshing glass of sangria while DH stuck to his usual Coke.
Drinks came pretty quickly for all of us and we placed our orders. The waiter was very good at explaining what things were and making suggestions. I already knew what I wanted to start with. I ordered Steamed Mussels - Served with chorizo and saffron cream. These were delicious! I loved the combination of the chewy mussels with the flavorful sausage and the saffron cream sauce was amazing. This was the best part of the meal! You can dip the bread that they give you, did I mention the bread? Oh well you can dip it into the saffron sauce and I found this a lot tastier than the oil and olives dipping sauce that is provided.
DH passed on an appetizer and just ordered his entrée. He requested the Pan-Fried Chicken Cutlet - served with shaved Serrano ham, fennel, and arugula salad with lemon-white balsamic vinaigrette. He cleaned his plate and said her really enjoyed this although he wasnt sure that everything went well together. Keep in mind that I have never seen this man order a main course that even remotely resembled a salad. He is usually a steak and potatoes guy in a restaurant so this was a completely new experience for him. I was very proud of him for trying something new! It looks really good and I wish I had chosen as well as he had.
Now I had been having bad luck when it came to choosing entrees and that didnt change here. I ordered the Lemon-Garlic Shrimp Linguine - with preserved lemons, Italian parsley, shaved garlic and butter. This was pretty tasteless. Yes, the shrimp were cooked perfectly and a good size but the dish was just plain and fairly tasteless. Next time I will try something different like the cutlet or maybe Cornish hen.
DD5 ordered Grilled Chicken Strips with macaroni topped with marinara sauce and mozzarella. She ate some but again she finished the chicken noodle soup that came as a side.
DD3 ordered a cheese pizza. She really enjoyed this. It was done a little differently than the usual restaurants and made for something at least a little varied for the kids menu.
For dessert I actually forgot to take pictures but they had samples that looked a little unreal out front so I snapped pictures of them instead. I promise that the actual desserts looked a lot more appetizing and moist! DH ordered the Chocolate Financier Cake - Rich dark chocolate cake with crunchy hazelnuts served with mocha gelato and port cassis glaze. He really enjoyed the cake but he had forgotten that mocha implied coffee and so he ate very little of the ice cream.
I ordered the Baklava -almond and walnut baklava with dried fruit compote. This was delicious! I love baklava to begin with but the compote on top was delicious and juicy despite what this picture shows you. Once again I scored perfectly on the appetizer and the dessert. Eventually I am going to end up passing on the entrée altogether!
I really enjoyed Spoodles for something different. I would try a different entrée next time, but I would definitely come back. I plan to try the Flying Fish first however.
We dropped into the Boardwalk confectionary and picked out some yummy treats. DD3 got too close to the glass case and actually bumped her nose into it. She started to cry and the CM quickly gave her whatever she wanted to stop the crying. She walked out of there with a free Nemo iced cookie. Nicely done my little Squish!
It's just the title of a thread on a Disney Board. Not Bon Appetite magazine.
I don't think we will be heading back to Le Cellier anytime soon. It isn't worth the effort of getting an adr. There are so many other places to try and a lot of them are not included in the Dining Plan. 
I guess its a good thing that I couldn't get adrs there for our Sept trip.
