Food & Wine, HHN 30, & More (Sep 2021 Reviews from Disney & Universal) Completed 12/18

[kastoney]

So glad to see The Palm redeemed itself and you all had a great anniversary dinner. We have a Palm in DC but I haven't been in forever. Always remember it being delicious though.

 

[Raeven]

I`m so glad you had such a good experience again at The Palm. The steaks there are among some of our favourites for sure.

Food looks as good as ever and glad you had good service too.....I do like Josh`s expression......lol.......and yes, it`s one of the few places we do always make a reservation for as it`s always busy, even on a so called quiet Monday night.

Yes it was really good this time! lol

Nice pictures as always......

Thank you!

So glad to see The Palm redeemed itself and you all had a great anniversary dinner. We have a Palm in DC but I haven't been in forever. Always remember it being delicious though.

​

 

[amalone1013]

It was mostly melon.

I feel like most melon smells like nausea to me yes that makes no sense

I'm glad the Palm was better this time! No arguing about if things were on the menu or not. The gnocchi looks so good!

 

[Raeven]

I feel like most melon smells like nausea to me yes that makes no sense

I'm glad the Palm was better this time! No arguing about if things were on the menu or not. The gnocchi looks so good!

Yes! and omg the gnocchi was amazing!​

 

[Raeven]

Arepas & Florean's

So on the way into the park we decided to grab a light lunch at the new Arepas truck.

I got the:

Queso Arepa
Cornmeal cake filled with shredded mozzarella cheese, mayo ketchup, and cilantro



This was kind of flavorless, and I feel like maybe I should've tried the beef one. Mayo-ketchup with just cheese was a weird combo. The arepas also took forever to make (probably about 15 mins each order) and unfortunately I dropped my first one right before I got to a table and the pigeons descended on it.


(I think this is exactly what happened ).

So I had to wait for them to make another. I also felt like there wasn't very much filling in it, and the $9 price was a little high for what you get.

Josh got the:

Carnitas Arepa
Cornmeal cake filled with slow-roasted pulled pork, cojita cheese, mayo ketchup, and cilantro



He thought it was okay, but I think he felt similarly to me about the worth of it.

I also grabbed some chocolate ice cream at Florean's which was delicious as usual.



Now onto our much more exciting dinner!

Bice Ristorante

I've talked about Bice in so many other DTR's that Alyssa said she'd decided to book it too, and we ended up booking it at the exact same time on the same day.



So we got to say hi on the way in.

Josh got some gluten free bread & I got my bread and dipping oils/balsamic.



The balsamic is my favorite, and I had lots of bread, but Josh managed to finish two baskets of bread.


For appetizers Josh got the:

Carpaccio di manzo
Beef Tenderloin Carpaccio, pickled Onions,crispy Capers, Truffle Aioli



Josh loves this appetizer and always devours it.

I got the:

La Caprese Classica
Fresh burrata Mozzarella, Vine ripened Tomatoes, Basil Pesto



The burrat was super creamy, and delicious.

Onto our entrees!




I got the :

Pappardelle al Telefono
Pappardelle,Mozzarella, fresh Basil, Tomato Cream Sauce

As usual this was delicious and the sauce was really creamy and cheesy this time.

Josh got the:

Tagliatelle alla Bolognese
gluten free Tagliatelle, slow braised Bolognese ragu’,Marinara
This is Josh's favorite dish here, and he enjoyed it like always.

I was way too full for anymore food, but Josh enjoyed a cappuccino for dessert.



We also went out on the deck before heading downstairs, and the view of the resort was gorgeous from up there.





We went around 5/5:30 pm and while the restaurant wasn't busy yet it definitely gets busy so I'd recommend making a reservation. We've never experienced anything other than amazing food and service here which is why it's one of our favorite restaurants to come to on vacation. One of the reasons I was so excited to stay at Portofino is because we would be very close to Bice. I'd highly recommend this restaurant to anyone staying at a Universal resort or in the Orlando area if they wanted a nice night out and some Italian food. ​

 

[amalone1013]

The balsamic is my favorite, and I had lots of bread, but Josh managed to finish two baskets of bread.

Champion of bread, I salute him!

The basalmic was delicious. It makes me want to buy some fancy kind to dip bread in at home. Normally I'm not big on basalmic for cooking, dressing, etc but this was amazing.

Tagliatelle alla Bolognese
gluten free Tagliatelle, slow braised Bolognese ragu’,Marinara

I actually got to try this because they accidentally brought me this instead of the Cappellaccio that I'd ordered. It was so good too! And I'm just not a red sauce fan but I think it's because cheaper/lower quality sauces just rely on being overpowering, at least to my taste buds.

This was easily one of our favorite meals of the trip and everything was amazing. I'm so glad I finally listened to your reviews! And I still can't believe we booked the exact same time

 

[kastoney]

Your dinner at Bice looks delicious. Reminds me a lot of Il Mulino

 

[Raeven]

The basalmic was delicious. It makes me want to buy some fancy kind to dip bread in at home. Normally I'm not big on basalmic for cooking, dressing, etc but this was amazing.

Same! I usually don't use Balsamic but I love it there.

This was easily one of our favorite meals of the trip and everything was amazing. I'm so glad I finally listened to your reviews! And I still can't believe we booked the exact same time

Yay, I'm glad you liked it! I still think it's funny that we both picked the same time

Your dinner at Bice looks delicious. Reminds me a lot of Il Mulino

It was so good! We haven't been to Il Mulino, but maybe someday.​

 

[Raeven]

Mythos Restaurant

I started our Islands of Adventure day with a lunch at Mythos with Alyssa and Zack. We had a great time talking and missed the daily rainstorm while we were inside.


Mythos has top notch theming, and is my favorite restaurant in the Universal parks. The interior is one of the coolest things, and the food is almost always amazing. (I think we had one meal a few years ago that wasn't great, but every other time it's been amazing).

Alyssa and I both got the:

Spinach and Ricotta Ravioli
Davina tomatoes, sweet peas, herb whipped ricotta, basil pesto sauce


(It was a good coincidence that we ordered the same thing since I didn't take pictures of anyone else's food but my own. Zack got the Gnocchi dish that I had in 2019 and said it was good).

Unlike most ravioli dishes this had a good amount of ravioli in it. I really liked these, but I wanted a little more ricotta. The one thing I didn't count on from the description was that there were a lot of onions in this dish, but I took them off. (I like onions, but not on everything, and usually only in small amounts).

Alyssa and I got the same dessert too:

Chocolate Banana Gooey Cake
warm flourless chocolate cake drizzled with caramel sauce, topped with peanut butter ice cream, and candied bananas



This is always my favorite dessert here, and it's so good! All the flavors work so well together. The chocolate, caramel, peanut butter ice cream, and banana is amazing. Alyssa and I both felt the same way about our dishes, and Zack got a Creme Brûlée which he enjoyed as well.

All in all another great meal at Mythos. Service was a little slow, but we were catching up so we didn't mind taking our time.

Now what you've all been waiting for....



HHN Snack Pt 1

These first two items were from the bakery in the Tribute Store. First of all the:

Red Velvet Cookie Dough Bite



I thought this was the cutest one with the little chocolate knife on top. This was pretty good, but I didn't think it tasted much like red velvet, more like a birthday cake flavor.

Bride of Frankenstein Cake



This cake looked so cool! It was also pretty tasty, but a little messy and hard to eat. If they hadn't given me a plate with the other snack, I have no idea how I would've eaten it in the park. The reason being every part of it was encased in chocolate which while delicious, couldn't really be cut through with a plastic knife. (So what you see even on the cake part is a chocolate shell). There was actual cake inside which was very good, and inside the hair which was hollow chocolate was also some chocolate ganache and raspberry). There were so many flavors, and they all worked very well together.

Pumpkin Dulce De Leche Churro



This was from a booth near Men In Black that I believe was the Wicked Growth booth. It took a bite or two, but once you get to the filling it's very good. I liked the pumpkin/caramel flavor of the churro.

From the Hill House booth we tried all the different grilled cheese sandwiches. (Brisket, Jalapeño, and just regular cheese).



Zack had the Brisket which he said was good. Alyssa and I split the other two. The cheese was fine but a little greasy, and not the best grilled cheese sandwich I've ever had. But I thought the Jalapeño was the best one. I liked the cream cheese and the bacon, and the sandwich itself wasn't too spicy. It had the most flavor, and I'd highly recommend it.

From the Texas Chainsaw Massacre booth I grabbed the:

Leatherface Cherry Pie



I loved this. I loved that they had the face on top. It was also a really large dessert (the tin was pretty deep) so it was definitely worth the money. The pie was filled with delicious, gooey, and warm cherry filling.

Alyssa and Zack got the:

Fried Oreos



I think these were from the Chance themed carnival food booth. They thought these were very good, and I kind of wish I'd tried one now.

From the Tribute Store I also had to try the:

Gourmet S'more



I think this is a weird take on a S'more, and I think it should be called "Little S'mores Guy" which is what I called it. The fact that the marshmallow is on the outside (making it very sticky to handle), and that it has eyes must be what make it gourmet. It also tasted nothing like a s'more. The filling was pure chocolate, but thicker than you'd expect. (It had the taste and consistency of chocolate frosting). I'm glad I got it, but wouldn't get it again.

And of course we had to get a:

Twisted Tater
In 2019, I got one delicious Twisted Tater, and one so covered in salt I couldn't feel my tongue so these can be a bit of a tossup. This year the salt and vinegar flavor didn't come back so we got the sour cream and chive one. Luckily, these were evenly coated, and very good.

And finally I had to get the:

S'mores Fries



Just like in 2019 this was a delicious chocolatey snack. There's three kinds of chocolate in this dish so that is the main flavor. These dishes aren't deep, but I don't think you'd need any more than you see here because they're very filling. These were just as good as I remember, and I hope they keep coming back because I'm not a fan of the pizza fry toppings. ​

 

[archdandy]

The snacks! I didn't know Universal got so creative with their Halloween snacks. I kinda wish Disney did something similar.

I've never heard of Bice before so now it's on my radar for possible meals at Universal. We are only doing one so it's gonna be a tough decision. I keep hearing good things about Mythos too. It seems to be pretty popular.

 

[KathyM2]

This was kind of flavorless, and I feel like maybe I should've tried the beef one. Mayo-ketchup with just cheese was a weird combo.

That is disappointing! It sounds like a great portable snack!

One of the reasons I was so excited to stay at Portofino is because we would be very close to Bice. I'd highly recommend this restaurant to anyone staying at a Universal resort or in the Orlando area if they wanted a nice night out and some Italian food.

Have to try to remember this next time. I have not tried any table service at US because I guess I never spend enough time in those parks that I want to take time for a sit down meal? But I think covid may have changed my thinking on that...

Mythos has top notch theming, and is my favorite restaurant in the Universal parks.

Looks amazing

The chocolate, caramel, peanut butter ice cream, and banana is amazing. Alyssa and I both felt the same way about our dishes, and Zack got a Creme Brûlée which he enjoyed as well.

I love anything peanut butter and this sounds so good.

Bride of Frankenstein Cake

Love this! Too bad it was so hard to eat!

S'mores Fries

It was not clear from the photo...are these like actual potato fries with smores toppings? Not sure how I feel about that!

 

[kastoney]

Mythos has top notch theming, and is my favorite restaurant in the Universal parks. The interior is one of the coolest things, and the food is almost always amazing. (I think we had one meal a few years ago that wasn't great, but every other time it's been amazing).

I don't think I've ever read anything about this restaurant before (or if I did my feeble mind has long since forgotten). But love the cave look of it

Chocolate Banana Gooey Cake
warm flourless chocolate cake drizzled with caramel sauce, topped with peanut butter ice cream, and candied bananas

Um yum!!! This looks delicious

I thought this was the cutest one with the little chocolate knife on top.

Had to laugh out loud that the knife and blood everyone was "cute" in the Raeven book

From the Hill House booth we tried all the different grilled cheese sandwiches. (Brisket, Jalapeño, and just regular cheese).

These look good but what in the world does grilled cheese have to do with Hill House?

I loved this. I loved that they had the face on top. It was also a really large dessert (the tin was pretty deep) so it was definitely worth the money. The pie was filled with delicious, gooey, and warm cherry filling.

This is amazing!!!!!!! Now I suddenly want to make a pie like this for Thanksgiving

I would have been all over the salt and vinegar as there is never enough vinegar on anything to please me, but these looks delicious too. What a fun and different way to serve potatoes

 

[Raeven]

The snacks! I didn't know Universal got so creative with their Halloween snacks. I kinda wish Disney did something similar.

This is the first year they've had so many, but yes I wish Disney did the same this year!

I've never heard of Bice before so now it's on my radar for possible meals at Universal. We are only doing one so it's gonna be a tough decision. I keep hearing good things about Mythos too. It seems to be pretty popular.

Both are delicious! But they're pretty different. I'd recommend Bice for more upscale resort dining and serves Italian food, Mythos is more casual and in the parks and has a more Greek/Mediterranean menu.

That is disappointing! It sounds like a great portable snack!

Honestly they were really messy too, I don't think they'd be very portable.

Have to try to remember this next time. I have not tried any table service at US because I guess I never spend enough time in those parks that I want to take time for a sit down meal? But I think covid may have changed my thinking on that...

That makes sense. I don't do a lot of table service in the parks there, but more at the resorts and Citywalk.

It was not clear from the photo...are these like actual potato fries with smores toppings? Not sure how I feel about that!

Sweet potato fries! Lol the whole dish is sweet.

I don't think I've ever read anything about this restaurant before (or if I did my feeble mind has long since forgotten). But love the cave look of it

It's really cool! That whole area was mostly taken over by the Harry Potter section, but it's in what remains of the Lost Continent area, and the theming is so cool.

Had to laugh out loud that the knife and blood everyone was "cute" in the Raeven book

Adorable little bloody knives

These look good but what in the world does grilled cheese have to do with Hill House?

They called them "tea sandwiches"

This is amazing!!!!!!! Now I suddenly want to make a pie like this for Thanksgiving

You should!

I would have been all over the salt and vinegar as there is never enough vinegar on anything to please me, but these looks delicious too. What a fun and different way to serve potatoes

I'm the same way with vinegar! ​

 

[Raeven]

Food & Wine Pt 1

I started this day solo & once I got to Disney I headed to Epcot for some Food & Wine.

The first thing I got was from the Refreshment Port:

Braised Beef Poutine
French Fries, Boursin Garlic & Fine Herbs Cheese Sauce, Cheese Curds, and Gherkin Relish



This was about $10, but it was a huge portion. You all know how much I love classic poutine, but I also loved this variation on it. I wasn't sure all the flavors would go together in the beginning, but ended up thinking they went together really well. The braised beef reminded me of the braised beef in the Belgium booth which is one of my favorite dishes (but that booth wasn't open yet when I went), there was a lot of cheesiness with the curds and the Boursin which I loved, and the Gherkin relish which was what I was the most skeptical about went really well with the other flavors.

I also stopped to try this flight and get some air conditioning in the Brew Wing booth/pavilion.



The cider's were in the order they were on the card. The Honeycrisp was nice and refreshing, the Magpie was delicious and tasted like apples and cinnamon, and the roasted pumpkin was far too sweet, and the only one I didn't finish. I'm glad I went with the flight because if I'd just picked one it probably would've been the pumpkin, and the Magpie was actually my favorite.

On the way out I stopped at Flavors From Fire to get the:

The S’mores Whoopie Pie-lon
Smoked Chocolate Cake, Graham Cracker, Marshmallow, Chocolate Ganache, and Candied Bacon





I liked this, but it wasn't my favorite. It was mostly chocolate-y, but I didn't find the candied bacon as over the top as it can sometimes be on things.

After my trip to Food & Wine, I had to go back to the room to do some laundry and pick up a cake for later. Michelle and Chris were arriving that night, and I was planning a little surprise for Michelle's birthday.

I had ordered one of the Chocolate Celebration cakes that morning:



You can order them from any QS location at the resorts now if you just want the regular chocolate or vanilla. I ordered mine in the morning, and picked it up later that day, but I don't think you need to order them that far ahead of time. I just wanted to make sure I got the time slot of my choice. This cake was adorable, and I think it was under $40. This cake serves about 6 I think and there were only 3 of us so we didn't finish it all that night. It was good, but very very chocolate-y. They do also have cakes at Amorette's, but they're a little more expensive, and all of them have a mix of flavors vs just being chocolate.

Chef Art Smith's Homecomin'

After Michelle and Chris got in we went to dinner at Homecomin'.

I got the:

Fried Chicken Sandwich
Buttermilk-brined for 24 hours and hand-battered, dressed with hot sauce, aioli, iceberg lettuce, tomato and bread and butter pickles. I got a side of mac and cheese.



This sandwich was delicious. I always love getting the fried chicken, but the dish with just fried chicken is usually too much food for me. This sandwich was the perfect size, and the mac and cheese was creamy and cheesy as always.

I know everyone enjoyed their meal, but I didn't take notes on all their food so here's some pictures! I believe Chris got a hamburger with the mac and cheese.



And Michelle got the Country Fried Steak with green beans.

​

 

[KathyM2]

This sandwich was delicious. I always love getting the fried chicken, but the dish with just fried chicken is usually too much food for me. This sandwich was the perfect size, and the mac and cheese was creamy and cheesy as always.

This sounds so good. I really hope to get to try this place for the fried chicken in any form lol

 

[Raeven]

The Daily Poutine & Tony's Town Square Restaurant

The day started off with a reunion with my favorite Disney snack. The delicious poutine at The Daily Poutine!





Everyone who's followed these reports for awhile now knows I have to get this at least once a trip. However since earlier this year I will say the portion's been a little smaller. Still the fries are perfectly crisp and delicious with the squeaky cheese curds and warm gravy.

Before we went to Boo Bash later that night Michelle, Chris, and I decided to put the theory that Tony's has the worst food in Disney World to the test.
I've always been curious at how bad this restaurant actually is, and I do love the Lady and the Tramp theming.



Once we were seated they started us off with some bread and dipping oil.



I thought the bread lacked any real flavor, and wasn't really crazy about it compared to those delicious crispy rolls and sea salt butter they serve elsewhere.

For an appetizer I got the:

Fried Mozzarella
Herb-marinated Fresh Mozzarella with Creamy Tomato Sauce



The fried mozzarella was pretty good. (Although when isn't fried mozzarella good? ) But the sauce also lacked any real flavor.

Chris got the same appetizer as me, and agreed with my assessment. Michelle got the Caprese Salad, and enjoyed it.
For an entree I got the:

Chicken Parmigiana
Lightly-breaded Chicken Breast with Provolone and Tony's Marinara Sauce over Spaghetti



This was decent Chicken Parm. It wasn't really good, but it wasn't bad either. It was kind of like eating a meal at Olive Garden. (But without the delicious breadsticks and salad). It wasn't the best I'd ever had, but I wouldn't hate to have it again.

Michelle got the:

Roman-style Steak
Herb-marinated New York Strip Loin Steak, Blistered Tomatoes, Broccolini, Roasted Potatoes, and Caper-Herb-Butter Sauce



& Chris got the:

Tony's Pizza Pie
Hand-tossed Pizza Dough, Blend of Cheeses, and Tony's Pizza Sauce. with Pepperoni



Both of them agreed with the assessment that it was good, but not great.

While I think the theming in Tony's is cute, and if you're looking for a location to eat on Main St it's pretty convenient. It definitely wouldn't be my first choice in Magic Kingdom. I do think it's easier to get an ADR here than a lot of the other restaurants, but I don't see myself going back there anytime soon. I consider it kind of the Olive Garden of Disney, and if you like that it's fine, but I also wouldn't go out of my way for that on vacation when I could get something similar at home.

I will say I don't think it's the worst restaurant I've ever eaten at, and I'm not sure if I'd even say it's the worst restaurant at Disney. We've had some bad experiences at other restaurants, and overall the food was okay and the service wasn't bad at this meal. But I do think the food was definitely lacking flavor. I do also think the prices are a bit high for what you're getting (the chicken parm alone was $26), but a lot of restaurants on property have similar pricing. ​

 

[kastoney]

Oh this looks amazing. I am so wishing we would have gotten this at Food and Wine. I was "worried" it was too big and would fill us up but now I think that would have been just fine.

This sandwich was delicious. I always love getting the fried chicken, but the dish with just fried chicken is usually too much food for me. This sandwich was the perfect size, and the mac and cheese was creamy and cheesy as always.

Great call subbing in the mac and cheese

And more poutine! Still haven't been to the Daily Poutine. We almost grabbed some on our quick September trip but it was so hot eating outside didn't seem like the best of ideas. We ate Polite Pig instead which was also quite good.

The fried mozzarella was pretty good. (Although when isn't fried mozzarella good? ) But the sauce also lacked any real flavor.

Those look pretty good. Don't think I've ever seen fried mozzarella balls before

While I think the theming in Tony's is cute, and if you're looking for a location to eat on Main St it's pretty convenient. It definitely wouldn't be my first choice in Magic Kingdom. I do think it's easier to get an ADR here than a lot of the other restaurants, but I don't see myself going back there anytime soon. I consider it kind of the Olive Garden of Disney, and if you like that it's fine, but I also wouldn't go out of my way for that on vacation when I could get something similar at home

We've never been to Tony's but your assessment is pretty much what I figured it would be. Though I've avoided Olive Garden for a good twenty years or so, so will keep away from Tony's too

 

[KathyM2]

I do also think the prices are a bit high for what you're getting (the chicken parm alone was $26), but a lot of restaurants on property have similar pricing.

I find this funny lol because I love Olive Garden lol...but I'm biased because we no longer have Olive Garden in Canada so I look forward to it in the US. BUT it IS because of their salad and breadsticks lol. But I have read some really awful reviews of Tony's and kind of glad to hear that it wasn't THAT bad. I do love the location and theming and that it's easier to get a reservation for, since I'm never really great at picking restaurants six months out if I even have a trip booked that far ahead!

 

[amalone1013]

I love the lady and the tramp theme too but your review is spot on to me.

I think zack had the chicken parm last time we went and was happy but he's easy to please and it wasn't anything special. The bread seems a bit sad when it feels like it should be such a big part being Italian food I think I had flavorless Alfredo on our last and probably final time. It's not terrible but it's not special for being on vacation, that's for sure!

 

[Raeven]

Great call subbing in the mac and cheese

Yes! They're mac and cheese is the best!

And more poutine! Still haven't been to the Daily Poutine. We almost grabbed some on our quick September trip but it was so hot eating outside didn't seem like the best of ideas. We ate Polite Pig instead which was also quite good.

Yeah it can be hard to eat it outside in the heat. Josh really likes the Polite Pig.

Those look pretty good. Don't think I've ever seen fried mozzarella balls before

I feel like in NY mozzarella is always in stick form, but a lot of the time in FL it seems to be in ball form.

I find this funny lol because I love Olive Garden lol...but I'm biased because we no longer have Olive Garden in Canada so I look forward to it in the US. BUT it IS because of their salad and breadsticks lol. But I have read some really awful reviews of Tony's and kind of glad to hear that it wasn't THAT bad. I do love the location and theming and that it's easier to get a reservation for, since I'm never really great at picking restaurants six months out if I even have a trip booked that far ahead!

Lol it would be easier to love Olive Garden if I hadn't had it so many times. But the salad and breadsticks are exactly what makes it worthwhile.

I love the lady and the tramp theme too but your review is spot on to me.

I think zack had the chicken parm last time we went and was happy but he's easy to please and it wasn't anything special. The bread seems a bit sad when it feels like it should be such a big part being Italian food I think I had flavorless Alfredo on our last and probably final time. It's not terrible but it's not special for being on vacation, that's for sure!

I felt the same way about the chicken parm. It was fine, but nothing special. Yes the bread was so sad! ​