DAY ONE
Fairfax Fare edged out our original plans to have lunch at the Boardwalk Bakery, mostly because we are giant kids as soon as we hit the resort and want to be in a park ASAP (against our better judgment or any regard for our aging bodies). Our big goal on this trip was to try places that were new to us. The only planned repeat was Biergarten, though we did end up with a couple of unplanned repeats by the end of the trip. Enough of that... on to the food!
We asked for two Fairfax salads , a half slab of ribs, two sodas, an iced tea, 2 vanilla cakes and their special dessert, a Pink Lemonade cupcake. We received everything accurately, except for the desserts. Dessert ended up being 2 Pink Lemonade cupcakes and a Banana Parfait. When we asked about it, they told us that they were out of the other desserts and we got the last 2 cupcakes. D was a little bummed because he wanted the vanilla cake, but we moved on. We sat under the roofed area in the corner over by the Victory garden. There was a bit of a breeze and the shade was lovely.
At left, half-slab of ribs. At right, Fairfax salad. Not shown: baked beans.
The menu description of the Fairfax salad: Barbecued Pulled Pork Wedge Salad, Bacon, Roasted Corn Tomato Salsa, Crispy Tortilla Strips, and Cheddar served with a Jalapeño Ranch Dressing
Melissa and I split one salad and the ribs while D ate the other salad. The Jalapeno Ranch dressing was really good - nice little spicy kick, not too heavy or 'ranchy' (I don't like ranch dressing, as a rule). I really liked the corn tomato salsa. The pulled pork was just okay.
The ribs were cooked well and falling off the bone, but they were very heavily sauced. We've already established that I don't love wet food and when meat is sauced that much, I feel like they're trying to cover some sins. Still, they were tasty and the sauce wasn't too sweet and had a nice flavor. All in all, the entrees tasted fine and were light enough for a hot day. Thumbs up. Not way up, but still up.
I love bananas. I love bananas in desserts. Banana pudding (and really, artificially banana flavored anything) is the ranch dressing of desserts for me. I did try a bite, but I did not like it one bit. Derrick ate some as well, but pudding desserts don't seem to hold up well in high humidity and he remembers it getting a bit runny and ultimately, a forgettable experience.
The star of this meal was the Pink Lemonade cupcake.
What a good cupcake! On reflection, this was the best cupcake of the whole trip! The little pearls tasted like strawberry Quik (in a good way) and the gorgeous pink cake itself had great lemon flavor. Not too tart or too cloyingly sweet. A real Goldilocks dessert!
Look at the detail on this white chocolate decoration! Love! (Also, this close you can see the chocolate sweating, so imagine how runny that parfait was!)
All in all, I was satisfied with this meal and would eat there again - after I finish trying everything else.
Since we are giant babies in the heat, we ended up back at the resort relatively early. I just wanted to be horizontal and in AC, so I went to the room while D and Melissa ate at the food court. D brought a light dinner back for me.
A damn tasty minestrone and some meh melon.
Seriously, that was a good minestrone for anywhere. Lots of flavor, tons of veggies. Very satisfying. The melon wasn't very ripe, hence the 'meh'.
He also brought me a treat!
My first Mickey treat of the trip! I don't usually go for the chocolate-dipped ones, but it was a nice change. Anything Mickey-shaped tastes better, after all.
All in all, a decent day in QS dining!