Victoria and Albert’s Chef’s Table Dinner: Walt Disney World May 2018

During our most recent Walt Disney World vacation we were able to enjoy dinner at Victoria & Albert’s Chef’s Table in the Grand Floridian Resort.  The last time we enjoyed this experience was in 2011 with just the two of us dining.   This year we invited long-time friends to join us.    There’s only one seating per night in the kitchen and to get that reservation you need to call six months in advance. For us, that meant remembering to make the phone call during our Bahamas vacation.

We were staying at Bay Lake Towers for this portion of the trip which made it convenient to navigate transportation in dress-up clothes.   Meeting our friends in the Grand Concourse we took the Monorail over to the Grand Floridian, leaving time for a pre-cocktail at Mizner’s Lounge.  We were greeted outside of the restaurant and were told it would be just a minute as they prepared for us.  It wasn’t too long before we were escorted through the dining area into the kitchen.  The dining table is off to one end of the kitchen to give diners a length-wise view to the action.  

One thing we observed in the beginnings their timing seemed off. The chef didn’t greet us right away, which was odd. Turns out a staff meeting was running late and Chef Amy was still at the meeting.  Our backup chef decided to start our toast.  Chef Amy joined us a few minutes later.  There were several times the ladies were not served first.  

Dinner at the Chef’s Table is a set ten-course meal that changes seasonally.  Offerings at the Chef’s Table are the same as in the main dining room.  Surprisingly it’s only a slight up-charge to eat in the kitchen, just requires luck to score the ressie.   We all chose to add the wine pairing which included three whites, three reds, and a dessert wine. We skipped the caviar, turbot, and Miyazaki upgrades.  At various points during dinner a different fresh bread is served along with your choice of salt and butter.

We were not fans of the duck pastrami.  We heard it is no longer on the menu - maybe a result of our dining companions sharing their opinion of the dish with the chef.

After dinner we were presented with a box of small candies to choose from.  Being full we asked for them to be boxed.   We were disappointed to find they did not box one of each for us.  Don’t know why - they had plenty.  

One of the more fun experiences we had in the kitchen was watching the chefs make stock.   Two large (20 gallon maybe) cook pots were close to our rooms doorway.  We watched the chefs stir the contents displaying whole garlic cloves, bones, other vegetables, etc.   this stock would be cooked down over 5 days.   

It was probably a little after 10 o’clock when we finished up our coffees and paying our bills.   We had a chance to get a photo with the staff, which was nice.  The quality of the food and knowledge of the staff still remains impressive.  On this night the attention to details slipped a little but it still did not detract from the experience.

Disney World Trip Highlights - May/June 2018

Every few years we book a week+ long trip to Disney World in May.   Typically we do this around Mother’s Day but since Dave started with a new company last year his vacation allotment reset, causing us to take advantage of the Memorial Day holiday to minimize vacation use.   We figured there would be a noticeable difference in the crowds for the holiday weekend, but it actually wasn’t any worse than earlier in the month. 

We’re going to cover the highlights in the post vs. a day-by-day account of our trip.   We spent the first 6 nights at Bay Lake Tower (attached to the Contemporary Resort) followed by 4 nights at Boardwalk Resort.   We are DVC (Disney Vacation Club) members.

We landed early Friday evening and rushed through MCO to our rental car.   We dropped everything off in the hotel room so we could head right into the Magic Kingdom to see the Happily Ever After fireworks show.   Holly was a big fan of Wishes and we both decided the new show was not a very good replacement – definitely less pyrotechnics and more castle projections (which are hard to see with all the darn kids on parents’ shoulders).

Memorial Day Weekend marked the last few days of Epcot’s Flower and Garden Festival.  This put the pressure on us to hit all the food booths around World Showcase that we wanted to try.   Overall offerings this year were not as good as they have been in the past.   Epcot did look great and it was fun to watch the flowers slowly disappear later in the week when the festival closed.   We took in The Spinners at the Garden Rocks concert.  Fun show!

Trader Sam’s at the Polynesian is still a fun place to enjoy the evening (outdoors).  We were happy to see that Disney did not get rid of the guitarist/singer on the terrace. 

California Grill is back on our top dining list.   We had really bad service on our last visit to the restaurant and the changes to the menu items at that time were not our favorite.  Now with the former Jiko chef at the helm things are back the way we like them.   We ate a late (10pm) dinner one night at the bar and then a normal time dinner the following evening.   The filet with the tamarind BBQ was as good as ever.   Our motto for Disney dining in May still held true:  If Zellwood corn is on the menu get it.  The corn chowder was fantastic!

We dined with friends one night at Victoria and Albert’s Chef’s Table.   We had a great night watching the kitchen team in action and enjoying great food and wine.   That evening will get a detailed post of its own.





We had a surprisingly good lunch at The Wave in the Contemporary.  We didn’t want park food or food court food and found this a decent option.  We split the appetizer mussels and Asian pork belly buns.   There were a few decent beers on tap.   This is a perfect break from the Magic Kingdom.

Disney Springs has become an enjoyable place to eat and drink.   We experienced Paddlefish, Dockside Margaritas, Polite Pig, The Edison, Morimoto Asia, and more.

 Afternoon tea at the Grand Floridian is still a fun break from the Magic Kingdom.

 This summer Animal Kingdom started an event in Dino Land called Donald’s Dino-Bash.   The premise is Donald Duck discovers ducks are descended from Dinosaurs and throws a party. Uncle Scrooge is fighting with some rival duck over whom was the first duck clan of Scotland.  There’s some decent theming and backstory in the Uncle Scrooge photo opp area.  Other photo opps include Launchpad McQuack, Chip & Dale in cute dinosaur onesies, Pluto, Daisy, and Goofy.   We hit the character stops before they opened (at 10am) and breezed through them.   In the afternoon the hold a dance party in the courtyard.   By dance party think Disney Jr. vs. Dj Elliott.

 Incredible Summer was occurring in Magic Kingdom’s Tomorrowland.   Characters from the Incredibles movies were out along with some photo opp backgrounds and a stage show/dance party.   Banners were all over the place and the regular Tomorrowland music loop was replaced by an Incredibles themed soundtrack.   We weren’t fans of this since 1) we don’t really enjoy The Incredibles and 2) it replaced the theming of Tomorrowland.   Dino-Bash was an add-on vs. an overhaul.   There’s rumor Edna Mode is going to narrate the Tomorrowland Transit Authority.   If that’s true it’s time to bring headphones with us to stream an old narration.

We dined at Spice Road Table in Epcot’s Morocco for the first time.   We never included this location on our dining list before because the outside patio area was usually empty when we passed by.  They have a great location on the water so something must be wrong if it’s empty.  We booked a table in time to see Illuminations (fireworks show) and enjoyed how close we were to the action in the lagoon.  Then we remembered this used to be where we watched Illuminations before they built the restaurant.   Food was good, portions were large and reasonably priced.  We could come back and share an appetizer and share an entrée and be content.

Several months ago Dooney & Bourke  released a purse with a Disney dog pattern that Holly was after.  She missed out online at the release date (setting an alarm to get up in the middle of the night).  While we were on property some were being released in very limited amounts.    We got to Animal Kingdom later than we normally would one morning and she missed it by 10 minutes.  We started rope-dropping stores selling purses vs. attractions for a few days after that.   No luck.

Flights of Wonder bird show in Animal Kingdom was overhauled to be Up! A Great Bird Adventure.   By doing this they have incorporated characters from Up! into the show.   The birds are basically the same, just the main narrator’s “Eat, Pray, Love” shtick is more annoying than the tour guide shtick from the old show

Even though it was his birthday, Dave agreed to go to the princess character breakfast at Trattoria al Forno in the Boardwalk Resort.   Characters are not his thing, especially ones that talk back.   The food was good – can’t argue with steak at 8am and the character interaction was quick.    They had the annoying kid parade around the restaurant and other songs so be ready for that.   The characters were nice and knew to limit interaction with Dave, even when they found out it was his birthday.   This is worth a try if you want to see Ariel, Rapunzel, and related princes.

Since we are on the topic of the Boardwalk Resort we’ll cover our check-in mishap.   We left Animal Kingdom around 3:45 and finally got the notice that are room was ready.   We arrived, asked Bell Services to bring our bags (we dropped them off earlier that day), and went to our unclean room.   The room had not been serviced.   Dave called the desk (which is a central line for all the hotels) while Holly went to the desk directly.   We were told it would be 45 minutes and received some compensation for our troubles.   45 minutes turned into almost 2 hours.   After some additional conversations were received 3 bonus Fast Passes (shorter wait tickets) per day.   

We were going to write a glowing review of Matboukha Groove at Epcot’s Morocco Pavilion but the band is no longer there.   They engaged the crowd with their high-energy performance.   Sahara Beat is the replacement act.

Brown Derby’s outdoor lounge in the Hollywood Studios is still enjoyable.  It’s a really nice dining venue with great appetizer selections and the chance to get Zellwood corn soup from the inside menu if you ask nice.    Sitting at a two-top we were not given the advantage of an umbrella for shade.   While dining around noon the breeze had stopped and the sun shifted perfectly over us.   It was HOT!

Those were some of the highlights.  We'll return back to Disney World Labor Day Weekend for a few fun days at Epcot's International Food & Wine Festival (Tiffany is performing that weekend) and to check out the Studio's new Toy Story Land.   This will also be our first time staying at The Grand Floridian Resort.

2018 New Orleans - Part Three

Link to Part Two

Easter Sunday gave us another clear day of weather - perfect for our agenda.  Our plan for the day was to watch three French Quarter Easter Parades, eat another gut-busting brunch, and discover why everyone kept telling us to visit the bars and clubs on Frenchman Street.

Being used to the crowds for Disney World Parades we left our room about an hour before the start of The Historic French Quarter Parade.   Our predetermined viewing position at Conti/Dauphine was empty upon arrival. We occupied ourselves by checking Facebook instead of visiting the corner bar for their wonderful Easter drink specials.   By the time the parade started the street gained a number of spectators, most of them were families with children.   Many people (like us) were dressed for church or a meal out.  This was probably the shortest parade we’ve seen: a couple of convertibles and horse-drawn carriages filled with middle-aged/older women not coordinated enough to throw out the trinkets quickly.  Holly was lucky enough to score a small stuffed rabbit (sourced from Oriental Trader) while Dave got a plastic egg with some peanut butter cups inside.  It was over before it really began....  We had some time to kill before brunch so we sat on a bench outside St. Louis Cathedral in time to watch folks leaving mass.   

Our brunch location was at one of the corners framing Jackson Square: Muriel's.   Their brunch gets pretty high ratings, and there were many things on their menu we wanted to try, but since today was Easter we got a special Easter Menu.  Unfortunately this menu no longer exists online so our entrees will be described as "some kind of fish".   Muriel's was divided into several separate dining rooms with a bar in the back.  The exposed red brick walls helped to highlight the art, empty window frames, and other decor elements.  A jazz band alternated between the two main dining rooms and thankfully did not walk around serenading the diners.

Service at Muriel's was very good, but it did not have the polish that Commander's Palace staff displayed.   Brunch today was also three courses with the price determined by your entree choice.  We could order a al carte so we eliminated one dessert which saved us about $2.  It was more about controlling the food amount vs. saving the money with all courses in the $30-$50 range.   Dave started with the goat cheese/crawfish crepes (a little too much goat cheese but still tasty) and Holly had the gnocchi bolognese.  For entrees Holly chose some kind of pan fried fish and Dave had some kind of other fish with stuffing.  For dessert we shared a profiterole.  Overall a nice meal but if we were to go back we'd sample more off their appetizer and main menu.

After brunch we went back to our hotel to change into more comfortable clothing.  Our next event was parade #2 of the day: The Chris Owens French Quarter Easter Parade.  We found decent curb space on the skanky section of Rue Royal.   The parade was about 15-20 minutes long with a lot of cars, floats, and dancers.   If you wanted beads this was the parade to watch.    This parade gave viewers a mini Mardi Gras experience with limited hassle and a short time commitment.  Unfortunately Dave did not get a stuffed bunny during this parade.









After the parade we headed back to the Jackson Square area and down Pirate's Alley to have a drink at the Pirate's Alley Cafe.  This is the place we visited on our ghost tour that served absinthe.   Dave decided that 2pm on a hot day was the perfect time to try this drink.   We watched the waitress melt the sugar cube over water, turning the liquid into a cloudy green color.   We found some seats outside to people watch and enjoy the sun.  We thought Dave would enjoy absinthe since he likes liquorice.  He equated it to shoving a whole box of Good n Plenty into his mouth.



Later in the afternoon we headed further down Bourbon Street to watch the Gay Easter Parade.  This was a decent sized parade with a few small floats, bands, and cars.   The emphasis of this family friendly parade was mostly on the costumes.  We acquired more beads that we eventually handed over to children.

Once the parade finished we continued to the edge of Bourbon and walked down Esplanade until we reached the Frenchman's Street area.   This is a small 2-3 block section of town just off the quarter that is host to several bars, restaurants, and clubs.  It's out of the tourist fray and away from the crowds attracted by Huge Ass Beers.  It was still daylight and some of the bars were just getting ready to open.   We walked into the Spotted Cat where a quartet was playing a range of music including jazz and calypso.   We were actually getting hungry and were fortunate enough to get a table at Three Muses under the condition that we leave within 90 minutes.   While dining a guitar/horn duo entertained us.   Three Muses is small but worth the visit for the excellent small plate food.  We enjoyed tacos, mac and cheese, truffle fries, and beer braised pork belly.  We also found another beer we liked:  Korova Milk Porter.









We didn't stay in the area after dinner since we had a 2 mile walk back to the hotel.   Since the weather was so nice, and we'd be heading back to winter in a few days, we decided to spend more time in Pat O'Brien's courtyard.



***

We successfully avoided another day of hangovers.  Good thing since this morning's adventure involved an 8 mile bicycle tour.  While at home we booked a tour with FreeWheelin' Bikes.   We chose the Creole and Cresent Tour at the price of $50 each.  This tour was scheduled for 3 hours and was conducted mostly outside the French Quarter.  Our group of around 12 toured Treme, The Marigny, City Park, Esplanade Street, and City Park.  We picked this tour because it included a stop in St. Louis Cemetery #3, which was a location Dave wanted to visit.

Memorial/Grave of the Unknown Slave in Treme.

Our tour guide was excellent at both imparting knowledge and keeping us safe.   This was a great way to see parts of town we never would have thought to visit.  The tour was the right length of time and a good value for the price.  We decided the French Market would be a great lunch location  Holly could finally try a mufaletta sandwich and Dave could get his crawfish boil.  Unfortunately the crawfish were only available on the weekends so he "settled" for shrimp and grits.

We bar-hopped the rest of the afternoon visiting B.B. King's (the former Margaritaville,  A band was playing when we ordered our beers, then went on break),  Napoleon House, Chartres House (a favorite spot for a beer from our last trip), Pat O'Brien's, and dinner at Nola.  We have visited Nola (an Emeril LaGassee restaurant) during our other trips here and always enjoyed it.  However the concept has moved away from casual high-end creole cuisine to casual cuisine.  The food was good for what it was, but it was just a shell of its former self.

Napoleon House

***

Tuesday morning:  We had a mid-afternoon flight home which gave us enough time to have one more walk through The Quarter and two breakfasts.   Cafe Du Monde was pretty empty on a Tuesday morning.   after getting a few more beignets and coffee we visited the Jean Lafitte National Historic Park in the corner of the quarter we haven't visited yet.  The center was a large one-room museum covering many aspects of the city's history and culture.   It was nice to see a good number of visitors at opening.

Breakfast #2 came from the popular local chain Ruby Slipper Cafe.   Their locations always had crowds gathered outside waiting for tables.  Luckily Holly used their "no wait" app to give our name to the hostess before we arrived.   We waited about 5 minutes while other unlucky guests waited over 30 minutes.  The food was big and excellent.  They also offered a bunch of breakfast cocktails including a breakfast margarita.   It was a great final meal in the city.





This trip allowed us to experience more of the culture and diversity of New Orleans.  We had a great time, but unless we have a purpose to return to the Big Easy we probably won't be back for a few years.