I have a lot of whining to do post-vacation so I’ll try to get the rest of the deets down here.
For the most part, I was a terrible food blogger on this trip. In my own defense, though this was my 7th trip to WDW in 7 years (since we honeymooned at the Yacht Club in 2003), this was the first time I was in charge of that extra detail – photographing food – and, clearly, it was sometimes too much. But here’s what I did get…
Vegetarian platter from Tangierine Cafe in Morocco in Epcot (as photographed on the bus as I’m transporting my leftovers to Chris who was poolside after taking a meeting. Yes, taking a meeting on vacation! And who does he work for? Disney! Oh, the irony):
Though our family made reservations elsewhere one night, there was no way I was going to give up our ressie for Cat Cora’s Kouzzina on the Boardwalk – one of my favorite strolling spots in all of DisneyWorld.
That's the Boardwalk behind me, and, in all fairness to my hairdresser, you should know that the humidity did make my bangs jump up about an inch. I have no excuse for actually wearing a Disney shirt AT Disney. I am just that dorky.
Kouzzina is relatively new to the Boardwalk, having taken over the space that Spoodles once occupied. According to the big map on the wall, Cat Cora’s cuisine focuses on foods from here:
Though our party of 9 had become a party of 2 (I’m a fine dining hold-out, what can I say?), we had an awesome meal here and the service was spectacular. Our server, Ben, was a college student from Tampa, and he and Chris could have talked sports for days but he also managed to serve us spectacularly while keeping up the conversation. We started out the meal with (unphotographed) Kouzzina Spreads – Harissa Yogurt, Kalamata Fig, and Chickpea Hummus with Grilled Pita. The fig spread was RIDICULOUS!
Chris followed with the Fisherman’s Stew – Scallops, seasonal Fish, Shellfish, Fennel, Grilled Bread, and Ouzo Butter.
While I had the Sampler plate that had a little Cinnamon Stewed Chicken, a char-grilled Lamb Burger slider, and a ramekin of Pastitsio:
In the background there you can see the side of Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Capers and Lemon that we couldn’t pass up. I don’t know what we were thinking, but it was all delicious. The Brussels Sprouts may have come in first place (and you can see I’ve all but given up giving up meat by tonight, which was only Tuesday).
OMG Brussels Sprouts!
Not shown were the glasses of wine we ordered – I may have had her Coranation Sauvignon Blanc, but I’m reliving the food coma and blanking at the moment.
The Pastitsio was probably my least favorite of the three and I only had a couple of bites, but only because I was getting so full. But not so full that I couldn’t order this:
Baklava with Pistachio gelato. Shut. Up. So. Full.
Just so you get an accurate idea, the gelato was actually kinda small but that baklava was the size of a large eggroll. I ate half and took the rest home where it lived out its life in our resort fridge until check-out day when it was trashed. That piece of chocolate with “Celebrate Today” on it *may* have a corner missing which is why it’s tucked under the baklava. 
I spent the rest of this evening cradling my tummy and moaning, but it was so worth it.
The last memorable meal of the trip was the next night at Jiko in the Animal Kingdom Lodge: Jambo House. Isn’t it funny how one moment you can be saying “Oh my God, I’m never gonna eat again” and then, lo and behold, you find yourself at dinner again!
We’d never eaten at Jiko before but have always wanted to. This was supposed to be a special dinner for Chris and I to slip quietly away, but we’d already done that the night before so it was sorta déja vu all over again. Jiko means “The Cooking Place” in Swahili, and it’s a beautiful restaurant. Again, the service was spectacular.
Our server, Marty, was from New York but had long ago transplanted to Florida where he’d raised his daughters. He’s the only waiter I’ve ever had who talked me into a cheaper glass of wine, but I was able to try a wine I’d never find anywhere else (or hardly anywhere) called Bukkatraube. It’s a sweet white, like a Reisling, and I loved it. Thanks for saving me three bucks, Marty!
After our huge meal the night before, I went back to my routine of ordering two appetizers. Here I had the Tibs Watt in Panekoeke – stewed beef rolled in “crepes” with peppadew-olive tapenade:
There were three of these little fellahs, and, of course, I shared with Chris.
Followed by the Braised Beet Salad – with smoked bacon, goat cheese, shallot marmalade and sherry vinaigrette. Ridiculously good!
Two apps – that’s totally my speed. I was satisfied, but not stuffed to the gills. Chris was pretty happy with his Grilled Loch Duart Salmon – with Crisp Mealie Pap, stewed fennel, tomatoes and red peppers. Whatever Mealie Pap is.
The rest of my meals consisted of a Gardenburger at Animal Kingdom made amazing with extra pickles and sauteed mushrooms from the toppings bar, a topless cheeseburger at the Blizzard Beach water park, awesome sushi at Tokyo Dining in Epcot, hot spinach/black bean dip at ESPN Club, and, finally, a flat iron steak at The Wave in the Contemporary. Seriously, it was like the moment I said I was going to avoid meat, the more I ordered it.
It was as if I were eating for seven!
I mentioned earlier that the Rice Krispy Treat has wreaked havoc on my tender mouth – well that was NOTHING compared to the sore throat I woke up with on Thursday. I’m not sure if it was the Red Hot sauce at the ESPN Club or the fact that I’d been surrounded by tens of thousands of sniffling strangers. I’m tempted to blame it on overly ambitious air-conditioning; seriously, our resort hallway was a Siberian wind tunnel and one night on the resort bus they tried to turn us into popsicles. Anyway, I woke up one morning toward the end of our trip and couldn’t swallow. I had to suck ice and buy overpriced Sucrets at the gift shop. I’m still fighting it off, but I do sound damn sexy.
PS. I will be announcing the winner of the Raw Chips giveaway over the weekend and shipping next week!
Our other Irises have now come up – my salute to the University of Washington Huskies (I didn’t go there but my dad and uncle did).
and our veggies seem to be in good shape:
You may note that the row toward the back is the dreaded Frisée. I’m pretty sure that was a mistake as Frisée is my nemesis, and I loathe it with the passion of a thousand suns. Chris thinks it’ll look nice under a piece of fish ‘cuz we plate up like that around here. He’s the cutest grower ever!
That, my friends, is the portrait of a 72 pound paperweight.
