Marathon Food Report

Well, not really a marathon length report, but a report on the food I ate while I was in WDW for Marathon weekend.

I arrived around 6:00 PM on Friday Jan 7, checked into PO:R and headed over to EPCOT to grab some dinner at Sunshine Seasons Food Fair

Grilled Salmon - $10.19
Key Lime Pie - $3.79
Side of Mashed Potatoes - $2.49
Regular Beverage - $2.39

Sunshine Seasons never disappoints. Despite it being quick service with the food held on steam tables, it is never overcooked. Their potatoes are always spot on. I was also very surprised at how good the key lime pie was - light and with lots of lime flavor, with a non-soggy crust.




Saturday morning was up early with a plain "bagel" and coffee at the food court before heading over to the Race Expo. No need to take a picture of the round Disney bread. We all know what it's like

Then I headed over to Animal Kingdom for a while, and had lunch at Yak & Yet quick serve window.

Orange Beef - $10.99
SD Egg Roll - $2.49
Large Beverage - $2.59

OK, from a presentation standpoint it leaves a lot to be desired. Rice and Beef shoved in the same box, and the small egg roll made to look even smaller by placing it in a oversized boat of a dish. The egg roll was good, if not small. I am used to bigger ones, with more cabbage inside. The Beef and rice was good with a nice ratio of beef to veggies. Vegetables were not overdone either - still crisp.








Later in the day, I stopped at Port Orleans French Quarter.at the Sassagoula Food Court for a pre-race dinner. I realize most people running a marathon at 5:30 AM the next morning would stay away from any sort of spicy or greasy food, but us of the cast iron stomachs laugh at such a thing.

Jambalaya - $9.49
Chicken Gumbo - $2.79
Side Salad - $3.99
Coffee - $2.09
3 Beignets - $2.99

Again presentation is not a strong point. For four bucks you can chuck the side salad - I just wanted to get some fiber in the mix. The Jambalaya was tasty but room temperature. Gumbo was a bit of a grease slick. The Beignets were the best I have ever had them here. Still not quite up to the Cafe De Monde, but getting better.







-dave

Sunday - Marathon Day

I had a late reservation and needed a snack before dinner after running the Marathon, so I stopped in the Norway Kringle Bakery for some school bread

While in there, I noticed something that I had not had before - The Worlds Best. So I got one of those too

School Bread used to be a yeast type bread, almost like a jelly doughnut. It was more cakey / bready this time. The coconut was the same, as was the pastry cream, but holy cardamom! Wow, the whole thing was redolent with cardamom. Now cardamom is a very typical Norwegian baking spice - many a Julekake was consumed in my youth. So I happen to like cardamom. But for 'normal' people this may not be a treat. I don't know if they changed the recipe, or I just happened to get an oddball piece.

The Worlds Best appears to be a sponge cake disk, topped with pastry cream, and a round of meringue. Then the whole thing is spiked with a hefty dose of rum. In face the register receipt says "Dark Rum Cake". I found it enjoyable. You can pretty much guess what it tastes like, no surprises here.

School Bread - $1.99
Dark Rum Cake - $3.59
Regular Coffee - $1.89

School Bread


The Worlds Best (Dark Rum Cake)






I had thought long about where to eat post marathon. I was going to expend 3,500+ calories running that morning - I needed a buffet in order not to go broke. A combination of places that were booked and places I did not want to eat at steered me to Cape May Cafe

Adult Dinner - $32.99
Blue Moon Beer - $5.75

This is now officially, in my book, the worst place to eat in WDW. When I entered the hostess gave me a rundown of the place, part of which was "of course over here is our dessert bar, which is the bast part" that should have been a tip off from square one. My server disappeared for long stretches of time. When I ordered a beer, she took my water away. I then drank the beer, but she was nowhere to be found to either order another one or to get water.

Crab legs were ok, but nothing to write home about

Peel and eat shrimp - I understand the peel your own concept. Saves on costs and prevents patrons from gorging themselves. But could you at least de-vein them? Me, I eat anything, and have no problems ingesting a shrimps ________-pipe, but really, any restaurant that serves shrimp with the veins still in needs to question its operation.

Overcooked rubbery PEI mussels that were the smallest I have ever seen, and tasted nothing like any PEI mussel I have ever had.

The fish was harder and drier than the table I was sitting at.

Clams have sand. I understand that. These had more sand than clam. I think I ground the enamel off my teeth. They are also NOT steamers, they are hard shell clams. There is a difference.

The ribs were just like my mother used to make when I was a kid. My mom made horrible ribs. You had to wrestle the meat off the bone.

Some highlights - the mashed potatoes were very good. - OK thats about it.

Then moving on to dessert - remember this is the best part. Udder dreck. Overly sweet, clearly pre-frozen and defrosted, some still with ice crystals. Items that had a crust were sogged out.

I ate a load of food because I was hungry, but really, it was not a place I want to ever go to again.

Plate 1


Plate 2


Plate 3


Dessert Plate

Monday - post race day. Nothing to do but walk around slowly

Breakfast - Bounty Platter at Riverside Mill Food Court. Every time I see the name "Bounty Platter" I think of the M*A*S*H episode when they are in the mess tent and Father Mucahy says "thank you for the bounty we are about to receive" and Hawkeye says "Oh, that's what this is, roast bounty". Anyway ....

Bounty Platter - $8.29
Coffee - $2.09

That is some funky texture on those eggs.


After the bounty, I noticed this sign. Make me think they should put one of these in the Cape May Cafe from last night.



Lunch was a combo basket (chicken and fish) from Columbia Harbor House. Always a decent Counter Service place to stop and get a bite.

Combo with Fries - $8.39
22oz Beverage - $2.19



I was excited for dinner, because I had a reservation to Via Napoli, where I have not yet been. They did not have my 7:45 reservation when I walked up at 7:30 - but I was sitting down by 7:40 anyway.


La Rossa - $9.00
Caprese - $8.00
Mushroom Pizza - $18.00
Tiramisu - $8.00
Double Espresso - $6.00

The side dining room has a spartan feel to it. Especially with the concrete floors. But this does become open air dining, weather permitting, so I can understand why it is the way it is. This room was packed about 10 minutes after this picture was taken.


Tomato & mozzarella caprese - meh. Hothouse tomatoes and mozzarella that is a notch above grocery store plastic wrapped mozzarella. The single lonely basil leaf didn't help. I am spoiled and should really never order this dish in a restaurant. I grow my own heirloom tomatoes and basil, buy buffalo milk mozzarella that is flown in from Italy at the store down this street, and use olive oil that a friend makes on his family's olive farm in Greece, but still, this was very pedestrian.


Mushroom Pizza. OK, now we are talking. This was great. The first really good pizza I have had at WDW - ever. Thin, crisp, chewy, burned in spots (thats a good thing). Great mushrooms, nice amount of sauce and cheese. I ate the whole thing. The house beer is pretty good to - very malty. I would have liked a second, but my waitress disappeared.


Tiramisu and Espresso. A boxed dessert. Not a bad one, but nothing earth shattering. Pretty crappy job on the plating. They put the double espresso in a big coffee cup. It was lost in there.



Tuesday lunch at Earl of Sandwich before heading home

Full Montagu - $5.99
Chicken Tortilla Soup - $2.99
Cole Slaw - $1.59
Iced Tea - $1.59

Good value at a decent price. That's why this place is packed all the time. Cole slaw was very good. Very crisp. The soup was like eating glue. Tasted good, but texture left a bit to be desired.




-dave

After seeing that picture of your mushroom pizza, I made us a reservation for Via Napoli next week. It looked delicious :slurp:
Nice report! I'm starting to love all these food reports!

britlightyear said:

After seeing that picture of your mushroom pizza, I made us a reservation for Via Napoli next week. It looked delicious :slurp:
Nice report! I'm starting to love all these food reports!

Click to expand...

That was easily the food highlight of the trip.

I was debating between adding the mushrooms or not, just to see how the sauce and cheese were on there own, but then I added them. They are marinated in something, and are quite good. I think I will be going back here for more when we are down in July.

-dave

britlightyear said:

After seeing that picture of your mushroom pizza, I made us a reservation for Via Napoli next week. It looked delicious :slurp:
Nice report! I'm starting to love all these food reports!

Click to expand...

Didn't that pizza look grand? We missed Via last Thanksgiving and are looking forward to hitting it this December.

Do you think the same mozzarella used for the caprese is also used for the pizza?

I wonder if it is made onsite or purchased from elsewhere.

Good report. That pizza does look fantastic! I agree wholeheartedly about Sunshine Seasons - one of the best hidden gems for QS dining anywhere on the property. And I found the foordcourt at POR to be very good - I stayed there last December.

WDW Monorail said:

Do you think the same mozzarella used for the caprese is also used for the pizza?

I wonder if it is made onsite or purchased from elsewhere.

Click to expand...

I don't think so.

The Caprese cheese was plasticy. I doubt it is made on site. I don't know about by you, but around here if you go to your run of the mill grocery store, you can get two kinds of mozzarella. The first come wrapped in plastic shrink wrap and is in the dairy aisle. The brand that is here is called Polly-O. If you go to the deli area, you can get mozzarella that is also in plastic, but it is loose in the plastic, and is packaged in some of the whey. This is about what the mozzarella in the caprese was like.

If I go down the street to the Italian specialty store, I can get mozzarella that they make there. That is another step up. Then they also have mozzarella from buffalo milk that is flown in from Italy. It costs an arm and a leg, but when you put it on tomatoes from the garden, the heat and acid in the tomato is enough to melt the cheese.

The pizza mozzarella seemed to have a better consistency to it. Maybe it is different, maybe it is just the heat.

-dave

"us of the cast-iron stomach"!!!!!!!!!!
:ROFLOL:
Then again, I don't think I could've turned down those beignets either, pre-marathon or not!

So tell me how you would compare Columbia House to Cosmic Ray's? We've been to the latter several times. I'm thinking of trying Columbia House this time, but I hate to give up Sonny Eclipse's entertainment, especially since we're taking my mother with us for the first time this year. What do you think?

Somehow...I just noticed this laying around!

Thanks for the addition to the food threads! Awesome stuff!

Phonedave said:

I don't think so.

The Caprese cheese was plasticy. I doubt it is made on site. I don't know about by you, but around here if you go to your run of the mill grocery store, you can get two kinds of mozzarella. The first come wrapped in plastic shrink wrap and is in the dairy aisle. The brand that is here is called Polly-O. If you go to the deli area, you can get mozzarella that is also in plastic, but it is loose in the plastic, and is packaged in some of the whey. This is about what the mozzarella in the caprese was like.

If I go down the street to the Italian specialty store, I can get mozzarella that they make there. That is another step up. Then they also have mozzarella from buffalo milk that is flown in from Italy. It costs an arm and a leg, but when you put it on tomatoes from the garden, the heat and acid in the tomato is enough to melt the cheese.

The pizza mozzarella seemed to have a better consistency to it. Maybe it is different, maybe it is just the heat.

-dave

Click to expand...

It's basically the same here.

I'm guessing the pizza mozzarella might be a day or two old instead of fresh like the one for the caprese.

Most places that make mozzarella here use Polly-O curds. It's fairly easy to do, just takes some practice and hands of silicone.

JillC LI said:

"us of the cast-iron stomach"!!!!!!!!!!
:ROFLOL:
Then again, I don't think I could've turned down those beignets either, pre-marathon or not!

So tell me how you would compare Columbia House to Cosmic Ray's? We've been to the latter several times. I'm thinking of trying Columbia House this time, but I hate to give up Sonny Eclipse's entertainment, especially since we're taking my mother with us for the first time this year. What do you think?

Click to expand...

They are two entirely different places.

As far as atmosphere, Cosmic Ray's is loud and wide open with loads of people, plus Sonny singing. CHH is large, but seems smaller. Lower ceilings, more 'nooks'. The upstairs seating area is very often quiet and if you get a widow seat, offers some great views and people watching.

As far a food - CHH is more limited. Really the only thing that sets it apart is the fish and shrimp. Fries are fries and chicken is Disney chicken - nothing special there. The fried fish and shrimp are basic fried fish and shrimp.They have a hummus sandwich which I have never tried, and a tuna sandwich which I have not had either. The new england clam chowder is good, but nothing to go out of the way for.

CHH draws me when the weather is bad - cold or rainy, it has more of a comfort feel than Cosmic Ray's to me.

-dave