Rollercoasters and big eats - Sept 2014 Food report

[DrGLF]

Longhorns on the 192
We had originally planned to go to mannys chophouse in Haines city after busch gardens but due to the weather this didn't happen. Instead we decoded to try dibb favourite longhorn as we were excited to have steak.
We shared a Texas Tonion to start which is a pile of onion petals with a dipping sauce. This was great and much nicer than a blooming onion at outback which we found greasy when we tried it in vegas. $7.79

I had the renegade top sirloin with a loaded potato. This was nice but very thick and difficult to cut. It was also a little rare in the centre. 14.79

DH had the 11oz ribeye with chips. This was definitely the nicer of the two steaks and cooked perfectly. $19.99


Earl of Sandwich at DTD.
Holiday turkey - turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and gravy. This was amazing and one of the best sandwiches I've ever had. Definitely worth the wait and the hype.

DH had the Philly cheese steak and said it was nice but nothing special.

Both sandwiches were 6.49

Buffalo Wild Wings on the 192
We went here to watch some Sunday night football and so DH could indulge in some wings. Free wifi here for the ladies!
It was really loud inside even though it was half empty. It also had a canteen feel to it which I didn't really like. Millers is a much better choice for game night.
We shared mild(actually quite spicy) chicken wings (medium, 15 wings 15.99), mozzarella sticks with marinara (6.79) French fries with cheese (5.29) and onion rings (5.49). It was all nice enough but nothing special.



Ghiardellis at DTD
We shared a Chrissy field in here to have a break from shopping. 2 scoops of cookies n cream ice cream, 1 scoop of vanilla ice cream, chocolate fudge sauce, whipped cream and big cookies pieces. This was delicious and more than enough for two. I couldn't believe the amount of people that were managing these by themselves!

[amy1511]

Oh lovely :-) I do love a good foody report!

[cybermum]

Oh loving this food report...!

[dixonsontour]

Great report hoping to try some of these next month

[Guest]

Love ..love ... love this food report! So many places I plan on eating next week!

[Guest]

Keep em coming these are great

[DrGLF]

Thanks for all the positive feedback so far. I am now back in the UK, no doubt several lbs heavier!

Carrot Cake Cookie (writers stop, HS) $3.99
Picked up this snack recommendation from the dibb (obviously!). Its two large flat circles of cake with cream cheese icing it the middle. Firstly I have to say it is absolutely massive. I had to eat it in 2 separate sittings. Nice moist spicy carrot cake and sweet cream cheese icing.


Butterbeer in Diagon Alley ($4.99)
Had to indulge in one of these whilst in the wizarding world. We shared a frozen one, good thing too as its so sweet. Its a lovely butterscotch drink with a butterscotch foam.


Dole whip and citrus whip (Aloha Isle, MK) ($4.49)
Got this on our first day in the MK in the morning. Luckily the queue was small but the guy serving was really miserable and incredibly slow. He was missing his Disney spirit!
The portion is large and its very refreshing. Plus I read that its a comparatively low calorie snack.


Ihop on the 192

Ihop is my must eat every time we are in the states an it never disappoints. Plus its cheap and always under $23 for both of us.
Pick a pancake combo - 2 eggs, hash browns and either sausage or bacon served with 2 pancakes of any flavour.

Double chocolate chip pancakes

Breakfast sampler - 2 eggs, 2 sausage, 2 bacon, ham, hashbrowns and 2 buttermilk pancakes (not pictured). They have different syrups in ihop - old fashioned, strawberry, blueberry and butter pecan. DH is in love with the butter pecan.


We ate here twice so here is the second lot.
Pick a pancake combo with strawberry banana pancakes. Convinced myself that this was healthy as it contained banana!

Country fried steak with 2 eggs, hash browns, sausage gravy and 2 pancakes. If you hadn't noticed DH has a thing about country fried steak. He had it at least 3 times, I only indulged once as you can tell how bad it is for you as you enjoy it.

[DrGLF]

Cracker Barrel on the 192 (Dinner)
I may have developed a new addiction on this trip. Also loved a look around the shop.
Me - Country fried steak with green beans, broccoli and mash.
Green beans were a little over cooked but otherwise this was delicious and nice to get a few veg in.

DH - Cracker Barrel sampler - chicken n dumplins, meatloaf and country ham with mac n cheese, fries and carrots.
The carrots were completely mushy so didn't get a look in. The chicken and dumplins got the best review. Bit of a mixed bag on this (very large) plate.
You also get 2 biscuits or corn bread muffins each with dinner. We had biscuits, our favourite!


Dessert Party - MK 24th Sept
Booked this after reading about it on the dibb although the booking was a bit panicked as September was delayed. Think we paid £18 each. DH isn't great with crowds or sitting around dong nothing so for us it was worth the money just to be out of the way. The desserts were a bonus.
As it turns out the desserts were yummy. There are always going to be some dud ones amongst a buffet but on the whole we were impressed. They could improve the drinks selection as the cold drinks were all sugary (lemonade, juice) or water/milk with hot drinks being tea(American blurgh) or coffee which we don't drink.
We booked as soon as it opened so got a table right at the front. Think we were sat next to another dibber (? AdventurerJordi), no doubt the whole first row were dibbers!
This is the view

Heres a selection of desserts


Pre dessert party we went to Epcot for the Food and Wine Festival. This was brilliant and Im so glad we got to experience it. If (when!) we go back it will be at the same time as F&W.
Each of these dishes was between $3 and $5.50.

Peppered hash from the Farm Fresh Booth - Potatoes, bacon, sweetcorn, peppers, hollandaise and jalepenos.
This was recommended on the Disney food blog. It was nice but nothing spectacular. Suspect it depends on when you get it as freshly cooked Im sure its nicer.


Potato Perogi and Kielbasa - Poland
3 perogi with caramelised onion and 4 slices of kielbasa.
This was delicious and it was a great portion to share.


Potato and Leek Waffle with Beef Stew - Belgium
This was a gigantic portion with at least 7 pieces of beef in the stew, Very tasty.


Crispy Pork Belly with black beans and salsa - Brazil
The favourite of the festival, this was a flavour explosion and the pork was very well cooked. Get one each, its too good to share and not a massive portion.


Cheddar Cheese soup - Canada
A classic starter from Le collier which were both keen to try. I can confirm that it was yummy!


Kahlua Pork slider with pineapple salsa and spicy mayo - Hawaii
This was great and contained loads of juicy pulled pork in a brioche bun.

[DrGLF]

That's everything I have photos for, quick review of things I forgot to photograph!

La passion Martini - France F&W booth ($9.95)
Yummy, boozy and refreshing what more can you ask for on a blisteringly hot walk around the world showcase.

Sweet Tomatoes on the 192 - We enjoyed this twice and it was a welcome break from heavy food. The chilli is great as is the chocolate lava cake.

Coke Freestyle US/IOA - 11.99 on the first day and 5.99 for subsequent days
This is a great deal as it includes all you can drink coke products from machines situated a regular intervals around the parks with no more to pay and no standing in queues. Plus you get to try some interesting flavoured drinks. There are still as well as soft drinks with plenty of light or diet options.

Cold stone creamy - Florida Mall.
Maybe not the best one to try as it was 5.49 for a single scoop. It was nice enough but not worth the price. I assume that some of the other branches aren't so pricey.

Publix subs - around $4 each or $8 or a full one from the counter.
We tried the hot cubano sub from the counter for dinner one evening and it was delicious, loads of meat and tasty bread.
Several days we popped into publix on the way to the parks and got 2 of the premade sandwiches to take with us. With a bottle of frozen water in our backpack we had no trouble keeping them cool. They are a great size and feed a hungry adult or 2 children with ease. We tried the Cuban, turkey and swiss and roast beef which were all good.

That is sadly the end of this food report, I hope you've all enjoyed reading and salivating over the pictures.

[Guest]

Great report.