Living Disney, Day Two

Yesterday was very warm and humid as we trekked about our resort and others, and last night we took the ferry (a.k.a. waterbus) from Old Key West to Downtown Disney and Pleasure Island, this time exploring the Marketplace section of this isle-o-fun. The air is filled with music and little children and bigger people are moved to dance in response. We went in and out of shops and stopped at every restaurant along the way to read the posted menus. We finally chose Portobello Yacht Club, a beautiful Italian restaurant overlooking the water. It's right next to Fulton's Crab House (a huge Mississippi-style steam ship that houses a great seafood restaurant where my daughter Katie and I had dinner eight years ago, after she graduated from college).

Portobellos is designed by Wolfgang Puck (his own restaurant is located on the island as well) and is not filled with Disney icons or cutesy characters- no sign of them - it's a beautiful, authentic Italian restaurant with a warm and inviting atmosphere. It is moderately priced (my spaghetti and meatballs was about $20) and the servings are generous. My sister Patsy loved her linguini with clam sauce and Ginny and Steven both ordered individual wood-fired pizzas and salads. Our attentive server brought out little ciabatta bread rolls and roasted garlic and olive oil as a prelude to our meal. I ate about half my dinner (probably because of that strawberry daiquiri!). The sauce was one that tasted long-simmered and my pasta was done perfectly. I love spaghetti and meatballs, and am particular about the meatballs. These were small, flavorful, and soft -- just the way I like them. I've been to restaurants where the meatballs are too big, too hard, and lacking in flavor. So, I was very satisfied. After dinner we walked the length of this big, happy island, from the Cirque de Soleil tent to the House of Blues, and took our time. The crowds were thin on a Sunday night, and it seemed a different experience from the busier pace of the previous night.

The sun is shining this morning and we'll be venturing out soon. My "roommates" are all still asleep and I am enjoying a few quiet moments. I've got my eye on the pool. We got back too late last night to take advantage of the evening swim.

Loving every minute of this relaxing vacation!

Photo credit: Google images wolfgang/diningroom.jpg

Shrimp and Cheddar Grits, Disney-Style

We arrived at The Old Key West Resort last evening in time for an ealry dinner. We decided to have dinner at Oliva's Cafe, right here on the resort, which is a bright and cheerful place full of people including LOTS of children (some very tired!). I remarked that we're proably the only four adults ever to go to Disney World without kids!

Disney World is an amazing destination. This is such a beautiful place, and I'm not sure whether I'm impressed more by its artificial authenticity or its authentic artificiality! Regardless, it's a gorgeous setting and Disney has taken great pains to make sure everything is as beautiful and comfortable as possible.

Back to dinner -- I ordered an appetizer: shrimp and grits with crabcakes. I've never had grits and was feeling adventurous, southern-style, so I gave it a shot. The grits were delicious, with cheddar cheese, almost like a light rissoto. There were two skewers of small shrimp with an asian/barbeque sauce, and two little crabcakes sitting on a bed of spring mix dressed in a vinaigarette. it was very, very good and I will attempt to duplicate this once I get home.

After dinner we took a ferry from Old Key West to Pleasure Island. It was a cool, breezy night and we had a lot of fun walking around such a lively nightspot.

This morning we had breakfast in our suite, which is equipped with a full kitchen. We'd purchased a few items at the Disney Store last night in order to have breakfast food here, figuring we can hang around a bit in the mornings and relax. After breakfast we took the ferry to Disney's Saratoga Springs resort (yes!) and walked around a place with a theme just-like-home! Everywhere you go here, people say "Welcome Home!" which took me by surprise at first. A vacation is about leaving home behind for a while. I said "I want you to say Welcome Away!"

It's about 90 degrees here today and humid, but bright and sunny despite forecasts that looked like we'd be in the soaking rain all week, so we are all grateful! Tonight we're headed out again and when we get back, plan an evening swim - the pool is open until midnight! If there's a pool, I'm in it!

I don't have the recipe for shrimp and grits, but here's what I think goes in to it (I apologize for the lack of detail, but it's pretty simple, really!):

Grits, cooked according to package directions, with chicken broth or stock for the liquid and shredded cheddar cheese melted into it after it's cooked.

Shrimp, cooked just until pink with garlic and teryaki sauce, and a little bit of barbeque sauce, either in a sauce pan or under the broiler, or skewered on a grill.

Serve with a spring mix tossed in a vinaigarette.

More culinary adventures coming! I'm on the look-out for Key Lime Pie!!!!

Photo: from EatingWell.com