Cooper’s Hawk Winery and Restaurant has multiple locations in the Eastern Half of the continental United States.  Cooper’s Hawk Winery and Restaurant is part Wine Bar, part gift shop, part candy shop and also a restaurant.

A benefit of dining here is that they took all the guessing out of wine pairing. Everyone who dines here can be a sommelier. Each item on the menu has the suggested wine bin number so you can pair wine like a pro. Many varieties of wine are offered and many wines are award wining. Carafes of wine come in a decanter and bottles are decanted very elaborately with a contraption I’ve never seen before.

The dining room is sort of traditional in style with dark wood traditional tables and chairs.

The menu is mostly American but is laced with global inspirations. For the mains they offer a variety of proteins. They offer several steak dishes, some fish dishes, pasta dishes and more.

We started with Brussel Sprouts with Cashews, Mint, Sweet Chili, Sesame and Sriracha.

This dish had good flavors going on.  I liked the play of spicy sweet and bright mint. But this dish was on the oily side and the Brussel Sprout were raw inside.

For my main I had the Soy Ginger Salmon with Wasabi Mashed Potatoes and Slaw.

My fish was slightly over done and the soy ginger sauce was cloyingly sweet. The potatoes hardly had any wasabi taste that I was looking forward too.

On the Bright Side!

My husband enjoyed his Shrimp and Grits!

My sister’s fiancé enjoyed the Rib Eye Special!

I did indeed enjoy the wine I tried! I thought it was a great value for restaurant priced wine.

That was my trip to Cooper’s Hawk Winery and Restaurant in Orlando Florida.

wwwCHwinery.com

Everything is subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.

 

 

Terralina Crafted Italian is located in Disney Springs formally known as Downtown Disney near Orlando Florida. This is an American/Italian Restaurant with a waterfront. The Menu has been created by James Beard Award Winning Chef Tony Mantuano. This restaurant serves wood oven pizzas, calzones, some house made pastas, entrees and more. They also have a sommelier on site for wine advise.

The dining is sort of Mediterranean in style with lots of stone and iron work.

They also offer patio dining.

We were dining with my sister and her fiancé and shared a couple of appetizers.

They took about forty five minutes to arrive after we ordered. I tried the Fried Ricotta Stuffed Olives n the left first. They were a little different and tasty. On the right were stuffed rice balls. I was expecting them to be seasoned and flavorful but oddly who ever prepared them had an allergy to seasoning and made the rice balls unseasoned and next to flavorless….. but the rice balls were fried nicely and seemed free of oil. The tomato sauce also lacked flavors….

Then we found ourselves waiting for dinner.

Then we wait some more for dinner.

Our waiter stops by and apologies  for all the time we’ve been waiting and says that dinner is coming out soon.

Then maybe another half hour goes by and he apologies again and says dinner should be coming out soon.

The Wine Sommelier checks on us and apologies…….

We waited a really long time for dinner. (somewhere over an hour and a half from when we ordered)

Finally three of the four dinners arrive…….Everyone’s dinner but mine.

I told everyone to eat but they all insisted to wait till my dinner arrived.

So we wait another 15 minutes and my dinner arrives.

My dinner was good. It was hot and fresh and prepared reasonably well. But I was the only one at the table that got a fresh nice prepared meal……….    🙁

My sister got the same dinner I had but it was a version that sat out a little while.

My husband’s Seafood Cannelloni also hung out with my sisters plate but the Cannelloni weren’t flavored so well I was told.

But the worst one was my sister’s fiancé’s Swordfish.

It was cold with a RAW COLD center…….Cold and RAW!

Now the waiter apologies to us again.

The Wine Sommelier apologies to us again.

The Manager apologies, comps our bill and tells us to get dessert and or anything else we want.

The FORKING TRUTH is that I haven’t been served by a nicer or more apologetic staff of people that served such a disaster of a dinner.

That was my trip to Terralina Crafted Italian at Disney Springs in Lake Buena Vista near Orlando.

www.TerralinaCraftedItalian.com

I NOTE THAT Every FORKING THING is subject to change and your experience may or may NOT differ.

 

 

 

Tiffins is an upscale restaurant located in Discovery Island in Animal Kingdom at Disney World in Orlando Florida. The food they serve is Modern Global that usually features flavors that are  Africa, Latin and Asian.

The atmosphere is formal, a little dark without windows and is embellished with artwork with a jungle theme.

We went for the full experience. We got a three course meal that included a champagne toast, a glass of wine or beer, The Lion King Show with VIP seating and a Semi Private Safari Tour. (2018 pricing was about $100.00 a person)

Our waiter was very welcoming. He explained all the dishes to us and also made recommendations.

They started us off with focaccia with pomegranate molasses. (I forgot to photo…)

My husband and I shared an Artisanal Cheese Plate and a Chickpea Falafel with Mint Pistachio Pesto, Cumin Garlic Raita.

The Falafel was light and fluffy with a moist but flavorful center. Lots of good flavors going on there.

My main was Pan Seared Halibut with a Concentrated Tomato, Green Beans, Fingerling Potatoes, Saffron Aioli and Olive Marmalade.

The halibut came out with a nice sear, was tender, moist and seasoned just so. The Olive Marmalade and Saffron Aioli were unusually delicious with the Halibut.

My husband’s plate was more interesting…..

He had the Crispy Sadza (African Porridge) with Braised Berkshire Pork Belly, Crispy Corn Cake, Vegetables, Chakalaka (spicy south African vegetable/bean Relish) and Corn Emulsion.

Dessert was

Passion Fruit Tapioca Creme with Chocolate Crumble and Citrus for me.

The dessert tasted like a natural passionfruit. It’s strong but a delicious taste…..

My husband had the South African Chocolate Ganache with Caramelized Banana Cocoa Nib Tuile.

After That we saw the Lion King Show!

Then we finished with a semi private safari.

That was my trip to Tiffins Restaurant in Discovery Island in Animal Kingdom at Disney World in Orlando Florida.

www.TiffinsRestaurant.com

Everything is subject to change and YOUR experience may or may not differ.