Wolfgang Puck

One of our favorite places to nosh at Walt Disney World is Wolfgang Puck’s Express at Downtown Disney. The pizzas and garlic mashed potatoes are heavenly – add a glass of wine and you have a nice meal at counter service prices. We don’t know what it’s like today after the remodel, but the service was always good and it was a quiet place to sit, compared to other popular venues such as Earl of Sandwich.

Las Vegas has several Wolfgang Puck restaurants – with different themes and menus. The first Puck restaurant we ever experienced was the upscale Spago at Forum Shops in Caesar’s Palace. We had also dropped by Puck’s in MGM but wasn’t as impressed with it back then. But just yesterday we had a scrumptious lunch there. The service and atmosphere were both very impressive.

Intending to dine at Tom Colicchio’s ‘wichcraft, we were disappointed by the walk-up venue with very little seating. It was more casual than what we had in mind.

So we wandered by Wolfgang Puck’s Bar & Grill and decided to lunch there instead. And we were happy we did. This was what we had expected from ‘wichcraft.

Here’s what we ordered:

Kathy:

Signature Prime Beef Panini with Homemade Steak Sauce and Potato Salad

This was absolutely incredible beef and the potato salad was nice and creamy. Paired with that was a glass of 4 Vines Old World Cuvee California Zinfandel – a heavenly pairing.

Rich:

Steamed Black Mussels with White Wine, Garlic and Béarnaise

We’ve both been craving Mussels and Oysters since the Dundee Bistro at Ponzi Vineyards in the Oregon Wine Country last year but we’re no longer living in a coastal state – how would we get fresh seafood in Las Vegas? The better restaurants fly it in and this was no exception. Plus, this was a huge entree portion. Rich paired it with an Italian Pinot Grigio and we shared bites and sips of wine. Both choices were delicious.

We have just as much fun stopping in at the casinos for a mini-Vegas vacation as we did when we used to drop in on WDW on a regular basis. And still curious about the cuisine of Tom Colicchio, we think that his upscale restaurant CRAFTSTEAK will be a better choice, which we hope to try on some special occasion.

DVC at Bay Lake

Wow! So this may be what compels us to visit Disney World again. This is the artist rendering of the 1-bedroom suite at the new DVC property at Bay Lake next to the Contemporary.

The opening of Epcot coincided with my desire to stay at the Contemporary (where the monorail runs right through it) back in 1982. That was a big deal then. And it may be this updated version of the “contemporary” that will draw us back. Is this awesome or what?

Here are some of the amenities, as written on AllEars:

• Zero entry pool with water slide, separate spa and interactive children’s water feature.
• Exclusive lounge on the top floor with outdoor fireworks viewing area* (* availability is very limited and usage guidelines apply)
• Covered outdoor sky bridge connects Bay Lake Tower to the existing resort so that guests can access the monorail.

While it doesn’t open until Fall of ‘09, I think a WDW/cruise combo trip may be in the planning.

When You Wish Upon A Star

I wished we could live outside the gates of Walt Disney World – and we did. I wished we could move close enough to my southern California home to make frequent trips to Disneyland – and we did. A dream is a wish your heart makes and wishes do come true.

We just returned from our latest trip to Disneyland and had a wonderful time. Rich will be starting the trip report on Passporter soon. As usual, we threw most of our plans out the window and enjoyed the park spontaneously. Thankfully, it was a slow time of year that allowed for spontaneity with the joy of a few surprises alone the way. I’ll save the details for the trip report but will post each segment here after the fact.

Skull Rock

We love water, beaches, swimming pools, cruise ships, and Pirates of the Caribbean. When I mentioned the old Pirate Ship Restaurant at Disneyland – the one by Skull Rock in Fantasyland, Rich mentioned that he had never seen it. It was a fun place to grab a tuna burger and hang out but it disappeared when Fantasyland underwent a rehab in the 1980s – one thing that Fantasyland at WDW never had and it shows.

Anyway, after some sleuthing online, we discovered that Yesterland had pictures of the old Pirate Ship Restaurant, including the old Skull Rock and the new Skull Rock at the Neverland Pool at the Disneyland Hotel. Woo hoo! This is where we plan to hang out on our upcoming stay at the Disneyland Hotel.

Now I wanted to link directly to the pic but it doesn’t have a direct link and I couldn’t figure out how to ask for permission to post it. But if you scroll down the page, you’ll see the pic of the pool. Guess we’ll have to take our own pics when we’re there and post them here.