Saturday, October 11th - We are Famished, Yes! Famished We are, Precious!!!
After our late morning snacking spree at Epcot, Jay and I spent the afternoon soaking up the sun and the margaritas at the pool. We starved ourselves in anticipation of the evening's main event: Party for the Senses.
Every Saturday evening during the F&W Festival, Epcot hosts a fabu cocktail party with all you can eat and drink taste treats ... it's not cheap to attend at $135 per person plus tax, but our experience in the past has been that it's a terrific event well worth the splurge.
Here is exactly how Disney pimps the event in the 2008 Festival Guide:
Feast on this tribute to the sensory arts! Begin your evening with a reserved seat at the Eat to the Beat concert series at the America Gardens Theatre. Following the show, World Showplace Pavilion becomes the setting for a sensational evening showcasing the talents of more than 25 eminent chefs along with the diversity of over 70 wines and beers. Wander among tempting tasting stations in the midst of imaginative decor and live entertainment.
On the stages, extraordinary artists from Metropolis perform feats of balance, strength, agility, and mayhem throughout the evening, while other remarkable characters interact with the guests to their surprise and delight. Between acts, unique music by Mechanical Soul will provide a stylish world-beat accompaniment to the party.
Ummmmm, how best to respond?
Errrrr,
ARE YOU F&W PLANNERS SMOKING CRACK???
Imaginative decor?
It looked an awful lot like last year's decorations.
Feats of mayhem?
What the hell is that even supposed to mean?
Remarkable characters interacting with guests?
Mayhap we missed that along with the mayhem.
Stylish world-beat accompaniment?
We felt like we were trapped in an episode of Sprockets. You may not eat my monkey.
A few other comments before I get down to the good stuff, which is really nothing more than a whole lotta food porn with me keeping my mouth shut for once.
1) I think that Epcot is going to have to start re-thinking how they admit guests for this event because the crush of people is getting to be too much. There is very little real crowd control and my fear is that someone is going to end up getting hurt over something (
I can't believe I'm going to say this) as inconsequential as food.
2) We weren't the only people disappointed by the lack of a full program guide for the evening. While it's nice to know the names of the chefs and wineries being featured for the evening, it's far more nice to know what the hell it is you're eating and drinking ... especially when you try to share the event with your cyber food-friends two months after the fact. I read here on the DIS that later parties beginning with the one held on October 18th were given full programs, but that doesn't help us much, does it?
3) I hate it when a winery runs out of something more than an hour before the event has ended. Rosa Regale is not an expensive wine, but when Jay and I were ready to have some along with our dessert selections we were told that they were already out. Are you kidding? You folks from Banfi can't afford to share the fizzy pink joy with more than a handful of people? We're not talking about a $300 per bottle beverage; it's $20 per bottle ...
retail. Poor planning or tightfistedness ... or maybe a little of both?
4) Can someone please tell me why there was a woman standing in the PFTS crowd, pre-admittance, with an infant in a stroller? We spotted her again a few times throughout the night and we also saw a handful of young children hanging out rather despondently on the stage at various times during the evening. They weren't eating ... they certainly weren't drinking ... and they looked miserable. I can see bringing teenagers with a foodie bent to this event, but I can't see why someone would bring a child under the age of ten if he/she doesn't want to be there. Have a heart mom and dad - get a babysitter or smack 'em in the kids club and let them have some kid fun while you have a few hours of grown up fun. And don't try to tell me that your offspring washes down caviar with Chateau Yaquem, because I'm not buying it.
There is a time and a place for young kids and I, for one, don't think that most of them belong at this kind of F&W event.
Having said all that ... let's get on with the show!
Here we are getting ready to leave for the party ...
Bring on the feasting!
A shot of the crowd waiting for the magic gates to open.
Crowd #1
And now the crowd waiting to enter the pavilion ...
Crowd #2
As an aside, I'd just like to thank those people who cleaned up in advance of the evening. My sensitive nose really appreciated not having to stand shoulder to shoulder with you and your stinky theme-park armpits. Here's a picture of the hubba and me putting a good face on the wait, and hoping against hope that the rain would hold off until after we were indoors.
I hope there are some crunchables birdses for eating!
Once inside we were spotted by the only DISer that I knew for sure would be in attendance: Kabuki - my cheese-loving pal from the west coast!!! She's married to a Jason, too, and they're just the cutest, friendliest couple. We're looking forward to running into them on another trip where we can share a good meal and good conversation together. Here's a picture ...
Kabuki's Jason, Kabuki, and Brenda the toothy
I hate it when I smile like that ... all my teeth end up showing and I feel like someone is going to start calling me Chompers. I have twelve molars .... yes, that's right; I said
twelve molars. My wisdom teeth started to make an appearance when I was 14 just as I was being outfitted with braces. Rather than dig them out, Dr. Walrus-Man pulled out some other teeth and created lots of space - the result being that by the time I was 17 all four of my widsom teeth were firmly entrenched in my mouth. I could probably chew through metal if I had to ...
This next picture is Jay and me showing off the wonderful wine lanyards that our DISfriend Jeanne sent us earlier in the year just for PFTS! These were awesome and came in very handy during the evening. Thanks again Jeanne!!!
These glasses sure could use some wine...
Once the main doors to the venue were open it was pretty much a free-for-all. Lots of people were focused on finding a table where they could come back and sit and enjoy their food and drink. We didn't do that this time, but I can understand the appeal because it's hard to eat and drink standing up while a glass of wine sways dangerously between your bewbies. Our plan was to start in the back of the hall and work our way forward. I hope that I've got the food listed properly in the pictures to come ... I had to use pictures of the signs from the different food stations and it's possible that something is mis-labled. For that I apologize, but I hope you enjoy the pics anyway.
Pepperberry-Crusted Wild Boar Tenderloin
Pan Roasted Petit Lamb Chop
Roasted Hiramasa Kingfish with Mussels and Poached Oysters
The mystery plate! Wait ... it might be Grilled Ostrich Tenderloin with Sweet Potato and Yukon Mash
Two way Tuna with Voodoo Drizzle
Grilled Shrimp with Thai Red Curry Beurre Blanc Sauce
Unknown #1
Smoked Pulled Pork over Smashed Taro
Yep, that's my finger pointing at the cheese ... glorious cheese!
More cheese!
Still more cheese!
Unwind me some cheese, will ya?
One glorious plate of cheesy goodness!
Lamb Loin with Berbere-Spiced Lentils
Unknown #2
Unknown #3
Continued in the next post ....
That stinks!
)
Which new Stephen King book do you refer to? I really like some of his books and others bore me silly.
I think that trip is the best Christmas present we've ever given each other. If I could have taken pictures, I'd post them of our dinner at Charleston Grill--OMG if I hadn't read your reviews of "fancy" places and watched a little Top Chef I would have been in trouble! It was a wonderful meal, though, and we managed not to look like hicks! 
If you get back to Charleston, it is a definite you should try.
He even got me some Starbucks (We did it at B&N) and a snack while we waited, since I was 7 months preggers at the time. (Don't worry. It was a creme frapp. No caffeine for my baby!) I guess I can sit through the "Why don't you just go *insert words meaning dirty things* Harry Potter, then?!" if he does stuff like that! 
