- Joined
- Apr 26, 2008
Tables In Wonderland Food & Wine Preview
Around 11:30AM, I checked in for the Tables In Wonderland Food & Wine Festival event. It was hot outside as they had us wait! (I know, July in Florida is always hot, stay hydrated!) As we walked in, they gave us a Frozen Wine Cocktail and a towel to cool down! I liked this cocktail - I can see getting this in September with my mother as it will be hot then too and it was super refreshing!
Frozen Kim Crawford Wine Cocktail - Sauvignon Blanc
I ran into @pepperandchips and total 4th wheeled it with them! I probably dominated the conversation before the event as I vented about the disaster that was the day before. She said it was ok as at least it was a new story to them!
The tiny tables were set up for groups of 5 but there was an excess amount of tables so we didn’t have a 5th wheel join us so we go to spread out a little more!
Place Setting
Menu
Right next to our table was the booth I wanted to go for first. You can’t go wrong with warm cheddar cheese dip! It isn’t as good as the cheese fondue they had 2 years ago but it was a good substitute! I ate multiple of theses!
Warm Irish Cheddar Cheese & Stout Dip w/ Irish Brown Bread
For the cheese booth, they had the cheese trio. My favorite among these was the Profiterole! I have a soft spot for the garlic and fine herbs boursin cheese as it is one of the things I snack on at home. The smoked salmon pinwheel was also tasty. The pepper cheese macaron was just ok.
Cheese Trio: Profiterole topped with Boursin Garlic & Fine Herbs Cheese and Orange Apricot Jam; Smoked Salmon Pinwheel w/ Boursin Shallot and Chive Cheese and Everything Seasoning; Strawberry Macaron w/ Boursin Pepper Cheese
Liberated Pinot Noir
I know! Shock! I drank something non-alcoholic! While I did enjoy many of the wines I tried, I also knew it was hot outside and to pace myself. The green apple freeze was a nice mix up as it worked well to make sure one was hydrated and when I did have to return to the heat pit that was outside - I would be ok.
RGD: Citrus Apple Freeze (non-alcoholic)
The next dish was the winner of the event. It essentially was potato chip nachos. The blonde ale beer fondue was awesome especially on the warm potatoes! I totally had second and thirds...
Smoked Corned Beef w/ Warm Crispy Potatoes, Pickled Onions, and Blonde Ale Beer Fondue
I remember having this dessert but I apparently forgot a picture of it. I remember it being ok. Despite having cayenne and chili powder it wasn’t as spicy as I was hoping.
Chocolate Picante: Dark Chocolate Mousse w/ Cayenne Pepper, Chili Powder & Raspberry Dust
This beer got mixed reviews at our table. Personally, I love pomegranate flavored items. I also know that schofferhofer beers are not very alcoholic and have a fruity taste. I enjoyed this for being refreshing. I know others weren’t a fan.
Schofferhofer Hefeweizen Pomegranate Beer
This was another star dish for me! The curry beef had great flavor and was very tender.
Red Hot Spicy Thai Curry Beef w/ Steamed Rice
For another one of the desserts, I tried the Sweet Olive Oil Cake. I really enjoyed this as it wasn’t overly sweet but still fit the mold of feeling like dessert. It wasn’t overly heavy either. Their lemon curd is no match to the one I make at home so I ended up skipping that part of the dish.
Sweet Olive Oil Cake w/ Powdered Sugar and Lemon Curd
The following dessert was also mixed. They called it a soft serve sundae but it totally was one of those banana ice cream dishes you see around the internet as a healthier option of enjoying ice cream. Since it was made from bananas, it had a grainy texture. While I enjoyed it - I could see others not enjoying it because of how funky the texture is. The chocolate oats were a good mix to break it up though.
Banana Almond Soft-Serve Sundae w/ Fresh Berries and Crunchy Chocolate Oats
I didn’t try all the items but I got full. I did try the items that excited me overall so that was worth it for me. I also had about 6 or 7 different wines and overall was happy with those.
I did this event in a much different from back in 2011 where it was truly a preview of everything before the masses got the info.
Here is link to that review: https://www.disboards.com/threads/i...nt-plated-dinner.2751641/page-2#post-41882743
https://www.disboards.com/threads/i...t-7-24-tiw-event-plated-dinner.2751641/page-3
So - if you read through that event and then see what we got this year for more money, you’ll see why I was eh. I liked the intimacy and presentation of that event. This felt like a money grab with the set up. All the information provided had already been posted on the website, except maybe the figment dooney that is coming out. (Why is it a Figment purse when Remy is supposed to be the mascot this year?) I don’t think I’ll do it again.
Around 11:30AM, I checked in for the Tables In Wonderland Food & Wine Festival event. It was hot outside as they had us wait! (I know, July in Florida is always hot, stay hydrated!) As we walked in, they gave us a Frozen Wine Cocktail and a towel to cool down! I liked this cocktail - I can see getting this in September with my mother as it will be hot then too and it was super refreshing!
Frozen Kim Crawford Wine Cocktail - Sauvignon Blanc
I ran into @pepperandchips and total 4th wheeled it with them! I probably dominated the conversation before the event as I vented about the disaster that was the day before. She said it was ok as at least it was a new story to them!
The tiny tables were set up for groups of 5 but there was an excess amount of tables so we didn’t have a 5th wheel join us so we go to spread out a little more!
Place Setting
Menu
Right next to our table was the booth I wanted to go for first. You can’t go wrong with warm cheddar cheese dip! It isn’t as good as the cheese fondue they had 2 years ago but it was a good substitute! I ate multiple of theses!
Warm Irish Cheddar Cheese & Stout Dip w/ Irish Brown Bread
For the cheese booth, they had the cheese trio. My favorite among these was the Profiterole! I have a soft spot for the garlic and fine herbs boursin cheese as it is one of the things I snack on at home. The smoked salmon pinwheel was also tasty. The pepper cheese macaron was just ok.
Cheese Trio: Profiterole topped with Boursin Garlic & Fine Herbs Cheese and Orange Apricot Jam; Smoked Salmon Pinwheel w/ Boursin Shallot and Chive Cheese and Everything Seasoning; Strawberry Macaron w/ Boursin Pepper Cheese
Liberated Pinot Noir
I know! Shock! I drank something non-alcoholic! While I did enjoy many of the wines I tried, I also knew it was hot outside and to pace myself. The green apple freeze was a nice mix up as it worked well to make sure one was hydrated and when I did have to return to the heat pit that was outside - I would be ok.
RGD: Citrus Apple Freeze (non-alcoholic)
The next dish was the winner of the event. It essentially was potato chip nachos. The blonde ale beer fondue was awesome especially on the warm potatoes! I totally had second and thirds...
Smoked Corned Beef w/ Warm Crispy Potatoes, Pickled Onions, and Blonde Ale Beer Fondue
I remember having this dessert but I apparently forgot a picture of it. I remember it being ok. Despite having cayenne and chili powder it wasn’t as spicy as I was hoping.
Chocolate Picante: Dark Chocolate Mousse w/ Cayenne Pepper, Chili Powder & Raspberry Dust
This beer got mixed reviews at our table. Personally, I love pomegranate flavored items. I also know that schofferhofer beers are not very alcoholic and have a fruity taste. I enjoyed this for being refreshing. I know others weren’t a fan.
Schofferhofer Hefeweizen Pomegranate Beer
This was another star dish for me! The curry beef had great flavor and was very tender.
Red Hot Spicy Thai Curry Beef w/ Steamed Rice
For another one of the desserts, I tried the Sweet Olive Oil Cake. I really enjoyed this as it wasn’t overly sweet but still fit the mold of feeling like dessert. It wasn’t overly heavy either. Their lemon curd is no match to the one I make at home so I ended up skipping that part of the dish.
Sweet Olive Oil Cake w/ Powdered Sugar and Lemon Curd
The following dessert was also mixed. They called it a soft serve sundae but it totally was one of those banana ice cream dishes you see around the internet as a healthier option of enjoying ice cream. Since it was made from bananas, it had a grainy texture. While I enjoyed it - I could see others not enjoying it because of how funky the texture is. The chocolate oats were a good mix to break it up though.
Banana Almond Soft-Serve Sundae w/ Fresh Berries and Crunchy Chocolate Oats
I didn’t try all the items but I got full. I did try the items that excited me overall so that was worth it for me. I also had about 6 or 7 different wines and overall was happy with those.
I did this event in a much different from back in 2011 where it was truly a preview of everything before the masses got the info.
Here is link to that review: https://www.disboards.com/threads/i...nt-plated-dinner.2751641/page-2#post-41882743
https://www.disboards.com/threads/i...t-7-24-tiw-event-plated-dinner.2751641/page-3
So - if you read through that event and then see what we got this year for more money, you’ll see why I was eh. I liked the intimacy and presentation of that event. This felt like a money grab with the set up. All the information provided had already been posted on the website, except maybe the figment dooney that is coming out. (Why is it a Figment purse when Remy is supposed to be the mascot this year?) I don’t think I’ll do it again.