Eating: Portobello and Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue

Besides eating at the Food and Wine Festival, Cristina and I had two nice meals in Disney while we were there at the beginning of October. The first was at Portobello in Downtown Disney while the other was the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue dinner and show.

On Saturday, after our race, we headed to Downtown Disney. We decided to eat at Portobello. It was mid-afternoon so the restaurant wasn’t very crowded, yet we still had to wait for a little longer than what should have been necessary. Maybe we were both tired from the race, but when you see only 3 tables filled you get antsy having to wait. However, the extra time gave Cristina and her mother more time to talk so in the end it wasn’t that bad. While waiting for our food we were brought some fresh baked breads with a half of a roasted garlic bulb that was drizzled with olive oil. This was the best thing I ate there. Don’t get me wrong, my meal was excellent, but this was just perfect. Maybe it was because I was hungry. Knowing I was going to eat a lot that night, I choose two appetizers: the calamari and the meatball sliders. The calamari was lightly battered and well season and cooked perfectly. None of that chewiness that you get at lesser restaurants. The sliders were also very good but the buns were overwhelming the meatball so much so that I ate the last one without the bun. Cristina ordered the mozzarella stuffed rice balls which were the star of the bunch. The risotto stuffing was well flavored and made the marinara sauce served on the side unnecessary. Cristina’s mom ordered the portobello mushroom served with gorgonzola, polenta, and rosemary sauce which was also quite tasty. For a main course, Cristina ordered the gnocchi which came with a nice pork ragu even though she only ate the gnocchi. Cristina’s mom went with a woodburned oven pizza that looked yummy, but I was rationing lactose pills so I didn’t partake. Overall, Portobello served us a nice meal for a very affordable cost.

On the Sunday night of our trip, we met up with Michael, an old friend of Cristina’s who lives in Orlando. While playing a very whimsical round of mini golf at Fantasia Gardens, I stated how I always wanted to do the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue. I’ve always heard great things about the show even though I never heard about the food. Michael stated it was an all you can eat and drink comfort food based menu. We called for reservations to find out they only take pre-payment. It is very pricy, but we had been saving up. After the golf match (Michael won), we headed to Fort Wilderness. When you walk in, you are greeted by your waiter and brought to your table where cornbread with honey butter and salad is waiting for you. There were quite a few drinks that were included which did include quite a few adult beverages. Cristina when with root beer while Michael and I enjoyed some sangria. Before the main course, the show starts. The premise is that you are at G-Rated Saloon show. It’s great if you like you good singing and really bad jokes, i.e. “Call me Butter cause I’m on a roll!” After the introduction to the show the main courses come out: fried chicken, bbq ribs, baked beans, corn and mash potatoes. The ribs were the star with the fall of the bone quality but the fried chicken was as good as an all you can eat set could be. We quickly finished the ribs and ordered another bucket. The show continued while we were served strawberry shortcake for desert. While the food was good, you wouldn’t come to the Hoop-Dee-Doo for the food. The show is the main attraction here and if you are a lover of bad jokes, as I am, then the show is well worth the money.

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