Pistache --- Dee-Lish!

With our regular baby sitter out of commission, it has been a rare occasion that my husband and I can steal some time together. However, this past Saturday we were able to find a fairly competent sitter and headed out to finally celebrate our anniversary ... only about 2 weeks late. We wanted to do something different so we ventured over to the famous Clematis Street in downtown West Palm Beach to a lovely French Bistro called Pistache (www.pistachewpb.com).
The French flag flew high as we approach the valet stand right near the restaurant’s Riviera-like entrance that over looks overlooks Centennial Park, the Fountains and the Intracoastal Waterway. The entrance was bright and the atmosphere cozy. Several tables were available to dine al fresco but the humid night was better served in air conditioning. Most of the tables indoors were filled with boisterous 50 something’s enjoying a wide array of vino and the early evening on Clematis. The back room was host to a rather large birthday bash which was hidden from us behind the red velvet curtains that separated the front room from the back room. We were seated at small but romantic corner booth. I ordered a Pinot Grigio and my husband a Mojito. Pinot an somtimes fall a bit flat on texture and flavor, but this make and vintage was devine.
Our drinks were joined by the Soup D'Jour, Carrot Ginger Soup and Steak Tartare. The soup was flavorful but not overly sweet as often the case with carrot soup. The tartare was prepared strait up raw with the typical condiments surrounding the meal pile on the plate. We picked and tasted each condiment and the meat alone but found that the best flavor was found when we smooshed all the elements together.
For our main dish we both went for daily specials: The 16oz bone in veal chop ($45) for him and the lobster risotto ($24) for me. Both dishes arrived piping hot. The dewy texture of the Arborio rice was just setting me up for that mild lobster flavor rounded off with a touch of sherry. It was fabulous. My husband enjoyed the veal which was served topped with a peppery forestiere sauce. This was also quite good. Overall it was an impeccable meal for approximately $125 pre-tip.
We skipped coffee and desert in house and instead followed the meal with a walk past the bars of Clematis, which includes the original Dr. Feelgood’s, and stopped at Starbucks for a decaf latte before picking up the car and returning to real life ... parenthood. Wonderful meal ... wonderful evening. Will definitely be back to Pistache!

Family Suite Yay, Princess Dinner Nay!

This past weekend we took the little munchkins to Walt Disney World for an early celebration of Danica's 3rd birthday. We decided upon this particular weekend as she was still, technically, 2 and free but more importantly it was an uncrowded Superbowl weekend. I recently underwent some major surgery and I am not allowed to bend or lift anything over five pounds . . . such as my kids. So, to keep Scott sane, we brought along our babysitter. With the added body to our party we realized that we would need a little extra space and even an extra bathroom to accommodate the 5 of us. The solution was easily found at the Walt Disney World All-Star Music Resort. This particular hotel is one of their "value" hotels created to fit the needs of those on a tight budget. The pull to the All-Star Music for this trip was the fairly new "family suites." The family suite is basically two adjoining rooms that have been converted to a living room and small bedroom with a kitchenette including a refrigerator. The room was perfect for our needs and was reasonable maintained.

Now I should note, that this is not our first foray into the lower priced hotels. We have stayed at Pop Century (Value) and found it to be adequate for our then party of 3. The room was small though. In fact we were originally booked into a room with 2 double beds and had to be moved to a room with a king in order to accommodate Danica's pack and play. Even so the rooms in other resorts were about the same size. In the past we have stayed in the Coronado Springs Resort (Moderate) and our last trip in September took us to the Grand Floridian (Deluxe Monorail). Okay, there were a few more amenities in the pricier resorts but I honestly did not need to use the Grand Floridian robes. I did, however, have to request a refrigerator at all the hotels except the All-Star Music. The family suites have a refrigerator included, despite the fact that the value hotels charge a nightly fee for the refrigerator. The more expensive hotels provide them upon request, free of charge. On Saturday night, Scott and I strolled over to the cafeteria for a cup of coffee. We chatted about the hotel differences, such as the huge cafeteria in this hotel compared to the shoe box at the Grand Floridian. We concluded that it may be more advantageous to stay at the value resort.

Enough about the hotel … now onto food! I love to cook and Scott and I are total foodies. One of our facinations with WDW is the fabulous restaurants and the ability to enjoy food from different cultures. However, not every restaurant is a winner. On our last trip we had breakfast at Chef Mickey's, the food, despite being a buffet, was wonderful and tasty and the kids were entertained by the characters. Since we are not big breakfast eaters we decided to make this a dinner stop. Unfortunately, the buffet was not really appealing. The "less cooked" (the carver's words not mine) prime rib was good. Still the kids had a good time. We will be returning on our next trip in September but only for breakfast.

Suffice it to say we did not have one outstanding meal the whole trip but we did have one amazingly disappointing one. The Princess Fairy Tale Dinner in Norway! I showed up at our designated time and checked in. Tom, at the podium told us it would be just a few minutes. Twenty minutes and over 100 people later I went up to the podium again. A new gentleman was standing there and the look on his face made me realize that Tom had not checked us in. He quickly ushered us into the hall and had the kids photographed with Belle ... for $32.

Then we were seated for the nightmare to continue. I had been told it was a buffet. I choose buffets at the parks because the kids dont have a long wait for the food to be served. Well this is not a buffet and the menu is totally unappealing. There is an appetizer buffet ... do your toddlers like smoked salmon and beet salad? Exactly! Ariel worked hard to calm us down ... then Tom appeared. He was our waiter. Realizing that all the restaurants were full-up I just tried to make the most of it. Scott ordered some sort of meat patty that came with beets while I chose the salmon. The kids shared a kids pizza and our babysitter ordered the pizza off the children's menu as well. This is where I note that I was charged $15 for the kids pizza and $29 for the babysitters pizza ... all of which tasted horrid and went uneaten. Scott ate his meat patty and I nibbled half way through the overcooked salmon. Then we left the park and headed for home. I was sick the whole way, the next day and even stayed home from work today. Obviously, we won't be back.