Sunday, February 10, 2008

When is Dinner Not Dinner?

When it is a 2:40 p.m. Storybook Princess Lunch at Disney World.

We were able to book a last minute lunch in Epcot at Norway's Akershus Royal Banquet Hall. First a word about Epcot: it is the only Disney park where they don't cut you off after two drinks and where there are drinks all the way around the world tour -- margaritas, beer, wine champagne. There was a distinctly mellower (more mellow?) feel to the park compared to others.

Back to our late lunch. When we went into the restaurant we stood in line to wait for little j to meet Belle. It was actually not as rushed as I had anticipated and little j had plenty of time to ask Belle questions and get several photos. We were then seated at our table and ordered drinks: a beer for Big J, lemonade for little j, and I had a deliciously refreshing mixed drink of aquavit, vodka and sprite. We started the meal with an appetizer buffet of cheeses, salads, cold cuts, smoked salmon, and a couple different kinds of herring. Of course Big J and I are fans of Scandinavian food, so the herring was a treat. For her entree little j chose the grilled chicken corn and potatoes; Big J had a traditional Norwegian beef and pork dish; and I had an amazing seafood chowder with an open face salmon sandwich. We finished the meal with a trio of desserts: a princess cake (white cake layered with raspberry filling and topped with a lemon custard), a cappuccino cream cake, and a traditional Norwegian rice pudding with strawberry sauce. All were very good. Actually, the seafood chowder was the highlight of my meal and I would love to figure out the recipe.

The highlight of little j's meal was meeting the Disney princesses: Ariel, Snow White, Jasmine, and Aurora. She had a chance to talk with all of them and have her picture taken. It was so fun to see her complete happiness. Later, as we walked through the different countries, she met Mulan in China and in Paris she saw Aurora again. What a great day!

Since we didn't have dinner, we ended the day with "Sticky Beavers" which are candied pecans. They were warm and toasty and we were happy to find them because we had read that that was one of the "must have treats" and we looked all over. They certainly lived up to our expectations.

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