French Fry Diary 405: Pepper Market Breakfast

One of the last mornings of our family Walt Disney World trip this March I went with the parents-in-law to breakfast at the Pepper Market, the home restaurant at Coronado Springs. I already told you about dinner there here, and couldn't wait to try their breakfast.

Now while the entrance to the Pepper Market is guarded by a creepy giant pink rabbit, the dining area is watched over by, among others, a giant Latin American bird god. The décor of Mesoamerica is thematic to the resort so it fits, but let's be real, these giant sculptures kinda freaked me out a little. The bird god especially. It was like the sensation of being watched while you eat, only a hundredfold. Creepy.

It's a good thing the food was really good. Much like dinner, there are numerous serving and buffet stations where different types of breakfast were available. This fine morning I was able to get both wonderful red potato wedges with onions and red and green peppers, and the same terrific diced breakfast potatoes that Disney always does so well. These were steaming hot and near perfect, as were the strips of thick bacon I got to go with them. This was a great breakfast, and an excellent coda to another wonderful WDW trip.

French Fry Diary 391: Maya Grill, Coronado Springs Resort

When planning our most recent excursion to Walt Disney World, a short family vacation (The Bride, her folks, her sister, her husband and their son, the last of which was seeing the magic for the first time), The Bride wanted everything to be perfect, and that included the meals. We got the Disney Dining Plan so that made some things easier, but we still had to pick the restaurants.

The Bride and I had stayed at Coronado Springs once before, and that was where we were all staying this time. When we had been there before we had a wonderful romantic dinner at the Maya Grill, the modern Latin-American restaurant at the hotel, so I suggested it for the whole family this time. The Dining Plan would handle it so no problems with price. It was a big hit.

We were also joined this night by a cousin and his ladyfriend who live in the area so we had a full party. Our waiter Berk delivered fast and quality service, although the bro-in-law didn't think so, but personally I think that's his problem. ;-) The atmosphere was great as a solo guitarist played simple acoustic tunes in the atrium, some oldies, some traditional, even some new stuff.

Thanks to my catastrophic pickiness with food, the menu was a bit daunting. I did find something good, but I am sure they would have provided whatever I asked for. This is Disney after all. I settled on the Arrachera, a Mexican prepared flank steak, that's a sirloin steak served with Yukon gold potatoes, and vegetables to me and you. You know me, I exchanged the vegetables for fries if they had them, and they did.

Our meals came rather quickly, I was impressed, the bro-in-law wasn't. But the conversation was good, as was the company, so perhaps I just hadn't noticed how much time has passed. The steak was very good, the mashed Yukon golds with garlic and other not-so-fun foreign objects (edible, don't get me wrong) not so much. It was a good thing I also got the fries.

The French fries in question were steak fries, just standard frozen steak fries. They were baked, not fried, and had that soft and hot potato-ey consistency inside the semi-crisp shell. Good and simple. Sometimes simple is best.

Dessert included a variety of things including the chocolate mousse shot that I got, as well as the coconut flan The Bride said was to die for. It was a terrific night out, and one of the best meals I've had in a while. Two thumbs up to the Maya Grill.

French Fry Diary 375: Mixto

A night out was planned with The Bride and some of her friends (and also my friends, as they were all her friends first in high school before I met her, I call them her friends). Usually we only get together at particular events in which one or most are involved in the event, there's not much downtime to just talk. This was the idea behind this get-together, just relax and chat.

Marc and Judi were there, as well as another friend who had chosen the restaurant in the city - Mixto. Now I had heard of Mixto, but living out in the suburbs I don't get into the city as much as I'd like, I had never been. Mixto is a lovely two-story restaurant in downtown Philly that brings a wonderful Latin, Cuban and Caribbean flavor to its fare. I loved the décor, but the wait, even on a Saturday night was horrendous. Good thing the food, and especially the company, was great.

I ordered the Whisky Rib Eye, which was delicious by the way, but then I asked The Question, because I did not see the favorite fried food on the menu. You know what The Question is, right? "Do you have French Fries?" They did, and they brought them with my steak.

The Mixto fries were regular cuts, likely frozen but it didn't matter because they were done well. They had a different kind of batter covering. It was apparently designed to come off, to flake off during deep-frying. This created those tasty cracklings like you find leftover in the box at Long John Silver's, but in this case, they were attached to the fries. This was surprisingly good.

We had a wonderful night out with friends, were joined by others later on, and we had dessert at More Than Ice Cream. I didn't get to try the fries there as it was dessert, remember? Next time. A terrific night all around, I can't wait to do it again. And the next time we go to Mixto, I want to try the mofongo.